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One of the main ways that we intend for this system to differ from Ao3's is in ambiguous tags. Specifically, we don't want to have any.
You may be wondering why, since Ao3 allows them. However, we hope to have a tagging system that prioritizes functionality, and ambiguous tags can create unintended confusion (especially for filtering). Ambiguous tags are not the author talking directly to the users, like in most talk-style tags, because they can be an acronym or only a few words. They also aren't effective for filtering, because they can mean too many different things to effectively filter anything. It's very important to us that you can find or exclude what you want with ease.
A tag is ambiguous when it can mean different things to different people. This can include different meanings between different fandoms, as well as confusion on which of several meanings is intended. There are no hard rules on what makes a tag ambiguous, but generally, if the meaning is unclear, it is ambiguous.
Basically, we will be changing ambiguous tags either to make them more specific, or in fringe cases, to specific ones. This may occur alongside reformatting, if it is the first tag for a new canonical, but the two are independent of each other. If you are interested in what exactly makes a tag ambiguous, and how you can avoid using ambiguous tags, there is a detailed explanation in the FAQ.
There will be no 'punishments' for violating these guidelines. While this is a site policy, if you violate it, all that will happen is the tag gets either changed or edited.
Many of these rules were very recently implemented, and we appreciate users' flexibility and understanding regarding the tagging policy. We hope to have the official formatting policy out within the next week. This site is still very new, and the official system is still evolving to best suit the needs of users. If you have any questions on this matter, please ask below! We are happy to explain anything unclear, and we hope to be able to listen to suggestions or hear concerns.
