General discussion: How do you use tags? (The philosophy of tags)

[si]

Over the last few days I have been reflecting on the way that I use tags, fields and links. I currently use tags both to indicate the type of tiddler, as well as to relate tiddlers in a table of contents. I've written a bit below about what I've been mulling over. I'm just trying to think this through and would love to here the thoughts of people smarter and wiser than me.

I currently use tags in two ways:

1. As categories
2. To relate tiddlers to a 'parent'

The first is obvious - I might have a tiddler called "Sparrow" tagged "Bird". The tag is a category and the tiddler is an example of that category.

As an example of the second use of tags I might have a tiddler called "Beak" tagged "Bird". Unlike in the first case, a Beak is not an example of a Bird, but is instead just related. I tend to think of the parent tiddler as being constructed from its child, or that the child is a property of the parent tiddler. This pretty much reflects the way that I structure my TOC in the sidebar.

I think that this pretty much covers all the ways I want to relate tiddlers, but I'm considering using tags only for the first case (categories).

I think that links cover much of the second case, however there are a few instances where I am still tempted to use tags.

What do you think are the pros and cons of instead using a separate field (i.e. a 'parent' field) for the second case? I know there is already a TOC plugin for this. In addition the GenTags plugin would make the field behave just like tags, and there would also be the added benefit of integration with the Streams plugin (which I am just starting to use seriously).

I understand that what I just wrote above may sound like the ramblings of a madman. I guess what I am ultimately saying is:

How do you think about tags, and the type of relationship that they represent? I am interested in your thoughts.

[TW Tones]

Si,

Many of us have being on this journey for some time, and I could overwhelm you with my view but trust the following advice;

• Unless its a very simple wiki I rarely use tags, since I want to reserve them for ad hoc grouping
• I tend to organise with a fieldname object-type to differentiate between different tiddlers such as task/note etc...
• In the case of subjects if I can have multiple on each tiddler I may use an alt tags field or build my own with listops functions
• In the case of say a project name I also create a field, in this case it can only have one value, which is good. 
• You can have a keywords field that you enter multiple words but don't order and add except manually, but you can search for these keywords

Each time you move some functionality from tag into fields you build yourself a method you can use and reuse in other circumstances.

Lets say "every task has to have a project name, and only one", then you could use a select filter something like this [each[project-name]] to select from all existing projects.

I am currently working on a way to create child tiddlers without the parent tag, that responds to the parent being renamed, although you can get relink to help.

This is a very big subject. Keep it simple and use tags until it grow, or may grow large and complex.

Regards

tony

[bimlas]

Si,

Lately, I’ve been almost completely ignoring tags, I prefer links everywhere, because all that really matters is that two notes are related to each other, not necessarily how they relate to the relationship. The surrounding text explains how they relate. Further explanation:

https://groups.google.com/g/tiddlywiki/c/Re11x96t-qI/m/GYuMKHx0AQAJ

[Ed Heil]

Bimlas,

The "links-only" path of tiddlywiki-ing you're describing is very interesting!  I have previously noticed a tension between tag-and-field-based and text-and-link-based organization, or to put it another way, metadata-based organization vs. text-based organization.

It's an interesting thing to wrestle with, and I appreciate reading your notes following your path down the text-and-link path.

[bimlas]

Ed,

I have previously noticed a tension between tag-and-field-based and text-and-link-based organization

You can also use the links as tags.
https://groups.google.com/g/tiddlywiki/c/Re11x96t-qI/m/9f9LL5GRGAAJ

 

or to put it another way, metadata-based organization vs. text-based organization.

... and can even be used to mark metadata.
https://groups.google.com/g/tiddlywiki/c/Re11x96t-qI/m/WoqDEuJzGQAJ

For a "complex" example, have a look at https://bimlas.gitlab.io/demo/tw5/property-comparison.html

 

It's an interesting thing to wrestle with, and I appreciate reading your notes following your path down the text-and-link path.

If you are interested in the topic, I recommend that you study the Zettelkasten methodology.
https://groups.google.com/g/tiddlywiki/c/2yRiVsbAv9g/m/vKBIC5CjBQAJ

[bimlas]

Ed,

A suggestion: use metadata for things that can be clearly grouped (music, software, product), links for theoretical things (studies, thoughts, descriptions), but don’t mix the two systems because they lead to inconsistencies or duplication of information.

If you want to talk more about it, let’s continue the conversation here: https://groups.google.com/g/tiddlywiki/c/2yRiVsbAv9g

[kuzi]

Si,

I had asked a similar question when I was more of a beginner, and found TW Tones's strategy very insightful. Tags can be very useful, but I did not want to overuse them, as I believe they will be less effective. I like using tags for indicating a general category, then using an "object-type" field to indicate what that tiddler is. Then you could have additional fields for each object-type for any additional details.

[Petri M.]

Si,

I mostly navigate my wiki via my sidebar table of contents, where I have tiddlers like "Journal", "People", "Equipment", "Projects" etc and all of my tiddlers then go under those. This gives me a hierarchial system which I like. There is probably a better way, but I started this wiki a few years ago and it would be such a commitment to "fix" this so I have never done it. Also I do not think I would actually gain much from it.

-Petri