darkestabsol

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/34211

Background

Over the last year, Tag Wranglers have been actively discussing how to make fandom metatags more useful to users, both to find the content they're looking for and filter out the content they aren't. Since our last update, these discussions have now concluded, and we want to provide an update about how our guidelines have changed.

Fandom metatags allow Tag Wranglers to connect groups of related fandoms together so that they can be more easily filtered on as a group. For example, if you're interested in all works related to Game of Thrones (TV), including the related novels or the 2014 video game, you may be interested in filtering on its metatag: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms. Filtering on the metatag means that you will find all the works tagged with the metatag itself or tagged with any of its individual subtags. In addition to this, having a group of fandoms connected together as a metatag and subtags means that selecting "Exclude crossovers" in the sidebar will not exclude works tagged with more than one subtag, and that selecting "Show only crossovers" will not include works tagged more than one subtags.

Metatags are different from merging ("synning") tags. When two tags are merged, the filters will treat them as if they are the same tag. When they are moved together under a metatag, each can still be filtered out individually from the metatag.

Guidelines update

Following extensive discussion, we have updated our guidelines related to fandom metatag trees, including when to create a metatag for related fandoms, when to merge closely related fandoms into one fandom tag (such as merging an anime and a manga), and when to split out subtags from a currently merged tag. The below paragraphs detail these updates and link to where you can find more information.

Metatag guidelines

Moving forward, Tag Wranglers may connect related fandoms using a metatag if there are at least two canons already canonized on AO3 that are:

• Closely related adaptations;
• The same story adapted across different media; or
• Canon with official prequels, sequels, or other related adaptations set in a shared universe.

Whether a fandom metatag is created will vary based on the specific fandom. Not all fandoms will require a metatag, even if they fit the above criteria, and some fandoms with complex and sprawling canons may require multiple levels of metatags. Fandoms that do not fit one of the above criteria can be evaluated for a metatag on a case by case basis, focusing on what would be most useful to the majority of its fans. Tag Wranglers are fans of these canons as well and may base their decisions on a variety of factors such as whether the fan base generally considers these separate canons as distinct, or to what extent fans of different adaptations overlap.

Existing metatags, such as Star Wars - All Media Types or Marvel will not be required to match these rules or formats. These formats and guidelines will be applied to newly created fandom tags or existing tags if Tag Wranglers or users request changes.

In addition to determining when a metatag may be created, Tag Wranglers have also identified some circumstances where a metatag would not be beneficial to the majority of fans and therefore these fandoms will be canonized separately, not linked by a metatag. These are generally fandoms that are not closely related, such as:

• Fandoms which are only connected by minor crossover events
• Fandoms which share a performer, director, or creator/creative team but are not related through a shared continuity, shared characters, or other shared elements

You can find the full list of situations where Tag Wranglers decided a metatag would not be beneficial in the Metatag Wrangling Guidelines.

Fandom merging guidelines

Similar to determining which existing tags should have a metatag and don't currently, existing tags that have multiple adaptations merged together into one fandom tag may instead canonize their adaptations and subtag them to a metatag if they meet the guidelines above for when to create a metatag. These will also be handled on a case by case basis based on what is most appropriate for the fandom.

Finally, Tag Wranglers reviewed their guidelines on when to merge fandom tags for two related adaptations into one shared fandom tag (e.g. fandom tags like Naruto (Anime & Manga)), partially in relation to anime and manga fandoms. Going forward, when requested by users and/or Tag Wranglers, fandom tags for nearly identical adaptations may be merged if it is determined that this will be what is most useful to AO3 users. These requests will always be examined on a case by case basis.

Canonizing adaptations separately will remain the default, as it's much easier to merge later if appropriate than it is to separate them. This is particularly true in the case of ongoing canons where it's highly possible that the adaptations may diverge in plot, character development, etc.

Changes in progress

As part of these guideline updates, we've already begun processing some commonly requested metatag and fandom changes. The below list represents a small sample of changes that we've already made in response to requests from Tag Wranglers and users. This is not a comprehensive list of every change we have made or will make, but these examples show how the above changes may look in practice.

Metatag change examples

• 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Modao Zushi - Moxiang Tongxiu & Related Fandoms has been made a canonical metatag, with the following fandoms subtagged:
  • 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Audio Drama)
  • 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
  • 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Cartoon)
  • 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
  • 陈情令之生魂 | The Living Dead (2019)
  • 乱魄 | Fatal Journey (2020)
  • 魔道祖师Q | Módào Zǔshī Q (Cartoon)
  • 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Webcomic)
• Good Omens - All Media Types has been made a canonical metatag, with the following fandoms subtagged:
  • Good Omens (Graphic Novel)
  • Good Omens (Movie Concept 1992)
  • Good Omens (Radio)
  • Good Omens (TV)
  • Good Omens - Hare/Moody/Larnach
  • Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Fandom merging examples

• 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime) and 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga) have been merged into 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime & Manga).
• 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Cartoon), 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Webcomic), and 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù have been merged into 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tian Guan Ci Fu | Heaven Official's Blessing - Moxiang Tongxiu.

Other fandoms that have recently been updated to merge separate medias, add a metatag, and/or split out subtags to form a new fandom tree include: How to Train Your Dragon, KonoSuba, A Certain Magical Index, Uma Musume, Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard, Monogatari Series - Nisio Isin, and Solo Leveling.

The above changes are already live on AO3, and others will be made in the coming days as wranglers and users request changes to their fandom's structure in connection with this change.

Have questions or want to request a metatag change?

You can find these specific guideline updates on our Metatag and Fandom Wrangling Guideline pages. As mentioned above, other fandoms may already be discussing making changes. These discussions will also include requests from users who've previously submitted feedback to Support. If you have submitted a request within the past six months asking for a metatag or merger to be considered, there is no need to submit another request at this time as your request is already being reviewed.

For more information about AO3's tag system generally, check out the Tags FAQ. To learn more about Tag Wrangling, refer to the Tag Wrangler position description or the committee description.

If you have questions about specific tags, want to request a change to your fandom's metatag, or have other questions about this change, please contact Support instead of leaving a comment on this post. Support handles questions and requests related to how tags are sorted and connected in addition to providing technical support to AO3's users.​

Do not contact Support if the tags you wish to ask about are less than one month old. Please give Tag Wranglers time to handle new tags and wait to request changes until at least one month after a tag's first use.

Finally, while we know the majority of users find having a metatag helpful, we are aware that not everyone agrees with this due to the limits it creates on filtering. As such, we wanted to provide some advice on how to filter out works tagged with the metatag, if you wish to. Please select "How to exclude works tagged with a metatag" below to expand the instructions on excluding works tagged with a metatag.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/34211