Re: [tlug] Re: [A] Using [TAGGING] in email subjects

["Keith Bawden" <keith@example.com>]

On 8/7/07, emiddleton@example.com <emiddleton@example.com> wrote:
> Keith Bawden wrote:
> > On 8/7/07, emiddleton@example.com <emiddleton@example.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Keith Bawden wrote:
> >>
> >>> simply encouraging people to use descriptive subject lines should
> >>> suffice.
> >>>
> >> writing descriptive lines does little for searching.  Just because you
> >> have a particular word in the subject doesn't mean the subject concerns
> >> that word.
> >>
> >
> > No but a nicely written subject will help more than a cryptic tag. For example:
> >
> > [tlug][IME] Done gone been broke, and my foot hurts.
> >
> > Or
> >
> > [tlug] SCIM is not working on my Debian Etch box
> >
>
> but
>
> [SCIM] is not working on my Debian Etch box
>
> would be even better because it would distinguish the topic as being about SCIM as apposed to
>
> could someone recommend an alternative to SCIM

Then in that case I would suggest the ideal subjects would be:

"could someone recommend an alternative to SCIM"

and

"SCIM is not working on my Debian Etch box"

What is so terribly vague about either subjects that would need a tag?

> > If we do not consistently use what ever tags we decide upon then their
> > effectiveness is limited.
>
> Yes, if we used [SCIM] to refer to my app named scim as apposed to the
> input method then this would make the tags less effective.

So we need to create tags for all applications to decrease ambiguity?

> >  If we select tags based on "common sense"
> > then someone will need to go out and research what is common sense and
> > who actually has it - if it is found to exist.
> >
>
> Common usage not common sense.

As far as I can see, there is no common usage. The IME, FEP, HENKAN
issue being a point in case.

> > Another way of puting it. If we have to think hard, debate, and
> > "flesh" out this list of tags and the associated descriptions of the
> > type of information the represent then it would suggest such a list
> > would not be immediately useful without everyone doing table lookups
> > when crafting the subject line to an email.
> >
>
> In 'fleshing out' a forksonomy we have found that IME, FEP, HENKAN are
> not naturally associated with input methods by a number of people, but
> the direct application reference SCIM is.

Of course if we all had pull down menus where we could select from and
add new tags[1] from within our email clients then this *might* work.

Final point on this tomato sauce[2] is that will a newbie be likely to
know what any of these tags mean, the genre they should choose, or in
some cases what the name of the problem application is?

Hence the " please help me to type Japanese" type subjects. Being
difficult for a newbie to rewrite as:

[tlug][scim][athy][henkan][i'm cold and need a hug] please help me to
type Japanese

Regards, Keith
[1] Tomato Sauce = Dead Horse <-- Not that I thought I would need to
point this out as I would have thought it to be obvious ;-)

[2] For an excellent and funny use of tags to describe a single topic
see those associated with this item:

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Fire-Kevin-Federline/dp/tags-on-product/B000IU3YLY/ref=tag_dpp_cust_edpp_sa/104-4405023-9833554?ie=UTF8&qid=1186554057&sr=8-1