Barnstorming on an Invisible Segway

Posted by xeno

https://www.transformativeworks.org/ivd-2025-volunteer-qa-tag-wrangling-spotlight/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=275847

Last November we asked the community to submit questions to our OTW volunteers in celebration of International Volunteer Day. In this series of posts we will spotlight some of our committees’ responses.

The Tag Wrangling committee sorts, organizes, and connects tags used on the Archive of Our Own (AO3) website, according to Tag Wrangling guidelines, to make them more easily filterable by users. They work, for example, closely with the Support committee to handle user requests for sorting and connecting tags, and the Open Doors committee to “map” tags used in other archives.

We asked the Tag Wrangling committee for replies to your questions, and received a lot of feedback! Below you can find a selection of their answers:

Tag Wrangling Committee Specific Questions

Question: First, thank you for all the work you’ve been doing on the No Fandom Freeforms this year. I and many people I know are very happy about the newly canonized tags. I have been following developments on another Wrangling Policy, fandom metatags, with interest for several years, and I was excited to see an update about it in the June 2025 Newsletter. Is there anything more you can tell us about that process, like what ‘phase two of three’ means or what sort of timeframe we can expect to see changes to the publicly accessible Wrangling Guidelines or fandom tags?

Committee answer:
Thank you for the kind words! For major changes to the Guidelines, we have a three phase process that we work through.

• Phase 1 – Discussion and Brainstorming – The time where the initial issue to be addressed is laid out, and committee members bring forward concerns and potential solutions.
• Phase 2 – Compromise – Different fandoms have different needs and priorities, so it’s not always possible to find a solution that suits everyone. During this phase, we select the solution that will work best in the widest range of cases, and discuss how the proposal can be incorporated into existing guidelines.
• Phase 3 – Drafting – Language and relevant examples are written and brought to the committee for feedback.

In terms of a timeframe, it’s very dependent on how complex the initial issue is and how quickly we are able to find a solution that addresses most major concerns. While we understand that a long wait can be frustrating, making sure we take adequate time to fully understand and address all aspects of an issue should minimize negative unintended consequences and prevent the need to revisit guidelines too frequently.

Question: A couple times now, I have advised other AO3 users dealing with fandom tags that haven’t been canonized, sometimes for months. I’ve told them to use the Support Form to raise the issue and hopefully get a wrangler designated to manage the fandom. Do you have specific advice for what to information put on the support form that would help Support and Tag Wrangling process the request?

Committee answer:
Thank you for directing users with questions or concerns to Support! That is exactly the right strategy for these situations. If a fandom tag has had a work visible on it (i.e. not in an unrevealed collection) for more than a month, you are welcome to fill in the Support form to request its canonization, using their contact form.

It’s fine to include multiple tags in the same request that you would like to have reviewed.

When you submit a Support request, it can be helpful to provide links to information on the the sources of canon as this will aid the fandom bin wranglers in identifying and actioning the fandom tag, especially if it’s difficult to search for or could easily be confused with another fandom (say, a movie with the same name released in another country).

Links to sources provided can include information databases, official websites, and places where the canon source can be purchased. They do not need to be in English, particularly if the source material is non-English (where we may need to refer to non-English sources as part of actioning the tag!) though including non-English sources may increase the number of volunteers who need to review your request.

Question: What’s the process for moving an unofficial/freeform tag into a proper one you can filter with?

Committee answer:
Great question! Here is a very brief description of the life cycle of a tag.
A user adds a tag on their work. A wrangler then reviews tags in the “bins” assigned to them and determines whether the tag is fandom-specific (Example: The Force from Star Wars) or a general concept (Example: planets). If the former, the tag is “wrangled” to the particular fandom. If the latter, the tag is assigned to “No Fandom”.

What happens from this point is dependent on the type of tag (Character, Relationship, or Additional). There are specific criteria for whether a tag should be made a “canonical” or a “synonym”. (You can find definitions for all of these wrangling-related terms in our Tag Wrangling Guidelines). Some tags require a minimum level of usage before they will be canonized/appear in the autocomplete/filters.

