Changes to Star Trek Mirror Universe Tags
Star Trek Wranglers are making some changes to the Mirror Universe tags and we wanted to let you know about them!
Please be advised there will be a major spoiler for the the second half of season one of Star Trek: Discovery in the third and last item we discuss in this post. (We will warn you when we get there.)
First, all Mirror Universe characters will no longer be subtagged to their main universe counterparts. In order to allow users to take full advantage of our new exclusion filters, Mirror Universe and Original Universe characters will be treated as completely separate characters. Previously, because Mirror Universe characters were subtagged to their Original Universe counterparts, excluding the Original Universe character would automatically exclude the Mirror Universe version too. With the characters separated, you can weed out the Original Universe characters to enjoy the Mirror Universe characters on their own!
For example, under the old system, if you wanted to specifically exclude Hikaru Sulu from your search for Mirror Hikaru Sulu content, it couldn't be done. The Hikaru Sulu tag was connected to all uses of Mirror Hikaru Sulu, and excluding it would automatically remove all works tagged with Mirror Hikaru Sulu, too. Now you can search for Mirror Hikaru Sulu while excluding Hikaru Sulu altogether! While this means that the Mirror Universe characters will no longer show up automatically when you search for the Original Universe counterpart, you can now easily search for works that feature both a character and their mirror counterpart using our inclusion filters.
Of course, Mirror Sulu is not the only character you can filter for -- there's also
- Mirror Kira Nerys
- Mirror Chakotay (Star Trek)
- Mirror Michael Burnham
- ...and many more!
Second, Star Trek: Mirror Universe will no longer be considered a separate fandom. All works in the Mirror Universe will still appear in the generic Star Trek fandom as well as any individual franchises which are tagged on the work. This change makes things simpler and less confusing for users who are new to Star Trek. If you previously posted works using the Star Trek: Mirror Universe fandom, you can now use the freeform Mirror Universe (Star Trek) to help others find your work.
Third Item: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE SECOND-HALF OF SEASON ONE OF STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Please stop reading now if you do not wish to be spoiled.
Thirdly, Gabriel Lorca has been a confusing character to tag for ever since it was revealed that he is actually from the Mirror Universe. Standard practice for Mirror Universe characters has always been to add the "Mirror" prefix. But by the time the reveal happened, Lorca was firmly entrenched with the plain "Gabriel Lorca" tag since many creators were not (or are not) aware of the spoiler.
In order to reduce ambiguity and make it clearer for users which Lorca is being referenced, we are going to change the canonicals for both Lorcas to the following:
- Gabriel Lorca | Mirror Gabriel Lorca
- Original Universe Gabriel Lorca
These formats were chosen after extensive discussion of our options as being the least ambiguous and most closely following how other fandoms have treated identity reveals in character tags.
In keeping with the changes mentioned above, neither of these tags will be connected to the other. This will make it easier for users who want to find works about either Mirror Gabriel Lorca or Original Universe Gabriel Lorca. Both options will appear in the drop-down menu if a user types in "Gabriel Lorca" for a character tag.
(You may remember that we tried to sort out Lorca previously, but since there was still some confusion we have determined to go with the above solution.)
Please let us know if you have any questions, and have patience with us as we make the changes!
From time to time, ao3org posts announcements of recent or upcoming wrangling changes on behalf of the Tag Wrangling Committee.