Tags take away the need for embedding content, they eliminate the need for sub-categories.
Tags are completely Dynamic…Sub-categories are fixed and run the risk of turning the navigation of the site into a maze.
Sub-categories create drill paths that are easy for the organizer to remember, but users have to then learn the navigation path in order to access a particular text.
Historically, content on forums has been organized using drill paths (category => sub-category), whereby there is a top level category, and embedded inside that are any number of subcategories.
This system allows for content to be tagged. Tags follow the content around. Reply’s to a post are automatically tagged with the same tag as the original posts.
Tags are completely Dynamic…Sub-categories are fixed and run the risk of turning the navigation of the site into a maze.
Tags when properly used, replace sub-categories.
Tags make it to where users can search for topics by typing in the “tag” they are interested in. So if an original post was tagged as “renault” then a search for “renault” will pull all posts and comments under this tag.
Tags allow users to pull related content that may other wise be in different categories or sub-categories.
Tags only exist when they are in use somewhere. Delete all the topics with a specific tag, that tag ceases to exist.
You must reach a level 3 trust level as a user to be able to create a tag. However, a level 1 trust level user can take tags that already exist and apply them to new posts. Moderators can replace and re-assign tags.
Hope this is helpful, let me know if you have more questions!
As content ages and grows and If you end up with 2 similar tags (like battery and batteries) you can rename one to the other and they will be “merged”.
Hope this is helpful, let me know if you have more questions!