We updated the OP now to expand it a bit.

One issue we see with adding many tags is the problem of there being too many to pick from. But with so many varying interests, you will end up with a very wide variety of tags.

We do hope people with widely differing interests can post up suggestions that we can add to the OP.

@Ellri Thanks for reminding me about this thread. I need to port some tags into the system. It's a bit skimpy.

I'm not sure what the ideal is, though.

With more tags comes more accurate tagging, more personalization, more expressiveness, a finer point.

But more tags also dilute any sort of filtering/search system. Filters become more sparse and hit fewer results. Imagine the extreme where you have a system of 100 topics and 300 tags, and each topic has 3 unique tags. Might as well just browse the topics sequentially.

However, I do have one idea. I'm getting some deja vu, but it's been a while since we spoke on this.

- We keep the guild's "official"/core tag set very compact. Only hit the broad notes. Free/Casual/Advanced. 1x1/SmallGroup/LargerGroup. Only the core guild systems and high-level distinctions. Arena/Dice. Focus on the objective distinctions and avoid genre where possible. Uncontroversial but general tags.
- Force every roleplay to have some minimum number of these core tags.
- For the rest of the tags, simply let the community create them. Mass Effect. DC Comics. Jupiter. Birthing. ReverseBirthing. Whatever - It suddenly doesn't matter how specific and niche and sparse these community tags are. Implement some basic controls so people can't just go apeshit and create 100 tags. Or maybe something more interesting like every week the community votes on the next community tag we add to the system.

Maybe each roleplay must have at least 3 core tags and then they can pick up to 3 more of any other tag. The core tags are displayed on the form how they currently are, and the community tags are just organized in one big multi-select combobox similar to:



Just an idea. I need some sleep.

Nice idea.

we get the feeling we don't want to see the images that are created by the concept "ReverseBirthing".

Your idea takes care of the conundrum we saw with the creation of fandom tags. Create one, ten others will want tags for their fandom too. That's why we grouped the specific fandom tags apart in the OP.

Having a fairly dense set of "core" tags will help the search system. Perhaps such a system should also have a "Not" option on tags as well as includes. People will almost as often search for a specific tag as they will strive to avoid certain tags.
We think generalized genre tags like "Sci-fi", "fantasy" "anime" and such should remain, as they give the general theme. More specific tags like "star wars", "reverse Birthing" or "Lord of the Rings" are better put in the Community tags.

Occasionally going over community tags and either purging virtually unused ones is also a good idea. If a community tag gets really popular, one could even consider moving it up to "official" status, but that should take a lot to happen so that the core system doesn't get bloated.

Ideally, one should be able to search both by core tags and by community tags.

Yeah, I think one good example of core vs community tags would be to have a core "Fandom" tag that then can be fleshed out by some combination of community tags.

Seems to me that this idea of core vs community tags is a good one, it just predominantly seems to be a UI challenge rather than a conceptual one.

Finally, good point on pruning out unused tags. I also like a simple idea of requiring a mod to click Approve/Deny of every community tag before they actually become a selectable option, just to ward off basic abuse.

Indeed. A mod or some other sort of community title, after all, we don't want to overwork the mods.

Gonna derail a bit here... Later on, tags could even be used to define visibility, like that suggestion/request over in the dev journal for an adult/mature section. We know there's no true way to determine if someone is above the age limit for such and that it needs to be hidden for the sake of the ad revenue, so its a tough nut to crack, but a system that automatically hides threads from sight of those who have not selected "show mature content" thingy would probably solve it, would it not?

Perhaps such could even be expanded into a full out visibility system, where people can hide any RPs with certain tags attached from their sight? Like if the very idea of Sci-fi RPs makes someone throw up, they'd rather not see them, right?

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but adding a Drama, Tragedy, Action, Adventure tag might also be useful to provide context as to what the key aspect of the RP will be. Also for a genre tag Survival might also be good as it's a common enough of a theme in some RP's.

Not bad ideas. We added them in under the Tonal category, @FiroIV.

We also added a bit in the OP on the system suggested above by our glorious Admin.

I've checked the list at the top but not gone through the thread. Sorry if any duplicates.

