Here are my two cents on this topic...

When you're researching from the known to the unknown, and are working your way up a direct line, it makes sense to start from the more recent end of things.

When working from the 'original' ancestor, and looking at the entire family or branches, (especially for publication), it makes sense to start with the farthest back and work forward, because you'll have numbers available for future additions and changes.

There isn't any right or wrong way. Use what works for you for the project you're working on. As long as you understand it, you can explain it to someone else.

That said, if you are going to publish an article or send information to an organization, you'll need to use their format for what you're sending, but really, that's no different than using a particular font or style for your personal documents vs using accepted/approved format for professional use.

I use the 'start with me' Ahnentafel (I think I spelled that right) for my family tree, so I can keep track of who's who. BUT I am also working on an update to the family genealogy and will be starting my numbering with the ancestor and working forward. This works well for me because it is not all the same information - the family genealogy is for my mothers/grandmother's family, and most of the rest of my personal genealogy doesn't apply.

Hope this makes sense and is of some help.

Lynne in MD