Should there be a minimum number of tags on an image before it gets uploaded? Just wondering because lately I've seen a spate of uploads with only 4 to 5 tags to them.

The rules specify 4 tags and the proper rating as the bare minimum.

NotMeNotYou said:
The rules specify 4 tags and the proper rating as the bare minimum.

I'd like to ask something if you don't mind, i've seen people doing the upload first and tag it really quickly afterwards basicly most people don't notice that the upload was tagless at first. (I usually don't do this but i've seen people doing and i'm assuming it's to ensure they get the upload before others)

Is there any problem in doing this way?

It was understandable before because you couldn't see previews, but now that you can see the picture as you are going to upload it I'd guess they really, really want to be the first to upload this particular picture so they take no chance and upload it as fast as possible, then adds the tags and source on it

Four tags is the minimum, though you really should attempt to always tag the essentials.

What species are in the image? (If unknown then use unknown_species)
What gender are the individual(s) in the image? (male, female, herm etc.)
Who is the artist of the image? (If unknown use unknown_artist)
What sexuality should be tagged for the image? (male/male, female/male, herm/cuntboy etc.)
The amount of individuals in the image (solo, duo, group etc.)
If sex is taking place, what kind of sex? (anal, oral, vaginal - With the variations of _penetration, _insertion etc. )

I don't see how one can tag with anything less than five tags, especially when you start using the Quick Tag list.
My QT list

Just_Another_Dragon said:
I'd like to ask something if you don't mind, i've seen people doing the upload first and tag it really quickly afterwards basicly most people don't notice that the upload was tagless at first. (I usually don't do this but i've seen people doing and i'm assuming it's to ensure they get the upload before others)

Is there any problem in doing this way?

I have no problem with that, I generally give 5-10 minutes after upload before I start issuing a record for the person.
Mainly because it is possible to accidentally hit return when in the tagging field, which will upload the image, so I give them a bit time to properly tag it in retrospect so it isn't just bad luck that the image didn't have any/too few tags.

Just_Another_Dragon said:
I'd like to ask something if you don't mind, i've seen people doing the upload first and tag it really quickly afterwards basicly most people don't notice that the upload was tagless at first. (I usually don't do this but i've seen people doing and i'm assuming it's to ensure they get the upload before others)

In addition to NotMeNotYou's point that it's possible to accidentally hit return too soon, some people also like to do things in steps, upload first, then tag. There could be a number of reasons for this, including wanting to make sure the picture is uploaded to the site in spite of, say, a wonky connection, and wanting to keep the steps separate in their head. Compared to uploading the picture, editing the tags and other information is the work of a moment.

Clawstripe said:
In addition to NotMeNotYou's point that it's possible to accidentally hit return too soon, some people also like to do things in steps, upload first, then tag. There could be a number of reasons for this, including wanting to make sure the picture is uploaded to the site in spite of, say, a wonky connection, and wanting to keep the steps separate in their head. Compared to uploading the picture, editing the tags and other information is the work of a moment.

Also the whole "crap, someone uploaded it already" bit. (though http://iqdb.harry.lu/ helps a lot with this for those that know about it)

parasprite said:
Also the whole "crap, someone uploaded it already" bit. (though http://iqdb.harry.lu/ helps a lot with this for those that know about it)

i always reverse search pictures before uploading them.

The problem is that i often search the newest uploads on other sites to upload here, i know that others do that too.

So when comes to new uploads it's always like that and some people really want to get the upload before others, i particularly don't care that much about losing uploads to others but i'm not going to lie that it doesn't upset me to know i wasn't the one to upload because i spent 5 minutes tagging while someone uploaded first and tagged later.

I know it's really silly and it's not something i should be ranting about since it's about contributing to the site and not my own selfish feelings about uploads.

When it comes to tagging, I try to be as thorough as possible. I tend to go down my tagging in this order.

Year. Artist. Species. Copyright. Clothing. Anthro or feral. Gender and features of either or both genders. Then anything else.

GameManiac said:
Year.

Never really bothered with adding year to posts. It just feels completely worthless to me as a tag, I mean, at least I've never heard of anybody ever using it.
Even if someone does, isn't there already a metatag to search for the upload date separately?

Peekaboo said:
Never really bothered with adding year to posts. It just feels completely worthless to me as a tag, I mean, at least I've never heard of anybody ever using it.
Even if someone does, isn't there already a metatag to search for the upload date separately?

It helps finding pictures, if someone searching remember it was made in 20XX year with few characteristics it helps a bit finding.

Also uploaded date =//= year created.

I used it once to search for a picture that someone requested it but nobody was able to find it.

Peekaboo said:
Never really bothered with adding year to posts. It just feels completely worthless to me as a tag, I mean, at least I've never heard of anybody ever using it.
Even if someone does, isn't there already a metatag to search for the upload date separately?

I know of a few users who really appreciate being able to search by year it was made. So I try to throw that tag on there when I have the time and the source is easy to check. Important to note though, the year tags are for the year the image was created and not the year it was uploaded here. Because duplicating the metadata really would be pointless.

furrypickle said:
I know of a few users who really appreciate being able to search by year it was made.

I am one of those users

furrypickle said:
I know of a few users who really appreciate being able to search by year it was made. So I try to throw that tag on there when I have the time and the source is easy to check. Important to note though, the year tags are for the year the image was created and not the year it was uploaded here. Because duplicating the metadata really would be pointless.

Might add it to my quick tag list then.

Clawstripe said:
In addition to NotMeNotYou's point that it's possible to accidentally hit return too soon, some people also like to do things in steps, upload first, then tag.

