Tagging Basics
When tagging please use underscores e.g. "Ace_Combat" or "Albert_Einstein" instead of spaces to separate words within tags. This is important because tags themselves are separated by spaces, not commas or anything else.
We tag by series (e.g. meme, Super_Mario_Bros, or My_Little_Pony), character (e.g. Barack_Obama, Princess_Peach, or Cinderella), and creator (ex. -8, fluffy, or Raylude).
Sometimes you won't know the artist, if you found it secondhand. This is okay, but use "tagme" if you think someone else is likely to know.
In contrast, if there's an artist or source clearly indicated in the work and you don't bother to include it, you are obviously being lazy and may be punished if it's obviously a pattern. And if you don't tag series or character, we're going to wonder why you thought it belonged here.
You can also use the special tag "tagme" if you don't know all the right tags but suspect someone else will (but not if you're just lazy). Definitely leave "tagme" there if series or character tags are missing, or if there's obviously an artist mark someone might identify.
DO NOT TAG CONTENT (e.g. hentai, anal, asian). The only exceptions so far are:
The source field on posts is meant to link back to where the art can be found on the artist's other pages, or at least where the uploader found it. Ideally it links to an exact page, not just a profile or gallery.
Do not use a redirect, especially not one full of ads.
Tag vandalism will not be tolerated. Do not remove valid tags from an image for any reason without explicit staff permission. Yes, this applies even if you expect or want the image to be removed. We punish this harshly and repeat offenses will result in a permanent ban.
Do not remove valid sources either.
Be aware that while ordinary punctuation tends to be OK, special characters such as ¢ or ™ or any kanji may break tags.
If there is a dispute about what to tag something, any reasonable tag is better than no tag, since all tags can be mass-edited or removed by staff after the fact if there is a dispute. Make a report instead of getting into an edit war with someone.
Further Notes on Tagging
Do not tag your own name on images unless you are the artist, editor, colorist, photographer, cosplayer, or otherwise involved in the creation of the image. By "involved in the creation", we mean directly involved, not including uploading, commissioning, requesting, or suggesting.
Don't use "producer" tags. These include Nintendo, Capcom, Sega, SNK, Disney, Pixar, Warner_Brothers. An exception has been made for Marvel and DC. These are allowed because their "universe" is basically a series tag.
If a character or series has different names in different languages or localizations, use the English language names. If for some reason it's different in various English-speaking countries, use the original names if the work was originally in English; otherwise use the American names. If there is no English name, use the most accepted translation or a direct transliteration. When transliterating Japanese, the traditional Hepburn system is preferred. For Pixiv artists, there is a user script for Tampermonkey/Violentmonkey that will link to their Danbooru page.
Don't use multiple tags for the same character. For instance, don't tag both Bonnie_Rockwaller and Bonnie. If a character has two official names, such as Bruce_Wayne and Batman, ask the admins to create an alias if there isn't one. That way you can search for either tag, but only one is actually displayed on pics. Same situation when an artist has more than one name.
Exception: If a character has a special version with a different name, you can add the special tag if the special version is in the pic. In this case both names are tagged. For instance, Miss_Go is always Shego, and both tags are used in that case, but Shego is not always Miss_Go. This applies only to special versions that appear in canon and are named in canon. Fan-generated special versions (e.g. Futashy) are not tagged.
Don't bother making mass changes to tags. First, other users may not agree, resulting in tag wars on a large number of pics. Second, it's a waste of time. The moderators have a tool that can change particular tags thoughout the site with one command, taking a couple of minutes instead of several hours. If you really think the change should be made, send an email to staff@paheal.net and make your case. Do not take it upon yourself to do it.
If a character only has a first name, don't make a compound tag in the form character_(series) or similar to differentiate that character from others with the same first name. You can accomplish the same thing by searching for "character series". The compound tag may even make it more difficult to find pics, since those with a compound tag won't show up in a search using the separate tags, and vice versa. It splits up the pics for the character into two different tags.
