Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: An RSS categorization proposal

Author:David A. Mundie
Posted:9/9/1999; 5:59:05 PM
Topic:rss channels via email
Msg #:10844 (In response to 10841)
Prev/Next:10841 / 10845

You write: "I can see one tradeoff in the XMLTREE approach, it depends heavily on James to make it work. What happens when someone doesn't like the way he has classified a channel? What does he do if two people feel the channel should be classified in different places?"

I think you've missed a major point here. The most important advantage of the DDC is that it does *not* depend on James to make it work. The DDC is supported by an international body of experts, and has extremely well-documented processes and procedures for performing the cataloguing, complete with state-of-the-art online support, which is why several studies have demonstrated that there is a very high correlation among classifications performed by independent cataloguers.

Contrast this with the ad-hoc schemes. If you disagree with the way an Open Directory editor has classified a site, you have nothing to fall back on - it becomes a shouting match. With the DDC, you always have an authoritative answer with a well-reasoned rationale to refer to.

There are responses to this message:

This page was archived on 6/13/2001; 4:52:32 PM.

© Copyright 1998-2001 UserLand Software, Inc.