[tm-pubsubj-comment] The Topic Map Domain [was: paradigmatic PSIs]

[Murray Altheim <m.altheim@open.ac.uk>]

Bernard Vatant wrote:
[...]

> *Steve
> 
>>>The isotopicmaps.org domain seems ideal for this purpose.
> 
> *Eric
> 
>>hmm... this is something i don't understand.  It seems more cost effective
>>(from both the societal trust and maintenance standpoint) to help
>>organizations establish persistent policies and procedures for making
>>available these PSI's on their respective sites. no?
> 
> You're right generally speaking, for any specific legacy of subjects (e.g. Countries or LC
> Subject Headings ...). But I think Steve was there speaking about very generic
> (paradigmatic) PSIs, e.g. for "topic" "association" "occurrence" ... the ones that are
> used by the standard itself. It makes sense that those be defined in some authoritative
> and unique space linked to the standard. Although "heretic" PSI for those same concepts
> could be available elsewhere :))


I'm unclear on the benefit of splitting the XTM domain into multiple
names. We've got

    http://www.topicmaps.org/

and

    -//TopicMaps.Org//

as the domain for XTM. If we're still talking about topic maps
on-the-web, then I see little reason for something called
isotopicmaps.org unless it happens to be a domain that the ISO
TC controls. This would assume that the "controllers" of the
existing topicmaps.org domain aren't willing to work intimately
with the ISO TC, a position I would find hard to fathom. The
amount of overlap in terms of people between these two groups,
their mutual interest, and the amount of existing, developed
technology would suggest that we keep everything under one
domain umbrella. There need be no suspicions or worry that the
existing domain be a renegade one, and if that were to happen
then certainly a new domain could be created at that time. I
don't see that the existing domain cannot serve other topic
map serializations than just XTM.

I think it really folly to create yet one more topic map domain
for the PSIs that are intrinsically part of both the ISO and
XTM ventures (esp. since they are to be merged anyway as the ISO
committee proceeds in its work). We've also already got a set of
PSIs for the most fundamental topic map concepts in the topicmaps.org
domain. Are these now or soon to be illegitimate?

Murray

......................................................................
Murray Altheim                         <mailto:m.altheim @ open.ac.uk>
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK7 6AA, UK

      In the evening
      The rice leaves in the garden
      Rustle in the autumn wind
      That blows through my reed hut.  -- Minamoto no Tsunenobu