[Request] Please do something about the abuse of the tag system for forum threads!

As some of you may very well have seen already, a recent trend that has emerged across this very forum is the abuse of the tag system. I'd like to point out first and foremost that by hovering over each tag, it shows which user added them.

I'm not going to name any names, though a clear trend has emerged where the system is being exploited to target individual posters and/or groups of players.

I think this would be an excellent issue for the moderators to look into, especially since it should be relatively easy to identify posters who are operating in bad faith and attempting to exploit the tag system to stifle the opinions and feedback provided by other players.

I would humbly suggest that careful attention is paid to posters who seek to portray themselves as 'above it all' and 'against drama' only to then tag threads with targeted harassment towards users and groups who dare to have an opinion contrary to their own.

I'm reluctant to suggest that the system should be removed altogether, since I have always considered such actions to be worthy of a last resort. Yet I do think some manner of action should be taken where abuse is being found.

Could you report the person who makes inappropriate tags maybe or contact the mods to remove the tags? I didn't even know anyone could add tags to a thread they didn't make, seems very weird. But seeing that this style? or format of board is old I doubt it's getting any updates any time soon..

This is one of those things that ultimately doesn't matter. Most people don't even know that tags exist or care to look at them.

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Originally Posted by Padudu

Could you report the person who makes inappropriate tags maybe or contact the mods to remove the tags? I didn't even know anyone could add tags to a thread they didn't make, seems very weird. But seeing that this style? or format of board is old I doubt it's getting any updates any time soon..

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Yeah, it's just that some users who complain about toxicity, but then go on to slap these on a variety of threads, as noted here: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post5912920 ), basically seem to think they can use this as some kind of free pass to attack threads they don't like. Honestly, I hadn't noticed them either until someone pointed it out, but I can't imagine the tags being any less reportable than a post in the event that they become a TOS violation.

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Originally Posted by Lauront

Yeah, it's just that some users who complain about toxicity, but then go on to slap these on a variety of threads, as noted here: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post5912920 ), basically seem to think they can use this as some kind of free pass to attack threads they don't like. Honestly, I hadn't noticed them either until someone pointed it out, but I can't imagine the tags being any less reportable than a post in the event that they become a TOS violation.

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LOL the pettiness to attack people via tags is astounding. Yeah I never paid attention to them either haha, I added my own onto here no problem so 100% can see how that's easily abusable, but that's nothing a report shouldn't be able to fix if the tag is that bad imo.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

SNIP

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You've suddenly made me want to tag this with "You're it!". Thank you for that.

Wow I can't believe the toxic positivity.
*Proceeds to make petty personal jab and direct references tags and accuses everyone of being a white knight and bootlicker*.

Edit: No joke I didn't even realize tags existed until now rofl.

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Originally Posted by Kaurhz

Didn’t even know people cared enough to look at tags, honestly. I always think tags should be set or created exclusively by the thread starter, if anything.

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This, even just looking through the most recent threads most of the tags are basically just trolling or weird indirect personal attacks.

Didn’t even know people cared enough to look at tags, honestly. I always think tags should be set or created exclusively by the thread starter, if anything.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

As some of you may very well have seen already, a recent trend that has emerged across this very forum is the abuse of the tag system. I'd like to point out first and foremost that by hovering over each tag, it shows which user added them.

I'm not going to name any names, though a clear trend has emerged where the system is being exploited to target individual posters and/or groups of players.

I think this would be an excellent issue for the moderators to look into, especially since it should be relatively easy to identify posters who are operating in bad faith and attempting to exploit the tag system to stifle the opinions and feedback provided by other players.

I would humbly suggest that careful attention is paid to posters who seek to portray themselves as 'above it all' and 'against drama' only to then tag threads with targeted harassment towards users and groups who dare to have an opinion contrary to their own.

I'm reluctant to suggest that the system should be removed altogether, since I have always considered such actions to be worthy of a last resort. Yet I do think some manner of action should be taken where abuse is being found.

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I looked at various threads and this works both ways on both sides of various issues. As you are someone on the EU Servers and prefer censorship I appreciate you stay with your own people who prefer things a certain way.

