#tagging advice

[prof-grace-aspen]

New User Advice: Use Your Words

Welcome to new tumblr users! This post is going to explain why we don’t censor things on tumblr, why that’s important for safety, and why that will help your posts get MORE visibility, not less!

Now I know on some apps, particularly TikTok and Twitter, there’s the worry that saying certain words will cause the algorithm to ignore or suppress your post. Tumblr does not have an algorithm like that. There’s technically a “For You” page, but most people don’t use it and I don’t suggest it because that’s not really how tumblr works best.

Tumblr works best when you actively choose to FOLLOW people. This site is about connecting with individuals by CHOICE, not just passively consuming content that has been fed to you by math. Browsing tags and using the search function is your best bet to get started finding cool people. You follow them, and their posts will show up on your dashboard. Soon you’ll have collected a bunch of cool people and you’ll see great posts all day long!

If you WANT people to find your content, tag it with relevant tags. You WILL be reported as a spammer if you use tags that do not relate to your post. Do not tag your post about snakes with whatever tag is trending that day. Just tag it #snakes and #snakeblr. Just like TikTok has "booktok", combining the interest with the word "Tok", we do that on Tumblr too! We have #bookblr and #studyblr and all other kinds of tags to explore! You can also explore by using ship tags, like #spirk or #garashir or #stormpilot or any other ship name.

You can also choose what post content and which tags you want to block, and it works really well in this site! This function is built in, you just have to go to settings > "general settings" > "filtering in the app", and settings > "content you see".

But - all of the above ONLY works well if you USE REAL WORDS. There are no "le$bians" or "ledollarbeans" on Tumblr, they are lesbians. You can say lesbian here. You can say "kill". You will be mocked if you say "unalive". You NEED to tag warnings with the actual word, not a misspelled censored version, because otherwise you are actively hurting the people you are trying to help. If I need to avoid images of snakes, you're not helping me if you tag your post #sn4akes. I'm not scared of the word "snakes", I'm scared of images OF snakes, and you've now made it so my filter for "#snakes" isn't going to work.

ALSO - you can add read mores here. PLEASE do this.

[quartermera]

Things to know about tagging fanfictions

Canon convergent means you follow the essential plot lines. This can be used to write a fic set before, after or during canon, but the main elements need to remain the same. Examples: character deaths, the beginning and end of canon etc.

Canon divergent means you change essential plot lines. Keeping a character who dies, alive in your fic is canon divergent. This tag is often used in combination with others such as "X lives" or "Everybody lives".

This means there is no point in tagging the same fic with both canon convergent and canon divergent. Canon convergent refers to specific plot points, not just the general universe. It is the default for fics to take place in their canon universe, unless specified otherwise.

Speaking of, these fics set in non-canon universes are called alternate universes, AU for short. These are your typical "what if they went to high-school/college/the coffeeshop together" stories.

While on the subject of AU's, I will take the chance to speak of something else than tagging. Recently in a fandom I was active in, I was surprised to see plagiarism claims. However, these were thrown around much too fast in my humble opinion. Remember that when writing for a fandom, in particular big ones, you will be working with the same characters and mechanics as potentially tens of thousands of other people. What will make your work special is the way you combine certain elements, mixed with your personal style. Countless stories have similar plots if reduced to their bare bones. Don't be offended too fast.

Now I am addressing the OC and Reader Insert writers: learn to differentiate the 2.

OC's, or Original Characters, are the ones with a name, description, back story etc. As soon as your characters has a name or a detailed description, they are an OC. No point in tagging both OC and Reader in order to get more clicks, people will just leave if it does not match what they are looking for. Also OC's are not cringe. I remember a time where Reader Insert fics were the cringiest and look at us now.

Reader Inserts are meant to remain as neutral as possible. This means no name, no description, and as vague of a backstory as possible. No one wants to read about them having "luscious, long, blonde locks" if their hair is none of those. It breaks immersion.

And if something is a necessity for the plot (example, stories targeted at short/tall/fat/skinny/white/poc readers), mention it in other tags, the summary or the warnings section depending on your platform. A quick "short!f!reader" won't hurt anyone.

And vice versa, I encourage you to specify when a reader you write is gender and/or race neutral. As there is so little work targeted to POC and genderqueer or male readers, such works are gems and you will be thanked for it (I know I have been).

