sup/tg/

[#] A note on tags

09:59pm UTC - 1/22/2009

Recently, the archive tags have proved to be very useful as a way to link multiple threads together. For example, this tag search for Ruby shows all of the Ruby game threads, and this tag search for Collective Game shows every thread in the same genre, including Dorf Quest, The Adventuers of Joan and a couple of one-shots.

However, I've had to manually fix some of these tags to help keep them all linked up properly, so it's occurred to me that maybe I need to elaborate on them. If you're adding a thread to the archives, you absolutely should include tags to help people locate them later on. It's especially important if it's part of a series, e.g. the Ruby Quest threads, so that people looking to read all of the content can find them all by the tag.

When tagging a thread, you should include both a specific and a general tag. The Ruby Quest threads are a perfect example; their tags are Ruby, Collective Game, allowing people looking for the specific Ruby threads to find them while letting people looking for threads in the same vein to find more of that type. Don't use ultrageneric, useless terms like epic or tg (are you fucking kidding me?), and try to use terms that others have before you (dorf fortress and dwarf fortress both bring up two completely different sets of threads... and don't get me started on the variations of waaaaagh).

When in doubt, more tags are better than less or none at all, but don't go overboard; the tags Tenacious D, Macross Plus, Spinal Tap, Cyberpunk, Live Aid, Wargames are only ever used once apiece and therefore are little better than no tags at all. They're too specific; a better tag for this thread would have been simply campaign ideas. (Not that this stupid thread should have been archived at all...)

I'm going to write one of those "popular tags" pages that show how many tags are used how many times, which should help users archive threads with useful tags. Again, the ideal tags for a thread contain one specific term and one general term, without going overboard in either direction.

Oh, and one last thing: UBOAAA

Edit: OH YEAH AND PUT A GODDAMN COMMA BETWEEN THE TAGS, GOD

Edit 2: Here you go: a visual representation of tag usage on sup/tg/, as seen pretty much everywhere else tags are used.

~Lord Licorice

Candymen.

archive, UBOAAA - View All by Author

Comments

1 HiddenKrypt

04:20pm UTC - 1/23/2009 [X]

A couple of things:

- Many sites allow tags to be edited later. This helps a lot when Trying to standardize the tags, by allowing users to take care of it. Also allows users to go back and fill in tags when they may have forgotten them earlier.

- Another good one is adding a drop down list of current tags next to the tag input field. This way people can see what tags there are, and make sure they get it right.

- make a note next to the input field about how commas are needed to separate tags.

2 Lord Licorice

11:23pm UTC - 1/23/2009 [X]

I was thinking of the first one, but I'd need to figure out how to prevent abuse. The best way would probably be to allow people to update threads they added by IP or something but the blank ones will probably remain blank.

The second one is easy enough.

And so is the third, though I fear people don't actually read instructions anyway.

3 Dagda

04:12am UTC - 1/29/2009 [X]

The hell's UBOAAA
I'll find out by running it
This plan is flawless

4 PurpleXVI

08:49am UTC - 1/30/2009 [X]

Maybe give those of us with editorial access the freedom to change tags? Or at least submit suggestions for tag edits.

Also maybe I'm retarded, but on the article page I couldn't find a handy little tag search box, closest I could find was clicking on an already-existing tag, then substituting in the tag I wanted to search for in the URL.

5 Anonymous

07:36pm UTC - 2/02/2009 [X]

I don't care much, as long as you do something.

6 John Epindy

11:17am UTC - 12/29/2009 [X]

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