Wrangling Guidelines > Wrangling Guidelines - Fandoms

This page contains the guidelines for Fandom Tags. For more general information, please see the Wrangling Intro page.

Fandom tags refer to tags Users may input into the Fandom field during story creation. The base rules should always be applied first.

Page Under Construction: These guidelines are a living document with the primary purpose of helping wranglers do their job. They are always under revision; examples may not be currently canonical tags but should accurately represent the guidelines as written. Additionally, some parts may be outdated and no longer in use but not removed yet.

Guideline updated 26 July 2022

Base Rules

The fandom name is the name as shown on the show logo, book cover, or similar published media where applicable, with prefixes and/or universe identifiers as appropriate. Fandoms should be disambiguated following the conventions for their media type.

Please see below for naming and disambiguation conventions for each of the media types. Add synonyms as appropriate.

Note: Tags cannot contain commas, so they are customarily left out of all canonicals (ideographic commas may be used in tags, but are still left out of all canonicals for consistency).

Examples:

CANONICAL: CSI: Miami (TV)
SYNONYM: Crime Scene Investigation: Miami
CANONICAL: Star Trek: Voyager (TV)
SYNONYM: Voyager
SYNONYM: ST:VOY
CANONICAL: Panic! at the Disco (Band)
SYNONYM: Panic at the Disco

If a tag contains emojis, please follow the guidelines listed here.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Fandoms Beginning With Articles or Other Common Stop Words

This rule applies to fandoms with names that start with Articles and other common stop words in their language. A non-exhaustive list of examples include, but is not limited to: a, an, der, die, i, le, l', la, le, los, the. (It does not include conjunctions such as "and" or "but", or prepositions such as "in" or "on".)

Standard Format: A Fandom Tag's Name should be the official published name; lacking that, it should be the most common fandom name. A Fandom Tag's "Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting" should be the name of the fandom without any initial common articles or stop words. Most of the time the Archive software will automatically remove starting articles from the sort name, but in certain cases the sort name will need to be manually adjusted.

Note: A familiarity with the language in question is needed for this adjustment, since some words are articles in one language but not in others. If you are uncertain if a stop word should be removed, please contact Tag Wrangling Supervisors so that they may check with the OTW Translations committee.

CANONICAL: The X-Files
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: X-Files
CANONICAL: The Death Gate Cycle - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: Death Gate Cycle - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
CANONICAL: Die Verwandlung | The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: Verwandlung | The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
CANONICAL: Die Hard (Movies)
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: Die Hard (Movies)
CANONICAL: In Plain Sight (US TV)
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: In Plain Sight (US TV)

In cases of multiple fandoms that share a title but have different subtitles, include all articles in the subtitle in the canonical tag, but manually remove the subtitle's initial article in the sort name:

CANONICAL: Transformers: The Headmasters
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: Transformers Headmasters

With fandom series which use Roman numerals in the title, manually change the numerals to standard numbers in the sort name (this way they will appear in proper numerical order in the fandom list):

CANONICAL: Final Fantasy VII
Name To Use For Alphabetical Sorting: Final Fantasy 07

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Shared & Similar Names/Multiple Media

When and why to disambiguate

In general, fandoms should no longer be canonised without any disambiguation.

Fandoms must always be disambiguated if there is another fandom with the same name or a chance one will appear in the future, whether they’re related or not (e.g. a movie title shared by 3 unrelated movies on IMDB). For example, Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Cartoon) and Iron Man (Movies). This allows users to filter the canon they actually mean.

If two fandoms share both name and media (in particular TV Shows), disambiguate with the country of origin if they’re different. This is not usually a problem with media which have different formats for the canonicals – movies are always disambiguated by year, books by authors, etc.

