Taxonomies: To Be Or Not To Be

Contrarian - I hate taxonomies! By Huw Morgan, CTO of Torstar Digital Information Highways, May-June, 2005

"Why do I hate static taxonomies so much? Because I don't think like a librarian and I like to find stuff I'm looking for..... Taxonomies are too rigid and limit the usability of Web sites. Search engines are good, but functionality may be limited by small content collections. Filtering and sorting engines are a lot better than taxonomies. They let people find things the way they want to."

A strong opinion piece designed to peak your interest or get you riled up. An example of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Taxonomies aren't the only solution in all situations. Searching, filtering, and sorting are other tools. It depends on the content, the audience, the user requirements. Beware of over simplification.