User Tagging Has Arrived On ATS!

Content tagging is a growing Internet trend that empowers users of a website to add their own contextual tags to website content. Typically, this results in excellent categorization of content in a way that is relevant to to the needs of users.

On ATS, a "Thread Tag" can contain any word or phrase up to 30 characters in length. At the bottom of each page of a thread is a new form to add your own tag, only one tag per member for each thread is allowed. When we've accumulated enough tags, we'll incorporate the user-defined tags into a new search function that should provide excellent results.

As an incentive to help us "TAG ATS", you earn board points for each tag you add:
Threads that are less than 6 months old earn 5 points
Threads between 6 months and 1 year old earn 10 points
Threads between 1 and 2 years old will earn 20 points
Threads older than 2 years old will earn you 30 points

Additional uses of thread tags would allow members to cross-reference similar threads much more easily, quickly finding all other threads with one or more identical tags.

Thread tags should contain descriptive words that help the system understand the content of a thread, and thus help all ATS members in the end.

So start tagging! This should be fun.



For those who might feel inclined to add inappropriate tags or use the tags to comment on members, you will receive a 1000 point penalty for each tag needs to be removed. If we need to remove three or more of your tags, your account will be terminated. This also may apply to tags that are more opinion than fact if they cross the political line of unbiased tagging.



Due to disappointing wide-spread abuse of the tagging-for-points system by some members, points are no longer awarded for tagging threads. We hope that members continue to tag old and new threads in an effort to help everyone find content on ATS.



[edit on 20-6-2006 by SkepticOverlord]

How is this going to make ATS more orgnized? I'm kinda new to content tagging. Will there be a special search engine or something?

I've never even heard of this before--sounds neat, but I have absolutely no clue what it's about I see the box at the bottom, and the 'tags' for that thread, but I don't see how scrolling down to the bottom of the page helps organize things. What am I missing?

Administrative Oversight


This, I think:


This is something many major forums already use. For a notable example, Free Republic has had a similar system in place for years.

Works quite well, actually.

I've never been able to use the search feature very well, so I hope this helps the function work better. But it may be, that I'm just not the sharpest tack in the box though, and the search function works fine.....

It's always nice to have a new toy to play with on ATS.

Very cool.
Does this mean that we can all locate our past topic creations and go tag happy?

Innovative and useful.
Thanks for incorporating this tool.




seekerof

How'd you get more than 30 characters in this thread tag?

This is actually a genius idea. A new term will come from this............."tag whore".

Peace

Take a look at these two threads:
MENTORS... A new opportunity to help. and Mentor Qualifications.

If they are both tagged with the term "Mentor" on the new search, when you place that term in it'll locate those threads and all others with the tag mentor rather than all posts with the word mentor in them.

Helps to speed things up.

It is more than one tag, the "comma" [,] seperates the different tags.

More fun than a barrel of monkeys

I'm tagging this as "S.O. once agains fails to properly explain another one of his baord upgrade, improvement or concepts to where the rest of us mere mortals know what the hell he is talking about."

As I do not know what this is, or how I could improperly tag to begin with, do I owe you any points at this time?



[edit on 14-12-2005 by Thomas Crowne]

Fantastic! Drinks all around!

Great idea but I wonder how long will it take to see "Bush is a Nazi" or "tree-hugging peacenik liberal"? I'm sure mods can edit, but there are always bad apples somewhere ruining the fun!

Could someone translate this into english even a hillbilly can understand?

It will make searching for threads very easy rather then the struggle it is currently.

I think what it means is if I tag your thread - you're it.

*tag*

Perhaps, or perhaps not:



Much like the subway or bridge abutments... Tag at your own peril...

For poor Thomas...
en.wikipedia.org...

The general idea is to allow our members to define content (threads) with brief descriptions (tags) that accurately summarize the content.

It's a popular concept that lives and breaths on the basic ideas that users of content are the best people to help prospective new users find important content.

Once the majority of our threads are 'tagged" with relevant phrases and keywords, it will current and new users in a wide range of ways:

1) The tags will be placed into the page code for search engine optimization

2) A new thread-tag search engine will be launched that will likely provide better results on ATS content than our boolean search or Google

3) If you're reading a thread you like, you'll be able to click on the tags to find a list of other related threads as defined by the tagging

4) We'll be able to create automated-lists of threads that cover similar topics just by cross-referencing their tags

These are just a start. The implications are far reaching, and I'm sure we'll find other important uses.

Amuk, what the HELL did he just say?

Ok, thanks, Bill. I'm sure it will be a great thing. Whatever it is.

To show that I am willing to jump onto this tagging bandwagon, I shall stop and by spray paint on the way home tonight!

We're so fast. Tons of threads are already tagged.