Image Tag Help

How Image Tags Work

Image tags are available for precise categorizing of images and searching. Tags are used to define the various themes of images. For example, an image containing a character with cat ears and wearing a school uniform would be classified with the tags "neko mimi" and "seifuku".

You can input tags by use of quotation marks ("). If you type '"long', a list of possible choices will appear beneath the mouse, containing options such as "long kimono" and "long hair". You may click either one of those tags for them to be automatically applied to your search/upload. You may also input the tags manually, but remember to close your quotation marks at the end of the tag.

Tags also have relationships: they can be children/parents of other tags. For example, the tag "sundress" is a child of "dress" because a sundress is always a dress, but a dress is not always a sundress. Tags may also be aliases of each other: they mean the same thing. For example, neko mimi means cat ears, so "cat ears" is an alias of "neko mimi".

When to Apply Tags

Tags are to be applied to every image, and the more correct tags an image has the better off it is for searching purposes. When you add tags, please use the most specific tags possible. For example, in an image with a school mizugi, the "school mizugi" tag should be used instead of the "mizugi" tag. The general tag "mizugi" should not be added to an image that already contains the "school mizugi" tag unless the image contains both a regular and school mizugi.

Removing Tags

Tags should only be removed from an image when it is certain the tag does not fit the image. When tags are removed, it decreases the effectiveness of the tag searching.

Searching for Tags

When using tags to search, it helps to keep a few things in mind. First of all, tag searches give you very specific themes. If you search for too many themes at once, the likelihood that you will find your target image decreases. This is because not every image is tagged perfectly due to human error.

Also remember the relationships of tags. If you want images with any sort of swimsuit, you should search the most general swimsuit tags: "mizugi". This will automatically bring up images tagged with "mizugi" as well as images tagged with either of the child tags of "mizugi": "school mizugi" and "two piece". On the other hand, if you want more specific results, you should search for "school mizugi" only. This will bring up images tagged with "school mizugi", but not simply with "mizugi" or "two piece".

A final important thing to remember about searching is the exclusion of tags. You can run a search for "mizugi" !"school mizugi" and get results that contain the "two piece" tag and the general "mizugi" tag, but not any that contain "school mizugi".

Creating New Tags

Only members of the mod or tagging teams may create entirely new tags. To request a new tag, contact a moderator/tagger or make a post in this thread.

Doing a Search

Now that you know how tags work, let’s go over the basics of using them.

Shuushuu contains a very useful similar images search to automatically look for images like yours that may have already been posted, but the best way to make sure your images isn’t already posted is to do a manual search on your own. You can simply click on the "Search" portion of the horizontal navigation bar to access a page that will allow you to look for tags that match your image. Some searches take longer than others, but chances are you’ll be able to find, or not find, your images within a matter of minutes.

These searches are done mainly with the use of tags. These tags can be either theme, source, or artist tags, and they all work in the same manner, detailed above. Another useful search function is the characters search, which operates without tags and in a different manner.

For example, a search for Kamio Misuzu will bring up only images with one character written as "Kamio Misuzu". A search for Misuzu Kamio will bring up images with only one character, written "Misuzu Kamio". However, these searches can also be run with asterisks (*) for better results.

A search for *Misuzu* will bring up all images that contain a character called Misuzu. A search for *Misuzu will bring up all images that contain a character whose second name is Misuzu. A search for Misuzu* will bring up all images that contain a character whose first name is Misuzu, AND the "Misuzu" must be at the front of the characters slot. You could also run a search for *Kamio*Misuzu* or Misuzu*Kamio or *Misuzu* *Kamio*, which all turn up different results. Probably the most effective method, however, would be the last one.

This same search method works for a comment content search, a look through the tag list, or a check through the memebrlist as well, but if you’re doing a search for a comment author the favorites of one user, you are required to fully write their proper name.