How tags work
Tags are how FanMadeLore helps readers find the right story—and helps you describe yours without writing a second synopsis. We follow the familiar AO3 spirit: clear types, shared names, and room for creative freeforms.
A worked example
Meet an invented story we’ll tag together. No real third-party franchise—just lighthouse lore.
The Last Keeper of Glass Harbor
A reluctant lighthouse apprentice bargains with a tide-court to keep two moons from colliding—and her harbor with them.
Tag types
Each tag has a type. Mixing types keeps filters honest (a character is not a fandom).
Fandom
The world the story lives in—shared setting names, not a plot summary.
Examples: Original Work · Space Opera · Lighthouse Mythos
Character
People (or dragons) who matter on-page.
Examples: Mira Ellwood · Kael Rivers · The Tide Regent
Relationship
Ships, friendships, rivalries—however you name the bond.
Examples: Mira Ellwood/Kael Rivers · Mira Ellwood & The Tide Regent · Kael Rivers/Original Character
Freeform
Tropes, tone, and themes—the vibe, not the whole synopsis.
Examples: Slow Burn · Found Family · Political Intrigue
Warning
Content readers may need to know before diving in.
Examples: No Archive Warnings Apply · Graphic Depictions Of Violence · Major Character Death
Rating
Audience guidance so people can opt in with open eyes.
Examples: General Audiences · Teen And Up Audiences · Mature
Bad vs good (same story)
Same lighthouse tale—two ways to tag it. Readers and search will thank the second column.
Messy tagging
- Fantasy adventure about a lighthouse (freeform dumping the plot)
- Mira / Kael romance??? (relationship typed as freeform)
- slowburn (typo / non-canonical spelling)
- Violence (vague warning with no shared wording)
Hard to filter, mixes types, and invents spellings nobody else will search for.
Clear tagging
- Fandom: Original Work
- Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
- Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
- Character: Mira Ellwood · Kael Rivers
- Relationship: Mira Ellwood/Kael Rivers
- Freeform: Slow Burn · Found Family · Political Intrigue
Types are honest, names are searchable, and the vibe fits in a glance.
Canonical tags vs synonyms
A canonical tag is the shared spelling everyone should see. Staff can merge typos and alternate spellings into that name. After a merge, readers only see the canonical—even if an older work still stored the synonym underneath. When you pick a synonym in the editor, saving already points the work at the canonical tag.
Example: someone creates freeform “Slowburn”. A mod merges it into canonical “Slow Burn”. Search, chips, and filters all show Slow Burn from then on.
Warnings and ratings
Use Warning and Rating tags so readers can opt in with open eyes. Prefer the shared names from autocomplete when they exist; that keeps filters useful for everyone.
Practical tips
- Start with Fandom + Rating, then add Characters or Relationships that actually appear.
- Freeforms shine when they answer “what’s the vibe?”—not when they restate the whole plot.
- Search before creating: autocomplete surfaces tags other authors already use (and flags synonyms).
- If two spellings of the same idea pile up, ask a mod to wrangle them on /mod.
This guide is for writers and curious readers. Tag wrangling tools are staff-only.