on 4/30/07 7:08 PM, David Goodman at dgoodmanny@gmail.com wrote:
I think most people would agree that the category system is cumbersome, but it replaced to earlier systems of classification that were even worse. I'm a librarian, and Im going to answer on the page mentioned. In my opinion, summarizing, no commonly used existing universal classification scheme is suitable for WP, and developing a new one is an inordinate amount of work. Rewriting the database to adapt to one will be even harder. Perhaps the best approach is simply a better search engine.
David,
Thank you for the time and thought you put into this issue - both here and on the Talk Pages. It is clear to me from your conclusions that solving the problems I believe exist with the present Wikipedia Category System involves more than simply rewriting policy. The System has the potential of being a powerful research tool. And, since Wikipedia itself is a groundbreaking creation, a truly workable Categorization System within it could be precedent setting. I hope someone, someday takes the challenge of creating one.
Thank you again,
Marc Riddell