Haines Brown wrote: > A very interesting thread. I hope no one minds if a non-genealogist > jumps in with questions. > > My sense of the distinction of a relation-based and an event based > structure is clear to me only in the abstract, but not in concrete > terms. Would someone be willing to offer a simple example of each to > help make the distinction clearer? Leaping happily to the conclusion that you mean lineage-linked vs event-linked, rather than what you've rather clearly SAID (relation-based vs event based) ... Succinctly: lineage-linked concerns itself with WHO; event-linked concerns WHAT. In a Lineage-linked database, the important thing is the linkage between a maximum of three persons (two parents and a child). It confines itself to those persons believed to social and/or biological relations (parent, child, spouse). In an event-linked database, the important thing is the EVENT itself, to which may be linked/attached to an unlimited number of persons. An event-linked database CAN include (but need not include) all persons present at the event. --In the case of a marriage, all persons present include the clergy, the altar-boys, the organist, the choir, the janitor, the guests, the bride, the groom, their attendants, any officialdom necessary in your corner of the world, the parents of the bride and groom ... --In the Event of a baptism, all persons present again include the baptisee, the parents, the clergy, the organist, congregation, witnesses/sponsors/godparents ... HTH Cheryl