Interview Database Tags

[Terez]

For those of you who actually use the database on a semi-regular basis, I'm interested in your opinion on tags.

 

If you don't know, we're working on a new database at Theoryland that will contain every WoT-related author interview we can get our hands on, and Team Jordan/Harriet interviews as well. Each interview will be entered in chunks which will be search engine results (though each will be viewable as a complete interview). Usually that's a single Q&A, sometimes multi-Q&As if they're related, or a paragraph of a blog entry, etc. I'm told the results will be fixed-size boxes with a scroll for longer entries, and each result will have back/next buttons to navigate within a particular interview if you think more context will be helpful. Each result will be labeled with the info about where it came from, the link to that interview, whether it's verbatim or paraphrased, etc.

 

Each entry will also be tagged with various topics to which it pertains, so that you can click on a tag link and get search results for every entry with that tag. I'm trying to use the tags wisely - that is, just because a quote mentions Rand, it won't necessarily be tagged with 'rand'. Sometimes he's just mentioned in passing, and the entry doesn't offer any real information about Rand. You can do a search for 'rand' and it will turn up every entry in which he is mentioned (along with Ayn Rand).

 

So, some tags, I am not worried about creating. Like, Dhowlan is mentioned once, I think. Not making a tag for 'dhowlan' because it's pointless; if you want to know about it, you can search it. There is, however, a tag for 'ashandarei' because sometimes the word is not used (they say 'spear' or whatever) or it's only indirectly hinted at (BUT quotes), etc., so all those entries are tagged with 'ashandarei'.

 

So, here is a list of tags I'm using so far. I intend to overhaul the entire database once we are done for footnotes, cross-referencing, etc. before we go live with it, and when I do that I will be fine-tuning the tags. Let me know what you think of the ones we have so far - some tags are broad and could possibly be broken down into more specific categories. For example, at first I started out with a 'future books' tag, but then I realized it was pointless, and I split it into 'prequels', 'outriggers', 'encyclopedia', 'a memory of light' (plus tags for every other book), and 'infinity of heaven' for the other series RJ was planning. Other big tags are: 1) 'influences' (every myth/legend entry is tagged with this, as well as anything else about what influenced the creation of WoT), but there are already some individual tags within that category, like 'tolkien', 'harriet', 'arthurian legend', 'christianity', 'military', 'vietnam', etc. 2) 'rj on writing' is huge, and also 'brandon on writing wot', 3) 'rj on life' is a big one, etc. I want the database to be as useful as possible, so input is appreciated. (Though of course, if your input is silly I will feel free to ignore it.)

 

PS - There will also hopefully be an easy-to-use feedback box, so that if you get frustrated because you tried using the tags, but the entry you were looking for wasn't tagged how you thought it should have been, you can tell us, and we'll rectify the matter ASAP. I considered asking Tam to let anyone tag entries, but I think it would get too chaotic.

 

13-13

accents

accepted test

a'dam

adeleas

aelfinn

aemon

aes sedai

age of legends

aginor

alan

aldieb

alviarin

aiel

ajahs

amyrlin

a memory of light

amol:wip

andor

angreal

aran'gar

arthurian legend

asha'man

ashandarei

asmodean

audiobooks

aviendha

balefire

balthamel

barthanes

bashere

beidomon

bela

be'lal

berelain

black ajah

black cords

black tower

blademasters

blight

blue ajah

borderlands

bore, the

bowl of the winds

brandon on reading

brandon on writing wot

breaking of the world

bryne

bubbles of evil

BUT

bwb

cadsuane

calian and shivan

callandor

caemlyn

caraline

careane

carridin

chang lung

channeler strength

channeling

chapter icons

cheyenne raiders

chinese whispers

choedan kal

christianity

chronology

circles

circular time

citadel, the

cleansing

compulsion

conan

constructs

cover art

creator

crossroads of twilight

crown of swords, a

cuendillar

culling

currency

cyndane

dagger

damane

damer flinn

danelle

darkfriends

darkhounds

dark one

dark one's prison

dark prophecy

dashiva

deathwatch guard

deindre

delana

demandred

demira

domination band

domon

dragon

dragon soul

dreadlords

dreamers

dreams

dreamwalking

dreamspike

easing the badger

ebooks

eelfinn

egwene

elayne

else

elyas

encyclopedia

errors

eye of the world

eye of the world, the

fain

fallon blood, the

falme

false dragons

fandom

fan fiction

fan names in the books

far madding

farsahelle

farstrider

film

finnland

finns

first oath

fisher king

five powers

foreshadowing

foretelling

forsaken

forsaken mark

foxhead medallion

free nations

gaidal cain

galad

games

gardeners

gateways

gathering storm, the

gawyn

genesis (this is for comments on how RJ got the idea/inspiration for WoT, or his earliest thoughts about WoT)

geography

ghealdan

ghenjei

gholam

glossary

good vs evil

graendal

gray men

great hunt, the

gunpowder

hall of the tower

harriet

hawkwing

healing

herid fel

heroes of the horn

horn of valere

how many more books?