Multiple disambiguations should be applied in the following order: (COUNTRY MEDIA DATE) (follow this order however many disambigs you are using). Common abbreviated country names are acceptable: (UK TV), (US 2011)

CANONICALS: Wallander (Movie Series), Wallander (UK TV), Wallander (Sweden TV)
CANONICALS: BOSS (Japan TV), Boss (US TV)

The disambiguation goes between parentheses and should be capitalized (unless the disambig is in another language where it is not typically capitalized). It also should be singular, unless it’s a series or listed as plural under the media type guidelines

Disambiguate fandoms that share a name with a character (or could be mistaken for a Character, Relationship, or Freeform tag)

CANONICAL: Ally McBeal (TV)
(vs. the character tag “Ally McBeal”)

General Disambiguation Suffixes

General Disambiguation Suffixes are a legacy disambiguation format and last-resort disambiguation options for fandom tags that could not be easily separated into specific media. Fandoms disambiguated in these ways are no longer being created and are being removed where possible.

"All Media Types" was the disambiguation for fandoms that spanned different series or media, but all titles were under the same name.

Star Wars – All Media Types

"& Related Fandoms" was for fandoms that were clearly related (either set in the same universe, or based on the same source), but didn’t all share the same name.

Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Sub-fandoms include Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures

"Ambiguous Fandom" was for fandom tags that were used with multiple unrelated series (e.g., two unrelated series both with works on the Archive, known by identical names).

The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
This has been used to refer to two different franchises, the Marvel comics superheroes and the UK spy series. The ambiguous tag "The Avengers" has been synned to "The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom" and subtags for "The Avengers (TV)", "The Avengers (1998)", and "Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types" have been created.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Fandoms with Multiple Media

For fandoms that belong in multiple Archive media categories (e.g., a book with a movie adaption, a movie with a play adaption), the non-media-specific fandom name should be synned to the specific fandom intended by the first user, to avoid creating unnecessary metatags.

Existing "All Media Types" tags may have new subtags added beneath them, but should no longer be created.

CANONICAL: Fandom Title - All Media Types
SYNONYM: Fandom Title

The different existing media tags can be made into subtags under this metatag, as they are added to the Archive. There is no need to make an "All Media Types" metatag just to connect fandoms. Such fandoms can simply sit separately.

CANONICAL: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
CANONICAL: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Non-English Language Canons

This section applies to canons that were originally either partly or entirely in a language other than English. These rules take precedence over the default rules for fandom names.

Note: As of 2013 we are not currently translating any AO3-specific terms in our fandom canonicals (such as - All Media Types suffixes and media disambiguations.) These will be translated when we have better multilingual support for tags.

No English Translation

If the fandom is for a canon whose title was not translated in an English-language release, use the original title.

CANONICAL: Ma Vie En Rose (1997)
The movie Ma vie en rose (which literally translates as "my life in pink") was released as "Ma Vie En Rose" in the English-speaking world.
CANONICAL: Corazón Salvaje (TV)
Corazón Salvaje hasn't been translated into English.

Original Name is Different from English Translation Name

If the title of the original and the English translation differ, include both separated by a pipe. If there is more than one standard English translation commonly used by the fandoms, including fan translations popularised before an official English-language release, the canonical tag may include both.

CANONICAL: Original Title | Translated Title

Note: Use disambiguation formats at the end of the tag as for the specific media type

CANONICAL: Was tun wenn's brennt? | What to Do in Case of Fire (2001)

Transliterated/Non-Latin Alphabet Fandom Titles

This refers specifically to fandoms in which the Original Language is in a writing system other than the Latin alphabet, such as Cyrillic, Hangul, Japanese, or Chinese.

Make the fandom canonicals according to the following rules:

User-made fandom tag is in the Original Language, OR user-made fandom tag is the Translated Title:

CANONICAL: Original Language Title | Translated English Title
SORT NAME: Translated Title
CANONICAL: シュトヘル - 伊藤悠 | Shut Hell - Itou Yuu
SORT NAME: Shut Hell - Itou Yuu
SYNONYM: Shut Hell - Itou Yuu

User-made fandom tag is the Transliterated Title or uses the transliterated title as well as the translated title, or the transliterated title is widely used by Latin-alphabet language fandoms outside of AO3 (such as in many anime/manga fandoms):

