Hello! This is the new hub for all things tagging here in our little corner of the internet. Tags help people find new stories with smaller search parameters and to find stories they've read in the past, both of which are improved upon in this new tagging system. This page contains two major sections, the Tag List and the New Tag Suggestion Guide.
So I Heard You Wanna Tag Your Pages
Most of you will know this already, but the process for actually tagging your pages is quite simple. Simply scroll to the bottom of the page, find the "Tags" button (third from the left), and enter the tags you want to apply. If there are multiple, separate them with a space. For example, if I wanted to apply the "entry", "verse", and "elrich" tags to a page, I'd input "entry verse elrich" into the box and hit "Save Tags."
A Quick Tip: Generally, for any tag, if you feel like someone uses the tag to find new stories, lands on your story, and is satisfied with that tag leading them there, you should apply the tag.
Entries
Any story housed within the Library should have the entry tag. If it appears in the Wings, it is an entry. The following lists refer only to tags that are applied to pages with the entry or gallery tag. All other tags not for entries will be covered after (the gallery tag is in that after section, but does receive entry tags since those pages are treated mostly like entries).
The second required tag is the Wing tag. Any entry posted in the time that a Wing is open should receive that Wing's tag. For example, Twin Notions of Catastrophised Time was posted during the time that Wing Two was not completed, so it was given the wing-two tag. This tag automatically adds a story to its corresponding Wing. Despite Wing One being manually upheld, unlike the other Wings, any entry in that wing should receive a wing-one tag for clarity's sake. In the future, there will be a wing-three, wing-four, etc. tag that will be used the same way as wing-two.
Finally, two other meta-type tags are collaboration and co-authored. A collaboration tag should be applied if the page is meant to be open for edits by other people in the future. A co-authored tag should be applied when two or more individuals took part in authoring the one page.
Style Tags
Unless in very unique situations up to staff discretion, every piece posted on the site must have either the prose or verse tags.
- prose - Stories written partially or fully in prose
- verse - Stories written partially or fully in verse
- audio - The article contains embedded audio
- document - A piece presented as a form of written document. Almost always should be paired with at least one of the following indented tags:
- academic - Stories presented as an academic article
- epistolary - Stories presented as a collection of smaller documents from varying sources. Remember to utilize the tags for each type of document used
- excerpt - Stories presented as a part of a larger document, book, poem, etc.
- instructional - Stories presented as a document informing on a ritual/procedure.
- interview - Stories presented as a transcript of an interview.
- journal - Stories presented as a journal, diary or other form of personal log
- journalism - Stories presented as an article in a newspaper or magazine
- letter - Stories presented as a written letter intended to be read by others
- legal - Stories presented as court records, laws, contracts, declarations, etc. Not always a document subset, but usually is.
- script - Stories presented as a theater, comic, or film/tv script
- image - The article contains embedded images
- video - The article contains embedded video
Tense Tags
An article can have any combination of these.
- first-person - Articles written primarily or partially in first-person tense
- second-person - Articles written primarily or partially in second-person tense
- third-person - Articles written primarily or partially in third-person tense
Setting Tags
When it comes to setting, some tags are in groups where only one can be applied per story (in most cases). These tags are exclusive, and are used to define a unique setting that doesn't have its own tag. The -earth, -fantasia, and -technology tags usually only have one of each applied to a story, but if it would make more sense to include multiple tags of the same type, such as in a multiple-timelines scenario, then go for it. If you're not sure, feel free to ask staff as well.
