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Introduction
The problem of search and retrieval requires clear, coherent subject keywords in order to facilitate referencing across multiple sources. Preservation metadata, on the other hand, needs to be descriptive and comprehensive in order to allow future preservation workers to maintain the integrity of the record and to allow future users to understand the context. User-generated tags are not quite like subject categories and not quite like archival descriptive metadata. A tag like “hang onto your butts team” or “I have no idea what I’m talking about” seems particularly worthless when compared against either of these kinds of metadata. Instead, can we consider the case of user-generated tags in order to develop a more complete picture of metadata purposes, including purposes previously ignored? Within the information science context, research has been done on how user-generated metadata, specifically tags, can add value to materials (Marshall, 2009; Steinhauer et al., 2011). In most of these studies, however, the tags in question are either sparsely descriptive, or considered to be not useful to others. Moreover, only a small portion of research on user-generated metadata considers the special case of content creators tagging their own content, rather than users tagging content made by others (He et al., 2010; Kim and Rieh, 2011).
Fan fiction, on the other hand, has a rich history of tagging practices developed through multiple intersecting communities. While the idea of creative re-imaginings of other stories has an extensive history, fan studies scholars trace the origins of contemporary “fandom” to the practices of Star Trek fans in the 1960s who exchanged stories of the main characters in all sorts of imagined adventures (Jenkins, 1992; Russ, 1985). These early fan fiction writers used specific metadata practices when distributing their works through in-person and mail networks; character names were used primarily in combination to indicate primary interpersonal relationships, and the author names were often pseudonymous. Ian Condry (2013), taking a media studies perspective about a set of games, offers a view of characters as generative platforms for fan interaction. Building on Jenkins’ pioneering work on fan cultures and their use of remixing as a primary form of engagement, Handley (2010) argues in a master’s thesis that fan fiction is a kind of conversation between fans and...