CANONICAL: Original Language Title | Transliterated Title | Translated English Title
SORT NAME: Transliterated Title
CANONICAL: 薔薇王の葬列 | Baraou no Souretsu | Requiem of the Rose King
SORT NAME: Baraou no Souretsu | Requiem of the Rose King
SYNONYM: Baraou no Souretsu | Requiem of the Rose King

There is no translated title/the standard English title is the transliterated title:

CANONICAL: Original Language Title | Transliterated Title
SORT NAME: Transliterated Title
CANONICAL: 天空侵犯 | Tenkuu Shinpan
SORT NAME: Tenkuu Shinpan
SYNONYM: Tenkuu Shinpan

In cases where a canon with a non-latin script is titled with a transliteration from a different language, base the canonical spelling on the language the title actually comes from, not the transliteration.

CANONICAL: One Piece
(On the Japanese manga, the title is written "One Piece", with the Japanese transliteration "ワンピース" as a subtitle.)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Multi-Language Canons

If a canon was originally in more than one language, use the format: LANGUAGE 1 TITLE | LANGUAGE 2 TITLE. Order the languages chronologically.

CANONICAL: Three Investigators | Die drei ??? - Various Authors
The Three Investigators Series was originally a series of novels in English. They became popular in German (in translation) and then a number of new novels and radio dramas were produced in German.

Alternate Titles

This refers to works that have been published under multiple titles in English-language markets. The guideline for Translations should be applied before applying this rule. In many cases, fandom refers to all names; for clarity, the name is piped (as per Translations) on a case-by-case basis.

Standard Format: CANONICAL tag is the title of the publication in the market the author, production company, or translator resides in.

Note: For works with alternate titles that are based on works that also have alternate titles, apply this rule based on the original work.

CANONICAL: The Rundown (2003)
SYNONYM: Welcome to the Jungle
CANONICAL: Treaty Planet - Anne McCaffrey
SYNONYM: Treaty at Doona

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Fanworks as Fandoms

It depends on whether in the judgement of wranglers these are something separate from the parent fandom, and whether on a case-by-case basis it is suitable to be subtagged to the parent fandom, or simply synned to the fandom. In general, fanworks are synned to their parent fandoms, but they may be canonized if they are known to be widely popular outside the Archive.

Wrangler Created Fandoms

Occasionally fandoms do not have official canonical names and they must be assigned by wranglers, such as with political RPF categories. When creating a fandom name, it is important to consider clarity, and to strive to work within our guidelines for inclusiveness.

For example, in cases where such fandoms clearly and solely refer to the United States of America, the assigned name should include "American (US)".

CANONICAL: American (US) Political RPF, American (US) Actor RPF

Works Posted By the Original Creator of a Fandom

Works posted by self-published authors, webcomic artists, etc., regarding their original creations are synned to Original Work. This is done even when the posted work is an AU of their original universe.

Tags regarding these fandoms with uses by taggers other than the original creator may be canonised per usual.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Anime & Manga

Note: Anime & Manga is currently under discussion. It currently comprises print comics of Japanese, Korean and Chinese origin (Manga, Manhwa, and Manhua) and anime and other animation originating from Japan (TV series, movies, OAVs/OVAs, and full length animated movies). This does not include any comics originally published online rather than in print; these are treated as webcomics instead.

Standard Format: Follow the above rules for Non-English Language Canons.

For fandoms in which the original title includes an English subtitle (such that all fans of the original can be presumed to be familiar with the English title), the English title may be used without the original language title.

CANONICAL: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
SYNONYM: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi

Disambiguation between Manga, Manhwa, Manhua, and Anime

Anime and manga fandoms should be canonised separately as much as possible. For fandoms where the completed manga and anime canons overlap enough to be considered one unified canon, or the user-made works do not specify whether they are for the anime or the manga, the disambig may be (Anime & Manga), with the terms in alphabetical order.

