What's this tag cloud crap?

[brewer12345]

I have to pick from an approved list of tags? How about just letting me pick from an approved list of posts? May I suggest:

- Everything is going down the tubes.
- The gummint conspiracy is understating inflation.
- Yay, I am retired!
- Why am I so fat?
- Heh, I bought some underwear at the thrift store yesterday for 10 cents.

[Marquette]

Well, we were abusing the free-form tags pretty darn good.

Personally, I don't get this web 2.0 folksonomy stuff.

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marquette Well, we were abusing the free-form tags pretty darn good.

Yeah, definitely.

[Martha]

Well Brewer honey, I know you had some fun with it while it lasted.

[brewer12345]

With all due respect, I am not laughing, Martha. This is overly heavy-handed and perhaps indicative of the way things are going here.

[laurence]

What is this tag thing that you speak of?

[Sarah in SC]

Look at the bottom of the last post, lower left corner. It is a search feature, really, since the other search isn't all that easy to use to find posts on a specific topic.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurencewill What is this tag thing that you speak of?

Welcome to us dinosaurs, we wouldn't understand...

[Martha]

The moderators are looking at the tag system as a way to facilitate searching for posts, as the vBulletin search feature is not very robust. We are looking at how we want to be able to use tags and who will be able to assign tags to a thread. So, tags are a work in process right now.

Brewer, we were getting complaints when anyone could tag a post with anything. The list of tags people were using looked mighty rude. We didn't want to have to moderate tags.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha But we were getting complaints when anyone could tag a post with anything.

Oh the horror! Won't someone please think of the children!

Quote:

The list of tags people were using looked mighty rude. We didn't want to have to moderate tags.

Why? Everything and anything else gets moderated half to death, so why not tags, too?

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Oh the horror! Won't someone please think of the children! Why? Everything and anything else gets moderated half to death, so why not tags, too?

Probably the best thing would be not to respond to your post, but I will respond anyway.

We are fairly free wheeling here. People are free to argue back and forth. People express strong opinions. People tell off color jokes. But we try to draw a line at personal attacks. Tags were used for just that, with people anonymously tagging posts with nasty comments. The moderators are not going to sit around playing whack the mole with the taggers. Plus, we are looking at using tags to facilitate searches and organizing of threads.

[Khan]

Quote:

We are fairly free wheeling here. People are free to argue back and forth. People express strong opinions. People tell off color jokes. But we try to draw a line at personal attacks. Tags were used for just that, with people anonymously tagging posts with nasty comments. The moderators are not going to sit around playing whack the mole with the taggers. Plus, we are looking at using tags to facilitate searches and organizing of threads.

Crap, that hadn't even occurred to me.

Missed my 15 minutes.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha Probably the best thing would be not to respond to your post, but I will respond anyway. We are fairly free wheeling here. People are free to argue back and forth. People express strong opinions. People tell off color jokes. But we try to draw a line at personal attacks. Tags were used for just that, with people anonymously tagging posts with nasty comments. The moderators are not going to sit around playing whack the mole with the taggers. Plus, we are looking at using tags to facilitate searches and organizing of threads.

I don't yet understand what tags are. Have they been removed?

Ha

[Martha]

Ha, you and Khan missed the fun. Look at the bottom of the thread and click on Tags. For a while anyone could tag a thread anonymously with anything they wanted to say.

[Janet H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I don't yet understand what tags are. Have they been removed? Ha

here's some basic info about tags:

What are tags?
Tags are a useful way to search for threads with similar subject matter and content. This compliments the normal search system, which searches only for certain words or phrases and/or posts by specific users.
To use tags, you add words or phrases to threads to help describe the content. For instance, if the subject matter is 'photography' then you can add the tag 'photography' to the tag list. But you could also add tags like 'digital image', and 'camera' (depending, of course, on the nature of the thread).
This will categorize this thread with all other threads that have matching tags, whether or not they have the word 'photography' in them.


Who adds the tags?
Tags are initially added to threads by the user who started the thread. Other users may also be able to add and remove tags.

How do I use tags?
Tags are displayed in a box near the bottom of a thread page. Clicking on a tag will allow you to view other threads that have the same tag - and which may be related. Clicking on the word 'Tags' in the top of the box will take you to an overview page with a 'tag cloud.'
This cloud allows you to see which tags are the most popular - the larger the word, the more times it has been used on threads within the board. There is also another tag cloud on the advanced search page that shows you the tags that have been searched for (or clicked on) the most.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha Ha, you and Khan missed the fun. Look at the bottom of the thread and click on Tags. For a while anyone could tag a thread anonymously with anything they wanted to say.

I see. So you could tag something "horsepucky", for example? I have to get better with quickly evolving technology like this.

[Nords]

Lemme translate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet H What are tags?

Tags are way cooler than having to use descriptive subjects in the thread titles, which are so second-millenium.

Now you can describe your post with 25 tag words, saving the valuable thread-title space for trendy verbiage like "Unbelievable U R Not going to Blieve this!!?!" with helpful emoticons...

[Notmuchlonger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Lemme translate. Tags are way cooler than having to use descriptive subjects in the thread titles, which are so second-millenium. Now you can describe your post with 25 tag words, saving the valuable thread-title space for trendy verbiage like "Unbelievable U R Not going to Blieve this!!?!" with helpful emoticons...

Whut?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I see. So you could tag something "horsepucky", for example? I have to get better with quickly evolving technology like this.

You have the general idea. But the powers that be do not like original thought, so tags = pablum.

[ProspectiveBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 You have the general idea. But the powers that be do not like original thought, so tags = pablum.

"Horsepucky" is an original thought?

My contribution to the board this week (for anyone whose vocabulary is as stunted as mine):

pab·lum (pāb'ləm) n. Trite, insipid, or simplistic writing, speech, or conceptualization: "We have to settle for the pablum that passes for the inside dope" (Julie Salamon).