[Suggestion] Tag System Overhaul

[piñardilla]

Tags are great, but the utility of tagging is really dependent on getting people to really tag their stuff thoroughly. Without some sort of standardization and encouragement effort, tags can really fall short of what they could be, as some things get split between redundant tags (i.e. "cat" and "feline"), or tags that should be really obvious like "male" can frequently get overlooked. User tagging helps, but things that aren't getting a lot of views may not also get well-tagged.

I propose an overhaul of the tagging system into something more robust that really encourages artists to tag their works thoroughly. Now, I know Weasyl is already working on a lot of other things. This would be a big project, so I obviously don't expect any action on it soon. I'm putting this out there as an idea for the back burner, so that if it's liked, then existing work can be done with the possibility of interfacing with something like this in the future in mind, and so that by the time the coding staff is ready to begin development on it, these's been enough discussion to have a finalized idea of what the features should be.

So, my idea: Start by splitting the submission process into two pages. First page, you point to the file to be uploaded, set a rating, add a description, the standard stuff. You click submit, and then you go to the "preview and tag" page. This page shows you a preview of your submission on one side so you can look it over while you tag it (and also all the other reasons why you might want to preview your submission), and on the other side are three tag boxes, for characters, elements and themes. With each box comes a short list of the tag subtypes that go in each box, and a generated set of examples for each pulled from the most common tags of that type within the specified rating (so you don't get a bunch of porny tag suggestions on your general submissions) as well as the tags most commonly added to your submissions by other users (so you're primed to add the tags you usually forget). Tags are assigned subtypes on the back end by mods and/or ferrets. This helps provide a mix of examples of all the things you might want to tag in an image, without overly complicating the process for the user by making them break down their tags to that level themselves.

A half-assed mock-up of what this would look like:

Character tags:

Add tags for your submission's characters here. Examples:
Gender - male female intersex agender transgender
Species - human blood_elf feline canine tiger
Emotions/Personality - angry shy effeminate tough laughing
Role - warrior dancer barista welder wizard
Features - anthro tall big_tail horns muscular
Clothing - armor skirt trenchcoat nude robe

Element tags:

Add tags for other elements in your submission here. Examples:
Objects - car sword firearm tree bed
Setting - forest space futuristic city medieval
Actions - hug running combat drawing sleeping

Theme tags:

Add tags for your submission's overall themes here. Examples:
Style/Genre - fantasy science_fiction realism anthro ref_sheet
Medium - traditional digital photography cosplay fursuit
Mood - romantic creepy dark cute battle

The details are all subject to revision, of course, but that's the basic idea. Then, tags can also be linked to one another by tag implications, to cut down redundancy's effect on searches. These can be set two-way for tags that are synonyms (i.e. "bobcat" and "puma") or one-way for narrowly defined tags that inherently imply a broader tag (i.e. "gun" or "sword" both imply "weapon" but not the other way around). Implications could be used to either automatically add tags to submissions, or just to include implied tags automatically in a search. Implications could be suggested by users, but would need mod approval. Existing tags could also be looked up on a tag wiki to see a brief description of the tag and what tags they currently imply or are implied by.

In addition to being given subtypes, tags can also be given a probable rating. If someone adds tags to a submission that suggest a higher rating than they gave it, it can be flagged automatically for review by a mod or ferret. New tags can also be automatically flagged, both so they can be categorized and to check to make sure they're not a troll tag. Troll tags can be set to a hidden category of tags that are always flagged in the future. This would help the staff enforce the rating guidelines and moderate bad behavior with less reliance on user reports.

Different submission types will need different tag categories as well, obviously (this example wouldn't work very well for music), but they can be set up similarly.

Thoughts?

[ali]

i like it! but i'm not too sure about the submission page having 2 parts to it- seems a bit overly complicated for something that should be simple.. there's already 2 parters for the basic stuff and then choosing a thumbnail, so adding 3 pages to it will likely become bothersome, maybe..

[farorenightclaw]

Sounds great to me! Though, i think it could be integrated into the main submission page, no need for two pages for it.

[piñardilla]

i like it! but i'm not too sure about the submission page having 2 parts to it- seems a bit overly complicated for something that should be simple.. there's already 2 parters for the basic stuff and then choosing a thumbnail, so adding 3 pages to it will likely become bothersome, maybe..

It could be integrated into the thumbnail page then, I suppose. The major reason I thought it should be split is so the image is uploaded and visible on the page while you tag, which I think would result in better tagging. Not being an artist myself, I haven't uploaded anything to my gallery yet, and forgot that the thumbnail page is already there.

[TealMoon]

I'd find it horribly annoying to go to a third page, I don't even like having to go to the thumbnail page.

[piñardilla]

Yeah, I don't want three pages either. The original suggestion was two, because I forgot about the thumbnail page, and so I'd rather integrate it into that page than add a third. If they could make it work so you could upload your pic and preview it and pick your thumbnail without loading a new page at all, so much the better.

[lorenith]

I agree that integration into the thumbnail page is a good place for an overhauled tag system.

[xarg]

With the rating system overhaul in the works as well, I have a feeling the submission page is soon going to be one convoluted mess that's going to deter people from paying attention to anything because it's too much of a chore to do it all properly.

[AndiGreyScale]

I like the idea so long as it includes tags for all kinds of art and mediums of art, not just Furry art. I'd be worried I may not be able to properly tag my own art because the subtypes for it are not available right away. I do like DA's tag system because it includes all of that. =D

Also, keep it to just two pages.

[piñardilla]

I like the idea so long as it includes tags for all kinds of art and mediums of art, not just Furry art. I'd be worried I may not be able to properly tag my own art because the subtypes for it are not available right away. I do like DA's tag system because it includes all of that. =D

Also, keep it to just two pages.

Looking at some of the submissions on your page, it seems like you would most likely just use the "Themes" tag box in my example and ignore the rest.

i.e., for "Delicate", I'd subtype your tags as follows:

Elements
Objects: fractal fractals

Themes
Style/Genre: abstract colorful pastel pastels simple
Medium: apophysis apophysis7x chaotica
Mood: elegant soft