CANONICAL: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
CANONICAL: 日本沈没2020 | Nihon Chinbotsu 2020 | Japan Sinks: 2020 (Anime)
CANONICAL: Olimpos (Manga)
CANONICAL: 風雲 | Storm Riders (Manhua)
CANONICAL: Rebirth (Manhwa 1998)
CANONICAL: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
SUBTAG: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
SUBTAG: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Live Action TV)
SUBTAG: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Musicals)
the anime & the manga are one canon, and the live action and musicals are a separate canon each.

If canons do not overlap and users make tags for the separate canons, disambiguate with (Anime), (Manga), (Manhwa), or (Manhua).

CANONICAL METATAG: Fruits Basket
CANONICAL SUBTAG: Fruits Basket (Anime)
CANONICAL SUBTAG: Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Disambiguation from Other Tags

If the fandom shares the same name as a character, pairing or freeform, disambiguate with (Anime) or (Manga) as appropriate : Fandom NAME (Anime), Fandom NAME (Manga)

CANONICAL: Noir (Anime)
CANONICAL: Major (Anime & Manga)
CANONICAL: Saki (Anime & Manga)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Books & Literature

Inclusive of Books, Book Series, Light Novels, Fables, Mythology, Folktales, Poetry, Sagas and similar media.

General Principles

  • Capitalise only the first letter of each word.
  • Include a period/full stop and a space after any initials or abbreviations.
  • For works with more than one author or author/illustrator, include all names separated by &, in the order shown on the title page or other appropriate place on the work.
  • For series written by multiple authors (eg Media Tie-Ins), use "Various Authors".
  • For fandoms without a distinct author/creator, Anonymous should be used as the author/creator; be aware that further disambiguation may be required if this is a title shared by another fandom. For the most part, this applies only to mythology, religion, and folklore fandoms.
  • Use the author's full published name as the second half of the fandom tag.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Stand-alone works

Standard Format: BOOK NAME - AUTHOR NAME

The "Author Name" should appear in the language-specific order.

CANONICAL: I Want To Go Home! - Gordon Korman
CANONICAL: The Birthday of the World and Other Stories - Ursula K. Le Guin
CANONICAL: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
CANONICAL: For Sale: Baby Shoes Never Worn - Anonymous
CANONICAL: Norse Religion & Lore

Books with Non-Latin-alphabet titles and author names should be in the format:

CANONICAL: Original Language Title - Original Language Author | Translated English Title - Transliterated Author
EXAMPLE: Аэлита - Алексей Толстой | Aelita - Aleksey Tolstoy

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Works in a Series

Standard Format: BOOK SERIES NAME - AUTHORNAME (in original language order)

For series with no official series name use the most appropriate of:

  • FIRST BOOK NAME Series - AUTHOR NAME (in original language order)
  • UNOFFICIAL SERIES NAME - AUTHOR NAME (in original language order)

Use the word "Series", especially when it appears in the official series name (as listed in the book) or to disambiguate it from a book title. The series qualifier must be open-ended (ie avoid words such as "Trilogy" as the series may extend further in future).

CANONICAL: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
CANONICAL: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Official series title
CANONICAL: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones
"Series" appears in the official series title
CANONICAL: Bloodlines Series - Richelle Mead
"Bloodlines" is also the title of an individual book, so this needs "series" for disambiguation.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

For All Works by an Author

This is a legacy format and tags of this type are no longer being created. The author's family name was capitalised, but only initial characters of other words were capitalised. Tags of this type are being dismantled where possible.

Standard Format: AUTHOR FAMILYNAME Author Givenname - Works

NOTE: As commas cannot be used in tags, a vote was conducted as to format of these metatags - this format was chosen by 62% of respondents, 9 May 2010.

CANONICAL: HEYER Georgette - Works
CANONICAL: WHEDON Joss - Works

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Cartoons & Comics & Graphic Novels

Includes Cartoons, Comics, Graphic Novels from countries other than Japan. Does not include Animated Movies. Webcomics, regardless of origin, belong in this category.