You can use a tag for a specific group if the group name appears in canon and has a fixed list of characters. For instance, Cutie_Mark_Crusaders, containing Sweetie_Belle, Apple_Bloom, Scootaloo (Babs Seed is not included at this time, given she only appears briefly). The entire group does not have to be present to add the tag. Just one member is sufficient.
If a character is only represented in an image as an inanimate, non-sentient object that isn't in any way involved in the sexual activity (such as someone grinding on it or masturbating to it), and it's not some weird case where someone was turned into a statue or something, don't tag it.
Subsection: reporting images
Rule34 has a dedicated "report image" button; use that to get moderators' attention in a quick & easy way
If you're reporting a duplicate image, please link to the image it's a duplicate of (e.g. dupe of >>123). This should go right in the report reason box, though you can repeat it in a comment too.
Don't report duplicates unless you are sure the pic is already on the site and you know that it isn't different in some way not visible from the thumbnail. Actually compare the two pics.
Note: if you report a pic by accident, there's no way to undo it. Just make another report immediately, saying that the first one wasn't intentional. Then we can just dismiss both reports without doing anything. Do the recall as soon after the mistake as you can.
Valid reasons for reporting include:
Do not report things for deletion just because you don't like them or they have weird fetishes like gore or scat.
When tagging please use underscores e.g. "Ace_Combat" or "Albert_Einstein" instead of spaces to separate words within tags. This is important because tags themselves are separated by spaces, not commas or anything else.
We tag by series (e.g. meme, Super_Mario_Bros, or My_Little_Pony), character (e.g. Barack_Obama, Princess_Peach, or Cinderella), and creator (ex. -8, fluffy, or Raylude).
Sometimes you won't know the artist, if you found it secondhand. This is okay, but use "tagme" if you think someone else is likely to know.
In contrast, if there's an artist or source clearly indicated in the work and you don't bother to include it, you are obviously being lazy and may be punished if it's obviously a pattern. And if you don't tag series or character, we're going to wonder why you thought it belonged here.
You can also use the special tag "tagme" if you don't know all the right tags but suspect someone else will (but not if you're just lazy). Definitely leave "tagme" there if series or character tags are missing, or if there's obviously an artist mark someone might identify.
DO NOT TAG CONTENT (e.g. hentai, anal, asian). The only exceptions so far are:
- Rule_63 is a rule that states that a character has been drawn as the opposite sex. Hermaphrodites (including futanari/dickgirls) and transvestites don't qualify.
- cosplay
- fakes
- comic (especially important for non-porn pages of porn comics, which we try to keep)
- Source_Filmmaker
- Mine-imator
- animated
- webm (also used for mp4 even though technically wrong)
- sound
The source field on posts is meant to link back to where the art can be found on the artist's other pages, or at least where the uploader found it. Ideally it links to an exact page, not just a profile or gallery.
Do not use a redirect, especially not one full of ads.
Tag vandalism will not be tolerated. Do not remove valid tags from an image for any reason without explicit staff permission. Yes, this applies even if you expect or want the image to be removed. We punish this harshly and repeat offenses will result in a permanent ban.
Do not remove valid sources either.
Be aware that while ordinary punctuation tends to be OK, special characters such as ¢ or ™ or any kanji may break tags.
If there is a dispute about what to tag something, any reasonable tag is better than no tag, since all tags can be mass-edited or removed by staff after the fact if there is a dispute. Make a report instead of getting into an edit war with someone.
Further Notes on Tagging
Do not tag your own name on images unless you are the artist, editor, colorist, photographer, cosplayer, or otherwise involved in the creation of the image. By "involved in the creation", we mean directly involved, not including uploading, commissioning, requesting, or suggesting.
Don't use "producer" tags. These include Nintendo, Capcom, Sega, SNK, Disney, Pixar, Warner_Brothers. An exception has been made for Marvel and DC. These are allowed because their "universe" is basically a series tag.
