Let new users create "wannabe" tags

Question

I was just trying to post a question on the RPG SE beta, and the system wouldn't let me create a tag I felt would have been useful since my reputation was below 150. (The tag was changeling, for the record; it's a series of the World of Darkness.)

Apart from a problem regarding an existing tag that I couldn't use (a problem I asked about here), I felt that the tags I wanted to add were really interesting (well, one tag was really a good candidate), and since tag synonyms exist on the site, I wonder if something like a "tag arena" system wouldn't be a good idea to implement.

The process of tagging could go like this:

• Anyone can create tags on a question.
• The creator gambles x reputation on each tag that is created, and the tag goes to an assembly of the people able to create tags for y hours.
• There, users can upvote tags they think have the right to exist. They can also downvote tags and suggest synonyms.
• After y hours — depending on the upvotes and downvotes — either the tag is created or it is scrapped for the proposed synonym. The tag creator either regains or loses the x rep he gambled.

---

I realise this would not really be an interesting feature for SO, since most subjects are currently covered by the community, but on emerging sites like RPG SE it could be a valuable asset to let the knowledge base be covered more quickly by the community. The feature could even turn off automatically after a while, when the management thinks most of the bases are covered. This system could exist between the "Bootstrap Mode" and the "Full Rules Mode."

What do you think about this idea? Is it doable? Interesting?

Answer 1

Sounds a tad too complicated. Depending on how large Y is, you can probably gain the 150 rep points during those Y hours anyway. An even easier approach is to post a comment saying "I cannot add tags such-and-such, can someone please do that for me". I see that a lot on beta sites, and it's usually dealt with in an extremely timely manner.