I think implementing context brackets would be a great way to improve e621's tagging system. Currently, when searching for specific tags, such as a character or species, it can be difficult to find exactly what you're looking for. For example, searching for "male/male" and "oral" might bring up posts with male and female characters engaged in oral whilst a male/male couple holds hands in the background. While using more specific tags in a search query can help, like using "male_penitrating_male". I have a suggestion that could make things even clearer. Here is an example of what a current post may look like;

>Artist tags
artist_name

>Character tags
charater_1 charater_2

>Species tags
canid canine canis domestic_cat domestic_dog felid feline felis mammal

>General tags
male male/male duo sex anal interspecies penis on_back
male penetrated male penetrating male_pentrating_male
blue_fur brown_fur t-shirt glasses
pillow bed bedroom

>Lore tags

>Meta tags
high_res

I propose using context brackets to specify certain information about a post. For example, let's say there's an image featuring two male characters, one a dog and one a cat. If you want to tag for a specific fur color for the dog, like brown, there's currently no way to do that, you can only tag dometic_dog and brown_fur, This could mean the cat has brown fur though. However, using context brackets, you could tag the dog with { charater_1 : domestic_dog brown_fur }, making it clear that the dog is the one with brown fur. Note if the character doesn't have a name you would leave it blank, example; { domestic_dog brown_fur } or { : domestic_dog brown_fur }

Not only would this make it easier for users to find what they're looking for, but it would also make tags more informative. You would put tags for the species, general tags, and lore tags in a character context brackets to ensure all relevant information is included. Additionally, tags that describe actions of both characters could be in brackets, clarifying who's doing what. Here is an example of the proposed tagging system using the 1st example post;

>Artist tags
artist_name

>Character and Context tags
{ charater_1 : mammal canid canine canis domestic_dog male penis male_penetrating brown_fur t-shirt }
{ charater_2 : mammal felid feline felis domestic_cat male penis on_back male_penetrated blue_fur glasses }
{ charater_1 charater_2 : male/male duo sex anal interspecies male_pentrating_male }

>General tags
pillow bed bedroom

>Lore tags

>Meta tags
high_res

I would want this tagging system would be optional, but recommended. Users could choose whether or not to use context brackets to tag their posts. However, with this system in place, searching for specific criteria would be much more accurate. For example, if you were looking for a blue cat wearing glasses, you could search "{ domestic_cat blue_fur glasses }" and only see posts with blue cats wearing glasses whilst if you currently make a search query of "domestic_cat blue_fur glasses" you would see any posts with a cat, that has glasses anywhere in the image, and has anyone with blue fur.

So if you implemented this tagging system, old post tags would still roll over to work as normal without having context brackets. Then users if they want can update old posts with said context brackets. Note; I don't care about the specifics, like what brackets the feature would use, I just want tags that are linked to the characters.

Overall, implementing context brackets would greatly improve e621's tagging system, making it easier for users to search for and find the specific content they're looking for. Thanks for reading!

This is almost exactly the idea I've had for years now, down to the use of { } symbols. (Maybe it's a programmer instinct.) But I never considered adding extra sets of brackets for every character interaction. That's interesting. I'm noticing also that if we did that, the male_penetrating_male tag in your example could be removed from the system entirely because { male_penetrating male_penetrated } would cover it.

Trouble is, we've got like four million posts on here, each of which would have to be retagged manually to be brought up to code if this were ever implemented. And even speaking as someone who spends the majority of the time I'm on this site adding and fixing tags, that would be a massive undertaking. I've been on this site for five years now and still have less than 3000 tag changes under my belt. Even if I were to step up my game, you'd need a thousand of me to get the job done.

errorist said:
This is almost exactly the idea I've had for years now, down to the use of { } symbols. (Maybe it's a programmer instinct.) But I never considered adding extra sets of brackets for every character interaction. That's interesting. I'm noticing also that if we did that, the male_penetrating_male tag in your example could be removed from the system entirely because { male_penetrating male_penetrated } would cover it.

Trouble is, we've got like four million posts on here, each of which would have to be retagged manually to be brought up to code if this were ever implemented. And even speaking as someone who spends the majority of the time I'm on this site adding and fixing tags, that would be a massive undertaking. I've been on this site for five years now and still have less than 3000 tag changes under my belt. Even if I were to step up my game, you'd need a thousand of me to get the job done.

Yes, I completely agree. Trying to backtrack and update the massive backlog of posts on this site to this system would be near impossible. That's why I would want it to be optional, the old tagging system still working as normal. The new context bracket tagging mainly being used for new posts and if users want, they can go back and update old posts to the new system but, they don't have to.

+1

I had also suggested this idea over a year ago and I still think it would solve our biggest tagging problems.

It’s still unlikely to be implemented any time soon, though. It’s a complicated request.

Related topic #24957, topic #18106 and topic #16778

+1

I can see it being quite useful for searching and tag projects like... filling clothing tags for posts with multiple characters, but damn is it gonna be complex to implement.

Geometric tag explosion? XD