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Originally Posted by DoctorOhh
Using simpler consistent terms would benefit the average user. Barring that the creation of a glossary of terms might be something an energized user might create and contribute to the wiki documentation.Barring that the creation of a glossary of terms might be something an energized user might create and contribute to the wiki documentation.
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A wiki glossary sounds like a "kicking the can down down the road" strategy straight out of the Washington/Brussels (WashBrush) playbook
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorOhh
Although the latter usage is correct as the term tags is a standard term. All of the "attributes" are not tags and only tangentially referred to as tags within the context that they are in the "Tag Browser," but they are not referred to as tags. Maybe the Tag browser should be renamed. I think using attributes for metadata would be confusing since the "attributes" are essentially metadata. Isn't metadata also a standard term across music, video and books.
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The word 'attribute' was the first vaguely suitable word I thought of at the time. The image library manager I use, photoTools IMatch, uses the word 'categories' in roughly the same context.
However, the use of 'Tag' in the general sense (as in Tag Browser) maps roughly to its usage for music and video, so I'd leave it as is. I'd change the 'content characteristics' usage of Tags to Keywords, which maps to the IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) convention. The Press is an allied industry to Books, both having their roots in words & pictures laid down on paper & vellum.
Whilst the term metadata has currency in other media, many lay people get confused with its usage in those contexts too, especially images. Most image library products aimed at non professionals (e.g. XNView, Picasa, etc) avoid the word either altogether or only use it in the fine print.
I like Agama's suggestion of Book Information. If you click the Blue Button with an 'I' in the Viewer you're presented with a semi-transparent overlay headed "Metadata" - why not an "M" on the Blue Button or "Information' in the heading. Metadata means data about the data, most ordinary people don't regard their books as data.
Banks keep data on their computers about their customers and accounts. They don't refer to this as customer and account metadata, they refer to it as customer and account information, The metadata is the data about the tables in which the information is held, not the information itself. The only people who need to know about the metadata are the IT folks, not the tellers or back office screen jockeys and certainly not their customers. I blame Adobe for this sorry pass.
Maybe if calibre databases were named 'calibre.db' or 'bookinfo.db' rather than 'metadata.db' then the word "metadata" would have less prominence in Calibre circles.
BR