Fanfare pony request: automatic tagging?

June 20, 2014 10:46 AM

The way that shows on FanFare are automagically coralled under the the show/ url is great! Would it be feasible (or helpful) to automatically add the show name as a tag for any posts made for a show?

I use tags in my feed reader to categorize shows I'm following, but not every post on FanFare has those tags. Automatically adding the show name tag would be a handy way to ensure posts are always tagged with the relevant show name.

If this isn't an acceptable pony, I instead humbly request that when making a post in FanFare, users remember to add the show or movie name to the post tags.

:)

posted by subbes to Feature Requests at 10:46 AM (13 comments total)

Each show page has its own RSS feed. So you could use that feed instead of tags to keep up with a particular show. It feels a bit redundant to need to tag each post with the show name since we already have a mechanism for grouping all episodes of a show together.

We don't do automatic tagging anywhere on the site. We leave it up to the poster (and their mutual contacts) to decide which tags are best for a post. A mod will sometimes add a tag if there's something that's really not clear—but we haven't ever had tag requirements before. So we'll give this some thought but it feels unnecessary.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:51 AM on June 20, 2014

Thanks, pb! As we discussed via email, I subscribe to the whole FanFare site RSS feed and filter shows based on tags, that way I end up being exposed to shows I didn't know existed. If an entry for a show doesn't have a tag, it's hard to filter.

I may be looking for a technological solution to a behavioral issue :)
posted by subbes at 10:56 AM on June 20, 2014

Yeah, it sounds like you're using tags in a unique way. It sounds like you need the show name tagged on a particular post so you can be sure to filter it out if you don't like it.

I'm not sure what newsreader you're using, but you might see if there are other filtering tools. Every post title includes the show name. If you have a list of shows you're not interested in, it seems like you could filter it out based on phrases in the title.
posted by pb (staff) at 11:02 AM on June 20, 2014

In general, I don't really like the idea of automatic tagging, since I hope people write really good tags so followers of a show can know if say, Hodor makes an appearance, or if the show is a holiday special, or whatever special things happen in each episode.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:02 AM on June 20, 2014

subbes, if you use Newblur as your newsreader, you can definitely filter out by the show name in the title.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:42 AM on June 20, 2014

Huh, I didn't see that in the intelligence trainer.
posted by subbes at 12:33 PM on June 20, 2014

I might have missed this in other FanFare threads, but is there a way to 'subscribe' to shows that you're watching/following/discussing? Either through some sort of MyFare tab interface (like MyAsk and MyMefi) or MeMail notification (like IRL)?
posted by carsonb at 12:45 PM on June 20, 2014

No, the only subscription mechanism we have right now is RSS that you can use with an external newsreader.

We're planning to add a My FanFare style feature at some point down the road.
posted by pb (staff) at 12:48 PM on June 20, 2014

Okay, here's what the intelligence trainer looks like in Newsblur. You can like/dislike by tags or author, but you can also do that based on highlighted text in the title. Highlight the show title, and you are set.

This is what I do, and I have no problems.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:49 PM on June 20, 2014 [2 favorites]

Am I the only person tagging the episodes with the regulars and prominent guest stars?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:26 PM on July 10, 2014

I don't think it's a bad thing if you are. Was that a convention that was established as a part of the FanFare introduction discussions (which yeah I admit I still haven't read most of that), or one you were hoping to establish?
posted by carsonb at 5:59 AM on July 11, 2014

Just something I have been doing. Modeling good behavior, etc.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:27 AM on July 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Well then a favorite for you, man!
posted by carsonb at 7:34 AM on July 11, 2014