Considering how some of the comments on images can be just as interesting (or even more so) than the images themselves, what of the idea of tagging interesting comment threads? Such as:

user_banned
jokes_abound
who_asked_you
admin_admonished
draw_something_better_then

Those are just my examples, but you get the gist.

Alternatively (if it is too subjective), comments:n using same syntax as id search.

Nay. This will lead to people tagging images with "dickheads_commented_here" and "whiny_bitches_can't_blacklist." Keep comments in the comments.

RedOctober said:
Nay. This will lead to people tagging images with "dickheads_commented_here" and "whiny_bitches_can't_blacklist." Keep comments in the comments.

That's actually no different from the tags people place on images now.
The same way that's handled, this would be handled.

Some likely heroin-shootin' weed-smokin' gay ass motherfucker came up with the lol_comments tag a while ago.
Feel free to use it.

Nay. Comment-thread tagging seems an unwise general policy to me. lol_comments is surely enough, if not more than enough itself.

You tag what you see in the image, not what you see outside of the image.

Char said:
You tag what you see in the image, not what you see outside of the image.

This.

Here's an idea: make a forum thread where users post links to comment threads that are notable. Example post:
Lolb&

• post #example1

Adminfight

• post #example2
• post #example3

I think that's a good idea. We already have an "epic ban reasons" thread floating around somewhere.

Damn, been a while since I seen that. ippiki's ban for kazu should totally have been mentioned there.
Oh well, it's not like any user... out there... could bump that topic, could they? Nah...

I have a situation at work, where we're tasked with trying to update a website with 10 years worth of user-generated content, articles and comments.

The site owner want to link to that old content in a better way than just putting it in the archive and hoping pages show up in searches.

So a suggestion was made to tag the comment threads, and place the links up front.

The old content gets exposed to potential new comments.
The number of pageviews (and subsequently ad views) increases.
Search engines see a more vibrant, active website.
The amount of user-generated content increases, thus less work
for the staff in generating content on their own.

It's an attempt at deep linking that I thought might work well here.

e621 is about the images, not the comments. that is why the image is at the top of the page.

null0010 said:
e621 is about the images, not the comments. that is why the image is at the top of the page.

You'll find that this could be done without moving the images.

The comments are not the focus of this site or the tagging system.

The IRC and forum are also not the focus of the site, yet their presence ads a layer of interest.
Just like the wiki, the IRC and the forum add a layer of interest to the site, so would comment tagging.

The wiki, IRC, and forums are not tagged on the images in the manner you suggest. This is a poor analogy. I repeat again, for your reading pleasure:

The comments are not the focus of this site or the tagging system.

The purpose of the tagging system is to allow users to search for images using specific tag sets. e621 is now and forever shall be about the art above everything else. If you wish to have a central resource for hilarious comments I suggest you take hs-hyena's idea of a forum thread with links.