Should we get rid of compulsory tagging on poems?
54.84%
• 17 votes •
Yes
45.16%
• 14 votes •
No
Should we get rid of compulsory tagging on poems?
At the moment the system forces you to tag your poem with themes like #evil and #love. I find this annoying because I often don’t have straightforward tags for my poems within the limited range offered (the system doesn’t even let you make up your own). Furthermore, I don’t like reducing poetry to a set of tags anyway, like it’s luggage on a conveyer-belt or calorie measurements.
I have nothing whatsoever against the option to make poems tag-able. But it shouldn’t be compulsory, imo. How do you feel?
I have nothing whatsoever against the option to make poems tag-able. But it shouldn’t be compulsory, imo. How do you feel?
Additional thoughts:
If there was to be such an option, then choosing a Category should also be made optional. Those are even more limited in their selections.
But that is really irrelevant, given Themes were meant to replace Categories altogether as a means of a reader finding specific content.
And with specific "tags", Googlers can find your poem, because DUP ranks decently for poetry related searches. Well, at least as far as "erotic poetry" is concerned. Example, "erotic poetry about lesbians" yields a #2 result.
https://www.google.com/search?q=erotic+poetry+about+lesbians
And if a Theme isn't immediately available, anyone can suggest the creation of a new one.
Unfortunately, some suggestions are rejected, like #MurderHornets . It's currently a hot topic of conversation on social media because the little buggers are consistently making the news, as opposed to other tags at DUP that are completely useless. It all depends on how much clout you have with the Webmiss.
There is room to improve Themes - unlike Discussion Groups which were likewise meant to replace the Discussion Forum. Obviously, that idea bombed.
Yet, if specific Themes are going to be rejected when they are suggested for specific poems, then the whole tagging experiment is essentially doomed to be half assed successful.
If there was to be such an option, then choosing a Category should also be made optional. Those are even more limited in their selections.
But that is really irrelevant, given Themes were meant to replace Categories altogether as a means of a reader finding specific content.
And with specific "tags", Googlers can find your poem, because DUP ranks decently for poetry related searches. Well, at least as far as "erotic poetry" is concerned. Example, "erotic poetry about lesbians" yields a #2 result.
https://www.google.com/search?q=erotic+poetry+about+lesbians
And if a Theme isn't immediately available, anyone can suggest the creation of a new one.
Unfortunately, some suggestions are rejected, like #MurderHornets . It's currently a hot topic of conversation on social media because the little buggers are consistently making the news, as opposed to other tags at DUP that are completely useless. It all depends on how much clout you have with the Webmiss.
There is room to improve Themes - unlike Discussion Groups which were likewise meant to replace the Discussion Forum. Obviously, that idea bombed.
Yet, if specific Themes are going to be rejected when they are suggested for specific poems, then the whole tagging experiment is essentially doomed to be half assed successful.
Casted_Runes said:At the moment the system forces you to tag your poem with themes like #evil and #love. I find this annoying because I often don’t have straightforward tags for my poems within the limited range offered (the system doesn’t even let you make up your own). Furthermore, I don’t like reducing poetry to a set of tags anyway, like it’s luggage on a conveyer-belt or calorie measurements.
I have nothing whatsoever against the option to make poems tag-able. But it shouldn’t be compulsory, imo. How do you feel?
If in doubt just use the theme #Unicorns. Many others seem to and it’s a brilliant read with a gentle sarcasm that I just adore.
Don’t know what to tag it? Bust out the horn! 🦄 👌🏻😂
I have nothing whatsoever against the option to make poems tag-able. But it shouldn’t be compulsory, imo. How do you feel?
If in doubt just use the theme #Unicorns. Many others seem to and it’s a brilliant read with a gentle sarcasm that I just adore.
Don’t know what to tag it? Bust out the horn! 🦄 👌🏻😂
I have disliked themes ever since it started. It would be ok if I could create my own, but the ones offered are very narrow in scope and don't actually help express what the poem is about. The category selections are also too narrow. If you have them both then open them up with a create your own option or at least have a way to submit the poem without one.
JJ
JJ
Anonymous
<< post removed >>
I get the general gist of it, and support the concept; however, I am constantly trying to come up with a tag that resembles what I really mean. For example, I attempted to tag my latest 'Crone' - no tag. Okay, so 'aging' - but that's not what I really mean. I mean Crone. Well, okay then, 'Knowledge' - nope. Only Wisdom and Learning. Knowledge is different from Wisdom and Learning, and so on.
