Tag

A tag (Japanese : タグ) is a one of the prominent features in pixiv which it is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to illustrations for easy search.

The word "Tag" as the tag

It is required for every artists who submit their artwork in pixiv to fill in their tags in order to make artworks available for search. However there are people who may be lazy in filling the tags. Hence the word "tag" is used. There may be reasons for the artist to use purely "Tag" as the keyword for their illustrations, which each artists have different reasons for using it. As of now, there are currently 529 submitted illustrations in total that used "tag" as their keyword.

Tag as a keyword search

Main Article : Search

Main Article : Feature

As mentioned in pixiv's introduction located somewhere in the web, pixiv tags play the most crucial role in forming the extensive database and all contents within the site itself. While the description mentioned "keyword for illustrations", users mainly treat them as a keyword search in order to search for illustrations they want instead of paying full attention to the system.

However, aside from keywords that are deeply connected, there are also Thoughts Tag which can be found in the List of Ranking Tags. These are the tags that have nothing to do with keywords, but community based tags that expressed their thoughts (agreed unanimously) through the use of tags. These tags are also considered as keywords to a certain extent.

General Idea of Tagging.

The tagging system used in pixiv is in way similar to the ones used in Nico Nico Douga, however, the rules in pixiv are a lot stricter.

For starters, while users have the absolute flexibility to attach any tags onto any illustration, only users other than the original artist themselves have their rights limited to attaching custom tags and editing tags that are attached by other users except the original artist.

For instance let's say A is the original artist, B is user 1, and C is user 2)

Let's say A submitted an illustration

Users	A	B	C
Attach tags	O	O	O
Edit tags (set by A)	O	X	X
Edit tags (attached custom tags, not by A, but B or C)	O	O	O
Cool down period	X	O	O
Tag lockdown	O	X	X

In this case, all tags that were attached by A would be marked with an asterisk (＊), while custom tags that are not set by A, would be the ones without an asterisk.

When B or C conducted any tag edit (add or delete), there will be a brief cool down period where B or C could not edit anymore for a certain period of time. This is to prevent edit abuse that could potentially harm A, the original artist. A however will not have the restriction applied. Aside from that, A also has the right to lock any tags, including his/her own, or the custom tags that are attached by other users. The maximum tags for every single illustrations found in the website would be 10, and once the maximum number is reached, B and C can no longer attach anymore custom tags on the illustration unless A clears off certain custom tags in order to make space for B and C to resume attaching.

Due to the rules applied, there are several issues and problems pertaining the tag system :

1. It's not rare nor uncommon to see users engage themselves in tagging battle in order to fill in all the necessary spaces. This happened especially on illustrations drawn by famous artists. Due to the limit, sometimes the users will initiate arguments on which tag should be suitable for that specific artwork at the artwork details page, particularly using the messaging system in order to settle the argument, which sometimes bother the artist who are not used to the system.

2. It is also not rare nor uncommon to see artists using tags that are decided by the community, particular tags that indicate praises to tag their own illustrations, in hopes of boosting their own popularity. This is commonly known in Japan as "自演" (Self act), which is better known in the west as "attention grabbing" or "attention whore". This act is particularly a problem in pixiv, due to the user ratio who actually conduct this act is higher.

Users, especially artists are highly advised to be very careful upon submitting their own illustrations. Do refer to "List of Ranking Tags" for more information regarding on the usage of such tags.

Timing and Method

To properly tag illustrations, one should pay attention to the following points:

It's not about tagging whatever you want on your artworks, but keywords that are highly related to your artwork. For instance, if your work is about your own original character, then you may want to use the following tags : オリジナル (Original), or 創作 (Creation), in order to let other users have an easier understanding of your artworks. It is also advisable NOT to use your own nickname as tags.

Tagging too much may also pose problems as well. The point is not to raise your page counts, but keywords so that it will make others search for your artworks easily. Tagging too much will disable custom tags, which serve as a better chance to increase your popularity.

It is also advisable to use pose and situation related tags.

Attach your tags with game series may also help searching for your artworks easier. This is especially useful for games with no official names for the main protagonist (notably protagonists where you give custom names instead of preset ones). For example： "DQ5 + Main Character」→ Main Character (DQ5)"

For characters from major, famous series, while it is not necessary to use the above method (like Cloud Strife, Madoka Kaname and so on), using pair tags would also help searching easier, especially the name of series they are from.

As pixiv currently do not accept spaces (pixiv International however rectified the issue. See below for more details), it is also important to attach an underscore in order to link all letters. For example：仮面ライダーTHE_FIRST.

As pixiv is currently Japanese heavy, it is also advised to use Japanese tags instead of English in order to make artworks easier to find. Please use pixiv Encyclopedia as a guide on which tags to use upon submission

Frequent Cases For Copyrighted Materials

There exist certain artworks that did not receive proper classifications. For example, Azusa Nakano is a girl with black hair and brunches or Ponytail. It is a common feature where everyone who know about the character knew about her prominent feature. Hence brunches or ponytail is never actually used in pixiv, despite it should be tagged this way. Due to that reason, the illustration will not end up in the ponytail or brunches search field.

Due to the limitations, it is advised to think properly before tagging.

Word Limit

Currently, regardless of half or full width, the word limit for any tags is set at 30 characters. Tags will only display the first 30 in case the tag itself is beyond 30 characters. For names that are beyond 30 characters, please refer here for more info

View Tag Data

Starting Feb 4, 2010, pixiv Encyclopedia implemented the view tag data section, which users can view the total view count of all submitted illustrations of a certain specific tag.

After the renewal of pixiv Encyclopedia（pixpedia）, each article will show the view count for the article, which further determines the popularity of all created tags.

One interesting thing about the statistic is that the data will only count the total of views when the tag is attached. In other words, previous view counts BEFORE the tag is attached will not be added into the total.

Hence the data shown in the statistics may not be 100% accurate, due to the the reason stated above.

Tags in pixiv International

Main Article : pixiv Encyclopedia

The tags in pixiv.com (the recently announced pixiv International version of the website) featured a significant change onto the tag system. The changes are as follows :

Spaces for tags are now possible. The usage of underscore may be obsolete in the near future.
All tags will be redirected to their respective language version of pixiv Encyclopedia when clicking on the logo located beside the tag. If the tags are in Japanese, you will be redirected here, and if English, here.
All tags translated in English pixiv Encylopedia will need the original Japanese tag attached on the article in order to have the tags in pixiv.com to be replaced with the English equivalent of it. (Click on the main article for the link over method)
If the tag has 2 English translations of it, the tag system will only detect the original Japanese tag located the first line of the article. For example : 博麗霊夢 translates to Reimu Hakurei (according to the western name order of the character), but it can also be Hakurei Reimu (following the original Japanese name order of the character). Hence, during the link over, depending on which Japanese tag is located on the top, the translation may change accordingly. Please be careful before linking them over.

Currently, pixiv.com is still at the alpha phrase. The full version is expected to be different from the list once it is completely rolled out.

External Link

［pixiv］Help (JAPANESE) - Refer to the section「イラスト投稿について（→タグってなに？）」

Article in Other Languages

タグ

Version history of Tag

Tag