[Tagging Tips] - Using Tags wisely.

One of the best features you can use for getting people to find out about your game is to use the Tagging feature properly.

Every new game is required to use at least one tag and you may use up to fifteen tags to let browsers know what your game is all about. It is highly recommended to use as many tags as you can think of that suit your game because it allows people who would be interested in your game to find it more easily.

But there's a problem, of course: Which tags will be useful to people looking for your game?

This guide is intended to help you figure out which tags will work best for your game, without using 'useless' tags.

OVERVIEW
For the "tl;dr" crowd, this is a summary of what the next several posts will cover.


- Tagging well is as simple as asking yourself what your game is about.

- Useless tags are tags that add no value to a player's search for a good game.

- Don't use abbreviations! They can be misleading.

- Adult rpgs have special tagging rules.

- Useless tags and inappropriate tags may be deleted by the staff at their own discretion or edited to fix typos or help you out by using the 'standard' tag.

TAGGING SUGGESTIONS
Here are some general suggestions for useful tags for your rpg. Of course, only you will know which are most appropriate for your game - but this will help you get started.

It all begins with you asking yourself some questions, sorted in approximate order of of importance in tagging your game.

-> When is my story set?

General Time Periods: Historical, Futuristic, Modern

Specific Time Period Examples: Victorian, Prehistoric, Old West, World War II, 1920s

-> What genre(s) fit my story?

Example Genres & Sub-Genres: Fantasy, Supernatural, Horror, Sci-Fi, Nature, Animal Life, Business, Sports, Romance, Fairy Tale, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, Steam-fantasy, Steam-pulp, Action, Adventure, Martial Arts, War, Mystery, Crime, Political Intrigue, School Life, Time Travel, Alternate History, Survival, post-Apocalyptic

-> What are good keywords for my game?
What words can you think of that people may search for that are not words for its time period or genre? Keep in mind that you're hoping to attract the most number of people, so using obscure words will not help you. (Fantasy races available for play is a good start. So are settings, professions and 'special interests'.)

Example keywords: vampires, vampire hunters, werewolves, fairies, elves, angels, demons, mutants, superheroes, royalty, magic, mecha, robots, gay, yaoi, yuri, harem, slaves, castle, hospital, school, dorms, bar, club, England, Chicago, Australia

-> Am I playing in another language?
It is perfectly permissible to make a game that is played entirely in a different language. In those cases, you'll want to write somewhere in your OOC description which language you're using. You might also want to tag it with "in (language)" using the language you'll be using!

Example keywords: en français, en español, auf Deutsch
Heck, if you wanted to play a game entirely in Klingon, you could tag it "tlhIngan Hol" (which I believe is a close approximation to "in Klingon" in Klingon...)

TIPS FOR TAGGING FAN-BASED GAMES AND GAMING SYSTEMS
Fan-based games and gaming system-based games are different from 'home-brew' free-form games in that they follow concepts set by other people, such as rules, settings, races; etc. As such, you'll probably want to use keywords related to the setting you want to play in more than any of the answers to the questions from the post above.

Series name examples: Pokemon, Naruto, Legend of Zelda, Harvest Moon

"Universe" name examples * : DC Universe, Marvel Universe, Tortall Universe

Specific setting examples ** : Megakat City, Gotham, Hogwarts, Xavier Institute for Higher Learning

Key characters/teams examples ***: Batman, Harry Potter, SWAT Kats, X-Men, Justice League of America

System examples: Dungeons and Dragons, Scion, GURPs, Legend of the Five Rings, World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu

Keyword examples: dice, tabletop, d20, true 20



* By "universe" it is meant to encompass every related series. For example - Batman is part of the DC Universe because it features crossovers with other DC characters and storylines. If your game is 'series specific' (ie: Gotham regulars only - no visits from Superman), you may not wish to use this tag.
Likewise, it's best to use whatever the most widely accepted name for your fandom's "universe" is. If your game's universe doesn't have one, you may wish to avoid adding all variations so you don't use up all your valuable tag space. For example, the Harry Potter universe is variously called "Potterverse", "Harry Potter Universe", "Hogwartsverse", "Wizardling World"; etc. However, if you can't think of any more keywords to use, filling them with alternate variations couldn't hurt.

** Particularly important if it's the only place in that fandom's/system's universe your story will take place in and players might search for it.

*** The best examples of this are single characters that encompass the whole universe or important teams in the universe. You're probably better off having the teams directly related to the game on-offer. For example, you probably wouldn't want to use the tag 'Hufflepuff' if players weren't allowed to play Hufflepuff characters. In fact, unless you had a 'Hufflepuff-only' game, you may not even wish to use it as a tag.

WHAT ARE "USELESS" TAGS?
A 'useless' tag is a tag that tells browsers nothing about the game itself. 'Useless' tags will actually hurt your chances of finding good players because it reduces the chances of a player finding your game.

Every game on the site is a 'role-play'/'roleplay'/'rp'/'rpg' - so why bother to use any of those for a tag?

Likewise, tags such as "open" or "closed", "beginner", "intermediate", or "advanced" are already taken care of with the different ways you are required to identify your game. There's no need to double-up!

Tagging a game with a character name is only useful if the character name is a from established media like "Harry Potter" and you are running a "Harry Potter" game.

There is no reason to identify a game by the players involved. If people want to find games played by the same person, they need only visit the player's profile.

Try not to use abbreviations when tagging your game. Your abbreviation may mean an entirely different thing in a different fandom. The notable exception to this is the "NSFW" tag - which indicates your adult game may have images posted in it that are "not safe for work" (or bystanders in general).


'Useless' tags such as the ones mentioned above may be removed by the staff at their discretion.

Staff may also correct typos in your tags or change a tag to the 'standard' tag used by the most users. (ex: Most people use 'sci-fi' rather than 'sci fi' or 'scifi' - and 'syfy' would only be appropriate if the game were based on a SyFy Channel show).

TAGGING ADULT GAMES
Game creators for adult games with adult themes may be tempted to use very specific terms about what their game has to offer. Unfortunately for them, tags for adult games will show up to all users, regardless of whether they are an adult player. Because of this, many specific terms for kinks cannot be used while tagging. Staff members will remove these tags if they see them and feel they are inappropriate for all users.

Please list any of these inappropriate terms for specific kinks in the "Introduction" portion of your game's listing if you feel as if it's worth mentioning.

If your game may contain images that are "NSFW" (Not Safe For Work) you may wish to use this tag as well. This does NOT take the place of tagging locations/threads with the NSFW notice in their titles, but gives additional warning to players who may wish to avoid games that have NSFW imagery.

Have a tagging tip?
Have a question about tagging?
Want to debate whether a tip is useful or not?

Feel free to comment and add your input.

This guide will be updated from time to time to add more tips or edit the tips given.