Larticle

Larticle is a fictional article format used in discussions of knowledge organization and collaborative writing. It is designed to blend the readability of traditional encyclopedic entries with the machine-actionable structure of semantic data, enabling cross-references and metadata to travel with the content.

Origin and concept: The term was proposed in academic and software design discussions as a portmanteau of link and article. It envisions a lightweight schema that can be applied across different wikis and knowledge bases, without requiring major changes to existing workflows.

Structure and content: A Larticle typically comprises a concise overview, a set of key facts expressed as structured data (such as entities, properties, and relationships), and a narrative body. It emphasizes canonical naming, disambiguation, and consistent references.

Features and benefits: Standardized metadata facilitates reuse, search, and data extraction. Built-in versioning supports change tracking. Lightweight markup reduces authoring friction, while semantic hooks enable automated reasoning and interlinking with related articles and datasets.

Usage and reception: In speculative design exercises, Larticle is presented as a compromise between human readability and machine interpretability. Critics point to potential complexity in adoption, consistency challenges, and conflicts with existing editorial practices.

See also: Semantic wiki, Linked data, Content management, Article template.