[wp-testers] Categories vs. Tagging

[Nickolas Means]

In the current implementation, WP's "Add Category" on-the-fly  
interface works very similarly to tagging, but without the  
autocomplete.  If you enter a comma-separated list of "tags", some  
existing, some new, WP will automatically select the existing ones  
and add the new ones.  In that respect, the "tags" vs. "categories"  
debate is only a matter of semantics.

Functionality-wise, the only things left to add would be an  
autocomplete to the "Add Category" box, and the ability to slap  
multiple categories on the end of your category permalink structure  
(much like del.icio.us's "/tag1+tag2").  I'm not going to say that  
these would be trivial to add, but if this is something we're all  
interested in, I'm sure the community could pull it off.

I think having both tags and categories would be redundant.  It makes  
more sense for Flickr, where you might have a set of 200 pictures  
taken at a certain event, but most people aren't going to create sets  
of a certain subject - that's what tags are for.  Likewise, in a  
blogging structure, most people aren't going to create 200 microposts  
from some certain event or in a short period of time.  The 200 posts  
would be created over a long period of time, and in that case, using  
categories vs. tags is a matter of semantics, not functionality.

I'm fine with changing the word "Categories" to "Tags" in the WP  
interface because the current implementation of categories functions  
just like tags, but I'm honestly not that concerned about it.  The  
current functionality works fine for implementing tagging on my site,  
and that's all I really need.

Nickolas Means
http://nmeans.org/