[Question] How much is in a Tiddler?

#21

I use my tiddlywiki for journaling, project management, as a personal CRM (what were the names of their kids again?), as generalized notes for studying topics I care about, and as a place for fiction writing. Each of these contexts have different lengths.

I sort of meditate on this question without worrying about it, if that makes sense.

A paragraph in a larger short story might get excised so I can work on it elsewhere and focus on it. Larger essays might end up with a bunch of these transclusions but, in the end, I can export them when I need them so the underlying structure doesn’t matter as much.

My morning brain dumps are usually around 300-500 words.

The things I think of as the “results” of what I’m thinking about that could turn into writing tend to be made up of smaller, “atomic” bits. One to three sentences, tops. That’s the goal, anyway. I’m not a strict zettelkasten adherent, but I think that’s what they tend to do, too.

In the end, I don’t know. Sometimes I think about it and break things up. Other things I leave alone. That’s a whole lot of words for “YMMV”, sorry. :grin:

#22

TiddlyWiki ‘shower thoughts’ like this always bring a good deal of insight.

I guess for me, taking the literal definitions is my go to because of my… ‘unique’ interpretations of things., but sometimes focusing too much on it can be counter-productive, and I think this was a fair example of that :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Every Tidbit I add to a Tiddler is something I’d like to remember (my memory could use the help), but I guess I started to think about what would happen if eventually I ran out of space, and it led to this train of thought.

I think instead I should consider the better methods of organizing the tidbits I put into my tiddlers, to avoid unnecessary overlap, or missing details.

Just my thoughts

#23

A lot of contributions so far, we have the subject mostly covered, I will just add a summary of my principles, and I believe I have a robust method to my madness. 10+ years TiddlyWiki experience, perhaps I have learned something :nerd_face: .

  • A tiddler is the same size as a piece of string
    • any size that suits
  • Similarly an empty tiddler can have a title the same size as a piece of string, although somewhat shorter
  • My non-system tiddlers are either
    • named for specific reason eg “Dashboard” Today ProjectName
    • They Describe their content “Council building application - patio”
    • Their title is the whole tiddler “do end of year accounting” and the text fields can contain additional notes as needed.
      • I often use an indicator in lists to tell me if the text field has any content
      • I am interested in using language triggers like verbs in a title or “?” at the end of the title.
    • All are named to be searchable and I try to ensure an appropriate keyword or more is in the title, so merely thinking about them gives me the word to search for them.
      • I tend to make titles meaningful and thus usually unique, it is helpful to discover you have a tiddler of the same name already.
      • I avoid compound titles, eg including a date, project name etc…
  • My system tiddlers are for hidden content and typically have a function or scope that defines their size and function corresponding to a naming standard such as $:/PSaT/projectname/function eg macro stylesheet readme etc…
    • project name is usually the filename I use to export reusable code so must be meaningful eg “reimagine-tags” tags help me find it reimaging makes in unique.
  • You can actually make use of “Missing tiddlers”, but I have not yet.
  • I have a range of other innovative approaches you will eventually see from me.

I tend to use tiddlers most of the time, bringing them together with lists or transclusions as needed. When a tiddler, you can manage them as their individual entities.

  • I do use tags, and tag tiddlers but tend to avoid them, keeping them free for ad hoc tagging except the system tags. When I do use them they are short and meaningful, I tend to move status and organisation into fields.

I will not create a tiddler, when I know I do not need to handle it separately, or even not yet.

  • I have a pile of tools to create tiddlers from parts of a composite tiddler as needed.
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#24

I’m not officially into Zen :wink: but I have lots of tiddlers with empty text fields. Their role is usually tag-related, and sometimes they display in the story river with templates that draw automatically from tagged tiddlers – so they appear full of content in View mode.

Even more zen than empty-text tiddlers, I suppose, is doing useful work with Missing tiddlers: In particiular, a ViewTemplate element can display even on a Missing tiddler, based on its relation to the tags field, or any field really, of existing tiddlers… My latest project is to have a tweaked version of the Node Explorer display as initially expanded exactly when the tiddler is “Missing” or has nothing in its text field. This is common enough for me that I’ve edited $:/language/MissingTiddler/Hint so that there’s nothing like a distracting “warning” there. There’s a “there” there, even if there’s no tiddler there. :slight_smile:

#25

What in TW-ese language is “One Tiddler Clapping”? :slight_smile:

TT

#26

Transcendental Tiddlers

  • Tiddlers that have a life even although they do not exist.

I am with you here, due to another lead I was following, it took me time to go to bed last night given “flights of fancy” about missing tiddlers. One could use the word Zen, or “transcendental tiddlers” rather than missing, because although non existent “missing tiddlers” can;

  • Be listed
  • Have backlinks
    • This allows us to find the tiddler they are “mentioned” in, hence context eg project
  • Quite a lot of information can be gleaned just from a title especially if you use natural language, symbols and punctuation.
  • Parsing the missing tiddlers source tiddler also allows us to see the missing tiddlers context within the tiddler such as is it in prose or a list?, proceeded by or followed by a symbol or keyword?
    • Has it a pretty link?
  • Tiddlers can contain rules like except[ions] that influence how missing tiddlers are treated.
  • Missing tiddler titles and their source can be manipulated via the relink plugin.
  • The right tool could allow missing tiddlers to have a matching entry in a data tiddler to store their status and other information with out the tiddler ever existing.

I continue to explore this further :nerd_face:

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#27

“Transcendental” is fun. I suspect “Virtual tiddlers” might be more immediately intelligible without much explanation. I also think of these as holographic tiddlers, hovering in space at the intersection of various rays of connection. :wink:

-Springer

#28

Since we have shadow tiddlers, id volunteer the term ghost tiddler

#29

I had hoped by now to release a solution that made use of ghost tiddlers, that is why I did not suggest the name.

My ghost tiddler concept could use the word shadow tiddler but that is used.

In my model, a ghost tiddler has a one to one relationship with an existing tiddler, a tiddler, if it has a ghost, has access to various additional information for that tiddler.

  • That is a ghost tiddler shadows, dare I say “haunts” the real tiddler.
  • Ghosts tend to be a thing that was before, where missing tiddlers never have being yet.

Perhaps we can find different names for both my ghost tiddlers and missing tiddler concepts?

[Edited] Off line I have a large list, brainstormed

  • I Like @tw-FRed’s hollow tiddlers "a lot"
    • shell tiddler - comes to mind here
  • Another I like is “proto tiddler”
  • For an alternative to “Ghost tiddler” as I use it, is a “companion tiddler”
#30

What about “hollow tiddlers” for missing tiddlers carrying information nevertheless ?

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#31

I think the concept of different types of tiddlers, with names, talks to this topic about what is in a tiddler. But truth be known “Missing tiddler” is also appropriate.

I edited my previous reply;

But @tw-FRed “Hollow tiddler” is good, and I like “proto tiddler” as well.

I have kept my “tiddler names” brainstorm off line, because it is perhaps off topic, but what is interesting is every name I come up with is itself inspiration as to a possible idea that can be implemented.

  • I admit using synonyms is my main supporting tool

Examples include

  • we overuse the word template so some of these would help such as mold or stencil.
  • Doppleganger