- alternative-earth - Stories set on Earth where public, common-knowledge history diverges significantly from reality's. Exclusive with other Earth tags
- contemporary-earth - Stories set on Earth roughly in the period of the 20th and 21st centuries. Exclusive with other Earth tags
- future-earth - Stories set on Earth (or involving a version of humanity that has departed Earth) in times after the above. Exclusive with other Earth tags
- historical-earth - Stories set on Earth in times before the above. Exclusive with other Earth tags
- high-fantasia - Settings where fantastical/anomalous effects/beings of a non-technological source are common and normalized. Exclusive with other Fantasia tags
- moderate-fantasia - Settings where fantastical/anomalous effects/beings of a non-technological source exist, but are uncommon. Exclusive with other Fantasia tags
- no-fantasia - Settings where fantastical/anomalous effects/beings of a non-technological source do not exist. Exclusive with other Fantasia tags
- high-technology - Settings with technology significantly more advanced than our own. Superseded by future-earth. Exclusive with other technology tags
- contemporary-technology - Settings with technology roughly analogous to our own. Superseded by contemporary-earth. Exclusive with other technology tags
- low-technology - Settings with technology significantly less advanced than our own. Superseded by historical-earth. Exclusive with other technology tags
- cosmic - Stories set off-planet
- otherworldly - Any non-earth setting not associated with an existing canon/setting tag. Exclusive with all other setting tags except Library, cosmic, and fantasia/technology
- realistic - If a story has either the historical-earth or contemporary-earth, no-fantasia, and the contemporary-technology or low-technology tags, replace those with this tag instead. Supersedes fantasia and technology tags
- caminero - Stories that are a part of the Caminero collection
- cedar-bardot - Stories that are a part of the Cedar Bardot collection
- elrich - Stories set in Elrich
- journal-of-the-walk - Stories set from the perspective of the author in the Journal of the Walk
- last-light - Stories set in the world of Last Light
- the-library - Set in or involving the Library. Can exist with any other setting tag other than realistic if appropriate.
- root-and-loam - Stories set in the world of Over Root and Under Loam
- ravelwoods - Stories set in the world of The Journal Of Aframos Longjourney
- rela - Stories set in the world of Mages of Rela
- river-canon - Stories set in the canon of River Canon
- titanclash - Stories set in the world of TitanClash LIVE
- vitalis - Stories set in the world of Vitalis LLC
- multiple-timelines - Stories featuring time-travel, flashbacks/flash-forwards, etc.
- multiple-worlds - Stories featuring multiple universes or planets
GoI/Series/Character Tags
GoI and Character tags should only be applied to stories that have the individual(s) somewhat important to the story. If they are only mentioned as an easter egg, the tag should not be applied. Series tags are usually reserved for the author writing the story, and should not be applied without permission from the author.
- bookburners - Stories involving the GOC
- jailors - Stories involving the Foundation
- legacy - Stories involving the group known as Legacy
- librarians - Stories involving any staff of the Library
- madmen - Stories involving the Chaos Insurgency
- magpies - Stories involving the Magpies
- merchants - Stories involving Marshall, Carter, & Dark LLC
- neverwere - Stories involving the Neverwere
- planasthai - Stories involving the Planasthai Press
- serpents-hand - Stories involving the Serpent's Hand
- atlas-burden - Reserved for Atlas' Burden
- book-of-ur - Reserved for the Book of Ur
- heptateuch-of-eve - Reserved for The Heptateuch of Eve
- the-island - Reserved for The Island
- longjourney - Reserved for The Journal of Aframos Longjourney
- luminal-oasis - Reserved for Luminal Oasis
- miyetlapallintlalli - Reserved for Miyetlapallintlalli
- ocular-haze - Reserved for Ocular Haze
- rocks-to-rockets - Reserved for Rocks to Rockets
- spears-to-flowers - Reserved for Tales from Spears to Flowers
- transient-collection - Reserved for Transient Collection
- versos - Reserved for Versos
- black-queen - Stories involving the Black Queen
- lady-fuchs - Stories involving Lady Fuchs
- rounderpede - Stories involving the Rounderpede, Eighth Chief Archivist
- ulak - Stories involving Ulak the Drifter
Genre/Content/Theme Tags
These tags tend to be a lot more subjective, so do your best and follow the Quick Tip about tagging provided in the beginning. Mainly, should only be applied when the aspect is an important part of the story.
- action-adventure - Stories where the primary narrative revolves around physical conflict or challenges
- afterlife - Stories where an afterlife is a main setting or a main topic
- anthropological - Stories describing a real or imagined society of any size
- apocalyptic - Stories where an apocalypse is the main setting or a main topic
- aquatic - Stories where water, oceans, rivers, etc. are a main element
- atypical-creature - Stories featuring creatures that were created for the story/site
- botany - Stories where the primary purpose/narrative revolves around a plant, whether real or fictional
- biography - Includes autobiographies. These should be something that intend to tell a general life story, not just a specific incident.
