Sub-folders

I asked during the PB Wiki Office Hours today. They said that the request is there, but they are not currently working on it. Chris suggested using tags instead. I requested a list of tags or a tag cloud for the sidebar, which he said could be a possibility. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Given that it is an age old argument though, should people not be able to organise how they want to on their own wiki? The reason it's so contentious is probably because there are people on both sides of the fence. An opinion only. :) ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

No. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Chris, im not too sure about your argument that in collaborative exercises a shared sub-folder hierarchy wont work. Within my workplace there is one person who primarily oragnises where information is placed and the rest of the members follow suit. Also there is generally agreed upon categorical organisation of subjects/info amongst the members of the group, so conflict of data organisation is a rare occurrence.

Further searching through folder directories can be useful; similarly related subjects/info or previously unconsidered subjects/info can be 'happened' upon. It also reduces having to trawl through long long lists of pages, as well as overcoming a user's ignorance about certain tag names and/or appropriate search functions.

Finally, the fact that sub folder directory browsing is familiar to my PC/Mac OS browsing is a treat and makes for a smooth transition. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Thanks Paul. Excuse my snarky "no".

Let me say that I think that PBWiki should support the tasks/information organization methods that you mentioned, but that hierarchical folders are not the best way to go about achieving them.

Already PBWiki supports tags, and those go a long way towards what you're looking for. Second, I think there's an option to do more with templated data/page types, that you can sort by (i.e. "event page", "contract", "survey", etc). Sorting by mode or type seems more relevant than trying to guess at an arbitrary folder structure that will map to other people's ways of thinking (see iPhoto or iTunes' sidebars).

As well, I find that providing tools for infinitely organizing data will often lead to just that: over-organization will little upside.

The emphasis on such tools should be on how such organization tools facilitation communication and collaboration — not simply the creation of more structure. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )