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Archiver > GENMSC > 2007-07 > 1184659609


From: Hugh Watkins <>
Subject: Re: Beyond GEDCOM
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 09:06:49 +0100
References: <slrnf9ol6e.cvf.usenet@goodwill.larseighner.com>
In-Reply-To: <slrnf9ol6e.cvf.usenet@goodwill.larseighner.com>


Lars Eighner wrote:

> Here is the problem: GEDCOM has become the de facto standard for family
> history and geneology data. And the problem with that is that the Mormons
> own GEDCOM and thus it is rife with built-in religious limitations.
>
> As you might expect, GEDCOM does not allow you to enter a family created by
> same-sex marriage or civil unions even where they are lawful. But there are
> other limitations. For example, in GEDCOM 5.xx, an adopted child does not
> belong to his family. When he looks up his family in a GEDCOM-compliant
> file, he is not there. How needlessly hurtful is that?
>
> If a guy marries his 14-year-old cousin as his fifth wife, GEDCOM has no
> problem dealing with that kind of family. But it cannot handle the Brady
> Bunch.
>
> Now I suppose you could defend GEDCOM by saying it is supposed to record
> only genetic --- that is, biological --- relationships. And of course,
> there are important scientific and especially medical uses for that kind of
> information. But it is not really true that GEDCOM records biological
> relationships. It presumes that the husband of a woman who bears a child is
> the father of the child, and we know since there is now DNA testing that
> assumption is untrue in a significant portion of cases.
>
> Which brings me to my point. I'd like to develop a family history system
> that is as compatible with GEDCOM as possible (since it is, as I have said,
> the de facto standard with tons of software applications), but with
> extensions to handle many diverse kinds of families that exist both in
> modern America and in many traditional cultures.
>
> So, I would be grateful for any pointers to existing software that handles
> all families or suggestions for extensions.


FTM 16 does all of the above

but if exported as a gedcom same sex relationships / life long
friendships becoame "marriages"

Hugh W


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