Best Practices for Effective Tagging

Tags are one of the most powerful search tools in Space, but their usefulness depends on consistency. A well-planned tagging system makes it easy for your entire team to find what they need. Here are some best practices to consider.

1. Be Consistent

The most important rule is consistency. Before you start tagging, decide on a convention and stick with it.

• Singular vs. Plural: Decide whether to use prop or props, costume or costumes. We recommend using the singular form (prop, costume) as it’s generally easier to remember and type.
• Capitalization: Tags are case-insensitive in search, but for clarity, it’s best to keep them all lowercase.

2. Use a Mix of Broad and Specific Tags

A good item has a mix of tags that describe it from different angles.

• Broad Category Tags: Start with high-level categories.
  • Examples: prop, costume, set-piece, electronic, tool
• Material Tags: Describe what the item is made of.
  • Examples: wood, metal, leather, plastic, fabric
• Descriptive Tags: Add details about the item’s appearance or style.
  • Examples: victorian, sci-fi, red, ornate, rustic
• Project Tags: If an item is associated with a specific show or project, tag it!
  • Examples: starlight-gala, project-phoenix

Good Tagging Example for a Red Victorian Dress: costume, fabric, victorian, red, starlight-gala

3. Keep Tags Simple and Clear

• Avoid overly long tags. Use multiple shorter tags instead of one long one. For example, use sci-fi and helmet instead of science-fiction-helmet.
• Don’t use tags for information that belongs in an Attribute. Information like a serial number or a specific size should be a Custom Attribute, not a tag. Tags are for searching and filtering, while Attributes are for storing specific data.

4. Review and Clean Up Periodically

Every few months, it’s a good idea for an administrator to review the tags being used.

• Navigate to the Search page and type # in the search bar to see a list of commonly used tags.
• If you see duplicates (e.g., prop and props), take a moment to edit the items and standardize them.

Ritchie’s Tip: Think about how someone who has never seen the item before would try to search for it. What words would they use? Add those as tags!