Modern Fantasy (is this the same as low fantasy?)
Modern Science Fiction (could be covered by 'Soft Sci Fi', though I'm not familiar with that term)
Harry Potter
Abstract (doesn't really fit into other categories, GM thinks it's somehow weird)
Experimental
Period (as in, set in a given time-period and roughly sticking to it)
TBC (for party size)
Player-driven
GM-driven
Under Construction/Ideas Please (the GM has a core concept, but wants more player input than usual in building it)
High Casual (go ooooooon ;))

Is it possible to make it so the RP type (beginner, casual, etc) tag doesn't count with the limit of 5 you're allowed?

No worries. we check for duplicates when we add new ones in, @Jig.

We added the relevant ones in, as well as adding a few descriptions to clear up unclear things.

We skipped a couple, though because of reasons provided:
Period - this is kinda vague. it is better to have each specific era as a community tag. If someone's searching for a victorian-era RP, they'd search for Victorian, not era RPs. Still, if you have a compelling counter-argument, we'll gladly listen.

TBC (for party size) - Explain what this is. The term is unfamiliar.

Under Construction/Ideas Please - This is covered by the "Sandbox" tag.

Player-driven & GM-driven - Not sure exactly where to put these, and unsure if other tags might cover them already.

Modern Science Fiction [...] Modern Fantasy

Wouldn't it be better to have Medieval/Modern/Near-Future/Far-Future/other time-related as their own tags? (And then just mix'n'match: "Sci-Fi" + "Modern", "Sci-Fi" + "Far-Future", "Fantasy" + "Modern", "Fantasy" + "Medieval", etc.)

TBC (for party size) - Explain what this is. The term is unfamiliar.

No idea, either. I find 1x1, Small Group, Big Group entirely sufficient. More'd just be clutter.

Period - this is kinda vague. it is better to have each specific era as a community tag. If someone's searching for a victorian-era RP, they'd search for Victorian, not era RPs. Still, if you have a compelling counter-argument, we'll gladly listen.

I figured a catch-all term for time periods that aren't common enough to warrant their own category. 1920's jazz-era is a valid time-period, but not one seen regularly and so a whole tag for it alone feels gratuitous. Perhaps 'historical' instead if we don't already have that?

TBC (for party size) - Explain what this is. The term is unfamiliar.

To be confirmed. IE: the GM doesn't know how many characters they're looking for

Under Construction/Ideas Please - This is covered by the "Sandbox" tag.

I don't feel it is. This would be asking players interested in the RP to contribute lots to the RP's development process, such as world-building and selecting between possible ideas that the GM may put on the table. Sandbox, to me, means lots of freedom once the RP has started, and that's not actually the same thing.

Player-driven & GM-driven - Not sure exactly where to put these, and unsure if other tags might cover them already.

Fair.

<Snipped quote>
Wouldn't it be better to have Medieval/Modern/Near-Future/Far-Future/other time-related as their own tags? (And then just mix'n'match: "Sci-Fi" + "Modern", "Sci-Fi" + "Far-Future", "Fantasy" + "Modern", "Fantasy" + "Medieval", etc.)

Seems legit.

Perhaps such could even be expanded into a full out visibility system, where people can hide any RPs with certain tags attached from their sight? Like if the very idea of Sci-fi RPs makes someone throw up, they'd rather not see them, right?

I like the idea in principle but I feel it would encourage people to narrow their interests rather than expand their horizons; I don't go for Sci-Fi, but if the right idea came along, I would at least look at it - especially if Sci-Fi is a small element of the RP. Maybe a simple flag system, if nobody has already suggested it, might be better: you set which tags you're particularly looking for and there is a little flag of some kind next to each game in the thread-listings if it fulfils your criteria.

To be confirmed. IE: the GM doesn't know how many characters they're looking for

Uhh... I think this is covered by simply not adding any group size defining tags at the time being.

Yeah, I guess. The inbuilt neatfreak in me feels like there should be an option for that rather than just leaving it empty. :P

not a terrible idea that about modern. Adapted list.

Historical is on the list.

Gotta agree with Shienvien on the party size things.

We added that construction thing as "World builder"

I think "Dystopian" would be a good term. Dystopian worlds don't really fall within Apocalyptic nor Post-Apocalyptic as it's not really world ending, just a really miserable version of our current day society. Just a drab, more depressing and harsh version of life, not a complete fight for survival in a drastically destroyed/changed version of our world.

Added all of the above, @Firecracker_ / @Impaqt.

We grouped Dystopian with Dark/Grim, as that kinda overlaps in our opinion. (If you disagree, say so and we can move it apart)

Hmm. I feel like any roleplay, regardless of genre, could be dark and grim, but not everything is dystopian. Just my thoughts.

Hmm... thats true.