Decision 3 of 8 · Editing

Decision 3: Where do editors connect a page to its subject?

Prepared 17 September 2026 by Viv Web Solutions · one page per decision so it can be forwarded on its own

The question

About 30 hand-written overview pages explain a subject (Town Meeting, Property Taxes, Open Meeting Law…). The tree needs to know which page belongs to which subject so it can give the page a sidebar, list it in the Resource Library and link to it from the menu. The link has to live somewhere an editor can set it. Two sensible places.

What exists today

Options

Option A — On the tree node ("this subject's page is …") our recommendation
  • One admin screen, "Topic Tree", shows the whole map: 70 subjects and which page explains each.
  • Easy to spot gaps: a node with no page stands out.
  • Editors who only ever edit pages will not see it; a content lead maintains the map.
Option B — On the page ("this page is the overview for …")
  • Editors set it where they already work, in the page editor.
  • Harder to see the whole picture; two pages can claim the same subject without anyone noticing.
  • Gaps are invisible: nothing shows which subjects have no page.

What changes

Only the admin experience. Readers see the same result either way. Reversible? Yes; the link is a single value per subject and can be moved between the two places by script.

What we need from you

If we hear nothing before the next build, we go with the recommendation: the field stays on the tree node. Reply to Kalman by email, or comment on the linked issue.

Related: #83 (the field as built), plan document TOPICS-PLAN.md §4 Q3.

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