8

There are quite a few tags on Ask Ubuntu that are basically fall into one of the following categories;

meta tags

Tags that describe the problem and are largely pointless (since the question describes the problem).

For example: being used to describe closing a laptop.

descriptive tags

Tags that mean different things from application to application.

For example: being used to describe using an application offline, backups, and upgrading.

feature tags

Tags that mean roughly the same thing from application to application, but are otherwise never really going to be used to filter questions.

For example: being used to describe both network interfaces and user interfaces.

the proposal for cleanup

Since the primary use for tags is to be able to differentiate between questions and filter your favourite questions, tags that fall into any of the above categories are better off being burned.

As is the correct process for a post like this, post each tag or group of related tags in individual answers to this question so that they can be voted on accordingly, once enough votes have been reached for a particular tag or group of related tags, they will be burned.

rules of participation

  • Wait until a suggestion below has reached around 10 upvotes*
  • Please, fix as many issues you see in the post. If a post needs a new tag, drop by chat so we can create it. If the current tags are no relevant remove them.
  • If the post should be closed, please flag/vote to close.
  • Try to answer the post if it's answerable.
  • Behave as if you are doing a critical revision of the value of the question.
  • Most of the worse tags band together, take note of other possible bad tags while you are cleaning.

* this may adjust depending on how many people participate in voting during the nomination phase

This is very time consuming. Be sure to be relaxed and try only 5 questions a day, the collective of all users should be enough to do most of actions within a day of labor.

a plea for sanity

As your suggestion is burninated or fixed, it would be good if you'd remove the answer associated with the tag cleanup that was actioned to keep this post nice and clean and obvious what work is outstanding for the people who're voting. Update the list below to indicate which tags have been burned.

completed tags

Tags burned:

Tags cleaned:

12
  • We should probably make the answers CW.
    – Seth
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:34
  • No real need, people only need to vote on them, the original poster for each answer or a moderator will need to delete each answer as it's completed and any suggestions and feedback can be left as comments
    – Flyk
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:36
  • 1
    CW allows users with less than 2k to edit posts, which will come in handy here. The owner can still delete it. I also think we shouldn't add a new answer for every tag, that makes too many answers, but add an answer for, say, every 5 tags and then edit out the tags that are complete until we need to delete the answer. That will keep things even cleaner.
    – Seth
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:37
  • I'm sure this is a follow up to Would a tag cleaning campaign be a good idea for AU too?
    – Braiam
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:39
  • BTW, when removing tags in the rettaging party, check related tags since I find more tags there... yeah... is like dominoes... also verify that the current tags are appropriated ;)
    – Braiam
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:41
  • We should also set a amount of votes it takes before a moderator can get a community manager or someone to help clear out the big tags. We don't want to flood the front page with a bunch of old stuff if we can help it.
    – Seth
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:43
  • I don't know how active your meta is - 10 is usually a good number
    – Flyk
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:50
  • 2
    Also: while retagging, fix all of the other problems you find in the post
    – Flyk
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 2:50
  • BTW, drop in the Ask Ubuntu Chat if you are unsure about a question or the other tags doesn't apply and a new tag needs to be created.
    – Braiam
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 3:00
  • @kalina You couldn't get a whole lot more than 10 on an average post, so yeah
    – Seth
    Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 4:06
  • If 10 turns out to be too many, we could go with a lower number of votes before we accept something needs fixing - too low though and you might end up removing tags before everybody has had input on the matter...
    – Flyk
    Commented Jan 27, 2014 at 11:27
  • it looks like this is going to make a record - a Q with maximum answers on stack..
    – rusty
    Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 16:59

23 Answers 23

Reset to default
10

Tag:

Action: remove completely

Why: Any questions raised regarding the lid of a laptop will reference closing or opening the lid in the question.

No tag wiki, a single follower.

The last 3 questions asked still unanswered. 36% of all questions are unanswered.

No answerer or asker has more than 1 post with this tag, except ixz.

