4 ms·

The same people who killed folders "because tags". Don't get me wrong, I love tags, but why on earth can't we have BOTH???? I don't always remember what I tag

by tw04 7y ago

The same people who killed folders "because tags". Don't get me wrong, I love tags, but why on earth can't we have BOTH???? I don't always remember what I tagged something with, and searching through 8 years of work to find something is useless.

yellowapple 7y ago
Tags would be okay as a folders replacement if they, you know, actually replaced folders. That is: if a tag can in turn have tags, and those tags automatically apply to the tagged files, then it should be trivial to not only emulate a folder hierarchy, but even improve upon it by offering more flexibility. It'd also help substantially if more tag-centric applications were up-front about which tags are already defined.
- JohnFen 7y ago
  Agree, but I would add that another advantage of folders over tags is that folders are more discoverable.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  LoCCS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_classification_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_classifica... Seriously. (Or one of a very few equivalents, possibly the Colon Classification.)
  - yellowapple 7y ago
    Tangentially, I find it amusing that the Library of Congress classifies the Bible as "BS".
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
RaiseProfits 7y ago
Err isn’t this a problem remembering your file hierarchy as well? Search is the answer in both scenarios.
- mthoms 7y ago
  Well no, the point of a file hierarchy is that it should be well, a hierarchy. In other words each level should sub-divide your files into further obvious (whatever that means to you) subcategories.
  - RaiseProfits 7y ago
    Sure, but that doesn’t explain how you magically remember where you stored the file. I suppose it does help with making you unable to store files in the root directory and forcing you to store it somewhere with some meaning. This seems like it would just resolve into a documents directory and you’re back where you started with a flat bag of files that you need to organize arbitrarily. Also, you can use hierarchies with tags too, it’s just a matter of interface. Example: click “photos”, and see all the other tags that are associated with photos, and in a separate view all the files with all the previously clicked tags. You can drill down this way. Order top level tags by number of files using it. I have never seen this implemented but it seems like it would be fun. I also imagine “photos” itself would be a special file type metadata tag. EDIT: posted before fleshing out idea, it is fleshed out now.
    - romwell 7y ago
      >I have never seen this implemented Great argument for tags! Sure, it's never been done, but it's possible that someone will re-implement the inherent properties of filesystems with tags in the future, so let's take your filesystem away now!
      - RaiseProfits 7y ago
        Hey I am just describing interfaces, I don’t care about how it hits the disk. Filesystems are certainly nothing to get excited about; links are a dirty hack to get around a forced tree anyway.
dredmorbius 7y ago
For a classic instance of tabs done almost precisely wrong, take a look at Pocket. My two year old rant on it is still completely applicable. https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/5x2sfx/pocket_it_gets_worse_the_more_you_use_it/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/5x2sfx/pocket_... (OP)

by tw04 7y ago

yellowapple 7y ago

Tags would be okay as a folders replacement if they, you know, actually replaced folders. That is: if a tag can in turn have tags, and those tags automatically apply to the tagged files, then it should be trivial to not only emulate a folder hierarchy, but even improve upon it by offering more flexibility. It'd also help substantially if more tag-centric applications were up-front about which tags are already defined.

JohnFen 7y ago
Agree, but I would add that another advantage of folders over tags is that folders are more discoverable.
dredmorbius 7y ago
LoCCS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_classification_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_classifica... Seriously. (Or one of a very few equivalents, possibly the Colon Classification.)
- yellowapple 7y ago
  Tangentially, I find it amusing that the Library of Congress classifies the Bible as "BS".

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

RaiseProfits 7y ago

Err isn’t this a problem remembering your file hierarchy as well? Search is the answer in both scenarios.

mthoms 7y ago
Well no, the point of a file hierarchy is that it should be well, a hierarchy. In other words each level should sub-divide your files into further obvious (whatever that means to you) subcategories.
- RaiseProfits 7y ago
  Sure, but that doesn’t explain how you magically remember where you stored the file. I suppose it does help with making you unable to store files in the root directory and forcing you to store it somewhere with some meaning. This seems like it would just resolve into a documents directory and you’re back where you started with a flat bag of files that you need to organize arbitrarily. Also, you can use hierarchies with tags too, it’s just a matter of interface. Example: click “photos”, and see all the other tags that are associated with photos, and in a separate view all the files with all the previously clicked tags. You can drill down this way. Order top level tags by number of files using it. I have never seen this implemented but it seems like it would be fun. I also imagine “photos” itself would be a special file type metadata tag. EDIT: posted before fleshing out idea, it is fleshed out now.
  - romwell 7y ago
    >I have never seen this implemented Great argument for tags! Sure, it's never been done, but it's possible that someone will re-implement the inherent properties of filesystems with tags in the future, so let's take your filesystem away now!
    - RaiseProfits 7y ago
      Hey I am just describing interfaces, I don’t care about how it hits the disk. Filesystems are certainly nothing to get excited about; links are a dirty hack to get around a forced tree anyway.

dredmorbius 7y ago

For a classic instance of tabs done almost precisely wrong, take a look at Pocket. My two year old rant on it is still completely applicable. https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/5x2sfx/pocket_it_gets_worse_the_more_you_use_it/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/5x2sfx/pocket_... (OP)