Tags and metadata serve as ways to differentiate certain relationships, but so much of the meaning of the relationship lives in the language of the notes. So I wanted to create a system that can live in the content of the notes, instead of either in the structure of the database or in the metadata. These relationships and discourse between notes are really the data that matters, after all. They should not be relegated to metadata.
I’ve fallen into the trap before of trying to put too many of my note relationships into the metadata, but this is treating a note taking tool like a database. Relationships are often discovered in the note-writing process, and just because they live organically in your notes does not mean they shouldn’t also be clear about what type of relationship they are and be easily queryable. It just requires a tightening up of the language that we use every day.