Related Tags

suspend × 28              laptop × 18          12.04 × 11             
power-management × 9      13.10 × 7            12.10 × 6             
shutdown × 6              11.10 × 4            standby × 4             
battery × 4               samsung × 4          cinnamon × 3             
monitor × 3               thinkpad × 3         lubuntu × 3             
xubuntu × 2               10.10 × 2            drivers × 2             
nvidia × 2                freeze × 2           screen × 2             
gnome-power-manager × 2   acpi × 2             hibernate × 2             
multiple-monitors

The usual suspect in the first place. This tag is highly related with suspend and laptop. Power management comes in 3rd place which this tag should be replaced with. There's also possibly buggy tags like freeze and several version specific ones.

1
9

Tag:

Action: nuke it away.

Why: it's not specific in any way, if you are talking about firefox, then tag firefox, etc.If you are talking about best browser then it's software recommendation. Still browser doesn't tell you anything about the question.

6
  • Unless someone is asking for software recommendations. In that case the browser tag + software recommendation makes sense.
    – don.joey
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 10:06
  • 2
    @don.joey I asked a question on that topic, it got closed as too broad. so no there is no real case where the browser tag makes sense...
    – Alvar
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 11:54
  • Do you have a reference?
    – don.joey
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 12:45
  • @Don.joey do you have the ability to click on my profile? askubuntu.com/questions/44326/…
    – Alvar
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 13:16
  • do you have the ability to add a link? ;) I voted to reopen. It is a valid question.
    – don.joey
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 13:42
  • 2
    @don.joey it's too broad, it's basically a list question. And all list questions are "considered" off-topic since they wont have one correct answer. But yes it's a good question... :)
    – Alvar
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 19:33
8

Tag:

Action: Delete

Why: each device has it own tag, e.g. and etc.

7

Tag:

Action: remove tag

Why: this tag is currently in use in all instances where "effects" would apply, including compiz effects, issues caused by graphics drivers, drop shadows, transparency issues, etc.

Doesn't have tag wiki.

Top users: No user has more than 2 questions/answers with positive points on this tag.

Of all the 72 questions 12.5% is unanswered. The tag has 0 followers. Last question with this tag is still unanswered.

Related tags

compiz × 25          11.10 × 12                    gnome × 11
nvidia × 8           unity × 7                     11.04 × 6
12.04 × 5            graphics × 5                  drivers × 5
vmware × 4           video × 4                     3d × 4
13.04 × 4            webcam × 3                    compositing × 3
10.10 × 3            software-recommendation × 3   kde × 3
appearance × 3       ati × 3                       window × 3
kubuntu × 3          windows × 2                   kwin × 2
show-desktop × 2

Most questions are related to compiz. Later is plagged of version specific tags and a mix of kde, video, virtual machines, and windowing stuff. Can't be seen a real connection between all these tags.

7

Tag:

Action: remove

Why: Most of the questions tagged with this tag are likely off-topic on this site. For all the other cases when someone is just trying out new software/hardware and encounter a problem it is totally unnecessary to flag it with this tag. Like all new Ubuntu user could tag his question with this tag.

Current tag excerpt:

Release testing, testing new applications or features, etc.

Current tag wiki (what it describes are basically all off-topic here):

Testing is the process of testing unreleased software, or testing hardware support within Ubuntu, etc. If you are testing a release of Ubuntu before the release date, please ensure that your question is with the scope of the FAQ, and not better posted on Launchpad as a bug report.

The questions tagged with this tag are from all topics/fields, from software developing through end-user experimenting to hardware recommendations.

Related Tags

hardware × 7     12.04 × 5                     quality × 4
automation × 4   installation × 4              11.04 × 3
live-cd × 3      application-development × 3   unity × 3
10.04 × 2        12.10 × 2                     chromium × 2
packages × 2     performance × 2               kubuntu × 2
updates × 2      drivers × 2                   partitioning × 2
server × 2       bug-reporting                 checkbox 
development      compiz                        uninstall 
quickly
7

Tag:

Action: Delete

Why: Same reasons as import, export, restore, etc

7

Tag:

Action: Remove.

Why: Information like this should be in the post itself.

6

Tag:

Action: remove completely

Why: this tag's meaning is inconsistent depending on the question it has been used on so should either be completely removed (and the information portrayed in the question being asked) or rescoped to a particular purpose.

6

Tag:

Action: delete

Why: It's a meta tag used to describe an action taken in a wide variety of different applications.

6

Tag:

Action: Remove.

