RFE: auto-convert pseudo-tags from subject lines to real tags (when there's a match)

Contribute Feature

AI-generated summary

A feature request has been made to auto-convert pseudo-tags from subject lines to real tags when there’s a match. mattdm suggests that a plugin or feature could recognize bracketed words or words followed by - or : at the beginning (and optionally end) of a subject line and apply the corresponding tag if it exists. This would simplify the process of adding tags and address a related issue discussed in https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-tags-by-email/25796. Canapin supports the idea, but notes that it may not align with Discourse’s emphasis on educating users to create topics properly.

1

It is common for forum users to create subject lines like the following (real examples, give or take):

  • [fun] What does your Fedora background look like?
  • [Gnome Shell] white “Oh no!” screen after update F37
  • Fedora 37 - Can’t have wifi properly working - Realtek 8821CE
  • Fedora 37 - Can’t Start with Graphical Screen, but Works After Logging in
  • Fedora 37 - After kernel 6.1.5/6.1.6 update, boot freezes
  • Grub2 - how to remove a message?
  • Flatpak : outdated freedesktop Platform version preventing flathub installs
  • RFE: auto-convert pseudo-tags from subject line to real tags

It would be handy for something (Watched Words? The Automation Plugin? Something else?) to recognize these patterns at the beginning of a subject line[1]:

  • a bracketed word or words (typically square brackets [] but could be parens and might as well also handle braces)
  • a word or words followed by - or : (or -- or — or, why not, –)

and, when the words match an existing tag[2], and when conditions for using that tag are met, remove the pseudotag from the header and apply the tag instead.

This would also address Add tags by email — for cases where there’s a match, it’d just work. For cases where there isn’t, it’d be easy for mods/tl3+ to discern intention. (Which is also the case when the tag is used in an area where it doesn’t exist or isn’t allowed — for example, maybe I should add a “fun” tag to our Social category.)

  1. and possibly/optionally also at the end ↩︎

  2. testing both whitespace removed and whitespace mapped to - (with surrounding whitespace ignored, of courwse) ↩︎

2 Likes
2

I like this idea. I don’t know how relevant it would be if added to Discourse.
I believe our philosophy (which Discourse is a product of) emphasizes education, which implies teaching people to create a topic properly and using the right features, but that could be at least an interesting plugin to create :slight_smile:

1 Like