- campus - Stories where school is a main setting or a main topic
- city - Stories where a city is a main setting or a main topic
- comedy - Stories that are intended to be comical in nature
- dark-comedy - Supersedes comedy tag
- computing - Stories that have technology or the internet as a centerpiece
- crime - Stories where a crime being committed or crime in general is a main focus
- death - Stories where death/a death is a central focus, rather than just stories in which a character happens to die
- divine-being - Angels, demons, gods, etc.
- domestic - Primarily revolving around home/family life
- drama - Stories where the primary narrative revolves around emotional conflict or introspection etc
- dreams - Stories where a dream is a main topic
- dystopian - Stories where a dystopia is a main setting or a main topic
- extraterrestrial-being - Stories that involve aliens separate from the main character's species
- encounter - Stories focusing on contact with an entity/being outside of the protagonist's normal understanding of the world
- film - Stories that are presented as a film, movie, tv show, etc. or a film, movie, tv show, etc. is a main topic
- food - Stories where food is a main topic
- games - Also includes sports
- geographic - Stories primarily revolving around describing a specific location
- horror - Stories intended to be scary, disturbing, unnerving, etc.
- cosmic-horror - Supersedes horror tag
- journey - Stories revolving around the attempt(s) of one or more people to travel from one place to another, typically but not always in difficult conditions. Can also be used for things such as travelogues.
- legal - As previously stated, can also be used separate from the document tag if the story is particularly focused on a legal system or something similar
- lgbtq - Stories that have specific queer themes or as a main topic. Apply only to stories that center around those themes/topic, not if a story happens to include a queer character
- medical - Stories that involve a hospital, doctor, medicine, illnesses, etc. as a main topic
- military - Stories that involve a military as a main topic
- multilingual - Stories that involve two or more languages on the page, not for stories that have been translated to other branches of the site
- multiple-perspective - Stories with multiple POV characters.
- music - Stories that use music as a main topic
- myth - Stories that act as a fable/myth or where a myth is an important aspect of the story
- nature - Stories where nature is a central focus, rather than just a story that happens to be set in a forest
- philosophical - Stories that comment on philosophies or are philosophical in nature
- political - Stories that comment on politics or are political in nature
- religion - Stories that comment on religion or have religion as a main topic
- robots - Stories that use robots as a main topic
- royalty - Stories where royalty or high society is a main topic
- ritual - Stories where a ritual is a main topic
- romance - Stories that are meant to be romantic in nature or include a romance as a main topic
- shapeshifter - Stories that include an individual that can change shape at will, not the same as the transformation tag
- slice-of-life - Stories revolving around day to day existence with low narrative stakes, whether the setting is fantastical, futuristic, or realistic
- spirits - Ethereal remnants of the dead, but feel free to apply this to other undead
- traditional-creature - Featuring a creature that exists as part of previous off-site narratives already.
- tragedy - More explicitly 'sad' stories
- transformation - Stories involving a character who typically would not do so undergoing a physical transformation/metamorphosis, not the same as the shapeshifter tag
- utopian - Stories where a utopia is a main setting or a main topic
- ways - Stories that involve portals, teleportation through a doorways, or Ways
- workplace - Stories where a job or place of work is the main setting or a main topic
- zoology - Stories where the primary purpose/narrative revolves around an animal, whether real or fictional
Contest/Prompt Tags
These are tags applied to pages that were posted for a prompt or contest. Should not be used after the end of that prompt/contest.
