The social life of bookmark tags
Paratext (on the Internet) has historically been used, not only for folksonommy, but for social functions, too. This is true for websites that have a broader range of social media-like features, such as comments, likes and private messages and for those that lack one or more of these. However, Bourlai observes differences in how paratext is used and ties it to the above features of the site:
Since Tumblr does not have a separate comment section for posts, the tag section may also be used for tags with discourse functions such as expressing an opinion, a reaction, or including asides. (…) The results suggest that social tagging practices on Tumblr are influenced by both the technological specifications of the platform and the social structure of the website. E. Bourlai: “Comments in Tags, Please!: Tagging practices on Tumblr”
Those interested in fandom might instantly think about the paratext and especially the tags of Archive of Our Own. The archive, will providing commenting options, the post themselves serve no social function in theory. It is all the more telling, what communicative functions the different elements of a post serve. While the post itself would need to contain the fanwork only, a space known as Author’s Notes is provided where the users can communicate additional information. However, users still relegate some of this information to the comments.
Comment tags play no role in enhancing the visibility and searchability of a post and would not be considered metadata labels like keyword tags. They are part of the content and would normally be included in the body section of a post. By placing part of the content in the tag section, users indicate a logical or structural division in the post. E. Bourlai: “Comments in Tags, Please!: Tagging practices on Tumblr”
This logical separation is so embedded in fannish practices that folksonomical functions and social functions have become entangled where we see some messages becoming codified (i wrote this instead of sleeping), while some tags might start out with intending to categorize the post but end up in a conversation with the reader (Hua Tuo would regret featuring in this fic, Lin Chen regrets nothing). These suggest that a tracing of historical development of tags would be possible. It also suggests an awareness on the users’ part for what is more fitting as an Author’s Note and what is more fitting as a tag. Two further quote might highlight the significance of this awareness.
As can be seen from the examples shown above, particularly on Tumblr and AO3, these motivations can result in rich tagging practices, that evidence the fan community’s desire to share and engage widely with one another, as well as to accurately and usefully organise and classify their works. Price, L. and Robinson, L.: “Tag analysis as a tool for investigating information behaviour: comparing fan-tagging on Tumblr, Archive of Our Own and Etsy”
While some of these activities are not necessarily „important” in themselves, they are the enabling conditions for fan cultural productions and for the construction of fandom as a social community. Jenkins, H. Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture. Routledge.
Author: Szabó Dorottya