All disambiguations should be singular (eg ‘Cartoon’, ‘Graphic Novel’), except for ‘Comics’ which should always be Comics, since comics typically consist of more than one book/series (while cartoons, even if part of a larger universe, generally are clearly divided into individual series.)

Standard Format: FANDOM NAME (MEDIA)

CANONICAL: Batman (Comics)
CANONICAL: Dora the Explorer (Cartoon)
CANONICAL: Grayscale - Silvae & Skiecrow (Webcomic)
CANONICAL: Alix (Bande Dessinée)
CANONICAL: Eternals (Marvel Comics)
CANONICAL: Green Lantern: Legacy (DC Comics 2020)

For bande dessineé, webcomics, graphic novels, etc, we should strive to use the term which is most specific to the type of media. This also curtails the necessity of using company or author names as disambiguations. However where necessary, additional disambiguation may be the author, publisher, year, or a combination thereof.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Celebrities & Real People

Inclusive of RPF (and RPS) about celebrities and other real people (historical and contemporary) as well as Reality TV Shows. Excludes musicians and bands, unless the fandom specifically focuses on a musical TV show.

Whether RPF is appended to a fandom largely relies on the fandom itself and how it self-identifies - when in doubt, add RPF. Always add if there is a fandom for the non-RPF version.

All reality shows go to Celebrities & Real People and TV Shows.

Standard Format: ASSOCIATION NAME RPF

CANONICAL: Comics Industry RPF
CANONICAL: Tennis RPF
CANONICAL: Love Island (UK TV)

RPF Disambiguation

If the fandom needs disambiguation from another RPF fandom, add qualifiers as per the source media.

CANONICAL: The Office (US) RPF
CANONICAL: เกลียดนักมาเป็นที่รักกันซะดีๆ | TharnType: The Series (TV) RPF

Movies

Inclusive of live-action theatrical films, live-action direct-to-DVD/Video films, live-action TV movies and similar media. Also includes Animated Movies which are not Anime.

Standard Format: MOVIE NAME (YEAR), where YEAR is the year of production as listed on IMDB (or fandom-specific source, or Wikipedia).

CANONICAL: The Faculty (1998)
CANONICAL: The Little Mermaid (1989)

Series, Trilogies, etc: Standard practice is to make the name of the series a canonical with qualifier (e.g. Series, (Movies), etc), and if users make specific tags for individual movies, syn them to the Series tag. Note that we do not usually make subtags for individual movies in a series unless there is an extremely compelling reason to do so (for example, if they star different characters, if one particular movie has a much larger fandom than the others, or if parts of the fandom strongly differentiate between movies/prefer to ignore one.)

CANONICAL METATAG : Alien Series
CANONICAL SUBTAG : Alien Quadrilogy (Movies)
CANONICAL SUBTAG : Alien (Prequel Movies)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Movie Disambiguation

Standard format should generally be sufficient for disambiguation purposes. For movies with same title produced in the same year, add the director's last name to each of the canonical tags: MOVIE NAME (YEAR DIRECTOR). For franchise reboots or multiple movie series by the same name but with many different directors, disambiguate on a case-by-case basis with whatever maximizes clarity (for example, the production company, a lead actor).

CANONICAL: Men With Guns (1997 Skogland)
CANONICAL: 小时代 | Tiny Times (Yáng Mì Movies)
CANONICAL: James Bond (Craig Movies)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Music & Bands

Includes Songs, Music Videos, and Albums, as well as RPF about Bands and Musicians. Can include, at wrangler discretion, TV shows involving musical performers.

