zeteln

Zeteln is a coined term used in discussions of knowledge organization and speculative technical contexts. It denotes a small, self-contained unit of information designed for modular composition in digital knowledge bases, wikis, or data stores. A zeteln encodes a discrete fact, idea, or property, along with minimal metadata such as taxonomy tags, sources, and provenance.

The term appears to be a neologism influenced by the German word Zettel (note), with Zeteln used in some contexts as the plural or as a representative unit. The exact origin is unclear, and in many uses the concept functions primarily as an idea in educational experiments or subcultural discussions about knowledge structuring rather than as a standard, widely adopted term.

A zeteln typically contains a concise statement, a reference to a source, a date, and links to related zeteln. It is intended to be minimal yet sufficient to support recombination into larger documents or summaries. In practice, zeteln enable modular editing, version control, and semantic linking between ideas, facilitating incremental construction of complex articles or datasets.

Applications for zeteln include simulated or learner-driven encyclopedias and collaborative knowledge bases where users assemble articles by combining factoids. An example zeteln might state a basic principle, such as "Energy is conserved in isolated systems," accompanied by metadata like author, date, and source. Governance and editorial guidelines may be needed to prevent fragmentation or redundancy and to ensure consistency across a collection of zeteln.