Could a thread have more than one Category?

Bergamot

It might be nice to be able to post the same thread in multiple Categories. Rather than use a dropdown list box to pick a category, you could check the ones you want. Obviously it could be abused if people just posted all their new threads everywhere, but you could put a limit (maybe 2-3 topics per thread). Besides, isn't that what mods are for? :D

lech

You mean category?

Bergamot

Err yeah. Fixed. This would also mostly solve the need for nested forums. Instead of having "Vanilla", "Filebrowser", "Vanilla Suggestions", and "Filebrowser Suggestions", you could just have categories for Vanilla, Filebrowser, and Suggestions. In this case you'd just save one category, but you can imagine how it could help more in a complex system. You could add Development and Troubleshooting forums too and save two more.

lech

Ehhh, you came from yayhooray, didn't you? :D

Bergamot

Ehhh, you came from yayhooray, didn't you?

Nah, Kottke

lech

Ok, while everyone else reading this might be laughing or totally clueless, I'll leave the real answer up to mark :)

lech

I'm so going to be the first person to get dunce capped via extension now, aren't I, mark?

Mark

Right now it is only a single category assignment. This whole category thing was a give-away on my part because originally vanilla didn't have categories at all. It had a rating system where the people reading it would vote on what they thought about the thread - similar to slashdot, but simpler. I only created categories because outbreak made me. The idea of these categories is that they're faux "forums". So, you can view a single category at a time, or you can block categories you're not interested in. Me personally, I always have all categories visible because I like one huge rolling forum. As for doing what you want, of course it could be done as an extension with a significant amount of work.

ramsey

I think the idea of "tagging" things is very "in" right now, and it's on the rise. I think that in the next few years, we'll see more and more systems move to a method of tagging information rather than filing/categorizing it because tagging is more akin to the way the human brain works. So, the idea of assigning multiple categories to one post is similar to "tagging." In fact, I would think it is the same as tagging--except in this case you have predetermined "tags" and people can't add their own tags, though that would be an interesting concept. I could just see a forum like that getting way out of hand.

lech

I like categories, don't get me wrong. After re-reading this a few times ramsey might have a point there that's worthy of either a core feature otherwise as a seperate extension. Prefferably the later for those who don't want this feature at all. If it works much like the whisper feature (selection) along with the rating system, it could be a winning combination if there's a global tag system in place. Either pick from predefined and popularly used tags, or place your own tag on a topic. Categories are just easy though, so this might complicate things after a million posts and incorrect tags.

ramsey

Yeah, the problem with tags is that people use different methods of naming them. Take a look at http://del.icio.us for example. There's both a phpsecurity and a php_security tag. Both are supposed to describe the same kind of content. I think the tags work very well in a social structure, though, and it makes it easier to find information, but it could add a whole layer of complexity to the forum that won't present itself until you realize that you have hundreds of tags and various duplicate tags. But you could always create a duplicate checker admin tool of sorts that uses the PHP levenshtein() function to present a list of potential duplicates that you then merge together so that you can clean things up down the road.

Bergamot

I only created categories because outbreak made me.

The idea of these categories is that they're faux "forums". So, you can view a single
category at a time, or you can block categories you're not interested in.

Me personally, I always have all categories visible because I like one huge rolling forum.

Well we agree on that point, and that's actually why I suggested this in the first place. The worst thing about forums is that they attempt to pigeonhole dialog into arbitrary, but often highly related, categories.

If I have a thread in mind, and it relates to Fly Fishing and Bubblegum, do I put it in the Fly Fishing forum, or do I put it in the Bubblegum forum? I'm screwed either way, because individual forums often have set communities built around them. Lots of Bubblegum people will miss out on my story if I tell it in Fly Fishing, and vice versa. The multiple category system would fix this problem.

That's not to say that forums don't have a purpose. Mainly, they filter threads down to a managable number, so I don't have to scroll through pages and pages of inane Figure Skating or Basket Weaving posts before I find the topics I like. The multiple category system would do this as well.

It had a rating system where the people reading it would vote on what they
thought about the thread - similar to slashdot, but simpler.

When designing web software, let the phrase "similar to slashdot" serve as a warning

EDIT: I didn't mean this as criticism of you, but of /.

EDIT: And a joke.

In fact, I would think it is the same as tagging--except in this case you have
predetermined "tags" and people can't add their own tags, though that would be an
interesting concept. I could just see a forum like that getting way out of hand.

That's exactly why I don't call them tags; it confuses people into thinking that users would be able to define arbitrary categories which, as you say, would quickly result in anarchy on a message board. "Admin-defined tags" maybe.

Mark

Yes - when i decided to put categories in I heard about tagging for the first time. I didn't quite "get it" at the time, and later when I finally understood what it was all about, categories were already implemented. I like tagging, but at this point it will probably have to be a v2 feature. Unless I can think of a nice way of making it an extension - and I haven't even put any time into thinking about it yet - so you never know.

lech

Yeah, something like that would really ease the pain of managing and cleaning it all up. If done intelligently and applied to vanilla the same way, I think it might be worthy as an optional feature down the road.

Bergamot

I like tagging, but at this point it will probably have to be a v2 feature. Unless I can think of a
nice way of making it an extension - and I haven't even put any time into thinking about it yet

• so you never know.

Didn't you know? Getting other people to do the hard stuff for you is the best part of OSS.

Mark

I'm looking forward to that. Seriously.

Denied

my forum that's never going to be released because i can't be bothered to finish the, like, three things left to finish has tags. honestly, after implementing it, i think i decided that it was pretty much redundant and of very little actual, practical use.

really, how often are you reading a thread and think "i like this thread, i'm going to look for more threads about burritos"? and, even then, a search feature covers that.

p.s. tags is also one of the things i haven't finished.

vinay

denied: sure. but the point of tags in this case is to cover posts that would be part of multiple "forums" or "categories". In this case, it's not tagging in the same sense of flickr, or del.icio.us, etc. It's pre-defined tags, that would be same as forum names. Except you can "crosspost" this way. I think anyway that's teh idea.

lech

There's pro's, there's con's there's everything in between. I think needless to say it's really the matter of how many users you have total which in the end will become the deciding factor. I can see it being useful in many cases, but at the same time, a total waste if all you have is already completely in front of you. I won't take sides, but I'll admit it's cool, but not useful for everyone and probably rather left as an extension.

outbreak

I only created categories because outbreak made me.
now make me a sandwich!

ithcy

categories are kind of a weird thing in a board whose front page shows all posts in all categories by default. in my opinion, if you're going to have categories, have a front page that shows a category list. i guess they can provide some context to threads with ambiguous titles.