Re: About Bookmarks and Categories

[Kristoffer Lundén <kristoffer lunden gmail com>]

On 9/5/05, Magnus Therning <magnus therning org> wrote:
> I've gotten converted quite recently. I found that my hierarchy in FF
> became too confusing, and I often ended up having to spend time looking
> stuff up (did I file that bookmark to linux security under linux or
> under security?). 

I guess that depends on your naming standards. :) I'd say that a
category "Linux" or "Security" both would be pretty full after a short
while, and then I'd have to spend time looking through the list
anyways, and sublevels would be appropriate.

I do understand your point about "Linux Security" being two equally
fitting top levels, as it were though, if you have those categories
it's trouble in that example - if you usually save security links for
more platforms than Linux, and vice versa. I don't actually see how
the problem (finding it quickly) is solved, unless you usually have a
pretty low number of bookmarks?

> It just fits me better to use categories rather than a
> hierarchy. I'm especially fond of being able to file something the I
> want to check out both under "To check out" and under a more properly
> named category.

A very good example. Agreed.

> I'm also using Delicious to share my bookmarks between my different
> machines. There is a service for sharing hierarchical bookmark stores
> for FF, but I didn't like it since it forces me to keep all the
> bookmarks I want to sync under a specific folder, i.e. I can't mix
> shared and non-shared bookmarks (further confusing my finding a
> bookmark). Now all I need to do add the category "Share" to a bookmark.
> 

Sounds like a bad implementation on the FF sharing service, but
otherwise again a good example since you can easily be so selective.
(If you want to share all bookmarks, it should rather be fixed on the
service side).

> I'm not sure it's more intuitive, it was a long time since I started
> using web browsers and they've always had hierarchical bookmark folders.
> I find that categories fits me better, and I think I've become a bit
> more effective in my browsing by switching to Epiphany.

Happy to hear that it works better for someone, I was kinda afraid
that it was a knee-jerk design descision - it seems to be ever so
popular to do "labels" today everywhere, but little actual explanation
on why it would be better.

Thanks for sharing! Keep em coming if you got more people. I'm already
leaning towards that there is actual merit in the system at least
*grin*.

I wonder if the absolute optimum wouldn't be the combination.
Categories in hierarchies - those who want flat level but multiple can
get that, and those who want the old can get that. And I could get my
hierarchies and at the same time use the "Share" category like Magnus.
Now that would be sweet, something for everyone. =)

-- Stoffe