I would humbly ask since there is a huge disconnect between English Speakers of different regions that the forums be restricted by region so that way you can speak with like minded people of your own region. I've noticed the biggest proponents of censorship here are all in the EU worlds which I respect, but I think we all need different region locked forums. I am sure ,for example, someone from the EU or NA who preaches for example wokeness but speaks Japanese would not be welcome on the Japanese boards as there is to much of a disconnect and currently in the Japanese Gaming space with Japanese Gamers very angry that western wokeness is creeping into Japanese Anime and Video Games because of Western companies demanding even Japanese Only Titles and Movies be censored in Japan even if the product is never translated or imported to the West because it might offend someone.

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Originally Posted by HisShadowX

I looked at various threads and this works both ways on both sides of various issues. As you are someone on the EU Servers and prefer censorship I appreciate you stay with your own people who prefer things a certain way.

I would humbly ask since there is a huge disconnect between English Speakers of different regions that the forums be restricted by region so that way you can speak with like minded people of your own region. I've noticed the biggest proponents of censorship here are all in the EU worlds which I respect, but I think we all need different region locked forums. I am sure ,for example, someone from the EU or NA who preaches for example wokeness but speaks Japanese would not be welcome on the Japanese boards as there is to much of a disconnect and currently in the Japanese Gaming space with Japanese Gamers very angry that western wokeness is creeping into Japanese Anime and Video Games because of Western companies demanding even Japanese Only Titles and Movies be censored in Japan even if the product is never translated or imported to the West because it might offend someone.

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Buddy:

1) Which EU player hurt you and

2) Was that person also a hardcore player?

I mean really though what do you expect with how threads were going yesterday? Most people who were mad af chilled out or left after giving their 100th hot-take on how bad of programmers the devs are when the news updates came rolling out.

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Originally Posted by HisShadowX

I looked at various threads and this works both ways on both sides of various issues. As you are someone on the EU Servers and prefer censorship I appreciate you stay with your own people who prefer things a certain way.

I would humbly ask since there is a huge disconnect between English Speakers of different regions that the forums be restricted by region so that way you can speak with like minded people of your own region. I've noticed the biggest proponents of censorship here are all in the EU worlds which I respect, but I think we all need different region locked forums. I am sure ,for example, someone from the EU or NA who preaches for example wokeness but speaks Japanese would not be welcome on the Japanese boards as there is to much of a disconnect and currently in the Japanese Gaming space with Japanese Gamers very angry that western wokeness is creeping into Japanese Anime and Video Games because of Western companies demanding even Japanese Only Titles and Movies be censored in Japan even if the product is never translated or imported to the West because it might offend someone.

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Soooo you state people from the EU want "censorship" but then go on to say how everyone should be segregated.

Either bait or stupidity, which one would you rather?

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Originally Posted by Theodric

As some of you may very well have seen already, a recent trend that has emerged across this very forum is the abuse of the tag system. I'd like to point out first and foremost that by hovering over each tag, it shows which user added them.

I'm not going to name any names, though a clear trend has emerged where the system is being exploited to target individual posters and/or groups of players.

I think this would be an excellent issue for the moderators to look into, especially since it should be relatively easy to identify posters who are operating in bad faith and attempting to exploit the tag system to stifle the opinions and feedback provided by other players.

I would humbly suggest that careful attention is paid to posters who seek to portray themselves as 'above it all' and 'against drama' only to then tag threads with targeted harassment towards users and groups who dare to have an opinion contrary to their own.

I'm reluctant to suggest that the system should be removed altogether, since I have always considered such actions to be worthy of a last resort. Yet I do think some manner of action should be taken where abuse is being found.

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Sorry, buddy. Had to. It's like a rule.

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Originally Posted by Xavier_Firbold

Soooo you state people from the EU want "censorship" but then go on to say how everyone should be segregated.

Either bait or stupidity, which one would you rather?

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The whole trend he's talking about in tech isn't even a European thing lol, the big tech companies are located in the US and operate according to that culture.
Same goes with most localization and oversight of Japanese media making it to English speaking audiences.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

As some of you may very well have seen already, a recent trend that has emerged across this very forum is the abuse of the tag system. I'd like to point out first and foremost that by hovering over each tag, it shows which user added them.

