Onthuhlist128 comments
1- “Thanks for your input. Actually, both Family Tree Maker and the online system been redesigned in the past few years, and they are 95% in common now, and the differences don't make logical sense, nor do the differences flow from their historical use.”
And
2- “So, your explanation as to why they are different doesn't satisfy, in my opinion”
I guess the above comments were directed at my comment so I will try to address them
Let me first say I don’t have a “cat in this fight” I don’t use the online system. I have no intention of using the online system. I have no intention of using the “Synch” capabilities.
Let me try to address item 2 above first
I’ll start with a common base [And this is my opinion based on what I have seen over the last 5-6 years and I am sure there is nothing in here that you don’t already know]
There was a system for PC’s called FTW (last version was FTW 2006 v16]. Simultaneously there was an online system.
Ancestry.com decided to upgrade the FTW system and so they introduced FTM 2008. [FTM 2008 as you know was radically different than the previous FTW systems and was fraught with many issues] They have been cleaning up this system via FTM 2008 through 2012 for the last 5 years. Simultaneously they were and have been making tweaks/fixes/changes to the online system
Users started clamoring to introduce synchronization of the online system and the FTM system
Ancestry.com seeing a big potential market in the Social Networking area decided to develop the synchronization of the two systems
Unfortunately the Data Base Structure of the two systems were different and so were the software features
But they introduced the sync system anyway without the data base structures being the same and without the software features being the same and also some software features that purported to be the same were actually different algorithms [e.g., algorithms for out of wedlock children]
The issues you are describing are a result of this [also there have been many issues regarding the synch process it self]
Now for you item 1 – a snippet below
“and they are 95% in common now, and the differences don't make logical sense, nor do the differences flow from their historical use.”
Software development is not a game of horseshoes, in horseshoes you can be 95 percent close to the peg and still be doing alright. But in the game of software, closey’s don’t count, being 95 percent close to the peg means you are missing many ringers and the 5% ringers that are being missed is what is causing the issues you [and other] users are discussing
You also state, “It's time to eliminate the anomalies. They only add to headaches.”
I guess I agree with you from what I read on this forum
All users can play a big part in helping to eliminate the anomalies. And the way that they can do this is by pointing them out to the development group [discussing them on this forum is useful, but they need to be also transmitted to the development group. A vehicle for doing this is to use the following address
http://ftm.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/ftm.cfg/php/enduser/form.php...
A last [repeated] snippet from item 1
“and the differences don't make logical sense, nor do the differences flow from their historical use.”
We/you/I/other users could spend a lot of time discussing this but it doesn’t matter and it doesn’t help things [its all water under/over the bridge]. What will help things is to spend the time to get the anomalies corrected
1- “Thanks for your input. Actually, both Family Tree Maker and the online system been redesigned in the past few years, and they are 95% in common now, and the differences don't make logical sense, nor do the differences flow from their historical use.”
And
2- “So, your explanation as to why they are different doesn't satisfy, in my opinion”
I guess the above comments were directed at my comment so I will try to address them
Let me first say I don’t have a “cat in this fight” I don’t use the online system. I have no intention of using the online system. I have no intention of using the “Synch” capabilities.
Let me try to address item 2 above first
I’ll start with a common base [And this is my opinion based on what I have seen over the last 5-6 years and I am sure there is nothing in here that you don’t already know]
There was a system for PC’s called FTW (last version was FTW 2006 v16]. Simultaneously there was an online system.
Ancestry.com decided to upgrade the FTW system and so they introduced FTM 2008. [FTM 2008 as you know was radically different than the previous FTW systems and was fraught with many issues] They have been cleaning up this system via FTM 2008 through 2012 for the last 5 years. Simultaneously they were and have been making tweaks/fixes/changes to the online system
Users started clamoring to introduce synchronization of the online system and the FTM system
Ancestry.com seeing a big potential market in the Social Networking area decided to develop the synchronization of the two systems
Unfortunately the Data Base Structure of the two systems were different and so were the software features
But they introduced the sync system anyway without the data base structures being the same and without the software features being the same and also some software features that purported to be the same were actually different algorithms [e.g., algorithms for out of wedlock children]
The issues you are describing are a result of this [also there have been many issues regarding the synch process it self]
Now for you item 1 – a snippet below
“and they are 95% in common now, and the differences don't make logical sense, nor do the differences flow from their historical use.”
Software development is not a game of horseshoes, in horseshoes you can be 95 percent close to the peg and still be doing alright. But in the game of software, closey’s don’t count, being 95 percent close to the peg means you are missing many ringers and the 5% ringers that are being missed is what is causing the issues you [and other] users are discussing
You also state, “It's time to eliminate the anomalies. They only add to headaches.”
I guess I agree with you from what I read on this forum
All users can play a big part in helping to eliminate the anomalies. And the way that they can do this is by pointing them out to the development group [discussing them on this forum is useful, but they need to be also transmitted to the development group. A vehicle for doing this is to use the following address
http://ftm.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/ftm.cfg/php/enduser/form.php...
A last [repeated] snippet from item 1
“and the differences don't make logical sense, nor do the differences flow from their historical use.”
We/you/I/other users could spend a lot of time discussing this but it doesn’t matter and it doesn’t help things [its all water under/over the bridge]. What will help things is to spend the time to get the anomalies corrected