# Search tags



## Crackle (24 Mar 2010)

Can they be removed from P&L before some of the to$$pots who inhabit it, screw up their usefulness?


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## srw (24 Mar 2010)

Alternatively, can the tags from P&L, which add immeasurably to the gaity of the place, be insulated from the more staid parts of the forum?


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## Crackle (24 Mar 2010)

srw said:


> Alternatively, can the tags from P&L, which add immeasurably to the gaity of the place, be insulated from the more staid parts of the forum?



Don't make me laugh. Staid my left backside. But that's a good idea, keep the schoolboy humour amongst those who haven't really grown up yet.


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## Shaun (24 Mar 2010)

Tags are now disabled - site wide.

Cheers,
Shaun


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## srw (24 Mar 2010)

[Ruth Archer]
Oooohh Noooooo!
[/Ruth Archer]

So what was it? An excess of moderator time deciding whether to remove a handful of slightly off-colour jokes? A corporate desire for blandness to attract sponsorship?

Oi fink we should be told.


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## 661-Pete (24 Mar 2010)

This is all [thread=56984]my fault.[/thread] 

Seriously, though, in a few places tags were being used in an offensive way by certain individuals cowering under the cloak of complete anonymity. OK so it's not my job to play policeman here, that's the Mods' job, but if people want to spout trash, fine, let them do so, but let it be under their visible user name...


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## Crackle (24 Mar 2010)

Not your fault at all Pete. The tag cloud was beginning to reflect badly on the site, which is why I raised it here as well. It's a shame the whole thing has been de-activated but it was probably not possible to exclude certain infantile idiots from using it to amuse themselves.


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## srw (24 Mar 2010)

Crackle said:


> Not your fault at all Pete. *The tag cloud was beginning to reflect badly on the site,* which is why I raised it here as well. It's a shame the whole thing has been de-activated but it was probably not possible to exclude certain infantile idiots from using it to amuse themselves.



Why? It was an enjoyable exercise in meta-comment and entirely in keeping with the spirit of P&L. Name-calling reflects worse on the site - and I know you've been the victim of that too.


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## 661-Pete (24 Mar 2010)

Crackle said:


> Not your fault at all Pete.


I was being a bit sarcastic. 



srw said:


> Why? It was an enjoyable exercise in meta-comment and entirely in keeping with the spirit of P&L.


That's as maybe, for some of the threads at least. But when I read a particular thread - a highly personal one about harassment at the workplace - and also saw the tags which contained sexual innuendo - added by people too cowardly to reveal their identity - I got the feeling this was out of order. Probably others did too.

Anyway, they're gone, love it or loathe it. Not many regrets, I guess. They're gone. Nothing more to see here, move along please...


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## Crackle (24 Mar 2010)

srw said:


> Why? It was an enjoyable exercise in meta-comment and entirely in keeping with the spirit of P&L. Name-calling reflects worse on the site - and I know you've been the victim of that too.



The search tag doesn't just appear in P&L but eventually in the tag cloud accessed as part of a search and accessed by potentially all. if it did just appear in P&L I wouldn't be so concerned but eventually enough repetition of certain phrases is going to figure and as Pete says, some of the tags were getting a bit risque and were just innappropriate. 

Shaun has removed it, for I guess, similar concerns otherwise he'd probably have gently told me it was not a problem, you'll have to ask him though.


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## telesonic99 (24 Mar 2010)

Like butter wouldn't melt....eh?

You complained today and the tags went today.


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## Crackle (24 Mar 2010)

My complaint as you call it, was made fairly openly here. People are free to agree or disagree and the fact that they went today, indicates to me, they were already a concern and if that's the case, that's not my doing but yours and whoever else was acting the fool.


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## 661-Pete (24 Mar 2010)

telesonic99 said:


> Like butter wouldn't melt....eh?
> 
> You complained today and the tags went today.


Crackle, today maybe, but I complained independently several days ago. I don't think, nor would I have expected it of him, that Shaun acted on impulse: I'm sure he discussed the matter at length with the Mods.


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## Bromptonaut (24 Mar 2010)

I was also struck by (a) their utter uselessness ( their capacity to bring the site into disrepute. 

Even where tags are used sensibly they seem to be little more than an aid to circular navigation.


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## MacB (24 Mar 2010)

I only noticed them due to mentions from others then promptly forgot about them again. Had I not seen this thread I probably wouldn't have spotted the absence for several months. 

But if they're a facility to aid searches etc, I'm really not clear on how they work? Then a couple of jokey ones are fine, whereas constant abuse of it just buggers up the facility. It becomes an in joke for a few and useless for purpose and everyone else.


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## srw (24 Mar 2010)

Crackle said:


> you'll have to ask him though.



Errmmmm... That's what I'm doing on this thread.

I may have missed something which was moderated before it was visible, but I saw absolutely nothing untoward.


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## Shaun (24 Mar 2010)

srw said:


> [Ruth Archer]
> Oooohh Noooooo!
> [/Ruth Archer]
> 
> ...



Much less interesting and simple than that - I had a few minutes left on my lunch break so the quickest solution was to disable them.

I'm going to leave them disabled though because I simply don't have the time to moderate all the tags that people add.

The usefulness of the tags has been particularly spoiled by one or two members using them for their own amusement (_which I've been discussing with the mods for weeks now_), however I don't think anyone was really actively searching with them so I don't think they will be missed. In fact, I don't expect most people will even know they've gone! 

A tag cloud for the content of thread posts might be interesting though, so I'll pop that on my to-do list.

Cheers,
Shaun


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