[Sigia-l] metadata redux

[Martin Langhoff]

Eric Scheid wrote:

>
>My point was that "open to gaming" isn't a binary situation, but instead a
>scale. Some metadata frameworks are fatally flawed by the susceptibility
>to gaming, others are less open. None, I suspect, are perfectly immune.
>
A very important factor is the social framework (metadata framework = 
social framework + technical framewok). In many contexts, there is a 
very small to nonexistent advantage in gaming the system.

For example I have worked in several govt and institutional projects 
with a heavy focus on metadata, and most metadata is added by 
librarians, or at least QAd by librarians. Their incentives are aligned 
to ensure they produce good metadata, and are not related to a 
particular item appearing at the top of the search results.

This model doesn't scale to the web, we've learned that much.

>So, what are some of the underlying principles which might govern the degree
>of gaming which is feasible?
>  
>

As with any social framework, we have to think incentives. Google's 
pagerank was a very cunning maneuver that aligned the incentives with 
the workings of the web, and added just enough indirection.

regards,



martin