Which leads to posts constantly slipping through blacklists. Just so that some folks can post the image as fast as possible. Judging by how there's users complaining about it daily, I'm not the only one who's annoyed by that.

I'm certain that it was impossible to upload untagged images at some point: if you tried, all you got was an error telling you to tag it. Which was helpful in avoiding accidental uploads from pressing enter. But that stopped happening some months ago.

And the four tag limit is pretty low nowadays, thanks to all the implications. You just have to tag a single species, and it usually gets implicated with two or three tags. Might be a good idea to raise the limit a bit.

Genjar said:

I'm certain that it was impossible to upload untagged images at some point: if you tried, all you got was an error telling you to tag it. Which was helpful in avoiding accidental uploads from pressing enter. But that stopped happening some months ago.

If I remember right, that was a side effect of rating:s, etc. being counted as a "tag" and they just never fixed it (whether intentional or otherwise).

I could easily be wrong on this though.

parasprite said:
If I remember right, that was a side effect of rating:s, etc. being counted as a "tag" and they just never fixed it (whether intentional or otherwise).

That's probably it. Since it stopped working around the time that those were changed..

WabaGrillOnFleet said:
I am one of those users

You're welcome then. I'm doing you a beneficial service.

I'm just thorough that way.

Just_Another_Dragon said:
I'd like to ask something if you don't mind, i've seen people doing the upload first and tag it really quickly afterwards basicly most people don't notice that the upload was tagless at first. (I usually don't do this but i've seen people doing and i'm assuming it's to ensure they get the upload before others)

Is there any problem in doing this way?

It's only a problem if they let it sit for too long before tagging it.

I'd totally vote +1 on raising the minimum amount of tags to six.

Peekaboo said:
I'd totally vote +1 on raising the minimum amount of tags to six.

That means we'd be punishing people for providing 5 valid tags on a submission, which would be a bit silly.

Just_Another_Dragon said:
I'd like to ask something if you don't mind, i've seen people doing the upload first and tag it really quickly afterwards basicly most people don't notice that the upload was tagless at first. (I usually don't do this but i've seen people doing and i'm assuming it's to ensure they get the upload before others)

Is there any problem in doing this way?

When I upload a picture I usually tag what I consider the "major" tags which to me is artist, species, gender, parts shown (pussy, penis, anus etc.), and fetish (if applicable). I do this so it hits what people would likely blacklist for and then afterwards I go in for more detailed tagging.

Peekaboo said:
I'd totally vote +1 on raising the minimum amount of tags to six.

IMO better idea would be to integrate most important parts of tagging checklist into upload image page. Instead of current design which looks more or less like this:

Tags:
<Tags textbox>
other things...

it should look like this

Tags:
Artist:
<Artist tags checkbox> [?]
Copyright:
<Copyright tags checkbox> [?]
...
Other tags:
<Other tags checkbox>
Other things...

where [?] are buttons that after clicking on them displays example of tags (similar to those on checklist page).
Some fields might be left empty by uploader, but (s)he will be still reminded that way what kind of tags are expected to be added. Of course I think that such layout would be only helpful on upload page. Editing tags on existing posts should remain the same as now.

I think that people are not tagging some important things not because tag limit is too low but because they don't know what's really worth tagging. There's no link to checklist on upload page and to discover it you need to click 3 times ( >> -> Index -> e621:tagging checklist)

Granberia said:
There's no link to checklist on upload page and to discover it you need to click 3 times ( >> -> Index -> e621:tagging checklist)

This is a good point. Maybe there should be a text box with a link to the checklist on the upload page which prompts users to check it if unsure.

This would also be really helpful for new users since, as you said, it can sometimes be a bit awkward to find certain help pages if you don't know where to look for them.

Granberia said:
I think that people are not tagging some important things not because tag limit is too low but because they don't know what's really worth tagging. There's no link to checklist on upload page and to discover it you need to click 3 times ( >> -> Index -> e621:tagging checklist)

DragonFox69 said:
This is a good point. Maybe there should be a text box with a link to the checklist on the upload page which prompts users to check it if unsure.
This would also be really helpful for new users since, as you said, it can sometimes be a bit awkward to find certain help pages if you don't know where to look for them.

Putting a link to that tagging checklist page right about the tags box on the upload page is a really great idea. I'm sure even people who've uploaded before sometimes need to jog their own memory of what types of tags they could be missing. Sometimes your mind just goes blank and people think "I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I can't think of what". I know I've spaced tagging gender or species before and had to come back an hour later to add it. But if someone's struggling to find 4 tags, or is trying their best to be thorough, then having that page linked right there to help them out is a really good idea. The rest of Granberia's idea is interesting though a little more involved. I'm not a Dev, so I can't speak to any of that. Adding a simple link to that tagging checklist page though seems pretty straightforward and like it could reap a huge benefit.

I think a two-step upload might be useful. First is the uploading of the picture, then you finalize the upload by adding a bunch of tags. Most likely, this isn't a good idea of mine.

atleast include this
artist :
gender:
species:
what is it doing: (example sex, sitting,)

furrypickle said:
Putting a link to that tagging checklist page right about the tags box on the upload page is a really great idea.

Looking at the tagging checklist page, if anything, this is a good opportunity to use an expander or even a large tooltip.

ie. automatically parse the tagging checklist article each time it is updated. Extract the 'basics' section in full. Extract the other section headers. From these other sections, extract only the bolded parts (category names) and compile them into a one-line list item.