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Best Open Source Genealogy Software?

Posted by timothy on from the well-son-I-was-on-the-roof-with-your-mother dept.

An anonymous reader writes "I'm looking to build a family tree for a holiday gift. Do the Slashdotters of the world have any recommendations on open source genealogy software? I did try a 14-day free trial of Ancestry.com. What a scam! I submitted the personal information for my parents, grandparents, and me. Then, I received a pop-up telling me that if I would like to get information on my family, I would have to upgrade my subscription for $29.95 US. So, I took the chance. Turns out that the only information they had was my previous addresses for the past 20 years." The venerable GRAMPS is still actively developed, and its site lists several other possibilities, too. Any favorites, or anti-favorites, out there?

5 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. webtrees by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you want it online or even locally, webtrees is the most current open package. active development team and community based forums will assist you where required. www.webtrees.net.

    does everything you need and more!

    1. Re:webtrees by ichthius · · Score: 5, Informative

      Disclaimer first - I am the project manager of webtrees, and was previously the project manager of PhpGedView, from which it forked at the start of 2010....

      You have three real choices.

      (1) a desktop application
      (2) a web-based application (under your control)
      (3) a web-based application (managed by someone like ancestry)

      I'd be tempted to steer away from (3). Most make it very difficult to apply proper sources/citations to your research, and genealogists tend to get pretty obsessed with their sources.

      I tried ancestry once, but found it very limiting. For example, it only allows you to enter "simply connected" trees, so if any of your ancestors married their cousins, you cannot link the common ancestors. It is also difficult to add sources that do not come from ancestry itself.

      If you are going to publish on the web, privacy is pretty important. In some countries, privacy laws apply only to living people. In others, privacy extends for a certain number of years after death. The online services tend to operate with the privacy rules of their host country - which may be different to yours. So, check what options are available before signing up to any provider.

      This leaves (1) and (2).

      Whatever you do, pick an application that can read/write to the (de-facto standard) GEDCOM format. Bear in mind that many applications will either extend the specification or lose some data when saving to it, so interoperability is rarely 100%.

      Web-based solutions offer the obvious advantage that the whole family can work on this together. You'll get far greater commitment from the rest of the family if they can update it diretly, rather than send updates to a central person for data entry.

      Even if you use a desktop application for your main research and data entry, you'll probably still want a web-based application to publish it.

      A web-based system also allows you (presumably the geek of the family) to maintain the site, perform backups, etc., while allowing your (presumably less IT literate) family members to do the fun part - researching your history.

      For all its faults, ancestry.com does have a huge amount of data. So, buy your relative a subscription, and set them up an open-source, web-based system on your favourite web-hosting provider.

  2. How about geni.com ? by davejenkins · · Score: 5, Informative

    Geni.com is an online service, not open source software per se, but it's free to use, useful, and there's a lot of data there already. I found my ancestors going back to the 17th century after matching up my own tree back to my grandparents. http://www.geni.com/

    --

    davejenkins.com |

    1. Re:How about geni.com ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Any site that asks for my email address right away, forget it. .

      Damn straight. They should provide the service for free and there should be no quid pro quo. Who do those arrogant f*****rs think they are - asking for an email address? Do they have any idea how hard it is to get an email address in the first place?

  3. First, try the living if possible by novar21 · · Score: 5, Informative

    My grandma has givin me sooooo much skini on the family its not funny. Didn't cost me a dime other than my time. Trust me... they don't hold back and will give you info can not find anywhere. They are the source.. if they aren't available, talk with the gossip of the family. Each family has one. Find them, then prepare yourself for A LOT of bad news.