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This has been prevalent for awhile now on here. I'm not sure if people realized that we can actually see who posted tags, but when seeing comments by some of these same people in other threads who have deigned to include a tag, it gives me the impression that they didn't.

This does seem like something overlooked by the mods on here, and I have seen a lot of users, many newer, looking at these tags, tags claiming it's a "troll" thread or whatever else, and assuming that is what the thread is regardless. It isn't constructive to discussion.

I know for the threads I frequent most the majority of the tags are by posters I've never seen engage in the discussion and probably didn't read past the OP, if even that far.

I find it very useful to have somebody slap a troll tag on a thread when they've recognized that it's started by one of the more famous forum trolls.

I can't keep track of all of them.

I disliked until I realized you can see who's applying the tags.

Now I honestly appreciate it because it allows people to pre-emptively out themselves as not being worth engaging with.

... tag abuse? Really? Do you really think people are looking at tags before even the first post? Considering you CAN see who put the tags it's very easy to disregard spammed "attacks" isn't it?

I mean, it's just a tit for tat that goes both ways so I don't really see there being any point to the tags at all at this point. I'd say that it should be up to the moderation staff to handle tagging threads appropriately but, yeah, we all know that's not gonna happen.

Oh the evil tags. Really? No the tags are just fine. If you have a problem with any of them report them.

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Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

Oh the evil tags. Really? No the tags are just fine. If you have a problem with any of them report them.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

... tag abuse? Really? Do you really think people are looking at tags before even the first post? Considering you CAN see who put the tags it's very easy to disregard spammed "attacks" isn't it?

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I'm genuinely curious, did you actually read my post? Nowhere did I say that the tag system should be removed.

In fact, I said this:

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I'm reluctant to suggest that the system should be removed altogether, since I have always considered such actions to be worthy of a last resort. Yet I do think some manner of action should be taken where abuse is being found.

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I'm not sure what's controversial about asking the moderators to intervene in cases of clear abuse and at present there's no easy way to report inappropriate tags. Especially in cases where the person adding the tags isn't even present in the thread itself.

I swore I never use to be able to see who placed the tags, but I like them people can put a small silly meme or comment down there without wasting an entire post. I would like to not see who put the tags though, it being anonymous would honestly be better. I will usually be reading a thread and not wish to get involved with a cat fight, but if I place a tag I am definitely reading the thread maybe even posting after the heat is no longer on. No fun allowed I guess.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I'm genuinely curious, did you actually read my post? Nowhere did I say that the tag system should be removed.

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And where did I say remove either? I just don't think it's a problem worth mentioning. The tag system is mostly for searching. I'd be confident guessing that most of us here don't even look at them for the most part.

on that same note the other poster you quoted didn't say remove either.


Maybe .. read OUR posts?

Having expressed opinions counter to the norm, I've had to stop paying attention to the tags as they tend to devolve into nothing more than base attacks against the poster of the thread. Passive aggressiveness runs through the veins of anything XIV related.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

Maybe .. read OUR posts?

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I did. I can't quite work out what you're trying to accomplish other than seemingly being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.

I'm not particularly interested in an inane back and forth discussion on the subject, though. My original post makes it clear that I'm asking for moderators to take note of a method some posters are using to evade the forum's code of conduct and intervene in cases where they deem it a necessity.

It doesn't make for productive discussion. The tag system itself is perfectly fine. People exploiting it for targeted harassment, however...well, I daresay any reasonable individual can make a link between such an action and the terms of service and realise that it isn't appropriate.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

And where did I say remove either? I just don't think it's a problem worth mentioning. The tag system is mostly for searching. I'd be confident guessing that most of us here don't even look at them for the most part.

on that same note the other poster you quoted didn't say remove either.


Maybe .. read OUR posts?

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Doesn't like the tags so it's a problem you see. And inferring that people didn't read his OP is insulting. Relative to reporting them just report the OP and in the comments section report the issue you have with a particular tag.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I did. I can't quite work out what you're trying to accomplish other than seemingly being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.

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Let me repeat:
I just don't think it's a problem worth mentioning. Your OP reads as wailing and flailing over inconsequential slights.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I'm not particularly interested in an inane back and forth discussion on the subject, though. My original post makes it clear that I'm asking for moderators to take note of a method some posters are using to evade the forum's code of conduct and intervene in cases where they deem it a necessity.

