Slatesubject

Slatesubject is a term encountered in certain information design, note-taking, and knowledge-management contexts to describe the subject or topic associated with a slate—a visual or functional grouping of items such as notes, cards, or records presented together on a single interface. It is not a standardized concept and does not appear in major reference works; its meaning varies by project.

The word blends slate, as a metaphor for a board or collection, with subject, the topic or entity being tracked.

In practice, slatesubject can serve as a tagging target, a filter, or a navigational anchor within a slate. It helps connect items to a central concept, enabling grouped display, search refinement, and contextual summaries. Implementations differ: some projects store the slatesubject as a metadata field on each item; others derive it from a hierarchical taxonomy or from user selections.

Example: a research notebook app might set the slatesubject on a slate containing climate policy notes to "Climate Policy" so all cards inherit or reference that topic.

Limitations and variations exist because the term is not standardized; definitions and data-model choices depend on the software or workflow. Practitioners should consult project documentation to understand how the slatesubject is defined, stored, and used in a given system.

See also: slate, subject, tagging, taxonomy, ontology, knowledge management.