Why: Ambiguous, doesn't really mean anything, or can mean too many things.

6

Tag:

Action: Delete

Why: It is to broad. Almost each application has some sort of configuration. Instead of this tag tags describing the application, e.g. , etc should be used. It has been used 752 times, but is has no more than 4 followers.

5

Tag:

Action: remove completely

Why: this tag's meaning is inconsistent depending on the question it has been used on so should either be completely removed (and the information portrayed in the question being asked) or rescoped to a particular purpose.

5

Tag:

Action: remove completely

Why: this tag describes an action and wouldn't really ever be used as a filter. It's tagged against a large number of questions from various different subjects including features in applications and performing backups.

1
  • this one might need to be made into 2 more specific(restoring lost files/restoring filesystem) reason: Windows OS uses "restore" as a blanket statement for "fix my broken system", "find a lost file" (i.e. restore points as a system recovery)-users coming from Windows will be likely to try to use "restore" as a tag and without a suggestion popping up to point to one of the options, may not know how else to get to a tag that would be appropriate...in fact searching by the tag shows many low rep, hence newer users using this tag...I would argue against anything that would discourage them
    – TrailRider
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 3:40
5

Tag:

Action: remove

Why: this is a service offered in internet. It has 0 relevance to Ubuntu. The correct tags should be the client OP is using (firefox, chrome, flash, youtube-dl, others) instead of the tag of the service.

Tag wiki describes what is YouTube, not what means YouTube for Ubuntu:

YouTube is an online video site for viewing and sharing videos. Users can upload videos for personal and public use, as well as browse and view other's videos.

2 questions were asked last 7 days, still unanswered. In the last 30 days out 11 questions only 55% were answered. Of all the questions with this tag 35% of the questions are unanswered.

All times answerers have a median of 2 answers per user. All users average 20 points but this deviates greatly from the top user with a single answer and 62 points and the bottom user with a single answer and 4 points. Users doesn't use this tag to answer questions. Most askers only have asked a single question with this tag.

Related Tags

flash × 83         video × 67                   firefox × 35
12.04 × 31         google-chrome × 28           sound × 19         
downloads × 16     13.04 × 15                   chromium × 12         
fullscreen × 11    12.10 × 11                   vlc × 8         
lenses × 8         software-recommendation × 7  html5 × 7         
totem × 7          unity × 7                    browser × 6         
command-line × 6   freeze × 6                   minitube × 6         
lubuntu × 5        plugins × 5                  internet × 5         
11.10 × 5

This tag has already 8 tags (two of them already in this list) that were deemed as bad tags. The flash and video tags are expected related tags due youtube being a video service and flash its main player.

5

Tag:

Action: merge into or

Why: not a tag that's ever going to get used for filtering questions, would probably be better suited tagged or .

Doesn't have tag wiki.

The last two questions asked one is still unanswered. 33% of all questions are unanswered.

Most users has only 1 answer with this tag, the one with more answers with the tag has only 3 and only have 5 points.

Related Tags

networking × 9         internet × 8     wireless × 8          
downloads × 7          11.10 × 5        download-manager × 4          
12.04 × 4              12.10 × 3        updates × 3          
drivers × 3            wget × 2         broadband × 2          
bittorrent × 2         11.04 × 2        connection × 2          
repository             synaptic         apt-fast           
downloaders            axel             server           
settings               apt              firefox           
ubuntu-one

Bad tags band together. The second most related tag is already in the list. There isn't a good cohesion of all the tags. The version specific tags doesn't play any role when downloading stuff, since most depends of the network bandwidth and protocol implementation.

2
  • 1
    I would suggest retaining this if possible or having something equivalent. There are quite a few questions about "slow internet speed" with Ubuntu versus Windows. networking and network-monitoring would be different in a technical sense, IMO.
    – user25656
    Commented Jan 27, 2014 at 11:42
  • @user25656 nope, if you have trouble downloading with something you should use that something tag. Either apt, firefox, curl, wget, etc.
    – Braiam
    Commented Feb 12, 2014 at 14:50
5

Tag:

Action: Delete

Why: It's to broad and widely used in many contexts: downloading Youtube films, open downloaded files, check MD5 has of downloads. It has been used 485 times but has only 3 followers.

