Tag-Based Media System for Flexible Asset Classification

📋 Summary

Introduce a flexible tagging system for media, allowing items like fanart, AI generated, reconstructed, or region specific variants to be tagged instead of forcing them into rigid categories.

❗ Problem

The current category based system is too rigid and leads to ongoing issues:

• Fanart is often uploaded into official categories due to lack of alternatives

• Reconstructed or cleaned media has no clear place, causing inconsistency

• Categories become cluttered with mixed content types

• Users receive unpredictable downloads when scraping media

• Moderation conflicts arise due to unclear classification rules

This has been a long standing source of frustration and inconsistency across the database.

💡 Proposal

Move from rigid category structures to a tagging based system:

• Keep core media types simple, for example Box Front, Clear Logo, Screenshot

• Introduce two types of tags:

  • Official tags (structured, curated by LaunchBox), for example:

    • Fanart

    • Reconstructed

    • AI Generated

    • Cleaned or Restored

    • Region specific

  • Community tags (freeform, user defined):

    • Allow contributors to add additional context or descriptors

    • Enable more granular categorization without bloating core systems

• Allow moderators to apply or correct official tags as part of moderation

• Enable LaunchBox to use tags in media management, including:

  • Include or exclude tags in Media Priorities

  • Filter downloads based on tags

  • Control scraping behaviour (for example, exclude AI generated or fanart)

🧩 Use Cases

• A reconstructed SNES cartridge image is tagged as “Reconstructed” instead of miscategorized

• A cleaned version of damaged box art is tagged as “Restored”

• A fan made logo is tagged as “Fanart” while still being a Clear Logo

• A user excludes AI generated media from their downloads

• A contributor adds community tags like “Custom Spine” or “Alt Style”

• Users tailor their media downloads based on preferences and quality expectations

📦 Benefits

• Reduces moderation conflicts and ambiguity

• Keeps categories clean and predictable

• Gives users granular control over what media is downloaded

• Supports both structured data and flexible community input

• Scales better than continuously adding new categories

• Improves overall quality and consistency of the database

⚠️ Considerations

• Official tags should be clearly defined and limited in scope

• Community tags may require moderation safeguards to prevent misuse

• UI updates will be needed for filtering and visibility

• Migration from existing categories will need careful handling

✅ Outcome

A hybrid tagging system, combining official and community tags, creates a scalable and flexible foundation for media organization, improving both moderation clarity and user control.