• "Tag what you see, not what you know"
  • Tag only everything that's visible in the image, within a reasonable level of detail. The goal is to have every image be uniquely searchable without creating too much of a tagging burden.
• Try to use only one tag to describe each characteristic,
• The above two rules do not apply to parent category tags ('fruit' + 'food').
• Avoid subjective tags ('nas', 'gem', 'faggot'). These examples are valid tags when referring to an object or text in the image.
• Always use the 'tagme' tag if you are unsure if you put enough tags. It's ugly but without it poorly tagged images disappear into the database forever.
• Prefer existing tags over creating new ones.
  • Search for synonyms before creating a new tag. We try to autocorrect common mistakes but would like to minimize aliases in case a word is needed to describe text in an image.
  • The database is always improving. Some tags may violate the guidelines below either as mod-created exceptions or work-in-progress changes.

• Always include at least one variant, or 'variant:unknown'.
• Any drawn or traced variant should have the 'soyjak' tag, except 'variant:wojak'.
• The amount of faces in the image determines the use of the '[2-5]soyjaks' tags. Use 'multiple_soyjaks' for 5+ soyjaks.
• Images that include real-life elements should use the 'irl' or 'irl_background' tags.
• Special Tags
  • 'merge' means an uncommon mix of two variants. This should not be used for body parts (not face) or commonly reused elements (wholesomejak's smile).
  • 'redraw' describes any re-drawing or tracing of a variant without substantial changes.
  • 'oekaki' effectively describes a poorly-done 'redraw'. This may be removed in the future.
  • 'subvariant'/'alternate' [TBA]
• Use negative tags ('no_eyes', 'no_mouth') for rarely missing characteristics when no other positive tag is accurate.
• Colors
  • Many common characteristics have color versions ('blue_eyes', 'yellow_skin').
  • In ambiguous situations prefer red, green, blue, yellow, black and white.
  • 'white_skin' refers to the skin color, not the color white.
  • For simplicity hair does not have its own colors ('blonde_hair' -> 'yellow_hair').
  • Use the generic color tags ('red', 'green') only when a more specific color tag can't be applied to the image.
• Head Parts
  • Prefer 'stubble' over 'beard'. The latter describes fuller facial hair (see 'variant:science_lover').
  • 'open_mouth' (the classic) refers to states of the mouth when the back of the mouth is visible. 'closed_mouth' refers to when the lips are entirely closed.
  • Do not use the '*_mouth' tags when teeth or foreign object(s) are completely covering the back of the mouth.
  • 'smile', 'frown', and similar tags should be used whenever applicable.
  • Don't forget the 'ear' tag.
• Body Parts
  • Non-head body parts are less important and are kept limited. The most common are 'arm', 'hand', 'leg', and 'foot'.
  • 'full_body' specifies a complete body from head to toe that is not covered or cut off. When using this tag leave out the other body parts unless they're especially significant to the image.

• Tags should only contain Latin characters, numbers, underscores, parentheses, and forward slashes [A-Z, a-z, 0-9, _, (, )]. Sometimes underscores are displayed as spaces. Use underscores to replace disallowed characters such as apostrophes, dashes, and pound signs.
• Use singular nouns ('ears' -> 'ear').
• Prefer American English spelling for English words ('sceptre' -> 'scepter').
• Use parentheses to clarify ambiguous tags ('nas_(rapper)').
• Names
  • Use the full name of the character or franchise.
  • Asian names use '[lastname]_[firstname]' order, this is for compatibility with other boorus. Refer to DanBooru for new character names.
  • All other names use '[firstname]_[lastname]' order.
  • Include "the" if it's part of the official name ('the_lawnmower_man'), unless it's rarely referred to that way ('the_lord_of_the_rings' -> 'lord_of_the_rings').
  • Mods may shorten obnoxiously long names ('satanichia_kurumizawa_mcdowell' -> 'satania').
  • Due to software limitations, imageboard board names have to be tagged as 'board name_(site)' without slashes ('/pol/' -> 'pol_(4chan)')

• The difference between 'subvariant:wholesome_soyjak' and 'variant:gapejak' is the stubble.
• 'bloodshot_eyes' supersedes the 'red_eyes' tag.
• 'badge' is the tag for any award ribbon, pin, clothing sticker, or other wearable badge.
• 'anime' is the category tag for anything drawn in Japanese cartoon style, including 'manga', 'touhou' and visual novels.

• 'stretched_mouth' replaces of 'screaming' for a larger-than-usual mouth. Use 'screaming' only when the character is visibly screaming.

• 'closed_mouth' tag
• Replace 4chan board names with main subject when need ('g_(4chan) -> 'technology')
• Asian names

Revision 20 by dust at 2022-12-19 08:34:04