Just answering a few bits now.

2014-09-13 18:14 GMT+02:00 James Heald <j.heald@ucl.ac.uk>:

* Where will topics be stored ? *

On the question of where the list of topics will be stored, the initial thoughts of the Structured Data team would seem to be clear: they are to be stored on the new CommonsData wikibase.

See eg:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AStructured_Data_-_Slides.pdf&page=17  ("topic links")
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tzwGtXRyK3o2ZEfc85RJ978znRdrf9EkqdJ0zVjmQqs  (API design and class diagram)

I read that as topics will be stored on Wikidata. That is, on Commons, you say that file DouglasAdams.jpg is about topic Q42, which is referring to an object on Wikidata. Everything about Q42 is stored on Wikidata.

* What about the natural hierarchical structure ? *

eg

Leonardo da Vinci
-->  Mona Lisa
-->  -->  Files depicting the Mona Lisa

Shouldn't the fact that it was Leonardo that painted the Mona Lisa only be stored in one place, on Mona Lisa, (or perhaps on Leonardo); but *not* multiple times, separately on every single depiction file?

*A*:  Probably not, for several reasons.

If the topics are on Wikidata, you will have this "for free", meaning that the hierarchy is already there, ready to be exploited.

/Jan Ainali