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Hello, AO3 users! The AO3 Tag Wranglers recently updated the Wrangling Guidelines (rules that wranglers follow to format tags consistently). This update will affect how wranglers handle Relationship tags that include piped Character tags.
What is a piped Character tag?
A piped Character tag is a tag that includes multiple names, separated by a “|” (a pipe).
Example: Felena | Felicia
When are piped Character tags used?
Wranglers use piped Character tags for characters with multiple names in canon, such as:
Min Yoongi | Suga (real name and stage name)
Catherine "Kate" Middleton | Duchess of Cambridge (real name and title)
Shroud | Sonozaki Fumine (secret identity)
Danny Noriega | Adore Delano (singer and drag name)
Kon-El | Conner Kent (known by both names)
Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard (dual identity)
Relationship tags for these characters are all wrangled the same way. The "&" or "/" goes in the middle of the Relationship tag, separating each individual Character tag. For example:
Danny Noriega | Adore Delano & Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Catherine "Kate" Middleton | Duchess of Cambridge/Min Yoongi | Suga
This guideline is not changing.
What about translations?
Many Character tags are piped because a character's name was changed in translation. This often happens with anime and video games. Many historical, folklore, and fairy tale characters are also well-known by an anglicized version of their original name. For example:
Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Kasumi | Misty
Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler
Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner
Rotkäppchen | Little Red Riding Hood
Schneewittchen | Snow White
Jeanne d'Arc | Joan of Arc
Owain Glyndŵr | Owen Glendower
The old guideline said to split these Character tags and put the “|” in the middle of the Relationship tag, like this:
Kasumi & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Misty
This divided “Kasumi | Misty” and “Satoshi | Ash Ketchum” into two mini-relationships:
(“Kasumi & Satoshi”) | (“Ash Ketchum & Misty”)
We are changing this guideline. Tags created according to this guideline were confusing for many Archive users and even wranglers. Some were extremely difficult to wrangle consistently, such as crossover relationships and relationships with piped and non-piped characters.
What is changing? Which tags will be affected?
Character tags will not be changing. Relationship tags that include piped Characters because of translation will now use the same format as all other Relationship tags.
Wranglers will place the “&” or the “/” between each complete Character tag. The new Canonical Relationship tags will look like this:
Kasumi | Misty & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner
How will this affect users?
The tags on your works or bookmarks will stay the same; wranglers can’t (and won’t!) change those. Canonical tags are the tags that appear in the autocomplete, filters, and feeds. Those are the only places tags will change.
If you’ve already used tags affected by this guideline, you do not need to change them! The old tags will be connected to the new tags, so your works will appear in the new filters. Please use whichever tags you prefer.
Although it may take time for everyone to adjust to this change, we expect that having a single standard guideline will be easier for both users and wranglers in the long run. Thanks for your patience while we update the tags!
Where can I learn more?
For more about wrangling, you can read the Wrangling Guidelines. If you have a question about a tag, please use the Technical Support and Feedback link at the bottom of each AO3 page and choose "Tags" as the topic of your feedback.
-- AO3 Tag Wrangling Staff