Tag

[dbfolks166mt]

     Has anybody else noticed that you can no longer TAG postings in this forum or am I just missing something? Did they move it somewhere?

[itsjustasprain]

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@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:

(None were mentors - not sure what chevymontecarlo is referencing. Oh wait - there is one mentor that over-used tags in a very odd way, but it was not in a manner that was disrespectful to other posters.)

I think we are referencing different posts. There has been a few times that mentors have involved themselves in this behavior.

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I remember two mentors squabbling here recently - I THINK they were both mentors - I know one was. I did not notice them using tags as well since they were pretty much going at it directly. The most abusive tagger I can think of did not seem to actually post much at all.

[a_c_green]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

you could add tags like Old Post, Advertising, Promotion. 

That's not how the feature was meant to be used. My error I didn't realize there were rules around using the tag feature. I used those examples as just a few that I use hopefully to prevent others from wasting their time replying to the post.

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I don't know that there was ever much in the form of official "rules" on how tags were supposed to be used. What explanation I recall was more in terms of "Here's a tagging function; here's how it works; here's what you can do with it" and so on. You know, sort of like what eBay does to document all the questions we might have when they introduce something new. 😉😂

Nevertheless, it's pretty obvious to see abusive tagging when it occurs. I think a misguided sense of anonymity (when in fact it was not anonymous) probably helped make things worse.

[lacemaker3]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

you could add tags like Old Post, Advertising, Promotion. 

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That's not how the feature was meant to be used.

...

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@wastingtime101, I know that you included a list of appropriate uses for Tags, which I didn't want to repeat because I want instead to ask about a specific situation that I have used tags for ...

When there is a spam/scam thread (or post) which includes a link (clickable or not) to a scam/sketchy/untrustworthy website, I report that to the mods and it will usually be removed within a couple of hours, unless it is in the morning on the East coast, in which case it may take much longer.

So, in the meantime, I have been tagging the post  with something like "Scam link" in order to warn other users that the link is probably not safe. The warning disappears, of course, when the post is removed, but until then, I thought it was good to post a warning.

Would that be an appropriate use for tags? Not instead of reporting to the mods, but in addition to?

devon@ebay, please let us know what is appropriate use for tags, when/if you get them turned back on.

[wastingtime101]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

@wastingtime101, I know that you included a list of appropriate uses for Tags, which I didn't want to repeat because I want instead to ask about a specific situation that I have used tags for ...

When there is a spam/scam thread (or post) which includes a link (clickable or not) to a scam/sketchy/untrustworthy website, I report that to the mods and it will usually be removed within a couple of hours, unless it is in the morning on the East coast, in which case it may take much longer.

So, in the meantime, I have been tagging the post  with something like "Scam link" in order to warn other users that the link is probably not safe. The warning disappears, of course, when the post is removed, but until then, I thought it was good to post a warning.

Would that be an appropriate use for tags? Not instead of reporting to the mods, but in addition to?

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What I wrote above is my interpretation of using tags while following community guidelines. For a definitive answer you'd have to tag Devon and team.

I personally think tagging a 100% clear-cut spam post with a potentially unsafe link as "malicious link" or "scam link" is OK as it helps to warn others not to click until the mods can delete it.

I mentioned above I do something similar when I said, "Tagging an OP with "reported spam" when it is a 100% clear spammer that's posting sketchy external malicious links, so others know it's already been reported to the mods and they don't have to waste time doing the same."

dbfolks seemed to have questions about my post as well, sorry I did not follow though. I'll be honest: I didn't even try to read it. Dark mode doesn't show colors and it's near impossible to read posts that have undistinguishable inserted text added - so I'd also advise dbfolks to ask Devon (or Kyle or Elizabeth) if they have questions about whether a specific type of tag follows community rules or not.