Best Open Source Genealogy Software?

An anonymous reader writes "I'm looking to build a family tree for a holiday gift. Do the Slashdotters of the world have any recommendations on open source genealogy software? I did try a 14-day free trial of Ancestry.com. What a scam! I submitted the personal information for my parents, grandparents, and me. Then, I received a pop-up telling me that if I would like to get information on my family, I would have to upgrade my subscription for $29.95 US. So, I took the chance. Turns out that the only information they had was my previous addresses for the past 20 years." The venerable GRAMPS is still actively developed, and its site lists several other possibilities, too. Any favorites, or anti-favorites, out there?

Re:How about geni.com ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Stay away from Geni. Once you give them information, you can't cancel it or retract it. It's not for anybody with any desire of any privacy.

My experience with ancestry.com

[f00zbll]

I don't work for ancestry.com, and they don't pay me. I recently signed up ancestry.com to research our family geneology. My biggest complaint is the search functionality often returns way too much data. Their search/matching algorithm is quite eager. The service isn't cheap, but then again how much would it cost to manually do the research yourself? How much time would you have to spent going through dusty census records? How much time do you have to spent tracking down the geneology going back up the tree? It took me a few days to understand how their search works, but once I got a hang of it, it was easier to find records for people in our family tree. It's not perfect, but it does quite a bit. If I had to search census records going back to 1910, it sure as heck would cost more than a monthly subscription.

Re:Why is OSS A Criteria?

[gd2shoe]

PAF is obsolete, but still viable.

If research is what you need, don't overlook Family Search [familysearch.org]. It works best if you can start with someone long dead. If you want one-on-one assistance (for free), stop by an LDS Family History Center [familysearch.org]. Yeah, we're "Mormon's", but the family history advisers must not be overtly preachy (if they are, they're not following instructions). Just bring everything you've got.