RE: Wiki Classification Schemes

Just to chime in on this, we run several internal wiki's and using [TAG]
pages to good end.  Much along the lines that Murray gave about Faceted
Classification, but blending mostly towards a folksonomy.

It works, the rules we follow are simple.  "Tag" pages are in all upper
case to make them visually distinguishable (this is not *required* just
a convention that sort-of arose).  We always put tags at the bottom of a
page, in a %%information  %% block.

Pages are named with their "plainly obvious meaningful name", so
borrowing the example of "Zoo.Birds.Flamengo"...

Pagename: Flamengo
Pagetext: 
A Flamengo is almost but not quite like a [Flamingo], it too is pink,
but is not quite as pretty.

%%information [ZOO], [BIRD], [CRYPTID]%%


We then have "category pages" that we "maintain" by using the
QueryPlugin.  For example:

Pagename: Cryptid Beasts
Pagetext: 
Cryptids are real, truly they are.  The following pages in this wiki are
TAGged as being related to cryptids:  [{Query pages='TO [CRYPTID]'
output=comma}].  Specifically, we are interested in bird-like cryptids:
[{Query pages='TO ([CRYPTID] AND [BIRD])' output=comma}].

If you want to go meta, the pages ZOO, BIRD, CRYPTID can themselves be
"tagged" as being [TAG]s.  You can then list all "defined" tags by
simply [{Query pages='TO [TAG]'}].

The QueryPlugin is part of Ceryle, you can also use the related
AggregatePlugin to make summary pages and the subclass of FormSelect if
forms are your thing.

In short your users know a "Flamengo" as a *Flemengo*, NOT as a
"Zoo.Birds.Flemengo".  It feels like bad practice to uglify the page
name just for sake of a fragile, rigid categorization.  Too fragile, too
ugly and too icky.

If though, you postulate a "Club.Brazlian.Flamengo" as being a needed
page in that same wiki, simply have three pages: "Flamengo", "Flamengo
(Bird)", "Flamengo (Club)".  Tag everything appropriately.  The page
"Flamengo" page would be a wikipedia style disambiguation page.


Regards,
John Volkar
<crawling-back-into-the-hole/>

PS:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clube_de_Regatas_do_Flamengo