Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site mecc.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!stolaf!umn-cs!dicomed!mecc!sewilco
From: sewilco@mecc.UUCP (Scot E. Wilcoxon)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: keyword-based news
Message-ID: <364@mecc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-Oct-85 17:58:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: mecc.364
Posted: Thu Oct 10 17:58:56 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 19:36:23 EDT
References: <820@vortex.UUCP> <8936@ritcv.UUCP>
Reply-To: sewilco@mecc.UUCP (Scot E. Wilcoxon)
Organization: MN Ed Comp Corp, St. Paul, MN
Lines: 26
Keywords: keyword concept idea news thesaurus
Summary: What's needed is concept-based news.  Concepts not defined.

Keywords are the wrong term.  What's really wanted is selection
based on the concepts or ideas discussed in an article, as well
as a few tags (adjectives?..announcement, question, response, etc).

The English language does not have standard names for all concepts,
as well as synonyms.  These are two reasons for the fuzziness of
keyword searches.  Most people would use "doorknob" instead of
"device which opens door", but English does not force either.
Even for this little message I could not use
	Keywords: keyword concept news thesaurus
and had to resort to
	Keywords: keyword concept idea news thesaurus

In an AI system, concepts would be nodes in a knowledge base, but 
I haven't heard of knowledge bases which are as wide-ranging as
the net is.

What really is necessary is a widely available index of concepts
which could be used by posters and moderators as a standard.
Roget's Thesaurus has one possibility for abstract concepts,
but falls short on the many objects which we discuss.  Anyone
seen anything better?  Or start the monthly mod.keyword.list?
-- 

Scot E. Wilcoxon	Minn. Ed. Comp. Corp.      circadia!mecc!sewilco
45 03 N / 93 15 W	(612)481-3507 {ihnp4,uwvax}!dicomed!mecc!sewilco