One of the features of the newer genealogy database programs is
the ability to regularize or standardize place names. But, the
standardized place names are anything but standard between
programs. For example, New FamilySearch, the huge database from
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has a
feature called Standard Finder and according to this source, the
place names in the U.S. are appended with "United States."
However, there are major database programs, like Legacy Family
Tree, that add on "USA." Now what do we do? Do we put anything
after the entries in all of the various databases or do we just
leave the designation of the country blank? Originally, with the
paper forms of family group sheets there was an extremely
limited space for entering the place names. It was a common
practice for those using the forms to enter place names either
partially or with a number of abbreviations. Early genealogical
database programs also had a character limitation on the fields
for geographic information