Q&A for New Taggers

 Q&A for New Loan Taggers

Q.  I want to join the Loan Taggers team.  How do I get started?
A. Welcome! First, "join" the team.  Once you join, you will be able to read and post messages to the team board, here:  http://www.kiva.org/team/loan_taggers/messages
After you have joined the team, post a message to the team message board indicating that you wish to begin tagging.  A unique personal Kivatools login will be sent to you, along with instructions on how to get started.

Before you begin tagging, you should review all of the information on the team blog, particularly the tag definitions and descriptions, as well as how to use the loan assignment tool. If you have any questions, post them to the message board, and other team members will be happy to help.

Q. How many tags can I apply to a loan?
A. Kiva allows up to five tags per loan, for each Kiva user. If a loan already has some tags applied by another Kiva user, you can still add to these tags if there are more applicable features.


If you need to put more than 5 tags on a loan, go to www.thomaswoodside.com/Untag/untag.php and choose "Tag". Then enter the url of the loan you want to tag, and select the tag you want to give it.

Q. Is it okay to use information about a borrower that was included in the description of a previous loan (assuming there is no information indicating that the situation has changed)?
A.  Yes, you can apply a tag that refers to information provided in a previous loan description, but only if also applies to the current loan.  For example if the previous loan description stated that the borrower is 65 years old, it is okay to use the #Elderly tag. However, if the previous loan was to purchase cattle and the current loan is for home improvements, do not use the #Animals tag.

Q. Should I refer to the photo when determining tags?
A. Yes. If a group loan's photo includes women holding children, it is okay to tag #Parent. Similarly, if the borrower is clearly over 50, it is okay to use the #Elderly tag, even if the age is not stated in the loan description.

Q. The loan description doesn't include any features that can be tagged. Is it okay to leave a loan untagged?
A. Yes. If  the loan description provides no detail that applies to any of the tag descriptions, the loan should remain untagged. Mis-tagging a loan makes the tag less useful for those searching for a specific type of loan. “If in doubt, leave it out.”

Q. How do I apply the #Parent tag when the loan description doesn't provide the ages of the children?
A. This can be a grey area for many loans. Sometimes you can make an educated guess using other information in the loan description, such as the age of the parent. Again, if in doubt, leave it out.

Q. Are some tags more important to use than others? Are the tags ranked in order of importance?
A. Although there is no ranking of tags, many taggers prefer to use the less common tags as a priority. Some of the less commonly used tags include: #SingleParent, #Orphan, #Refugee, #SustainableAg, #EcoFriendly, and #Trees. The most commonly used tags are #Parent and #WomanOwnedBiz. Ultimately, it is up to you which tags to apply. If you have used all five of your tags and you feel there are additional tags which should be applied to a loan, see the directions in the question above.


Q. A loan has been categorized incorrectly and appears in the wrong sector. For example, a farmer needs a loan to pay for wedding expenses, and the loan appears in the Agriculture sector. Can this be fixed?
A. A request for correction can be sent to ContactUs@kiva.org.  Please do not send a request for correction unless the error could seriously affect a lender's ability to find the loan. There is no guarantee that a correction will be made (this decision is made by  Kiva staff).

Q. A loan has been posted in the original language, without translation to English. Can this be fixed?
A. A request for translation can be sent to ContactUs@kiva.org.  Kiva staff will return the loan to the translation volunteers for action.

Q. If the loan description isn't clear, can I use my discretion and guess at which tags apply?
A. Taggers follow the loan definitions when tagging, but there are often grey areas where you will need to use your best judgment. For example, if the ages of the children aren't stated and the borrower is 70 years old, it would be reasonable to assume that the children are no longer dependent upon the borrower.

Some tags must meet specific criteria. For example, a loan description may state that the borrower shares her home with her children and no mention is made of a partner/spouse. This loan should not be tagged as #SingleParent because the loan description does not specifically provide that information. Refer to the tag descriptions on the team blog for guidance. 

Q. I have a question about how to tag a loan, and the team tag descriptions don't answer my question. What should I do?
A. You can post a message to the team message board with your question and a link to the loan. Other team members will be happy to help you.

Q. How do I tag group loans?  
A. Apply any tag that fits, even if it does not apply to every borrower or even the featured borrower in the group. For example, if a borrower in a group is over 50 years old, you can use the #Elderly tag, even if there are clearly group members who are not elderly. 

Exceptions: 
Do not use the #Vegan tag unless the entire group loan description complies with the vegan definition. 
Do not use the #WomanOwnedBiz tag unless 50% or more of the borrowers in the group are women and the loan description complies with the tag description.

Q. How quickly do I have to tag the loans I have assigned to myself?
A. Most taggers assign loans when they are able to apply tags immediately, in order to keep untagged loans available for another tagger. Assigned loans that remain untagged (or are not marked as untaggable) will be returned to the unassigned pool after 48 hours.

Q.  Some loans are flagged with  volunteer_pick, volunteer_like and user_favorite. What do these terms mean?
A. Volunteer_pick and volunteer_like: the loan has been "starred" by Kiva staff or volunteer editor.
user_favorite: At least one Kiva user has "starred" the loan. Loans with these tags should be assigned and tagged normally.

Q.  I find a loan that is mistagged. What can I do?
A. It depends on whether the loan was autotagged or tagged by another Kiva member, although there is no way for you to tell that from looking at the loan or tags.  Unfortunately, an incorrect tag cannot be deleted by anyone other than the Kiva member who tagged it.

However, if the mistake might be from autotagging, follow the following directions.

If the autotag program makes a mistake, go to www.thomaswoodside.com/Untag/untag.php and choose "Untag". Then enter the url of the loan you want to untag, and select the tag you want to give to it. You can assume that all tags in the dropdown menu can be untagged if you have the untag option selected.

Q. I can't apply any other tags to a loan that has been autotagged. Should I mark the loan as untaggable?
A. No. A loan with autotags will not go back into the unassigned loans pool, so there is no need to mark it as untaggable. 







   

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