[wp-forums] Outstanding Forum Problems

[Kaf Oseo]

Podz wrote:
> Tagsploitation ?

Yikes. Let's not put this one in the WP dictionary.

> I certainly see this as an abuse of tags, but then I jump to views very
> quickly. It would be odd if I posted on my help pages that any problems
> should be tagged 'tamba2' or 'Podz'

*ahem*
http://wordpress.org/tags/podz
(Kiddin' :)

I've been thinking over this a bit (the "tagsploitation" issue), as
well. As WP increases its user base and those with recognizable site
or *business-like* identities (Denis with semiologic, Owen with
asymptomatic) gain further, well recognition in the community, it
may come down to having a way to flag threads which deal only with
their plugins and other WP-related stuff.

At times I wished for a method to pull recent forum entries dealing
with my plugins (not like I can search for them!), and wondered how
kosher a "kaf" or "szubnet" tag might be. It would certainly help me
track any issues the users themselves or forum mods feel I'm better
prepared to respond to.

> The argument that "it helps users get help" can be easily countered with
> "install a forum".

It's valid to demand plugin developers shoulder some responsibility
by providing forums or other tools of support is valid (free support
for free plugins...tiring!), but users are and will continue to come
to the forums for help, and often only find it there.

Maybe this can be handled less like a 'human engineering' issue and
more a technical one. So a question to the bbPress devs on the list:
Would it be possible to give moderators the ability to *tag* a tag
as hidden? This way certain tags can be maintained but unlisted in
the tag cloud.

-Kaf