So to classify its content Archive Of Our Own uses a system called ātaggingā, and Iāve seen quite a lot of people puzzled as to how exactly it is used. This is going to be a long post trying to clear that up, and hopefully providing some help and orientation.
(i am going to use a lot of fanfiction terminology in this post ā you can look a lot of it up in this post)
To cite the AO3 FAQ: āA tag is a keyword or phrase that you add to your works to make them easier to find.ā Tags also have the, at least as important purpose, of helping readers avoid content they donāt want to read.
Some of the AO3 tags are more or less mandatory: you have to chose a fandom, a rating, an archive warning from the available options (and be it āchose not to use those optionsā).Ā
Those mandatory tags have pretty detailed explanation boxes, which is why iām focusing on the more puzzling domain of āAdditional tagsā, or āFreeform tagsā:
(As said in its name, those tags areĀ āfreeformā, which means the author is entirely free to chose whatever keywords and catchphrase they want, be it some common tags, misspelled common tags, or new tags theyāre introducing. If itās a new tag, the AO3 tag wrangling staff then checks if it fits into a more common category, or if it stands on its own.Ā
Iāve seen people asking the following questions:
Why do i have to use freeform tags?
Well first off you absolutely donāt have to. But it gives readers additional info on whether your fic fits their taste, and can therefore get more people to read it.Ā
I know sometimes i look at the summary, thinkĀ āmehā, but then i see in the tags that the fic uses some of my favorite tropes and end up giving it a shot.Ā
Also, it helps people find your fic again! A former reader is wondering āOh, dang, i donāt remember the name nor the author but it had unicorns and mutual piningā? If your fic uses those tags they can find it without any problem through the search engine.
And, and i canāt stress this enough: it helps people that absolutely loathe the kind of content you create (because sensibilities are different, so sometimes itās bound to happen) to stay waaay clear of it. Which is good for everybody involved.
But what if it spoilers my story?
Fear not! AO3 offers the neat option to hide the freeform tags as a default (for logged-in users); so whether your readers decide to look at the tags or not is completely up to them.Ā
Me? I very rarely look at tags. I dislike being spoilered, and i accept that iāll probably end up reading things that donāt really float my boat as a consequence. And on the contrary i have friends whoād much rather put up with spoilers if it means they know what theyāre getting into. Matter of personal taste, really!Ā
As an author you can merely provide that option for readers who enjoy additional info beforehand. Itās a bit of a friendly courtesy.
How many tags should I use?
Again, itās completely up to personal taste. Iām not a big fan of huge walls of tags, because i donāt think theyāre read in details by most readers, so iād recommend between 3-7 tags for shorter stories (<5k words). For longer stories, readers often want to know in more details in what journey theyāre getting into, so up to twenty tags is game in my books. More than that tends to look cluttered and distracting (again, my biased opinion).
What kind of tags should I use?
*rubs hands* This is where I suggest my neat lilā classification of freeform tags (with some minor overlaps here and there). Itās based on observations and my own fandom experiences, so obviously it has no objective value, but i think itās still a good summary of the different types of freeform tags used for most fics. Some kind of fics (iām thinking PWP) have slightly different tagging conventions, but the following typology applies to most stories.Ā
You can use it as a checklist, or simply as inspiration on what kind of tags might apply to your fic.
These tags specify if your fic follows a particular fixed format in regard to length and style.Ā Hereās some of the most common āformat tagsā:
This oneās already a bit more tricky because so often thereās no over-archingĀ āgenreā in which your fic might fit (which is why thereās all the other tags to help you put some kind of label on your content!). Still, genre is a pretty important descriptor for your content; hence here are some of the commonĀ āfanfic genresā:Ā Ā
Porn Without Plot/Plot What Plot ā¦
Thatās one super cool in my books, because itās sooo unique to fanfic. It specifies in what kind of relationship to the original content your story operates. Most common tags:
Alternate Universe: X (e.g. werewolves)
These tags are particularly relevant for book or movie series where the overarching fandom tag covers a really broad amount of content. Those tags give orientation in regards to which part of the canon content weāre talking about. For example, Harry Potter fandom may use terms like āMaraudersā Eraā or āThe Golden Trio Eraā to specify what part of the original timeline the fic takes place in.Ā
But they also apply to fandom-specific events like Big Bangs/Reverse Big Bang, or fandom-specific tropes, genres and fanfic conventions. These are different for every fandom!
Thereās a slight overlapping with āgenreā, but all in all those tropes are a bit more specific, though widespread enough to be recognizable to avid fanfic readers.
Reminder that thereās mandatory archive warnings for AO3ās big four (underage sexual content, non-con/rape, graphic depictions of violence, character death) that you have to use, or at least indicate to readers you chose not to use them.Ā
You are not required to use further content warnings and no one can blame you for it, as long as you used the mandatory warnings properly. But there are some benefits to additional content warnings:
1. It frames the āproblematic behavior XYā (e.g emotional blackmail) you depicted as a problematic behavior, which makes readers both aware that itās Badā¢ (important especially for younger audiences) and that the author knows itās Badā¢.
2. It helps people that wouldnāt enjoy that content avoid it, which, good for them, good for you
3. It helps people that are actively searching for specific dark and difficult topics, for whichever reason, to find them.
All in all iād say it has established itself as a widespread fandom etiquette to tag content commonly viewed as squicky/triggery. Here are some of the most common ones:
(Past/Implied) (Child/Emotional) Abuse
Coercion/Jealousy/Manipulation
Mental Health Issues (Eating Disorders, PTSD, Depression etc.)
Pregnancy/Abortion/Miscarriage
(Internalized) Racism/Homophobia/Misogyny
Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts ā¦
(andĀ hereās a far more complete list of content warnings, but you get the gist)
snowghoul
romaincrisis
stormborns
kaledo-art
gummygunk
2087
kianamaiart
izzy806