For all of the below, when disambiguation is required, use the artist’s name following the same format as other books and art: WORK - ARTIST (MEDIA)

Standard Format: TITLE - ARTIST (Song)

CANONICAL: 无需要太多 - 张国荣 | Wu Shu Yao Tai Duo - Leslie Cheung (Song)
CANONICAL: Blue - Troye Sivan (Song)

Standard Format: TITLE - ARTIST (Music Video)

CANONICAL: 걸어 | All in - Monsta X (Music Video)
CANONICAL: Beer for My Horses - Toby Keith (Music Video)

Standard Format: TITLE - ARTIST (Album)

CANONICAL: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie (Album)

Standard Format: BANDNAME (Band)

CANONICAL: Queen (Band)

Standard Format: MUSICIAN (Musician)

CANONICAL: Britney Spears (Musician)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Disambiguation

If two bands share the same name, please disambiguate using country of origin. If they also share that, use music genre, in that order. For song/music video/album fandoms, disambiguate where required using TITLE – ARTIST (MEDIA).

CANONICAL: Suppuration (Ukraine Band)
CANONICAL: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
CANONICAL: Death (US Metal Band)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Other Media

Media which does not fit in any of the other categories, but are still considered fandoms. Includes TV Commercials, Computer Software, Websites, Webclips, Paintings, Photographs, Sculpture, etc. Two random examples are:

Standard Format: FANDOM NAME

CANONICAL: LOLCats

Static Works of Art - Standard Format: ARTWORKNAME - ARTIST

CANONICAL: Piazze d'Italia - Giorgio de Chirico

Disambiguation

Given the nature of the category, the disambiguations will be varied. If there’s not an established standard for a specific type of media, please discuss with other wranglers and the tag wrangling supervisors team. Standard disambigs include:

CANONICAL: Fandom (Anthropomorphic)
CANONICAL: Year Zero (Alternate Reality Game)
CANONICAL: Arkham Horror (Board Game)
CANONICAL: Grand Stage (Drama CD)
CANONICAL: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
CANONICAL: Exalted (Roleplaying Game)
CANONICAL: TLF Travel Alerts (Twitter)
CANONICAL: Becoming Human (Web Series)

Web Series is the standard form (not Webseries).

Radio series/audio plays etc can be disambigufied by the most appropriate seeming term.

Web series or podcasts where the hosts are playing a tabletop RPG such as D&D (sometimes referred to as 'actual plays') should be canonised on first use as 'Fandom Name (Media)'. They should not be subtagged to anything.

CANONICAL: Critical Role (Web Series)
CANONICAL: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Theater

This refers to stage productions, including Plays, Musicals, Ballet and Opera.

Note:: Filmed versions of plays, musicals or Operas should be classed in Movies. eg. Hello Dolly! - Herman, being the musical is categorised as Theatre, but Hello Dolly! (1969), being a filmed version, belongs in Movies.

Fandom name formatting is dependent on the specific type of media and should follow the standard format where possible, taking into account other general rules for fandoms.

Standard format: PLAYNAME - PLAYWRIGHT

CANONICAL: The Crucible - Miller
CANONICAL: Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare

Standard format: MUSICAL/OPERANAME - COMPOSER/LYRICIST/LIBRETTIST

CANONICAL: Into the Woods - Sondheim/Lapine
CANONICAL: A Streetcar Named Desire - Williams
CANONICAL: Guys and Dolls - Loesser/Swerling/Burrows
CANONICAL: Don Giovanni - Mozart/Da Ponte

Standard format: BALLET NAME - Composer

CANONICAL: Frankenstein - Liebmann

Guideline updated 6 Mar 2020

Disambiguation:

Tag Conflict: Standard format should be sufficient for disambiguation purposes.

TV Shows

Inclusive of Live-action Television Series, Miniseries, Televised Serials, Specials and similar media, including Reality Shows.

Standard Format: TV SERIES NAME (TV)

CANONICAL: Birds of Prey (TV)

Disambiguation:

Same title or remakes within same media: add the year to avoid ambiguous tags: TV SERIES NAME (YEAR TV), where YEAR is the year of production as listed on IMDB. OR add abbreviation for the country of origin. If needed, use both. TV SERIES NAME (COUNTRY TV YEAR)

CANONICAL: Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Differentiates from "Battlestar Galactica (2003)
CANONICAL: The Office (UK)
Differentiates from "The Office (US)"
CANONICAL: Cupid (TV 1998)
Differentiates from "Cupid (TV 2009)" and the character tag

If a franchise contains both an animated and a live-action television version, the disambiguation (Live Action TV) can be used to distinguish the live action version.

