CompuServe Messages

You are right, Phil. The original idea for a Tiny-Tafel was proposed by Paul Andereck, then editor of Genealogical Computing. We took his idea and added to it to include a header (so you would know more about who originated the TT) and location information. One hope was that we could also link services such as the ROOTS Forum into the system, but that is still on the "wish list." In addition to the Tafel Matching System, the TT design provides that the TT be readable, so it is also suitable for publishing in other media. A TT can be created with a word or text processor as long as you follow the rules. In addition there are public domain TT editors for the Mac, CP/M and MS-DOS computers. There is also at least one GEDCOM-to-TT program of which I am aware. A TT can be extremely simple, consisting of 4 lines. At a minimum it will include your name preceded by N; the number of data lines preceded by Z; a data line consisting of the Soundex code, space, year of birth of earliest person in the family line, space, year of birth of the last person in the family line, space, family name; and finally the date of creation of the TT preceded by a W.