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Since you are just setting out with this SE you might appreciate to hear about my learning experience: I've been a moderator on Bitcoin.SE for almost two years now, and I have spent a lot of time on fixing tags there: Tagging can quickly grow rampantly, when not cultivated.
E.g. when I started the clean-up, we had lots of


So, even when I'm quoting myself, please consider these ideas to evaluate tags:

What properties do good tags have?

  1. Descriptive. Does the tag add valuable information when it is added to a question?
  2. Representative. Can the tag be the only tag of a question?
  3. Unambiguous. Does the tag commonly mean the same thing for different people?
  4. Confined. Does the tag create a specific, well-defined category?
  5. Meaningful. Can you see anyone at some point subscribing to the tag or searching for related questions by using the tag?
  6. Constrictive. Can you see anyone using this tag to ignore a topic?
  7. Unique. Is there a very similar tag that is more popular which could be applied instead?

If a tag's usefulness is contested, think about whether its name or definition could be improved, but finally rather err on allowing it.


There are already many tags that should be improved or culled now, before they are on dozens of questions:
, , , , , , , , , , , ,
to name a few. Believe me, it's easier to do it now than later.

I'd be happy to help or advise, if you are interested. I'm hanging out in chat, and will be looking at this SE from time to time. :)

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  • 4
    This is very good. I may steal some of this in a future tagging-guidance post. Jan 24, 2016 at 19:14
  • 1
    @RobertCartaino Sure, I've been heavily inspired by other posts around the network myself as well. :)
    – Murch
    Jan 24, 2016 at 19:16

3 Answers 3

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Thanks for shareing your experience. I will start looking through the tags right now and list suggestions here.

Unfortunately, there is no member with the merge-tags privilege yet.

Issues identified so far:

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Quite a few of the listed tags in my question where already removed, but here are some comments on the remaining:

  • : Since Ethereum is Software, a lot of very different question topics could be tagged . It's too broad and ambiguous.
    Suggestion: Replace with more specific tags such as , or specific software names e.g. .
  • : Ambiguous, is used for different things (state-data, messages, content of data management), doesn't define a clear topic. It always comes back up on Bitcoin as well.
    Suggestion: Probably should be blacklisted.
  • : Same problem as . It doesn't have a clear focus, too specific on the one hand but too broad in another aspect. Suggestion: Perhaps a could make sense if you get many questions along that line, but should be burninated.
  • : Actually, this one might be alright.
  • : Updates of contracts, updates of software, updates of websites… Will get used on very different questions, due to appearing in many different contexts.
    Suggestion: Should be burninated.
  • : Somewhat unspecific context, might get used as a meta-tag.
    Suggestion: Should be retagged to .
  • : Should get a tag wiki if it is a specific construct in Ethereum. Otherwise should be removed because it will be used to label questions about accounts on websites etc.
  • : No clear topic. Through it's meaning in Software Development will probably be used on lots of different things.
    Suggestion: Replace with more specific tag that specifies the context of ethereum.
  • &
  • &
  • : When standing by itself doesn't define a clear topic.
  • : Needs a tag-wiki.
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  • @RobertCartaino: I'm not an Ethereum expert, so please don't just execute these, please wait for commentary from some of the regulars.
    – Murch
    Jan 25, 2016 at 8:59
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    accounts is legit. i added a wiki, also for wallets to explain the difference. abi should be synonym for application-binary-interface. ux should be synonym for user-experience. agreeing on byblock, bychain, ... .
    – q9f
    Jan 25, 2016 at 10:22
  • @5chdn: I tried editing it to application-binary-interface, but it's longer than the limit of 25 characters. I can't propose the synonyms because I don't have high enough scores on those topics, perhaps you can.
    – Murch
    Jan 25, 2016 at 10:42
  • no, unfortunately not. still waiting for someone to review my wiki edits.
    – q9f
    Jan 25, 2016 at 10:50
  • @5chdn: Now with the diamond, you may want to have another look. :)
    – Murch
    Mar 15, 2016 at 14:58
  • status-completed. data, architecture and performance-optimization have to be discussed in separate threads. Also, is security a valid tag?
    – q9f
    Mar 16, 2016 at 6:34
  • @5chdn: I'd say it depends on the wiki, but it's not necessarily clear just from the tags name itself. Probably a bit broad.
    – Murch
    Mar 16, 2016 at 7:36
  • Follow up. meta.ethereum.stackexchange.com/q/191/87
    – q9f
    Mar 16, 2016 at 9:13
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Singular or Plural tags?

we should point out if we want tags in singular or plural. here is a list of tags:

Singular

Plural

I tend to recommend using plural tags and agree with @murch this does not make any sense for blockchain and network.

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  • network and blockchain should remain singular, as they are unique in Ethereum (or has Ethereum more than one blockchain?). For the others I agree.
    – Murch
    Jan 26, 2016 at 11:05
  • status-completed.
    – q9f
    Mar 16, 2016 at 6:29

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