Need Community Input on Tags

Hi everyone,

With the new version, we've added the tags function. You can now search tags as well on the Advanced Search : http://mydramalist.com/shows/top

However, we've had 700 tags in one week, and a lot of them are repeats/spelled differently etc. Since MDL is a community project, we'd love to hear our users input on how to solve this issue. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Some ideas I have are:
- Always go with Plural tags. ( e.g go with  Zombies instead of Zombie ). 

- Go with English translations rather than Asian Words (Based on a Comic  or Grim Reaper)

Another idea is having the most used (or all) tags appear on the edit genre/tag page, and then allow users to just click on them to add them vs writing them in. They would be able to write them in if they don't appear already? 

Well, in theory the tag search feature should go a long way in getting rid of repeats/spelled differently.  I think the plural is a good idea as well as sticking to English translations. Hiding repeats sounds like it would take to much honestly as you'd probably have to flag repeats and choose the default, etc. You might as well manually remove all repeats since "repeat" to me implies the same / or worthless synonym.

A parallel I could see is with the QA Stack Exchange network sites (e.g. Stackoverflow) where users can add tags to their questions, but unless they've earned the privilege by attaining a certain amount of reputation (i.e. points), they have to use current tags and can't make new ones. It might not be an ideal method for this kind of site, and I'm not certain what is currently being enforced, but only allowing tag creation to users who have been a member for a certain period of time might would at least reduce potential troll tag adds from fake users. Could possibly also allow if created a certain number of reviews or added x amount of dramas to list but that could be faked.

In my opinion there should also be some verification by admins/mods or enough agreement from other members to make a tag live, but perhaps it would be easiest to let tags go live and flag tags that are similar to current tags to be reviewed.

My $0.02. I don't know exactly how it currently works so maybe some of my points are moot.

I wouldn't go with the plural, and stick to genre (zombies sounds better, but fantasies and romances?). I think simple is the best, instead of having a million tags. Make a list of tags the normal ones, and ones inputed by members for the extra genres in a drama; e.g. noona (romance), candy, bromance, etc. You can have a tags index and people woulnd't have to scroll down a list with 200+. You can also (apart from the ones that fit all countries) split the list into specific country tags; tonkusatsu, jidaigeki (meji), makjang, etc.

But then again... what do I know. xD

 Ceki:

Perhaps not allow the users to type them in but choose them  from a set of tags like on manga sites? And have a community like this where they can recommend new tags?

Because there is no point in having a tag system if there are multiple versions of one tag.

Oh, I think i know what site you're talking about. 

 Ceki:

Yeah there was one but it's closing soon. It had a huge directory of tags and the basic set of genres, unless I mistook it for some other manga site. 

Just post the link lol

It's been said above but I really think giving people the option to choose from a pre-defined set of available listed tags is the best option. Avoiding duplicates,  weird spelling etc.

Stick to common things such as Makjang, BL, Reverse Harem, Noona Romance etc. Terms most MDL users know & understand & most likely will be looking for.

Also have a feature or forum post that allows users to submit a tag for consideration which can be added upon review to the list of available choices.

I also think singular is best over plural as not all words have a plural sounding word which means it would be mixed in the end. 

Sometimes there are no direct English translation so the Asian words needs to be used. I.e Makjang & Segeuk.

If we have the tag search there would not ba a problem with the repeats. Plus, we need an index with the number of usages. This way, we can weed out duplicates and manage it effectively.

Personally, I think we should go with tags that are like this, Zombie(s), so that it works with the plural and singular use. Moreover, it is better to use English words, since Asian words are different because of spelling and new drama fans might not understand it.

So, my proposed fix is that:

1. We add the tag search.

2. Add a tag index.

3. Choose what to use, the plural or singular.

If the problem is not fixed after that, we can look for a different fix. But for now, it is not a problem to allow users to add custom tags, the problem is that there is no way to search and know if it exists.