<h1 align="center">The Concept of Categories</h1>

<p>Categories are clearly defined, mutually exclusive, and collectively exhaustive aspects, properties and characteristics of a specific subject. Categories can be expressed in words, numbers, alpha, or alpha-numeric characters. The ODP uses words or terms. The semantic relationships between terms denote permanent relationships arising from the definition of the subjects involved. Term definitions are given in the <i>Category Descriptions</i> (hint: Category Descriptions are not trivial value-adds to the directory, but very important in defining overall ontology).</p> 

<p>The ODP taxonomy creates a semantic network (or roadmap) that shows links and paths between concepts. Users can follow these paths composed of @links, broader / narrower terms, and related concepts to refine, expand to achieve more meaningful search / browse results. Using these category descriptions should be used to determine where to place sites, where to add new subcategories, and express relationships between categories.</p>