Categories

Content on a community is organized into categories. Categories and post types are orthogonal. Each category defines what post types are permitted in that category.

Every site will have at least two categories: "main" (needs better naming) and meta. Meta is not a separate site. Meta is something like another tab across the top of the page, and clicking on it shows you meta content instead of main content. Sites might define other categories, like "blog" or "critiques". Because categories have implications for the UI and could cause confusion if numerous, sites are strongly encouraged to keep the number of categories small. Categories are not tags.

To define a category, one must specify:

• name (this is the name to be shown in the UI)
• permitted types of top-level posts (question, discussion, article (blog post), etc)
• tag set to use (same as main or category-specific)

Use cases

1. Every site has a meta category. By default the meta category permits question and discussion posts. Meta uses its its own tag set.

2. A site has an active blog. Blog posts use the same tags as main Q&A. The blog is a tab right there on the site, not an off-site, separate system.

3. Another site has an infrequently-updated blog. It has a blog category like #2, but the site also shows blog posts on the main site even though they're not questions, 'cause that's how that community likes it.

4. A site allows users to post work for review or critique. The critique category uses the discussion post type only -- no questions with answers, just posts with feedback (comments). Tags for critiques are separate from main tags.

5. A site has a collection of canonical posts on important topics. They are collected in a "wiki" category, which accepts only article post types. The category uses the same tag set as main.