On 9/28/07, Larson, Timothy E. < telarson%40west.com">telarson
west.com> wrote:
>
> Doesn't everyone tag "hierarchically"?
>
> Everything I tag with "macintosh" also goes in "computers", as do many
>; things tagged "windows" (not the URLs about glass, of course).
>
>; Everything that is tagged "computers" is also tagged with "technology";,
> which also encompasses my interest in radio, etc.
>;
> Everything that is tagged "uk" or "germany" is also tagged "europe".
>
>; It's all about establishing context with your tags. A tag, completely
> in isolation, may have many different meanings. Putting it in the
> context of another tag helps define it.
Yes, this is the way I use delicious as well. I don't actually
understand the need for folders -- I have >4k bookmarks with >2k tags
(I know this thanks to the new features in the preview!), and I manage
to find everything just fine.
One (possibly overlooked) tool that I've found critical for
maintaining "ad hoc hieararchy" among my tags is the Rename Tags
feature. As an example, everything tagged "Cthulhu" /should/ also be
tagged with "Lovecraft."; But in practice I often don't have time (or
don't remember) to add the Lovecraft tag every time I run across a
Cthulhu link. So periodically, I use the Rename Tags tool to replace
the old tag, "Cthulhu" with the new tags, "Cthulhu Lovecraft." This
keeps my original tag intact, but also identifies everything with that
tag as belonging to the appropriate parent category.
Over time I've heard a number of complaints about tag cruft and
disorganization, that it seemed to me could have been solved with some
creative application of the Rename Tags tool.
--
Noah Sussman
Noah_|_OneMoreBug.com
";the lyfe so short, the craft so long to lerne"; --Chaucer
.
