[Tagging] The current problem with tagging

[David Earl]

On 18/10/2009 15:59, Anthony wrote:
> On Sun, Oct 18, 2009 at 10:08 AM, David Earl <david at frankieandshadow.com> wrote:
>> Which is why I am seeing if we can find a middle way: one that makes
>> tags more accessible and manageable in automated fashion, but doesn't
>> limit people's freedom to innovate and suggest by example.
> 
> A "middle way" is usually either 1) a "solution" where no one is
> happy; or 2) a temporary step along a slippery slope from A to B,
> which is implemented to get from A to B without the proponents of A
> complaining too loudly.
> 
> Let's hope this one winds up being 2 and not 1 :).

A middle way only in that it prevents neither way of working, not in the 
sense of a compromise that doesn't satisfy either camp.

No, I hope it provides advantages for everyone: by having centralised 
machine readable tag descriptions, all the applications can work off the 
same schema, we can avoid typos and/or have common error checking, while 
still being able to add tags, and it allows them to be advertised and 
documented so there's a better chance of them being adopted rather than 
reinvented. We can make links between them so similar or identical or 
superseded tags can be flagged. We can describe them in multiple 
languages in one place accessible to everyone, not just human readers of 
a web page (or screen scrapers). We can have synonyms to allow for 
multiple languages. We can indicate what "property" tags are considered 
appropriate to what "object" tags. And so on.

Basically I think we can do more, and more robustly, without squashing 
intrinsic freedoms that are there now.

David.