NotePlanNotePlan
Mar 31

Wording: more systematic terminology for "links"

The word "link" seems to refer indiscriminately to very different things in NP 3.0.19. I'd prefer a more systematic terminology, so that new users have less difficulties learning Noteplan: - **links to day notes** (`[[2021-03-30]]`, `[[2021-03-30#Meeting with EM]]`) are useful for users who want to integrate day notes in their graph of notes (like Roam/Obsidian/Wiki) - **date tags** (`>2021-03-30`, `>2021-W13`) are useful for users who like tasks to be accessible independently of notes (like most task managing tools) - **date stamps** (`@done(2021-03-30 10:13)`) are useful for users who need detailed time tracking Semantically, the formats `>2021-03-30` and `<2021-03-29` appended to tasks scheduled with copy-and-append-link-action are links to day notes. This syntax should be treated as deprecated legacy syntax. A more compatible syntax could look something like `-> [[2021-03-30]]` and `<- [[2021-03-29]]`. The phrase **date link** should be avoided. I find it too ambiguos. Just because a click on any of the three notations opens the same **day view**, they are not the same thing. I find the semantic differences more important than the superficial commonality. A better explanation of these differences should also make it easier for new users to configure Noteplan to their needs. Related: [Redesign task scheduling preferences](https://noteplan.canny.io/task-management/p/redesign-task-sc…), [Date tags as default](https://noteplan.canny.io/task-management/p/user-preferences…)
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Apr 30, 2021

Terminology aside, I think the discussion in Discord is reaching consensus on a good solution. I understand better now your reluctance to calling ">date" a "date link", because of the confusion with true MD [[links]] to a date note. But they do behave that way, so "date tag" also seems inadequate as a description. What about "date redirect" (or "date reference")? Generally, this is all more consistent And understandable: - [[links to day notes]] as you say, for compatibility - ">date references", as additional feature unique to NotePlan, for task scheduling

Apr 30, 2021

Rob Grace: Are you aware, that Eduard himself called this feature "date tag", when he [introduced it in his blog](https://www.noteplan.co/blog/getting-started-v2/)? Noteplan *does* have an understable concept. And it *did* have the proper words to describe it, like "schedule" or "date tag". But as you said on Discord: "Calling any of them an attribute or a tag (as well) isn't a contradiction - they can function as both." Maybe this double function is the problem here. The term "link" looks at what these elements have in common ("fruit"). I prefer terminology, that appreciates the differences ("apples", "oranges", "pears").

Apr 30, 2021

Rhubarb: Sorry, you are right, I got lost in the woods. I've been looking at Theming code which describes that construct as a "schedule-to-date-link", but what's more important is what Edward calls it in documentation. And you make a great point about how it deserves a clear distinction from a traditional Markdown link

May 1, 2021

Rob Grace: Thanks for pointing to the [theming code](https://coda.io/@noteplan/themes). It seems that these woods are deeper than I thought. I have no idea what "schedule-to-date-link" is supposed to mean. And I just noticed that the [Theme test note](https://github.com/brokosz/NotePlan_Themes/blob/main/theme%2…) gets the task states wrong. One is missing, one is labeled wrong. What a mess. I wonder, how one cannot get lost in these woods.

Apr 7, 2021

Stacey Roshan provides an excellent example, why a link to a daily note (`[[YYYY-MM-DD]]`) makes more sense for copy-scheduled tasks than the date-tag-notation. See 8:40 in her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd4MiV2h9LA). I think the notation `>YYYY-MM-DD` should be reserved for date tags. Related: [Enable real moving of tasks](https://noteplan.canny.io/task-management/p/add-cut-paste-ta…), [Call schedule "schedule" again](https://noteplan.canny.io/task-management/p/wording-call-sch…)

May 6, 2021

Rhubarb: Circling back to this: I think I understand the benefit now of using [[date links]] when it comes to changing the origins task's content. Now that Eduard has proposed a true linking mechanism (scheduling dialog using link by >date tag option) which would show up in a separate "date references" section, it would seem that this is no longer a concern. One could do it either way, depending on which syntax / system they prefer. While [[date links]] are more compatible with other Markdown systems like Obsidian, >date tags are still widely used by long-time NotePlan users for scheduling, so I'm (still) arguing against deprecating them in any way.

May 6, 2021

Rob Grace: I don't want to deprecate date tags for *scheduling* tasks (in regular notes). Au contraire! I want to deprecate `>YYYY-MM-DD` and `<YYYY-MM-DD` as notation for *tracing* copies of a postponed task (in daily notes). Date tags are great! This is not about compatiblity with Wiki-Syntax. This is about resolving semantic ambiguity *within* Noteplan. See also this cheat sheet: https://write.as/rhubarb/tasks-in-markdown-v2