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Ok .. then maybe don't respond with inane back and forth about people not reading what you said. Cause I did.. and I just said what I saw.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

It doesn't make for productive discussion. The tag system itself is perfectly fine. People exploiting it for targeted harassment, however...well, I daresay any reasonable individual can make a link between such an action and the terms of service and realise that it isn't appropriate.

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"targeted harassment" = "people putting mean tags on all the posts they don't like"

This is pretty far to stretch into any sort of harassment. It doesn't mask your posts. it doesn't degrade them in any way. You can still tag them with relevant tags for easy searching. People aren't reviewing your posts based on the tags.


If the tags actually contain slurs or crude language then that's a different issue entirely. As the swedes would say "you're making a chicken out of a feather". People are tagging stuff in ways you don't like and you're weaving a "targeted harassment" story.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

Let me repeat:
I just don't think it's a problem worth mentioning. Your OP reads as wailing and flailing over inconsequential slights.


Ok .. then maybe don't respond with inane back and forth about people not reading what you said. Cause I did.. and I just said what I saw.




"targeted harassment" = "people putting mean tags on all the posts they don't like"

This is pretty far to stretch into any sort of harassment. It doesn't mask your posts. it doesn't degrade them in any way. You can still tag them with relevant tags for easy searching. People aren't reviewing your posts based on the tags.


If the tags actually contain slurs or crude language then that's a different issue entirely. As the swedes would say "you're making a chicken out of a feather". People are tagging stuff in ways you don't like and you're weaving a "targeted harassment" story.

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Just because it’s not a problem to you, doesn’t mean it’s not a problem. It seems many people agree with Op and not many agree with you so…read the room.

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Originally Posted by Deceptus

This is one of those things that ultimately doesn't matter. Most people don't even know that tags exist or care to look at them.

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I mostly agree although a few of them I've seen were just straight-up racial or sexist slurs which... should probably be addressed.

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Originally Posted by KizuyaKatogami

Just because it’s not a problem to you, doesn’t mean it’s not a problem. It seems many people agree with Op and not many agree with you so…read the room.

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Oh no I'm getting "like" ratio'd. Maybe I should just shut up and never say anything right?


I don't care about the rest of you in the room, I'm here to say what I said.

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Originally Posted by Denji

The good news is that every time you try to squeeze in the last word, you help this thread by keeping it bumped to the top.

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or I could do this. I don't care about bumping either though, but thank's for reminding me not to waste posting limits on this.

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Originally Posted by Denji

Edit: See? Last wordism once again. So utterly incapable of exerting even a modicum of willpower to not reply and editing their post to squeeze in another last word. I can do that too! BTW, emember to stay hydrated and get yourself a glass of water. :)

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The fun part is I can absolutely flip that right back in your face .. I challenge you to flex that same willpower and not respond to this then =]


I promise I'll not respond, regardless of what YOU say. Boy are the forums full of beans today.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

Oh no I'm getting "like" ratio'd. Maybe I should just shut up and never say anything right?


I don't care about the rest of you in the room, I'm here to say what I said.

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The good news is that every time you try to squeeze in the last word, you help this thread by keeping it bumped to the top.

Edit: See? Last wordism once again. So utterly incapable of exerting even a modicum of willpower to not reply and editing their post to squeeze in another last word. I can do that too! BTW, emember to stay hydrated and get yourself a glass of water. :)

Edit 2: :) (apparently mobile emojis break, whoopsie!)

I remember something was asked many years ago and a mod did respond. Only thing that can be done is to report

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Just to add a brief point of clarity to Bayohne's reply, you can report the original post of the thread and detail in the report that it is the tags that you are reporting. Since the tags themselves do not have a report feature at this time, this is the best way to draw the GM's attention to the tags so we can handle them appropriately.

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https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post2959750

Will things be done about it? Probably not since its still happening now.

These forums are such a lost cause

Bumping, and agreeing with OP. -o- People are being incredibly unnecessary, it's pathetic.

Just to add, there should be restrictions on posting and tags entirely. Like maybe open the need help/bug report to all, but the discussion you just shouldn’t be able to make a new thread below a certain post count or ranking. Tags also. No more “joined 1 week ago gotta complain about something idiot” threads.