I am constantly faced with this, and wish there was a way to "suggest" themes AS you're tagging your poems vs having to do it separately. I think that would alleviate some user frustration.
I am constantly faced with this, and wish there was a way to "suggest" themes AS you're tagging your poems vs having to do it separately. I think that would alleviate some user frustration.
In a bookshop, the owner or staff would categorize the books to help buyers find what they are looking for. We don't have bookshop staff to do this, sadly that means the authors are left to determine which "shelf" their submissions should go on (or in the case of themes, "shelves", as we have the luxury of multiple choices) . I know the themes aren't perfect, and neither were the categories before them (less choice than themes, as has been highlighted). Of course, there can never be every shelf an author wants, because there would be too many for a reader to peruse. Also there would be many shelves with only one "book", or "books" by only one author. There is also the reality of human imperfection, which affects my decisions as to which shelves to offer. Like so many things in life, I can see no magical solution that satisfies the problem.
However, the theme system is a living creature of sorts, unlike the categories. It is constantly being improved with aliases added all the time, and occasionally new themes added too. I also wish to improve the theme explorer, once I ascertain the best way to do it.
However, the theme system is a living creature of sorts, unlike the categories. It is constantly being improved with aliases added all the time, and occasionally new themes added too. I also wish to improve the theme explorer, once I ascertain the best way to do it.
With all due respect, though, this isn't a bookshop, it's a webpage. The purpose of genre labelling in a bookshop is to guide customers towards books they might like to purchase. This isn't necessary on a webpage, and even if it was, the general categories (Observational, Inspirational) already cover that. Bookshops don't generally list themes anyway, just genres/categories.
Here's the thing that makes all of this redundant, though: you can have the theme system exactly as it is, without changing a thing, except that you don't make it compulsory. Give people the option, not the command.
Here's the thing that makes all of this redundant, though: you can have the theme system exactly as it is, without changing a thing, except that you don't make it compulsory. Give people the option, not the command.
I would argue that this website has far more need for categorization than the average bookstore. A store may have what 5000 books? 10000? 50000? This website has over 350k submissions. Imagine that many poems, and no way to sort through them?!
I think it would be quite sad if it wasn't mandatory, because many people wouldn't realise that by not adding themes, they would be condemning their submission to the "store room". Only those quoting the author by name would be able to find it. This would be particularly difficult for new members, who don't have any followers.
I think it would be quite sad if it wasn't mandatory, because many people wouldn't realise that by not adding themes, they would be condemning their submission to the "store room". Only those quoting the author by name would be able to find it. This would be particularly difficult for new members, who don't have any followers.
admin said:I would argue that this website has far more need for categorization than the average bookstore. A store may have what 5000 books? 10000? 50000? This website has over 350k submissions. Imagine that many poems, and no way to sort through them?!
I think it would be quite sad if it wasn't mandatory, because many people wouldn't realise that by not adding themes, they would be condemning their submission to the "store room". Only those quoting the author by name would be able to find it. This would be particularly difficult for new members, who don't have any followers.
Many people already consign their poems to what you call the “store room” by choosing “unicorns” as their tag anyway. People who want to use tags can still do so, and still see what you think of as the relevance of doing so. I really don’t see what the argument is against not forcing people to list the themes of their poems when they don’t want or feel the need to. The site got along fine for years and years without the system, and people are just as able to find poems they want to read using the general genres (Observational, etc). Are you saying that the genres are useless?
Again though, the merits or otherwise of the system are really beside the point. You think it’s needed, I and the majority of people who’ve voted in this poll do not. You can satisfy us both by simply not making it compulsory.
I think it would be quite sad if it wasn't mandatory, because many people wouldn't realise that by not adding themes, they would be condemning their submission to the "store room". Only those quoting the author by name would be able to find it. This would be particularly difficult for new members, who don't have any followers.
Many people already consign their poems to what you call the “store room” by choosing “unicorns” as their tag anyway. People who want to use tags can still do so, and still see what you think of as the relevance of doing so. I really don’t see what the argument is against not forcing people to list the themes of their poems when they don’t want or feel the need to. The site got along fine for years and years without the system, and people are just as able to find poems they want to read using the general genres (Observational, etc). Are you saying that the genres are useless?
Again though, the merits or otherwise of the system are really beside the point. You think it’s needed, I and the majority of people who’ve voted in this poll do not. You can satisfy us both by simply not making it compulsory.
