About Aurora tags
Tags are used within a community to help categorize articles across all content types. A tag is a single, informal keyword or phrase that describes a topic, theme, or some other element of a post. Posts can have multiple tags. Tags are a great way to enable authors to self-categorize site content based on the themes or content in the article.
When setting up tags for the community, admins have various options available. For example, tag usage can be enforced, which makes it mandatory for authors to apply tags when submitting posts. Additionally, admins can choose whether to enable preset and/or freeform tags (described below).
For example, in a discussion for troubleshooting connectivity issues with smartphones, admins might create preset tags like iPhone, Galaxy, AT&T, Verizon, and so on. Authors could select from these preset tags when posting the article. If freeform tags are enabled for the board, authors can also create their own tags while posting.
Why do people tag?
Tagging content is an easy way to find content you’re interested in or to put your own spin on content you see in the community. While each person has their own motivation, these are some of the common reasons people tag content:
- To organize content so it’s easier to find. Tags are an excellent navigational device: they help people remember what they saw or briefly summarize what a post or thread was about. They also help users quickly zero in on posts about a specific topic or find others who are interested in the same topics.
- To participate in an informal knowledge creation/curation project. One of the interesting aspects of tagging is the way it enables people to act locally but contribute to something of value for the entire community. By tagging items for their own personal use, members help to create something that benefits other community members as well.
- To call attention to content members think is important to the community at large. The more often a tag is used, the more prominently it’s featured in the community, thus drawing attention to similarly tagged items.
Tag Types
Aurora communities offers both preset and freeform tags.
- Preset Tags: Tags can be predefined by admins, giving them control over exactly which tags are used in different boards in the community. Admins can define preset tags only at the board level and not at community, category, and group levels. Based on the tags defined at the board level, authors can select from the list of preset tags while creating a new post or to a published post. Preset tags defined in any board are not available in other boards. While creating a post, preset tags are displayed as shown here:
- Freeform Tags: Authors or members with the appropriate permissions (Admins or Moderators, for example) can add their own tags apart from preset tags while creating a post or to a published post. These member-generated tags are not scoped to any particular place and exist in the community only if they are used in any topic. To add your own tags, click + Tag as shown below:
One board might have tag requirements with a preset pool of tags while another can be completely optional and enable members to create their own tags. Learn more about configuring tag options
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