Why FHISO?

Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) was incorporated earlier this year to act as the community-owned standards organization serving genealogists, world wide.

Standards organizations depend on broad support — that includes support across some of the entrenched territorial lines we find in our community.

Most other sectors have figured out how to bridge those territorial lines — they are already reaping the benefits of open, transparent and democratically developed standards. If we work together as a community, we too can build bridges.

So, let’s get started. The position paper/comment draft, “Why FHISO?” being released today, should help get the dialog going. Click to download the PDF file.

Why FHISO v01-04

Whether you agree with it, dispute it or want to add to it, we want to hear from you. Help us pass it around. We’d like comments from innovators and users alike. And around the globe, too, so please share it with those you know and with those you wouldlike to know better.

One community, one standard. We are stronger and better together. Let’s sort out the issues and start making things happen.

(1) Don’t be shy! Comments about “Why FHISO?” are welcome on this blog post, but if you prefer, comments via e-mail are welcome, too. fhiso@fhiso.org.

(2) We’ve opened up a page on the BetterGEDCOM wiki about this position paper.

http://bettergedcom.wikispaces.com/

It’s a wiki, so if you are not already a member, join up and comment.

(3) FHISO representatives attend the open BetterGEDCOM meeting held Monday mornings (1:00 EDT/US). A part of each meeting is set aside for questions, answers and discussion about FHISO.
http://bettergedcom.wikispaces.com/Developers+Meeting

(4) Join the FHISO organizing effort. We are now a nine member* international group; usually on five different continents, though today we are on six. Most of our work is done asynchronously (e-mail or common workspace). We hold a GoToMeeting session weekly (Wednesday at 1:30 EDT/US); attendance is encouraged, but optional. Those interested should email fhiso@fhiso.org.

(5) Speak out and let us know about it. If you blog or develop a posting about FHISO, send a notice to us at fhiso@fhiso.org

*The current FHISO Board Members are: Robert Burkhead (USA); Geir Thorud (Norway); Andrew Hatchett (USA). The nine “FHISO organizers” are all volunteers: Robert Burkhead (USA); Geir Thorud (Norway); Greg Lamberson (Egypt); Tony Proctor (Ireland and UK); Neil Parker (Canada); GeneJ (USA); Andrew Hatchett (USA); Roger Moffat (USA); Brett McPhee (Australia).

Updated 510 pm
Updated 1:50 pm 2010-07-28 to add board member and organizers names

 

8 comments to Why FHISO?

  • Margaret Rutledge

    I support a standard data structure that allows easy transferance between genealogy programs used in all parts of the world. That is a real challenge given the variety of languages, naming structures and date/calendar differences.
    It should not be designed to fit any one software of church protocol, because they can be changed to pluck fields from the new data structure.
    I would ask the structure permit the transfer of unlimited notes, as mine are extensive because I document my sources with both the source fields in Reunion and the notes. While both are in the gedcom created by Reunion, sources are often stripped off when a gedcom is transported. If the info is in the notes it isn’t lost.
    Best of luck with the new structure. I’d help if I could, but i’m only a user.

    • GeneJ

      Hi Margaret,

      Thank you for your interest in FHISO.

      Your input counts!! Indeed, FHISO was created to become a forum in which users, vendors, service providers and genealogical organizations would gather for the purpose of developing international standards for the digital representation of genealogical information.

      Diverse user needs/requirements are a driving force behind the development of standards. This means that while you (and I) might not have the technical experience to devise the best solutions, the organization wants users engaged throughout the process.

      One community, one standard. We are stronger and better together. The nine organizers are diverse group–standards professionals, independent developers and technologists and yet–end users, too. Don’t hesitate to join us, there is much to do.

      Thank you again for your interest in FHISO. –GeneJ

  • Evelyn W. Wallace

    How about prevailing upon Ancestry.com to delete shipping *gatewayed* messages over to rootweb.com? What a waste of time for experienced genealogists. Most of the time, there is no date to the event which some inexperienced person wants.

    • GeneJ

      Hi Evelyn,

      Family History Information Standards Organization (FHISO) was created to become a forum in which users, vendors, service providers and genealogical organizations would gather for the purpose of developing international standards for the digital representation of genealogical information. More than a decade has passed since the release of GEDCOM 5.5 (5.5.1), the industry’s current de facto standard(s). A new standard is needed to solve today’s interoperability problems and help vendors deliver better value and functionality to users.

      From the message you posted, it sounds as though you are unhappy with the RootsWeb messaging system, something beyond the scope of FHISO’s mission. I would encourage you to communicate directly with RootsWeb and Ancestry.com about your frustrations.

      Thank you for your interest in FHISO and for posting your message. –GeneJ

  • MaryLu Metz

    Like Margaret Rutledge I use Reunion and also have that source stripping problem whenI transfer GED.com files. When I transfer from Reunion to Family Tree Maker the sources and media are stripped. Keeping everything together would be a good idea.

  • I, too, am a Reunion user, but I also have experience with MacFamilyTree, PAF, AncestralQuest, RootsMagic, and Legacy. I have moved GEDCOMS back and forth between them all, just to see the results. For the most part, everything transfers well, except source data. I think the focus needs to be on the source templates in each of the programs. If they were simplified and mostly uniform, that problem would be solved. (Yes, I have suggestions.)

    Being a source fanatic, I have made a study of the source templates in genealogy data management programs. My conclusion is that, except for Reunion, they are too complex for the average user, hence the average user doesn’t use them. Instead, the source information goes into the notes. Many family historians do not seem to understand the difference between notes and sources in family history, and why we need both. It will be a matter of first teaching the software developers and insisting on a usable source template, and then teaching the family historians.

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