3

Tag:

Action: merge with

Why: it doesn't specify a different context than . It is followed by only 1 user (I pity him/her).

1
  • No, better to rename it with user management which is the tag that represents right now the unix user management. User are being used for a bunch of stuff, from ftp, ssh, unix users, http, squid, etc...
    – Braiam
    Commented Feb 12, 2014 at 14:54
2

Tag:

Action: remove.

Why: Too general, people that can't access to internet, trying to download from internet, firefox doesn't have internet, my wifi doesn't work ergo I don't have internet...

Tag wiki suggest the use of other tags:

Questions about connecting to the Internet. "wireless" and "networking" might be better tags, depending on the question.

In the last 7 days there were asked 14 questions with this tag, 70% still unanswered. Last 30 days, 54 questions 75% unanswered. All the time 1103 questions and 55% unanswered. Nobody is taking care of this tag.

Top users: In the last 30 days only 7 users answered questions about this tag with a median of 1.1 answers per user. All the time the user with more answers Oli had 9 answers, but the user with most points only answered 1 question. The second, answered 9 questions, with an incredible popular title and 33% of all the points for just one answer. Obviously nobody follow this tag to answer questions, even though the tag says "12 followers".

Related Tags

- networking × 362            - wireless × 355       - 12.04 × 212
- connection × 90             - 12.10 × 71           - network-manager × 69
- ethernet × 50               - 11.10 × 48           - drivers × 47
- 13.04 × 47                  - installation × 43    - usb-modem × 40
- server × 39                 - modem × 36           - usb × 31
- lan × 27                    - firefox × 27         - wired × 26
- dns × 23                    - 11.04 × 22           - 13.10 × 21
- virtualbox × 21             - 10.04 × 20           - mobile-broadband × 20
- proxy × 19

The related tags are plagged of version specific tags, which for internet related actions shouldn't matter. Some tags are somewhat related while others like installation, driver and usb hold no relationship with internet.

1
  • We need something to replace this tag with though, since we get a lot of questions that deal with the internet in a rather general way.
    – Seth
    Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 23:13
2

Tag:

Action: remove.

Why: it doesn't specify any issue or spec, it is too broad, etc.

2

Tag:

Action: remove (possibly retag info command into or similar)

Why: Ambiguous tag. Used for all types of information not necessarily related to the info program. In cases where it is relating to general information, a tag is not necessary.

1

Tag:

Action: remove.

Statistics: 116 Qs, 1 Follower

Why: it doesn't specify the type of memory. For instance, for HDD we have that is more relevant. And RAM & Cache have their own tags

0

Tag:

Action: remove

Why: is too broad and can be used for a multitude of things, like syncing U1, dropbox, FTP directories, contacts, music, etc.

Tag wiki makes references to other tags that already are in the system:

Questions about syncing with various protocols and services, as well as between devices: Examples include Ubuntu One, Contacts/Calendar/Mail syncing, and Dropbox for software, and between devices, syncing between Android and iOS are prime examples.

4 questions were asked last 7 days, 75% still unanswered. In the last 30 days out 16 questions only 30% were answered. Of all the questions with this tag 25% of the questions are unanswered.

All times answerers have are mostly because the follow the ubuntu-one tag, which for some motive also gets the sync tag.

Related Tags

ubuntu-one × 259      android × 51      12.04 × 37         ipod × 28      
dropbox × 27          backup × 26       thunderbird × 24   cloud × 24      
evolution × 21        contacts × 21     banshee × 21       music × 21      
iphone × 20           software-recommendation × 18         rhythmbox × 17            
11.10 × 16            firefox × 15      10.10 × 14         files × 14      
directory × 12        11.04 × 12        windows-7 × 11     filesystem × 9      
ubuntu-one-windows × 9                  tomboy × 17

As I said previously, most of the sync tag is already contained with stuff that offers the ability to "sync". Some of those tags are already in this list waiting for burmination.

0

Tag: https://askubuntu.com/questions/tagged/installation

Action: Replace with either system-installation or software-installation as needed or remove outright if not related to either. See: Blacklist the [installation] tag

Why: Blacklisted - split into the above tags.

Statistics: 4,531 unanswered questions tagged installation out of a total of 11690

5532 asked this year

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