CANONICAL: Cowboy Bebop (Live Action TV)

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Video Games

Inclusive of Computer Games, Console Games, Video Games, Visual Novels, Web-based Games and similar media. Excludes Board Games and other non-virtual games (see Other Media).

Standard Format: FANDOM NAME (Video Game)

Bugsnax (Video Game)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Fate/stay night (Visual Novel)
Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels)

Disambiguation:

Disambig with 'Video Game', unless it’s a series, in which case use 'Video Games'. 'Visual Novel' (and 'Visual Novels', for series) is acceptable.

Same title or remakes within same media: add the year to avoid ambiguous tags: FANDOM NAME (Video Game YEAR), where YEAR is the year of release. When disambigging a series, add developer or publisher, whichever is most likely to prevent confusion. FANDOM NAME (DEVELOPER or PUBLISHER Video Game). If necessary, use a combination.

ナイツ | NiGHTS (Sonic Team Video Games)
Vampire: The Masquerade (Choice of Games Visual Novels)
Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
DuckTales (Capcom Video Game 1989)

Where a video game title has multiple formats in different languages, refer to the Non-English Language Canons guidelines and apply the same standard.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

Non-Fandom Fandom Tags

If a Fandom tag is not actually a fandom (for example, if it's the title of a work, an incorrectly formatted fandom crossover like SGA/Buffy, or a fan AU) then the tag gets put into the "No Media" media category. It does not get wrangled otherwise.

Tags that are not a specific fandom but a media or sub-media category (e.g. "J-drama" or "Superhero comics") should be put in "No Media" and left unwrangled.

Note: Fandom tags that do not mention or reference a particular fandom, but make clearly apparent they are attempting to avoid categorization as the fandom the work is about should be synned to Unspecified Fandom.

Guideline updated 30 August 2022

"No Fandom"

"No Fandom" is a pseudo-fandom that holds all kinds of tags that don't belong in specific fandoms/meta-fandoms but can potentially apply to many or all. No Fandom is wrangled by procedure and concensus of the Tag Wrangling committee.

Note: Tags that are unwrangleable but which obviously belong to a fandom (e.g. pairing tags entered as character tags and vice versa) should go in that fandom. Only the types of tags discussed below belong in No Fandom.

Accessing No Fandom

The tag page for No Fandom contains thousands of tags in each child category. Only 300 of each type will be visible at a time.

Freeforms

Non-fandom specific freeforms go in No Fandom. These are things like Angst, Crossover, Alternate Universe, and Drabble. Canonical non-fandom specific freeforms are wrangled by procedure and concensus of the Tag Wrangling committee, but new synonyms which appear in wranglers' bins may be synned to existing non-fandom specific freeform canonicals by any wrangler.

Characters

Generic Characters and Original Characters

Generic character tags go in No Fandom. These include things like an unnamed Original Character, Ensemble, Narrator, and, yes, Tentacle. Please see Original Characters on the Wrangling Guidelines - Characters for more.

Single Name Metatags

Ambiguous single name metatags that are used by multiple fandoms without a clear majority ('George', 'Ann', 'Suzuki', etc.) may be placed in No Fandom, and removed from other fandoms.

Relationships

Generic Relationships

Generic Relationship tags go in No Fandom. These include things like No Pairing, Various Pairings, and Original Character/Original Character.

Mixed Relationships

Relationships with one canon character and one generic or original character ("Original Character", "Ensemble", "Mary Sue Titania Violet no Mikoto von Hellsing", etc.) go in the fandom of the canon character. They should only have the canon character tag attached, not any tags for the original or generic parts of the relationship. See also Wrangler Guidelines - Relationships.

Ambiguous Single Name Relationships

Many single-name relationships ("John/Rodney" and the like) only apply to one relationship on the archive. These should be synned to the disambiguated version and left in the relevant fandom.

Other Guideline Pages