[topicmapmail] How to get an overview in a topic map enabled site?

[Marcel van Mackelenbergh]

Hi,

My question to the topic map community: how do you create an overview in
a site that is enabled by topic maps?

My problem: I see examples of topic mapped sites which are great in
allowing me to wander through the information in different ways.
However, it is very hard for me to see what information resides on the
side. Nor could I experience my current location within the site.

My suggestion: Use faceted classification as a way to give an overview
of a topic map enabled site. 

For an example of faceted classification, go to
www.siderean.com/fooddemo.jsp. For an explanation of faceted
classification go to
http://www.iawiki.net/FacetedClassification. Especially the research
done in Berkeley (flamenco project) is important. As a User Experience
person, I see many, many advantages for disclosing information using
faceted classification.

If you answer favorably, pleae help me to solve the following:
1. To me it is clear that the topics are the values on the facets in a
faceted classification. However, I am not sure about how the facets
should be stored. It could be the topic type, it could also be the
occurrance role. I am pretty sure it is not the Topic Map Facet. In
faceted classification, Facets are a way of looking at the occurances,
not something that is part of the topics themselves.
2. A facet itself can have a hierarchy. E.g. A continent consists of
countries, a country has cities, a city has locations. At the continent
level you cannot see countries, at the country level you cannot see the
cities. How would you solve this visibility-problem? I think scopes are
not meant for this.

I am very excited to start using topic maps in order to create faceted
classifications. There is a standard for faceted classification, called
XFML. However, XFML does not allow scopes. I often encounter that 80% of
the classification is the same for different target audiences. Now I
have been solving this in ugly ways, either using programming or
copy-pasting the classification from one target audience to the other.
Scopes are the answer to this urgent problem.

Thanks for reading,

Marcel

Marcel van Mackelenbergh
P.C. Hooftstraat 20
5242 CH Rosmalen
the Netherlands
+31 73 522 3022
+31 6 2272 1050
marcel@marcelvanmackelenbergh.nl
www.marcelvanmackelenbergh.nl