2022 Class 5: A Canonical Tree

In mathematics and logic an important concept is "canonical form."  This means that the mathematical or logical concept is written or phrased in a standardized way.  Transferring that concept to genealogy, a canonical tree is a family tree database that meets standards for form and content.  I'm going to take a stab at listing some of these standards.  In future posts, using the term canonical tree will mean that it meets these standards.

By the way, this is a draft and I welcome additions and corrections.

A family tree is in canonical form if:

• For the tree itself
• No two person entries are the same person.
• There are no incorrect links (relationships), such as double links, or links that result in the wrong children being assigned to the wrong parent.
• For the facts list
• No redundant facts in the the Facts list (Lived in vs Residence).
• No orphan facts... these are facts that are imported when a facts are added to a person from an outside source; you didn't create the fact yourself or it isn't one of the default entries.
• For facts associated with a person
• No redundant facts... all redundant facts should be merged and standardized
• A woman's surname should be a maiden name.  Handle multiple marriages through relationships to the husbands.  There are cases where an AKA might be justified.
• Alternate names should be managed through AKA; you can have as many entries as you find are legitimate.
• The preferred name should be the name given to the person at birth.
• Nicknames should be managed through the Nickname fact.
• Titles should be managed through the Title fact.
• All facts should be biologically consistent (Timeline).  If the a date can't be proven through primary or trusted documents, or if the timeline isn't consistent, either give a "trusted" date range or set the preferred date blank and keep any other dates as alternative.
• Any questionable facts can be carried with the person, but should be flagged through action items and notes associated with the preferred fact.
• All facts should have a source.  The source should be graded using the star system in FTM.
• All place names should be in the proper form as defined by the Place List.
• For the Places list
• All place names should have use the correct naming convention for the mapping tool.  For family tree maker, this is {local address, cemetery, etc}, {city or town}, {county or shire, without the word "County" following the name of the county}, {State, skip for UK}, Country in standard form.  Use the place name resolver available with the tool to assure the place name matches the mapping tool.
• For the Media
• All media should be referenced as to source.  Credit should always be given to the source.
• All persons associated with the media instance should be explicitly linked to that media.
• Where possible, all media should be in one of the image formats (eg, .jpg) or in a PDF document.  It is best to put text documents in the Notes of the person.  Convert Word or other document app to PDF. 
• All your own media and creations should be watermarked and copyrighted.
• Don't forget that video and sound media can be associated with a person.  Record your relations' stories in their own words.