h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

FYI: See http://dmoz.org/ - the Bookmarks categories aren't linked to from the main system. Visit an editor profile such as http://dmoz.org/profiles/whoamiuk.html and it's not listed. However, try http://dmoz.org/Bookmarks/W/whoamiuk/ and you'll see them. I use mine simply to store various 404s at the moment...

Whoami?

Just looked over your proposed layout... hmm...

It seems to me that it'd make sense to re-use the dmoz content in our category system to provide the related web links, rather than re-implementing the wheel. Could be complex, but should be doable. Alternatively, just have a link to the appropriate dmoz category on each h2g2 category. Certainly I don't think even starting to replicate the work of dmoz is a good idea - that's a project in itself, and it's not really in our mission statement.

It also seems to me that it'd make sense to re-use http://www.bbc.co.uk/categories/ for related BBC links, rather than re-inventing the right hand wheel. But that's not really a categorisation system so much as a site map. And I've never been a fan of related BBC links, because they're normally not very related, and they're rarely the best things on the web. IMO it makes us look biased: linking to BBC pages just because they're on the BBC. I know cross-marketing is at the heart of BBC strategy, but it makes me .

Rant over. But I could really do without related BBC links in the category system too - it's just about tolerable in entries (though I preferred amazon links to all these BBC links!) - but no further, please.

I was a little dubious about mixing Edited and Unedited links in the official categorisation. Well, a lot dubious. But having looked at your proposed layout, it seems like it could work. How would you maintain the Edited section? Would the Italics choose initial categories, as now, or would there be some other method?

It was decided not to provide weblinks, but rather that if someone really wanted weblinks, they could simply visit dmoz. Fair enough I suppose. As for the BBC links, maybe - although there's no saying we'd use the same egories.

Whoami?

Sorry, I must have mis-read Whoami?'s proposal - thought it just concerned the updating of the existing category system.

Personally, I don't see the point in creating a category system for URLs, but I can see the use of expanding the categorisation of h2g2 entries to allow the community to use. Though I think you *have* to seperate EG content and general content. The point of the EG is that it's static in that researchers don't have editing rights over the entries and that it's all edited to a certain standard. If we're trying to build the EG, the categorisation system is part of this. If we start building categories of non-EG content, they'd have to be under seperate categories (like 'World of h2g2' is).

A743357 is a little out-of-date then? That's - you do have exams, after all...

Good luck!
-Lucinda

It just needs a few things adding and tweaking - I'll do it this weekend when I'm sick to death of revision...

Whoami?

And thanks for the good luck

Whoami?

*shameless attempt to restart debate*

In addition, this para from The Hub (A786945):

"If it suits the editorial proposition, the categorisation system can be opened up to the public, so they can categorise their own articles in the hierarchy. However this would cause problems if the hierarchy wasn't maintained properly as the number of categorised articles grows, so implementing this feature needs careful planning and resourcing."

Note - "resourcing" presumably means 'people' at the Italic end.
This page in The Hub also gives more detail on the current limitations of the system - as far as I see it, the additions are:

'Unreviewed' categories to allow for moves and things that must be approved by category editors for the *destination* category.

Descriptions for each entry (brief).

Editor Notes to allow comments on content to be carried by the Entry (not visible to anyone not involved in the categorisation of the item - although they would appear on the 'add' form.)

Automatic notification of existing listings (to prevent spamming and duplicates).

Public Submission System

Credits for Editors

Category Moderation

That's about it, I think.

The proposal at A743014 has been expanded and updated to take recent developments into account. I'm going to do the Proposed Layout again by the end of the weekend.