Yet they are often used inside posts.
Which is pretty stupid to me. But that’s just my feeling…
So we can either ignore current lack of readability, or we can improve it. I’m for the second option.
I’m for the first. I’m really sick tired of the proliferation of the hashtags which reduces the readability and are really useless in other usage than categorize a post.
New thread with the proposal to improve search https://www.loomio.org/d/fKts1wR2/improvement-diaspora-search-engine
I’d say trying to stop ambiguity by introducing yet another syntax is a fallacy, especially if it requires distinct syntax and thus knowledge. All this leads to is that we would not only have #foobar, #foo_bar and #foo-bar (I actually wouldn’t mind disallowing _ and - in tags altogether), but also #“foo bar”. Given enough users all versions will always exist.
I’d say trying to stop ambiguity by introducing yet another syntax is a fallacy
No. Having no standard way of making multiword hashtags and expecting all users to follow one way is a fallacy. Having a standard at least gives users an option to follow it, and others to point to it if they see it not being followed. Having no standard means what it means - legitimate chaos. No one will force users to follow it anyway, we are talking about giving a standard option.
You can write hashtags backwards for all I care. But if there is no standard option, you can’t even start talking to anyone about following one notation.
So why not support all the different ways that are currently possible?
I think it would be good to allow users to create tags containing underscores and hyphens, but to ‘strip’ these characters from the linked tag, so a search for #foobar also returns results from #foo_bar and #foo-bar. (@goob)
Fuzzy tags would make diaspora’s way of treating hashtags modern and easy to use.
Oh, and I don’t think #hashtags should contain whitespace because if they do, the other words look like links or just like they’re lost and lonely. I mean, look at this one.
[#going out with the dog](http://diasp.eu/tags/going out with the dog)
“#Going out with the dog”, with the traditional distinctive colour, is as readable as any other hyperlink.
Using a known syntax, natural syntax, does not require prior knowledge.
The absurd proliferation of syntax variants is a result of not having a natural syntax in the first place and I applaud Schmerl’s proposal.
Re : stripping tags of hyphens, underscore, etc : You can easily retrieve variants from the #“natural syntax” tag (#NaturalSyntax, #natural-syntax, etc.) but it is close to impossible to reliably automate the generation of other variants from #naturalsyntax. It’s a dead end.
In contrast, the implementation of #“natural syntax” on D* could involve the semi-automatic generation of common variants : #NaturalSyntax and #natural-syntax.
“#Going out with the dog”, with the traditional distinctive colour, is as readable as any other hyperlink.
There’s at least one reason why hyperlinks do not contain white spaces. White space are traditionnaly the separator bitween two distinctive elements. A link with a white space in the middle isn’t one link. It is one link and something else.
This will be a mess to process.
And I still don’t understand the need for making sentences with hashtags…
@Perig Gouanvic : I think you agreed in the last vote not to the original proposal, but to the specific implementation proposed by Chris.
There’s at least one reason why hyperlinks do not contain white spaces.
What are you talking about? There are tons of hyperlinks with whitespace. Even on Diaspora stream page itself. For example “Post to diaspora*” (bookmarklet).
You can easily retrieve variants from the #“natural syntax” tag (#NaturalSyntax, #natural-syntax, etc.) but it is close to impossible to reliably automate the generation of other variants from #naturalsyntax. It’s a dead end.
I think you misunderstood. Of course it’s hard to try to query all variants of a hashtag, a search for #cat would need to check for #c-at, #ca-t, #cAt, #cA-t_ and so on. Therefore stripping functionality should occur at the same time as the lowercase modification, when the post is written. Correct me if I’m wrong.
After this one ends, I can create a vote on proposal matching the original idea of #(…) or similar method.
What are you talking about? There are tons of hyperlinks with whitespace. Even on Diaspora stream page itself. For example “Post to diaspora*” (bookmarklet).
I speak about hyperlinks. Not overlying text.
Hyperlinks perfectly allow whitespace.
Example:
<a href="something">that's a hyperlink with whitespace!</a>.
How is it any different than:
#(that's a tag with whitespace which will look like hyperlink in the text)https://www.loomio.org/d/R3zBvnfc/improving-and-expanding-hashtags-usability
No whitespaces…
My point is it is useless and it is deploying useless efforts to solve an inexistant problem. For the third time : I don’t see the need for making sentences with hashes.
See my example above. Hyperlinks can have whitespace, period. It was always used in hypertext. What you posted is an URL, not a hyperlink. I see no point in redefining what a hyperlink is.
inexistant problem
The problem was explained clearly (proliferation of incompatible tags and no standard with natural way of using simple notation). It’s not non existent, you just don’t consider it a problem while others do.
I like the point that the curly brackets would only be at the writing stage. If they came in at the reading stage too (i.e. appeared in posts) that would just be another syntax.
@alexb : The original proposal is relevant to the writing stage. I.e. result will look like #multiword tag. Curly brackets can also translate into the same result when page is displayed.
Ah – I thought you had moved to supporting curly brackets. I think they’re better than rounded brackets because we do use rounded brackets so much more in everyday sentences. It seems to me easier for the post-writer to quickly scan the post they’ve written before pressing “post” and differentiate asides (round brackets) from multiword hashtags (curly brackets).
Apart from that difference, I meant to approve what you had written rather than suggest a revision. As your example in your last post shows (to me, anyway), the reader knows from the hyperlink highlighting that the set of words are all one link, and knows from the hash that the link is a tag. It’s a simple and natural way of displaying it.
I’m OK with using curly brackets preceding them with the hash:
#{some tag} which will look like #some tag in the actual displayed post.
I agree that it’s cleaner than using round brackets which are more common for regular punctuation.
See my example above. Hyperlinks can have whitespace, period.
Ok ! If you put a period, I just have to deal with it.
Best argument ever !