I think the filesystem metaphor can change without it being 'an island'. Just because previously implementations have been poorly thought out doesn't mean futur

I think the filesystem metaphor can change without it being 'an island'. Just because previously implementations have been poorly thought out doesn't mean future ones have to be. Use a filesystem backed on a document-oriented database. Have a non-hierarchical filesystem, then use a single field in the database to imitate the hierarchical one (i.e. directory and filename for example). We already have container formats which contain metadata as a workaround for the failures of current filesystems (think MP3 tags or EXIF), just dynamically add and strip the attached metadata to files on the fly for transportation to share it across a network and with other platforms.