Since I made a post saying we should teach the kids how to tag, here I am. Yes, I am aware of the irony of this sentence when I myself have only reached the ripe old age of 23, but what can I say, I have been in fandom for a decade. Also these are just 10 points bc I don't like to make my lists too long and they are my main grievances/pieces of advice.

[peblezq]

Hello, fellow fanfic writers. Let me give y'all some wisdom on the difference between the tags: "canon compliant" and "canon divergence"

Canon Compliant: This story could fit in with the original canon. It may have some obvious changes at some points (like maybe making a non-canon ship canon), but otherwise, it could fit in the original story's canon. Canon compliant.

Canon Divergence: This is an alternate universe fic. This is nowhere near canon. It diverges from canon.

This difference is important to me as a reader when I'm filtering through ao3 and looking for a very specific type of fanfic. Please do not mix the two tags up and you should not put them together. Also, if your fic is an AU, leave a tag that also just says Alternate Universe alone so people who don't wanna read au fics can have them excluded. The same goes for the other way around. Please properly tag your fanfics.

I am also a writer as well, and I make sure to accurately tag my fanfics. It is also useful to tag your fics with genre tags. Is your story a thriller or a romance? Or maybe it is both. Let your readers know. You'd be surprised how many people could be looking for your fic but can't find it because you improperly tagged your fics.

Thank you. This has been a psa.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

hi! i'm kind of new to writing and i was wondering if i needed to add a nsfw warning if i just added a suggestive joke in my fic? i know it's silly, but i'm still kind of confused with what counts as lemon and what doesn't. thank you!

Lemon is old school lingo for describing people doing the do. It’s smut pure and simple. I’m just more liberal in my use of it because I know I’ve developed younger crowd of followers and I want my bases covered.

If it’s a suggestive joke just put in the description, “suggestive nsfw elements” and you should be all set. You don’t have to tag it as “lemon” or “nsfw”.

[fuzzballsheltiepants]

AO3 has a "No Archive Warnings Apply" tag specifically for this issue

Yes, exactly.  (Presumably this is in reference to this post.)

So, friends, when you go to post on AO3, here are your choices:

If your fic contains none of the warnings (graphic depictions of violence, major character death, rape/noncon, or underage), you will get the widest audience if you click on our No Archive Warnings Apply buddy up there.  If your fic does contain any or all of those things, you have the option of clicking the appropriate tags, or clicking Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, which essentially “assumes” it contains one (or more) of the Big Four warnings.

Again: tag how you want to tag, rate how you want to rate.  I just want y’all to be aware of the implications of checking off that first box on the list.

[girl-with-cat-eyes]

Hey could I get some tagging advice? If I'm gonna write a fic that has seemingly asshole lightsides but it turns out to be a huge misunderstanding should I tag it unsympathetic? Like they're cool in the end but they're gonna do something kinda assholish.

[crouchingjonklerhiddenzonkler]

crouch-sama, anonling reporting for duty!!! tagging on ao3 to me is mostly intuitive and there’s really no “wrong” way to tag! your tags have been perfectly fine to me! but here is some key stuff according to this anonling:

1. tag the important stuff first! meaning fic genre and also possible triggers! classics are “Angst” “Smut” “Fluff” and for the triggers, “Dubious consent” or “Gore” or “Major Character Death” or “Animal Death” …

2. over tagging is usually perceived worse than under tagging i think! think of it as sort of like a summary and way to help people find your fic (filter specifically for it)… so any “unique” part of your fic, you should tag! like First Person POV or any Alternate Universes! character tags are always fun like idk Jabber Wonger Has Pink Eyes BUT you def don’t need to put 1000 of them. you’ll see if you just type in a character name that commonly used tags will come up for them… you can always use those! (usually people care to know the Top/Bottom in fics)

Thank you very much for the information, my dear anonling! And thank goodness I've been doing alright with the tags.

I'll be happy if over-tagging is worse than under-tagging. I always feel a little nervous about "spoiling" the work before someone can read it... Of course, I also don't want to neglect a trigger tag and cause someone distress, so I'll be diligent with those.

[disastrousoilthing]

If I'm writing a fic with the rabbits Foot, Foot Foot, and Foot Foot Foot, or about characters from some other well known joke, how do I tag the fandom on AO3?