General concept tags stored in No Fandom typically need to go through a special process of review and discussion by the Tag Wrangling committee before they can be canonized. This process is in place to ensure tags are organized, easily understood by users, and do not duplicate existing canonicals.

General Questions

How many hours a week do you spend on your OTW volunteer work?
This answer varies a lot in Tag Wrangling depending on what projects people are working on and their chosen self-assigned workloads. In general, many wranglers prefer not to track the specific time spent, with some of the joking answers shared including: “I reserve the right to to be silent”, “more than I probably should” and “that’s between me and the hyperfixation gods”.

The reality is like Cascade says: “It varies! Sometimes just an hour or two to clean up small fandoms, other times I get into the zone and will spend 10 or more hours in busier fandoms or working on a large project.”

How do you manage your volunteer time, and do you do the same thing every day like with a day job?

• Dean makes a dollar, I make a dime, so I wrangle your tags on university’s time. (For academic purposes this is a joke.) Some smaller issues (especially with smaller fandoms) can be easily resolved by taking 5 minutes away from what you’re doing, but bigger jobs (big fandoms, confusing canons, loads of tags, especially untranslated tags, etc.) need plenty of time and attention, so I usually wrangle them at home in the evenings or on my days off. And not everyone wrangles every day, unless they want to and have time to do it. Every wrangler works at their own leisure (this is volunteering, after all), but we are required to work through our tag bins at least once every 2 weeks. (Ravenna)
• I have a bit of a routine of things I do most days (check small fandoms for tags, send off tags that need translations, send off tags that belong to other wranglers, and clear a few pages of tags from the active fandoms), but apart from that it varies! Some days I’ll look for freeform tags that I can canonize, sometimes I’ll work on internal reference pages, or sometimes I might contribute to other ongoing projects. There’s always something that can be done! (Tag Wrangling volunteer)

What’s your favorite part about volunteering at the OTW?

• As a tag wrangler, it amazes me just how…creative some authors can be. I have seen tags that never in my mind I could come up with, and browsed fics that I would not normally read just to see the context of those tags lol (LaReveuse)
• I love how unconventionally fun the volunteer team is. I used to assume that the OTW was all stone-cold strict behind the scenes, but, really, our wrangling work mostly consists of giggling at tags and cheering when our favorite fandoms get canonized. (Bowekatan)

What’s the aspect of volunteer work with the OTW that you most wish more people knew about?

• I think more people should know about co-wrangling. Wrangling seems pretty individual, but with larger and/or more complicated fandoms, one person isn’t enough and you need a team of people to take care of the fandom. There is that teamwork aspect where teams discuss new changes and ask each other questions, not to mention you can divide the work up in a configuration that works for the team. Depending on what different people prefer to handle, you might even get to avoid the kinds of tasks you don’t enjoy as much if one of your co-wranglers really enjoys doing those tasks. I personally really enjoy co-wrangling and have made friends with a lot of people who I’ve co-wrangled with, and I don’t think that aspect of wrangling is spoken about enough. (Tag Wrangling volunteer)
• I wish more people understood the sheer volume of fic posted, and therefore the astonishing number of tags we wrangle. (Jmathieson)

What does a typical day as an OTW volunteer looks like for you?

• It depends on the week, and can vary based on the workload at my real life job, my social commitments, and the volume of works in the fandoms I wrangle! I generally try to do a clean up of my smaller fandoms every day, which takes about 5-10 minutes. Since I wrangle a number of popular fandoms and mega-fandoms as well, I try to set aside at least an hour when I want to jump into those. On average, I’d say I spend at least five hours a week on wrangling, but that can greatly increase! Sometimes you just get really into the zone, and somehow five hours in one sitting have already passed! (Kenn)
• I usually do a tiny bit of wrangling every weekday so I keep my bins low on tags, and then do longer wrangling projects on the weekends. I keep an ongoing list of projects I have in mind so I don’t get sucked into them during my work week. (ellexamines)

What is your favorite animal? Alternatively, do you have a favorite breed of cat/dog?

