DescriptionMy

DescriptionMy is a hypothetical metadata construct used to capture concise, human-readable descriptions of topics, items, or concepts. It is intended to complement structured metadata by providing a short narrative that supports discovery, comprehension, and cross-platform interoperability. By design, DescriptionMy emphasizes neutrality, clarity, and accessibility, making it suitable for catalogs, knowledge bases, and digital libraries.

Structure and guidelines. A DescriptionMy entry usually consists of a brief summary (one to three sentences) that conveys the essential nature or purpose of the subject. Optional elements may include context such as intended audience, scope, geographic or temporal coverage, and notes on usage or relevance. The preferred style is plain language, with avoidable jargon and bias.

Use and applications. In practice, DescriptionMy serves to aid human readers and improve machine-assisted search and indexing by supplying a readable description alongside technical metadata. It can be stored as a simple text field or integrated into a structured schema with fields like summary, audience, and scope. This approach is compatible with common content-management workflows and can be indexed by search engines and metadata harvesters.

Relationship to standards and governance. DescriptionMy is not a formal standard but a conceptual approach aligned with general metadata best practices. It can be implemented alongside existing schemas (for example, subject or content descriptions) and governed by style guides to ensure consistency.

Limitations and evaluation. The free-text nature of DescriptionMy means inconsistency can arise without editorial oversight. Effective use depends on clear guidelines, regular review, and alignment with broader description strategies.