Predefined tags for filtering threads

[strafingrun]

This was thought of with the “for sale” section in mind but could be applied across the forum.

I’d like a system where, when generating a thread you could categorise the contents of the thread with a predefined list of tags so it’s easier to turn up in a search / filter

Say for example I wanted to buy a broken mechanical marker as a fixer up project I could select from a list the tags "mechanical" and " spares or repair" - that way I’m getting exactly what i want without the search function bringing up all threads with any posts that mention the phrases "spares" or "mechanical". the predefined tags mean your not missing out on threads you might be interested in that are worded differently to your search criteria.

other examples could be "scenario markers" "high end electro" etc, these aren’t often phrases people use in FS threads and so if you’re in the market for any scenario marker, your either have to browse through each page... which becomes annoying when half are titled "gear bag sale" "leaving sale" etc. or search specific types.

Obviously the wanted section covers this to an extent but the system of tagging could be extended to the rest of the forum with tags like
"Site review" "tutorial" "scammer warning" "product announcement" etc...

I guess what I’m suggesting is the implementation of hash tags, but predefined ones so it’s more useful / practical to filter by them.

sorry if this has already been discussed / suggested but a quick search on tags didnt produce anything

 

[CraigofScotland]

what about when selling loads of kit as is most common . . marker, bottle, barrels, soft goods . . would you tag everything?

 

[Tom]

Tags may be useful to filter, but its dependant on the seller putting in the right tags

In the same way that eBay bargains can be had from badly designed titles and descriptions, bad tagging can mean a lack of buyers looking. And the opposite case is tag slamming including everything to attract viewers

On the forum you can browse the threads and look through the sales
It's already recommended to state the items in the thread title but you often see 'gear bag sale', 'kit sale', 'various'. I'm surprised there are not sales titled 'paintball stuff'
Perhaps some of these sellers would use tags, but many of these types of sales don't have significant amounts of different types of items that could have been in the title - so I would expect if they are too lazy or don't think of putting it in the title then they won't tag

This isn't pbnation so is generally managable with a browse of the sale threads or a filtered search of sale threads

In addition - what tags? If selectable tags then someone has to decide on a list, if general hash tags of anything with # in front then how could you search random words and rely on them coming up, or people being able to spell etc?

 

[Donk]

That's not a bad idea that, it may take a bit of work to implement but
It would make searching easier.

The newbies thread has so many threads that Title "which marker" and so many times it has already been discussed in length but if you put it into search you don't get a lot of the threads come up showing the discussions

 

[strafingrun]

what about when selling loads of kit as is most common . . marker, bottle, barrels, soft goods . . would you tag everything?

Yeah, I suppose if the tags were too specific it could become a pain covering everything... but I don’t see slapping say 10 - 15 tags on a gear bag sale being too much trouble providing the interface is well implemented. You could reduce the number by making more general tags but too generic and there’s not much point to them.

This isn't pbnation so is generally managable with a browse of the sale threads or a filtered search of sale threads

In addition - what tags? If selectable tags then someone has to decide on a list, if general hash tags of anything with # in front then how could you search random words and rely on them coming up, or people being able to spell etc?

The hash tags would have to be predefined or the system wouldn’t work any better than the search function. It shouldn’t be too hard to draw up a sensible list of tags from users and there’s nothing to stop it being amended later on.

Given that a forums biggest strength these days is as an archive of information I think this system might help in making said information more accessible... ill concede it might be overkill though.

 

[Bolter]

Then you get the kids putting every tag possible on their thread regardless of what they are selling to try to get as many thread views as possible.

 

[Donk]

Ah me ol' Bolter with the reason it hasn't been done already!