What's the Post Threshold for an OC Tag?

Exactly what it says on the tin. I don't usually make OC tags, but I do sometimes when I realize there's no other way to filter for the OCs in a given artist's gallery. I'm wondering how many posts an OC tag needs in order to be made, more as a general rule of thumb more than anything. At what point do we go from "generic 1girl/1boy/1other post" to "established original character"?

(Also do people like...Actually search for the OC tags anyway? Not that it really matters when it comes to filtering, but I'm lowkey curious now about the statistics.)

More than one post is already enough for a chartag imo.

If they have a name, I'd tag it even if it's the first post. The character tag isn't gonna hurt anyone.

If we have to come up with a name for them, for me it would come down to the volume of the artist's posts and the proportions thereof. If a character is a one-off (or a couple images at once that can be parented), there's no point naming them, and if the artist only even draws one character the tag is less useful, but for an artist that has multiple OCs or a lot of art in general to filter through, anyone with multiple posts deserves a tag IMO. It's just a matter of how difficult it is to come up with an appropriate tag name and whether it's worth it, but I don't think I'd ever fault someone for making a tag or be upset at one's existence.

So TL;DR if you're asking the question and have a tag name in mind, make the tag. Or at least that's my position.

(Also do people like...Actually search for the OC tags anyway? Not that it really matters when it comes to filtering, but I'm lowkey curious now about the statistics.)

I do search for OC tags. Not all the time, but for example itou has a bunch of established OCs and enough post volume overall that the chartags help if you're looking for a specific image or a particular girl.

These are all good to know. I just wanted to gauge how strict we are with OCs by asking for opinions (with the answer being not at all lol). I'll definitely be going back to make some OC tags at some point then, thanks.

Super_Affection said:

I do search for OC tags. Not all the time, but for example itou has a bunch of established OCs and enough post volume overall that the chartags help if you're looking for a specific image or a particular girl.

Yep, I see why we're so hands-off now lol. Lots of OCs, especially from popular artists, are bound to get searched quite a bit I'd imagine.

Also worth noting that people are generally way too averse to making chartags, so using "current practice" will make it seem like it's pretty strict when in reality it's not.

Original chartags are especially useful for commissioner OCs since they can otherwise be extremely difficult to search for.

If the character has a name that's already enough. My personal threshold is 2 posts before I make a tag but I agree that even 1 post should be grounds for one.

People really don't make enough chartags. I created one for an OC that had over 200 posts uploaded over the span of 5+ years.

if an oc has a name (and preferably multiple posts) they should get a chartag. i havent had to make one yet bc i havent uploaded pics of named ocs without them but if i did thatd be how i go about it

Akihi said:

Original chartags are especially useful for commissioner OCs since they can otherwise be extremely difficult to search for.

Agreed, and in cases like those I especially would encourage the creation of placeholder tags even if their name isn't known - for example Brown-Haired Girl (0113miko) is one I made because I kept running into her. I have no idea if she or her counterpart has a name since the Skeb requests and reference sheets don't mention one, but it's much better to have a placeholder tag than for a recurring character (especially drawn by multiple artists) to be completely unsearchable.

Since most are in agreement that more chartags are better (including me), I'll balance things a bit by giving an example where I think it would be better to not create new chartags.

If the character is a background extra or a stock character, they probably don't need their own tag. For example, suppose there's a comic in which some random generic thugs decide to try mugging the protagonist. They'll usually appear for that scene only and be promptly forgotten, as they are more like obstacles than actual characters. General tags such as delinquent would suffice for those characters. However, if those same thugs then start making appearances in later scenes, either as named characters or recurring background characters, then it would make sense to tag them.

Same thing with generic faceless males having sex with a woman in most NSFW hetero posts. They're not meant to be characterized. They're either used as self-inserts for the viewer or someone for the woman to interact with without drawing focus away from her. Usually, they'd only be tagged if they're already an established character like Fujimaru Ritsuka (male).

And because every good counter-example needs a counter-counter-example: Hanasakigawa 1-B classmate