TL;DR it messes with charcount:N queries

How to find all posts with missing character names

For the sake of the argument, let's say we're adding character tags to all posts of a certain artist %artist%, and let's ignore *_focus tags that complicate things further

1. Find all posts missing solo or duo or trio or group and tag them (and add trio to group posts where it applies)
2. Tag the missing characters in all of these queries:

• %artist% solo chartags:0
• %artist% duo chartags:<2
• %artist% trio chartags:<3
• %artist% group chartags:<4

Now because fan_character and webcomic_character add to the chartag count, there is also the possibility that some posts are missing a character name but we didn't catch them

For example, (↓) here's a post with (3 characters, 4 chartags including fan_character). And (↓) here's a post with (3 characters, 3 chartags including fan_character) that we would've missed (missing steve-o chartag)
post #3676005 post #732422

So we also need to add:

• %artist% solo fan_character chartags:1
• %artist% duo fan_character chartags:<3
• %artist% trio fan_character chartags:<4
• %artist% group fan_character chartags:<5

The same applies to webcomic_character, and LUCKILY the posts with both a fan character and a webcomic character aren't likely

The Fix

EITHER
-Change fan_character and webcomic_character to be used INSTEAD of a character's name (would be a HUGE effort and remove those tags from 90% of posts, so pls no thx)
OR
-Change the tag category. Character->General probably

P.S. This also applies to unknown_character, but you can just %artist% unknown_character it

Really, neither should exist. We don't tag movie_character or tv_show_character or comic_character (as in, a physical comic series), so why webcomic_character? And fan_character is useless since original_character is aliased to it, and original_character can mean very different things to different people (for some, it's a completely unique character in its own setting, for others it's "heavily inspired" by existing characters in an existing setting, and for yet others, it's simply a personal character or fursona), so there's no standard to it.

watsit said:
And fan_character is useless...

I believe fan_character exists so that people can blanket blacklist non-canon characters when searching for posts of a certain show/movie franchise.
For example, I may want to opt out of seeing random people's OCs being inserted into a particular franchise that I like (such as fanfics or OC x Canon Character posts).

Though you do raise a good point on the inherent ambiguity in the term "original_character" and how it is already aliased with fan_character.

thegreatwolfgang said:
I believe fan_character exists so that people can blanket blacklist non-canon characters when searching for posts of a certain show/movie franchise.
For example, I may want to opt out of seeing random people's OCs being inserted into a particular franchise that I like (such as fanfics or OC x Canon Character posts).

Makes sense, but what about webcomic_character? I think it's unlikely anyone would ever search for it or exclude it from search.
If someone doesn't like webcomics they can also just blacklist webcomic

fan_character can be pretty ambiguous, but the wiki explains it pretty well, and there is a use for it

Not only in the character category, but also in the Artist category I kinda feel the same.　(( i.e. conditional_dnp, sound_warning etc. ))
Whatever they'll become in the future, Staying in the wrong category is still a problem, when they aren't actual artists and characters.
One way might be to make a new category.

shadyguy said:
Makes sense, but what about webcomic_character? I think it's unlikely anyone would ever search for it or exclude it from search.
If someone doesn't like webcomics they can also just blacklist webcomic

I believe webcomic_character and OC/fan_char are two different things.
The word "fan" sounds like a third party, who has not made the franchise or webcomic either.

On that idea, When in the case a post has webcomic_chara with OC/fan_char or Canon char and it doesn't look like comic,
Is the post still really webcomic?

If so then, If the webcomic tag is intended for webcomic-related including "webcomic_char is in the post",
I feel webcomic_character should be replaced with webcomic.　Edit： By making an alias？