There's something I've been noticing sort of passively as of late: a lot of questions being posted have only one tag. This was a bit of a gut-feeling impression I had, so I glanced over the most recent 5 pages of questions. I'd guesstimate that at least 50% of them have only 1 tag, probably more.
Now it's conceivable that there could be a question that only 1 tag applies to. I doubt that's the case for this many questions, though. Tags are for categorization, and we should be using them as much as possible. If multiple tags apply, we should use them; and if the OP hasn't included a tag that applies, we should edit to reflect.
I've really just been looking at tags out of the corner of my eye, and not paying enough attention to them. I think that needs to change though. I call upon my fellow ELL users to help tag our questions more completely!
The Plan:
- When you view a new question (especially if the question has only 1 tag), compare its tags to the question's content. If another tag applies, add it.
- Go back through old questions too, and do the same thing! If a question has 2-3 tags, it's probably sufficiently tagged. If you have time and want to check those too, that's great! But our question count is manageable enough right now that if we go through all 700 questions, check the ones with 1 or 2 tags, and update them, we'll have a more well-tagged question base and it shouldn't take that long if we all pitch in.
- When you ask a question, really think about the tags! Don't just pick 1 that applies so you're allowed to post the question. If more than one tag applies, use it! Tagging will become even more important as our question base expands, so it's a good idea to start with good habits now.
- I don't mean to say we should use tags that don't apply, just for the sake of having more than one tag on a question. But let's make sure nothing else applies before we press the "submit" button, and when we view others' questions!
So, let us go forth and retag! Who's with me?
