General Tag Discussion

4koma
Short description: A short comic composed of exactly four panels.
Implies: comic, 4 panel comic

what is the point of tagging comics with 4 panels just because they have 4 panels? Why would you search for that? Why not tag 2 panels, or 6? 4koma exists as a format, like the difference between comics and manga. comics with 4 panels are not following any convention, they just have 4.

Move the comics to comics and alias “4 panels” so people can find 4koma, or delete it entirely because 4koma are koma and 4 panneled comics are comics. But just look at the tags, they’re completely mixed together.

If anything: when you don’t remember anything useful other than the count of panels. That’s 1 of the purposes of keywords.

(How can a 4 panel comic not be short?) even though, according to implications, 4koma is actually a subcategory of them.

That’s “short” as in “one-offs/gag comics” as opposed to “continuing storyline where each installment happens to have 4 panels”, I guess. Could be better-described.

@UnderwoodART
I don’t know if there is any established policy.

There is a bit of precedent for artist tags. If the artist’s name is in a non-Latin writing system—like artist:徐詩珮 or artist:龙宠—then we’ll make the romanized or translated version of their name an alias. So maybe that policy could apply to OC names as well?

Structure
Traditionally, yonkoma follow a structure known as kishōtenketsu. This word is a compound formed from the following Japanese kanji characters:

Ki (起): The first panel forms the basis of the story; it sets the scene.
Shō (承): The second panel develops upon the foundation of the story laid down in the first panel.
Ten (転): The third panel is the climax, in which an unforeseen development occurs.
Ketsu (結): The fourth panel is the conclusion, in which the effects of the third panel are seen.