If a character or series has different names in different languages or localizations, use the English language names. If for some reason it's different in various English-speaking countries, use the original names if the work was originally in English; otherwise use the American names. If there is no English name, use the most accepted translation or a direct transliteration. When transliterating Japanese, the traditional Hepburn system is preferred. For Pixiv artists, there is a user script for Tampermonkey/Violentmonkey that will link to their Danbooru page.
Don't use multiple tags for the same character. For instance, don't tag both Bonnie_Rockwaller and Bonnie. If a character has two official names, such as Bruce_Wayne and Batman, ask the admins to create an alias if there isn't one. That way you can search for either tag, but only one is actually displayed on pics. Same situation when an artist has more than one name.
Exception: If a character has a special version with a different name, you can add the special tag if the special version is in the pic. In this case both names are tagged. For instance, Miss_Go is always Shego, and both tags are used in that case, but Shego is not always Miss_Go. This applies only to special versions that appear in canon and are named in canon. Fan-generated special versions (e.g. Futashy) are not tagged.
Don't bother making mass changes to tags. First, other users may not agree, resulting in tag wars on a large number of pics. Second, it's a waste of time. The moderators have a tool that can change particular tags thoughout the site with one command, taking a couple of minutes instead of several hours. If you really think the change should be made, send an email to staff@paheal.net and make your case. Do not take it upon yourself to do it.
If a character only has a first name, don't make a compound tag in the form character_(series) or similar to differentiate that character from others with the same first name. You can accomplish the same thing by searching for "character series". The compound tag may even make it more difficult to find pics, since those with a compound tag won't show up in a search using the separate tags, and vice versa. It splits up the pics for the character into two different tags.
You can use a tag for a specific group if the group name appears in canon and has a fixed list of characters. For instance, Cutie_Mark_Crusaders, containing Sweetie_Belle, Apple_Bloom, Scootaloo (Babs Seed is not included at this time, given she only appears briefly). The entire group does not have to be present to add the tag. Just one member is sufficient.
If a character is only represented in an image as an inanimate, non-sentient object that isn't in any way involved in the sexual activity (such as someone grinding on it or masturbating to it), and it's not some weird case where someone was turned into a statue or something, don't tag it.
Subsection: reporting images
Rule34 has a dedicated "report image" button; use that to get moderators' attention in a quick & easy way
If you're reporting a duplicate image, please link to the image it's a duplicate of (e.g. dupe of >>123). This should go right in the report reason box, though you can repeat it in a comment too.
Don't report duplicates unless you are sure the pic is already on the site and you know that it isn't different in some way not visible from the thumbnail. Actually compare the two pics.
Note: if you report a pic by accident, there's no way to undo it. Just make another report immediately, saying that the first one wasn't intentional. Then we can just dismiss both reports without doing anything. Do the recall as soon after the mistake as you can.
Valid reasons for reporting include:
- Artist Request (For the artist if he/she wants it removed)
- Do Not Post (For users that have read our DNP List). Always specify the name of the artist/site in the reason box ("DNP, Apostle", "DNP, Drawn-sex")
- Dupe (If the image already exists on the website). Provide an image link in the reason box, as described above.
- not porn (If the image is by no means pornographic and doesn't qualify as a softcore exception under Site Rule 8)
- not fan art / not parody (If the image is an original work)
- source material / screenshot (If the picture is directly from the show/game/whatever itself)
- OC / fan character (If the character portrayed is a fan-made character/fursona etc. and does not appear with canon character(s))
- watermark (third-party only; artist attribution is good)
- CP/TK (see our rules as to what qualifies)
- spam in comments
- any other violation of the site rules
- tags/source are locked but need changing
- Or other cases where you need to communicate with the admins regarding a particular pic. We're not gonna punish you for obviously trying to be helpful.
Do not report things for deletion just because you don't like them or they have weird fetishes like gore or scat.