As part of the FHSIO Call for Papers, I am submitting the following proposal as my contribution to furthering genealogy. The full proposal is available in a downloadable PDF at the end of this post, but let me give a brief outline here, which I’ll excerpt from the introduction:

This proposal is a method for exchanging data between researchers that:

• Allows researchers to sync data between their trees without requiring the acceptance of all differences.
• Allows researchers to receive updates on changes to collaborator trees, even if their trees are not completely in sync.
• Enables the sharing of images and documents, even when those media files are very large (i.e. bigger than one could reasonably send via e-mail).
• Creates a decentralized system of sharing, that is not dependent on researching using the same application or service.
• Can facilitate finding other researchers that are researching the same individuals.

In addition to these benefits, the proposal also takes a look at the use of places, sources and events in genealogy, and how we can use external databases to assist us with these categories of data.

I welcome comments on the proposal and indeed hope it will spur a conversation on the ways we collaborate in genealogy. Please contribute your thoughts on the proposal below in the comments. Thank you.