how will it end?

hundred companions

hurin

illian

illuminators

illusion

infinity of heaven

influences

inns

ishamael

ispan

ji'e'toh

juilin

kari

keeper of the chronicles

kin, the

knife of dreams

knotting weaves

laman

lan

land of madmen

lanfear

latra posae

last scene, the

lews therin

liah

linking

logain

longing

lord of chaos

machin shin

maidens

male nudity

malkier

manetheren

maria

mat

mat's death

mat's luck

mattin stepaneos

mayene

medallion

merean

mesaana

military

min

mindtrap

min's viewings

mirror worlds

mistress of novices

moiraine

moghedien

morgase

moridin

mordeth

myrddraal

new spring

niall

nine-horse hitch

nine rods of dominion

noam

nynaeve

oath rod

ogier

old blood

old tongue

olver

olvercain

one power

outriggers

osan'gar

parallel worlds

path of daggers, the

pattern, the

perrin

pevara

physics

pillow friends

portal stones

power-wrought weapons

prequels

pronunciation

prophecies

rafo

rahvin

rand

rebirth

red ajah

redstone doorway

red-veiled aiel

religion

rhuidean

rigney family

rj on death

rj on life

rj on reading

rj on writing

rj's notes

roedran

roedred

romanda

rpg

ruby dagger

sa'angreal

saidar

saidin

saldaea

salidar

sammael

sareitha

sea folk

seals

seanchan

semirhage

severing

sexuality

shadar logoth

shadow rising, the

shadowspawn

shaidar haran

shara

sha'rah

sharina

shayol ghul

sheriam

shields

silly questions (I made this one for when RJ gives hilarious answers to silly questions.)

sitters

siuan

skimming

slayer

slowing

snakes and foxes

sniffers

someshta

souls

stedding

stilling

sul'dam

suvudu

sword forms

taim

taimandred

taint

talents

tam

tamyrlin

tarmon gai'don

tarna feir

ta'veren

tear

tel'aran'rhiod

ten nations

ter'angreal

themes

thirteenth depository

third oath

thom

thom's knives

threads

three oaths

tigraine

tinkers

tolkien

tom:wip

toram riatin

torval

tower law

tower of the ravens

towers of midnight

translations

transmigration

traveling

trollocs

trolloc wars

true power

tuon

two rivers

uno

vandene

verin

vietnam

VOICE, THE

void, the

warder bond

warders

wards

war of the hundred years

war of power

waygates

ways, the

weaves

wells

wheel, the

whitecloaks

white tower

who wrote what

wilders

windfinders

winter's heart

wolfbrothers

wolfsisters

wolves

wotfaq (add to pre-1996 reports)

wotrr

[Kahsm]

Can't think of anything I didn't see there off the top of my head, but one thing I noticed awhile ago while going through the current database is in trying to search for the 'eye of the world' (as in the physical one) is difficult, as many quotes refer to the book and those tend to come up a lot.

 

I see you have two tags, the difference being a 'the', just not sure how that will play out since I don't really know how the new search will work. Just thought I'd mention it. I suppose similar could happen with the dragon reborn.

[Terez]

I see you have two tags, the difference being a 'the', just not sure how that will play out since I don't really know how the new search will work. Just thought I'd mention it. I suppose similar could happen with the dragon reborn.

Basically, you click on the link for a tag, and it brings up everything so tagged as your search results - so the two tags 'eye of the world' and 'the eye of the world' will bring up very different results. But of course, if you search 'eye of the world', you'll have to sort through a mass of quotes to get anything about the actual Eye. I can't think of any better way to differentiate between them in the tags, beyond shortening one to 'the eye', but the tag system should take care of the differentiation, at least. And I'm trying to only tag book titles on entries that have useful information about that book.

[W_A]

If there are quotes on specific powers or whatever they're called (Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Heart Spirit), you may want to make separate tags for each of them.

[Luckers]

unseen eyes, perhaps. I don't recall if there was much chatter from Team Jordan on them beyond the Maria RAFO/EncycAFO.

 

Other than that this seem pretty comprehensive.