So here, the deal. Right now, the top level categories are toy manufacturers, such as Hasbro, Takara, and Tonka. SOmething has felt wrong about that for as long as I can remember, and I think I know what is it; the top category should consist of country names. That way, the japanese toys, say, will still be segregated, but toys that are part of the same line but come from different manufacturers will still be cousins in the tree (ie. "Beatmix Bumblebee" by Tiger and "Ultimate Bumblebee" by Hasbro, both from the "Movie" line). The downside is that we'll wind up with some reduncancy, as entire toy line category structures will have to be repeated for different countries. I don't know how much of a problem that will be for minor countries (in terms of toy distribution) such as Argentina and Mexico, but it's something I was prepared to do for Japan, anyway, as they have different names for everything.
Well, I'm gonna go mull that over some more in the bath. Speak up now if you don't like that plan!
- Max
