The Concept of Categories

Categories are clearly defined, mutually exclusive, and collectively exhaustive aspects, properties and characteristics of a specific subject. Categories can be expressed in words, numbers, alpha, or alpha-numeric characters. The ODP uses words or terms. The semantic relationships between terms denote permanent relationships arising from the definition of the subjects involved. Term definitions are given in the Category Descriptions (hint: Category Descriptions are not trivial value-adds to the directory, but very important in defining overall ontology).

The ODP taxonomy creates a semantic network (or roadmap) that shows links and paths between concepts. Users can follow these paths composed of @links, broader / narrower terms, and related concepts to refine, expand to achieve more meaningful search / browse results. Using these category descriptions should be used to determine where to place sites, where to add new subcategories, and express relationships between categories.