Since I just spent all this time writing this already, here is the URL to my work:
** http://web.archive.org/web/20040630035434/http://pixelcort.com/TaggedDatabase 
-- CortlandHaws

----

Let's start again, since I have evolved the concept past my prior ideas. First, read the linked document above, as I have been changing it often.

''It's broken. Care to offer another reference?''
* http://pixelcort.com/?s=Tagged+Database
-- offered by DonaldNoyes
----

The basic idea is that a Tagged Database has the following values:

	* ID - string
	* Tags - array of strings
	* Reference - string

(The ID and the Reference are just glorified tags with special rules and applications.)

More to come later...
----
I have good news for you... you've just described FacetedAssociation. Take a look at: http://www.techquila.com/tmsinia5.html and http://facetmap.com/glossary/index.jsp

More depth on faceted classification: http://www.kmconnection.com/DOC100100.htm

Also
 XFML               | http://petervandijck.com/xfml/
 XFML Specification | http://petervandijck.com/xfml/spec/1.0.html
You should also take a look at InterTwingle for references to other people who've stumbled on the same concept and are trying to apply it to solve interesting problems.
----
See also: MultiParadigmDatabase