Tagging questions and answers
Q: Do I have to tag my own posts?
A: No, tagging is not required. All posts will eventually be tagged, but it is the responsibility of the moderator to do so.

Q: What if I want to tag my own posts? Am I allowed to do that?
A: Absolutely!

Q: What tags should I include?
A: Posts are tagged with rating, LJ username of the author, fic and/or series title, and pairing (by year except for Greg/Nick, which is tagged by year and month in the format yyyy-mm) or grouping.

Q: That sounds really confusing. Why all the years and months for pairings?
A: LJ only displays the most recent 100 posts of any particular tag. More than 100 Greg/Nick stories are posted every year, so in order to view all Greg/Nick posts, they need to be tagged by month as well as year. There are less than 100 posts for other pairings per year but will soon be more than 100 posts overall, so tagging by year ensures that all posts of a particular pairing may be viewed even when there are more than 100 stories for a particular pairing.

Q: There are definitely more than 100 posts for each rating. Why aren't those tags dated too?
A: The rating tags aren't meant to be for searches like the pairing tags. Instead, they're strictly there so that all posts are clearly labelled with ratings indicating age-appropriateness; that is, no one under 13 years old should read anything rated pg-13, r, or nc-17, and no one under 17 should read anything rated r or nc-17.

Q: Are the tags good for anything other than making sure posts are clearly labelled?
A: Yes! The main purpose of the tags (other than rating tags) is to allow readers to search for and find stories they like more easily than searching through the entire community, which was the only way to search before. Using tags to search isn't as specific as an advanced search with multiple parameters at a website, but at least this way you can search for pairings or authors you like, or see if you remember a story by its title or series name.

Q: How do I search by pairing, author, or title?
A: This post has tags for all pairings, triads, and groupings; this post has all user tags, and a post is soon to come for standalone fics, series, sequels, and companion pieces. You can also search by actor or character or topic.

Q: Series, sequels, and companion pieces? What's the difference?
A: It's all in how the author posts a story. A series is made up of two or more chapters that are all connected chronologically, while a sequel follows a series or standalone but can be read by itself, as can whatever it is a sequel to. Companion pieces are like sequels, but may, for example, take place at the same time as the original piece but be told by a different point of view.

Q: What if I like a story but don't know if it has a sequel or companion piece?
A: Stories with sequels will be tagged 'has a sequel', and stories with companion pieces will be tagged 'has a companion piece'. All 'sequel to' and 'companion to' tags will be included in the series tag post.

Q: What if I have more questions that aren't addressed here?
A: You can comment on any mod post or email the moderator at csi_slash at yahoo dot com.