One aspect of linking (#6 - Loaded by the User) relates specifically to the notion of publish-subscribe. If we viewed link definitions as subscription feeds that each user could opt-in (or opt-out of), it would simplify the debate and decision to use them.

Imagine you like Scoble's blog so much that keywords and blog post titles appeared as links in all your Microsoft Office documents when those same terms were used. Further envision subscribing to this Smart Tags collection in the same way that you subscribe to Scoble's RSS feed.

This is the model Microsoft had in mind when they first released Smart Tags in 1999. Unfortunately the the more pervasive understanding [of syndication] that we have today wasn't present in 1999, and more than a few writers jumped to conclusion that all Smart Tags were evil.

We provide an experimental [free] sand-box for Smart Tag subscriptions at http://myst-technology.com/mysmartchannels.

Call me a purist, but I don't believe an authors work should "poisoned" or altered in any way not intended by the author, except maybe his Editor in the context of a newspaper or web news article.

This is a bit narrow-minded for me. The benefit of agile technologies (specifically linking systems) is that they can be useful in many ways. Some users find great benefit in automatically creating intersections between new articles being read other information resources that may have already been deemed useful.

Information users should be able to decide (for themselves) when a packet of relevant links (terms intersections) are overlayed on top of new information that they may encounter. The objective in assessing the value of any information is to determine its context. What better way to do this than by letting a Smart Tags system point out where content resonates in your own vernacular. Ideally this is achieved through a publish-subscribe mechanism.

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