1b. TIPS FROM READERS: Creating Off-site Backups By Nona Lightner I just read the tip from a reader about having backups externally as well as off-site. I firmly believe that backups should not be saved on the hard drive--too easy for the computer to crash, and there go the backups! I have stuff on floppies and CDs. As to my genealogy, each of my three grandsons has a binder for genealogy with his personal information in it -- including family group sheet and pedigree chart. There is a pocket in the binders for a floppy backup. That way, I have an off-site back up for genealogy -- and I get the floppies periodically to update them for the boys. * * * 1c. USING ROOTSWEB: Striving for Perfection You might say Paula PERFECT fits her name, well, perfectly. She wants everything to be error-free. When she married Stewart STICKLER all of her friends laughed and knew this was a marriage made in heaven when Paula became Paula (PERFECT) STICKLER. To say that Paula is obsessive/compulsive about perfection is an understatement. Her favorite pastime is family history research and Paula's friends have an arsenal of "Perfect Paula" stories about her attempts to achieve perfection in genealogical record keeping. There's the tale about her scribbling in a history book to correct a typographical error. Then there was the time Paula, flashlight and tools in hand, was apprehended by the night watchman at the local cemetery where her great-grandparents are buried. She was caught red-handed trying to "correct" the spelling on her great-grandfather's stone from GREEN to GREENE. The family Bible entry showed that great-grandpa GREENE had been born on March 22 and that is the day he'd always celebrated his birthday. When Paula obtained a copy of his birth certificate she noted the date of birth was listed as March 23. Now most people would just shrug off a one day difference in the birth date of an ancestor who has been dead for more than 30 years -- but not Paula. She sent in a photocopy of the Bible record along with a sworn affidavit that Silas GREENE had always celebrated his birthday on March 22nd -- and demanded that the state correct its record. A tad over the top? But look how many of us approach "errors" we find in online databases at RootsWeb. If you find a user-submitted family tree that includes your ancestor and his name is spelled GREEN when you have never seen it spelled other than GREENE, do you demand that the submitter (or worse yet RootsWeb) change the spelling? Does it really make a difference and have you considered that the submitter may well have found great-grandpa's name spelled GREEN in records he uncovered that you have not yet discovered? Name spelling variations are common in genealogical records. Only greenhorns insist on a particular spelling of their family names. It is not unusual to find an ancestor's name spelled two or more ways in the text of a deed or a will and then quite often the signature will vary from the spelling(s) in the document itself. Does it really matter whether great-grandpa was born on March 22 or March 23? Is it not more important to prove his parentage and the connection between the generations than whether he was born one minute before or after midnight on a given date? When you find online user-submitted data that conflicts with your research information, take the time to check the source of the information listed by the submitter (if provided, of course). Then, follow up by contacting the submitter to further review any serious discrepancies between your data and his. If you are unable to reach the submitter, he/she does not respond, and/or the two of you cannot come to an agreement and you feel strongly that your interpretation of the evidence needs to be represented, upload your file with sources and explanatory notes. This enables others to review the data in both files and decide for themselves which to believe. Nothing counteracts erroneous data more forcefully than having a genealogy with well- substantiated evidence and cited sources online. RootsWeb does not edit, alter or remove genealogical data from someone's online database just because you feel you can prove something is inaccurate or differs from what you have in your files. The world is filled with conflicting genealogical information -- in books, on CDs, in online files, and on tombstone inscriptions. Even official documents, such as birth records, contain inaccuracies. For those of you, like Paula (PERFECT) STICKLER, who are concerned about pinpoint accuracy in genealogical records, the starting point should be with your own database. Have you checked it to be sure it is error-free? Use the error-finding and fixing capabilities of your genealogy software program to locate inconsistencies and improbabilities. Do you have anyone in your database whose birth, marriage, and death dates are inconsistent or improbable -- such as marrying after they die, living to be 176 years old, or a woman giving birth at age three? Make certain that your database includes sources for all information. Your sources might range from a family Bible entry to a vital record, military record, or an interview with a much older cousin. All are your sources and represent how you came to know these pieces of informa- tion you have included in your file. Even thought there might be 10 incorrect (and unsourced) databases with the same individual for whom you have listed a source in your file, your inclusion of a verifiable source will help to outweigh incorrect data in the other family trees.