- 1000 - The article was submitted as part of the Wing Two contest
- av08 - The article was submitted as part of the Audiovisual prompt
- altplaces05 - The article was submitted as part of the Alternate Places prompt
- cities04 - The article was submitted as part of the Cities prompt
- combocon2024 - This article was submitted as part of ComboCon 2024
- contest-placer - Used to prevent the top ten winners of a Wing contest from being automatically listed on the associated Wing page
- creatures07 - The article was submitted as part of the Creatures prompt
- debate2023 - This article was submitted as part of the Debate Club 2023 Contest
- _team-common - This article counted toward Team Common's points in the Debate Club 2023 Contest
- _team-rare - This article counted toward Team Rare's points in the Debate Club 2023 Contest
- life-contest - The article was submitted as part of the Fictionalized Life Stories prompt
- hunt2021 - The article was submitted as part of the Scavenger Hunt 2021 contest
- _alien-invasion - The article was submitted as part of the Scavenger Hunt 2021 contest under the Alien Invasion theme
- _peculiar-purchases - The article was submitted as part of the Scavenger Hunt 2021 contest under the Peculiar Purchases category
- picturepalooza2022 - The article was submitted as part of the Picturepalooza 2022 contest
- phantomprom2024 - The article was submitted as part of the Phantom Promenade 2024 contest
- relationship03 - The article was submitted as part of the Relationships prompt
- shebang2024 - The article was submitted as part of Owlpede's Summer Sandbox Shebang 2024
- spacewitch02 - The article was submitted as part of the Spacewitch prompt
- wandercon2021 - This article was submitted as part of the Wandercon 2021 team contest
- wanderlust01 - The article was submitted as part of the Wandererlust prompt
- whyandwho06 - The article was submitted as part of the Why and Who prompt
- wlc2013 - The article was submitted as part of the Wanderer's Library 2013 contest
- ws2019 - The article was submitted as part of the Wanderer's Station 2019 contest
- wd2020 - The article was submitted as part of the Wanderer's Depths 2020 contest
- yuletide - The article was submitted as part of the Annual Yuletide Event
Non-entry Tags
This is a miscellaneous list of tags that are often used in other parts of the site, some of these are for regular users to apply and some are not.
- admin - Used for administration pages
- author - Used for author's pages
- canon - Used for any hub page that features the works of many authors surrounding a central idea/world/character
- _cc - Hidden tag used on pages with images that have been confirmed to be properly licensed. Only staff should apply this tag to any page
- int - Used for pages translated from international Wanderer's Library Wiki sites
- component - Used for pages which contain Wikidot or CSS tools for use in other pages and articles
- contest - Used for contest pages. These are pages that announce and lay out the rules for a contest, not articles written for a contest
- featured - Reserved by staff to denote those pages that are or have at some point been featured on the front page
- fragment - For fragments, typically resulting from themes or other css
- gallery - Used for primarily media-focused pages, rather than typical entries. Galleries do count for the author page quota
- guide - Used for out-of-character pieces which serve as guides to writing or the site. This tag should not be used on main-list articles
- hub - Used for pages that link to multiple other related pages. Hub pages include The Library
- obsolete - Used for official pages that are no longer maintained or accurate
- prompt-response - The article was submitted as a response to a front page prompt
- series - Used for any hub page that features the works of just one author that aim to tell an overarching story
- template - For template pages
- theme - For CSS theme pages
- workbench - Used to mark staff workbenches. Only staff are allowed to make workbenches
Archived Tags
Sometimes a tag will not be used anymore due to various reasons but will stay for future reference. Placed in a collapsible to avoid confusion with usable tags.
New Tag Suggestions
If you think a new tag needs to be created, you can suggest them in the Tag Suggestions forum thread, where staff will take a look and approve or deny them. When suggesting a new tag, please provide as many articles you believe it should apply to, but there are minimum amounts for each type of tags we'll be looking for:
Series Tags: A series tag should be automatically applied when a series hits five stories and has a hub, but if that doesn’t happen please let us know!
Group/Character/Setting Tags: The proposal must include 5 articles by 3 authors that feature the entity as a primary focus.
Genre/Content/Theme Tags: These tags have a higher expectation of applicable articles in order to be considered. The tag must cover a minimum of ~15 articles by 3 authors, and it must also be distinct enough to the point where another existing tag, or combination of tags would not cover the articles in question. We might still not apply a tag that qualifies, for reasons at our discretion.
Congrats, You Survived!
And that's it. Not so bad, right? I'm sure you'll be tagging your own articles like a pro in no time at all. If you still don't feel confident, have no fear! Staff will tag your article for you! We simply offer the choice of tagging your own as the person who knows the article best is the author themselves. Happy writing, Wanderers!
Special Thanks
A huge thanks is due to Stygian Blue,
ch00bakka,
Alexander the Jar,
IronShears,
meltedbee,
LAN 2D,
Piano_WL,
Rounderhouse,
rumetzen,
Snapdragon133, and
Egileye. These are the users who originally volunteered to help re-tag every entry on the site when we began this process. If you were able to tag over a hundred or were only able to tag a handful, we are deeply thankful for your willingness to help. Additional thanks to
Rounderhouse (gosh a second special thanks? How greedy) and
Vivarium for writing the WL and SCP tagging guides which I shamelessly stole words from.