[sc34wg3] SAM-issue term-subject-identity

[Lars Marius Garshol]

* Lars Marius Garshol
|
| That's a possible use case. So we would use it to write sentences
| like "topics are merged when they have the same subject identity"?
| If so, I feel that the term (rather than its definition, as Marc
| claims) is broken, and should be replaced.
| 
| To say "topics are merged when they have the same formal subject
| identification" sounds better, doesn't it?

* Sam Hunting
| 
| It may sound better, but I don't kniow what it means. 

Not so strange, since I didn't define the term. I was thinking that it
would be made up of the topic's [source locators], [subject address],
and [subject indicator] properties[1].

| Humans are the ultimate authorities for determining the subjects of
| topics -- "topics are merged when they have the same subject
| identity" takes this into account (human == informal) where "topics
| are merged when they ahve the same formal subject indentication"
| (formal == machine readable).

You have a point, but I'm not sure this is a problem. Surely we want
to express both points of view? That is, topics are always merged
automatically according to their formal subject identification, but
humans can always override, having made their own judgments about the
subjects of the topics.

I do think you run into the problem Marc identified, though. Saying
"topics are merged when they have the same subject identity" sounds
kinda strange. The word "identity" seems superfluous to me. It may be
just a poorly chosen example, but it still seems to me that we don't
need this term.

| Perhaps if I knew what "formal" meant in this context....

Basically that it was a declaration in a formally defined language
with a formally defined effect.

[1] I'm seriously considering Kal's suggestion to rename the [subject
    indicator] property, and call it [subject identifiers] instead.

-- 
Lars Marius Garshol, Ontopian         <URL: http://www.ontopia.net >
ISO SC34/WG3, OASIS GeoLang TC        <URL: http://www.garshol.priv.no >