Home

What Detractors Hate about Folksonomies
Introduction
Definitions
A Short History
What Proponents Love
What Detractors Hate
Flickr: a Tool for the Individual
Del.icio.us: a Tool for the Many
Tagging ≠ Library Classification
Fun with Folksonomies
The Future
Conclusion
References
Email

Folksonomies:

  • do not account for synonyms
  • do not account for changes in personal vocabulary
  • are not inexpensive
  • do not consider the future

Usability

The main arguments against folksonomies relate to usability issues.  There is no synonym control or spelling correction so it can be difficult to find what you are looking for.    Some people tag using singular words while others prefer plurals.  Michael Wexler discusses the negatives aspects of tagging in a three part series called I Hate "Tags" on his blog,  The Net Takeaway.  One of his main criticisms is that to find anything you need to try all possible variations of the subject you're looking for.  As he says, "This is fun for browsing, but silly for research or answering questions." 21   Even if a person's only concern is his or her own files, personal vocabulary can change over time, creating inconsistencies within a single person's labels.22  As Wexler says:

" In reality, our understanding of things changes and so do the terms we use to describe them. How do I solve that in this open system? Do I have to go back and change all my tags? What about other people’s tags? Do I have to keep in mind all the variations on tags that reflect people’s different understanding of the topics?"23

Cost

When considering the time involved, Davis24 and Wexler25 both argue that tagging is not inexpensive  but merely transfers the cost to the end user.  To Clay Shirky's assertion (see previous page) that tagging is better than nothing, Wexler questions how doing something wrong can be better than nothing.26   He believes that over time, tagging will create a mess of unusable information.

Lack of Ethical Forethought

Others are more concerned about the lack of ethical thought going into tagging.  Danah Boyd offers this critique:

"Folksonomy isn’t asking the questions about the implications of collective action classification. Who benefits? Who becomes marginalized? What priorities bubble up? How does pressure to homogenize affect the schema and the people involved? How are some people hurt or offended by decisions that are made? Should moderation of classifications occur? If so, what are the consequences?" 27
Previous Page
 Next Page