• Some favourite animals from wranglers include dogs, horses, foxes, moths (specifically domestic silkmoths), dolphins and various varieties of big cats!
• One wrangler, Loxaris specified: “Even though I like all animals, my favourites are dogs, closely followed by horses – their ancient, mutually beneficial connection with humans is what most fuels my love for them. For dog breeds, although I have a very marked preference for larger ones, I am currently captivated by the zerdava (kudos to you if you know it); a somewhat wistful dream of mine is to own one someday.”

Do you enjoy reading fanfic? If so, what’s your favorite work on AO3?

• Overwhelmingly wranglers enjoy reading fanfic and it’s a regular point of discussion in social chats. Lists of fanfiction recommendations are regularly shared and swapped amongst wranglers.
• I love reading. I love it so much that I currently have 4 library cards in my wallet. While the right book can be great, fanfiction is also a lot of fun! I love the unique stories that are told and seeing the creativity and humour that so many creators share with us! When I’m not ready to say goodbye to another world just yet, it’s great to have fanfic to turn to, to continue playing with that world. My favourites will change, but right now I’m quite fond of and re-reading Tossawary’s Stepping up. (Tag Wrangling volunteer)
• I love it, and read it so much I don’t get around to reading published books much, RIP. My favourite is the Halo Effect series. (spacegandalf)
• Some favourites from the team include a sugar coated pill and a pick me up by whomstisthis, While Mighty Oaks Do Fall by WitchofEndor, Desert of Ghosts by rednightmare, as well as mosaic broken hearts and this is me trying by hanville, but there are many, many more favourites amongst the team!

Do you write any fanfic yourself? What do you enjoy about it?

• One of my favorite things about writing fic is posting a work for a fandom I wrangle and immediately wrangling my own tags! Writing fic is definitely a creative outlet for me and I think it’s very interesting to have both a writer and wrangler perspective on fanfic. (Xylia)
• I do! Most of the fanfic I write is not fanfic that I will ever share with the public, but I enjoy writing it for myself to get the plot bunnies out of my brain. Occasionally I will get a burst of inspiration and post a fic that I have written. One thing that I really enjoy about fanfic writing is how freeing it is. There is no obligation to be good at it, and you can write whatever you want, with no expectations aside from what you allow yourself to be held to. I don’t consider myself a fantastic writer but it doesn’t matter, because the point of fanfic isn’t to be good at it, it’s to have fun! (Tag Wrangling volunteer)

What fandoms are you (currently) in?
Wranglers are in many fandoms that are constantly changing, but a few of the current ones that were volunteered include but are not limited to:

Ooe (Visual Novel), Digimon Adventure, Kingdom Hearts, Kanto Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Helluva Boss, Malevolent (an Eldritch Horror podcast), Jurassic Park/World, Spider-Man, The Pitt, Batman, Heated Rivalry, Critical Role, Scum Villain and Aurora (Webcomic) in fact – many webcomics both large and small have wrangling fans currently in them!

Do you feel glad or proud to see fanfiction in your mother tongue?

• Yes, absolutely! It’s a delight to see works in my language (and to have tags sent to our translation team to be translated into English 🤭). It’s one of those overlooked parts of language (and thus culture) preservation, making things in your mother tongue and putting them out there for everyone to see. There are so many benefits! It helps language learners to absorb culture and writing/speaking conventions, translations into mother tongue help people whose english isn’t up to the level of reading comfortably, they create an environment that goes against the notion of anglocentrism and helps people from all cultures feel more welcome, and so much more! Seeing fics in my mother tongue and other languages besides English always makes me happy 🥰 (Ravenna)
• I used to be indifferent to reading in Indonesian, but when we reached 1 million Chinese/Mandarin works in the archive this year, I thought “I want my mother tongue to do that too!”, so now I try to support fanfic written in Indonesian as much as possible! (Tag Wrangling volunteer)

Thanks so much to every volunteer who took the time to answer!

(For more answers from Tag Wranglers, check out this work on AO3, where we collect additional replies to each question!)

https://www.transformativeworks.org/ivd-2025-volunteer-qa-tag-wrangling-spotlight/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=275847