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A critique of tagging
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Posted by MadaboutDana
Nov 7, 2023 at 11:10 AM
I used to get grumpy about apps that didn’t offer folders but only tags, but I have to say Bear’s (and now Obsidian’s) nested tags have largely changed my mind. As have the clever (Obsidian) plugins that allow you to play with those tags in a wide variety of ways.
Nested tags can be used as folders, but with the added advantage that they essentially preempt the problem of aliases. You don’t need aliases for notes if you can simply tag them so they appear in multiple categories.
Having said that, I *also* like folders, simply as a file management tool, because when you’ve got many thousands of files, it’s useful to have some (albeit broad) categories you can file them in. So that if Obsidian (given that the latter uses the file system as its repository) ceases to exist, one still has at least some kind of epistemology to fall back on. The same applies to apps like EagleFiler.
Posted by Paul Korm
Nov 7, 2023 at 03:28 PM
The developer of DEVONthink is fond of telling users “tags are groups” (i.e., folders). In most implementations of tags, they really are.