I'm cross-posting this reference guide here. It can also be found on AO3, so feel free to read and comment there, if you prefer. For fandom non-specific information that will make the information here even more useful, see my collection "References for Filters Searches and Blocking on AO3".

Preface

Filtering/Blocking Works in the Merlin AO3 Tag (Using Tag ID Numbers)
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/54538489.

Rating:: General Audiences
Archive Warning:: No Archive Warnings Apply
Fandom:: Merlin (TV)
Additional Tags:: Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Tag Filtering, Discord: Land of Myth (Merlin), Nonfiction
Language:: English
Series:: Part 2 of Fandom Reference Guides
Collections:: References for Filters and Searches on AO3
Stats:: Published: 2024-03-17, Completed: 2024-03-19, Words: 1,056, Chapters: 2/2

Filtering/Blocking Works in the Merlin AO3 Tag (Using Tag ID Numbers)

by the_bi_ballerina

Summary

This is a guide on filtering fanworks in the "Merlin (TV)" fandom on AO3, particularly for the sake of saving filters according to your individual preferences.
This includes a list of tag ID numbers for notable tags under the Merlin fandom tag. That way, you can filter and search by tag IDs rather than tag names, and thus preempt the possibility of losing your filters if a tag name changes.
For more general information and tools that support filtering and blocking on AO3, not specific to any particular fandom, see the collection which contains this work (and its parent collection).

Notes

Please let me know if you find that I made any mistakes or mislabeled any of the tag IDs!

See the end of the work for more notes

Inspired by Merthur Blocklist by Anonymous
Inspired by How to Use Hidden Search Operators (And Get Real Specific About It) by najio

Instructions and IDs for Notable Tags

Chapter Summary

This chapter will contain the most vital information and tag IDs for curating your experience in the Merlin fandom on AO3.

Why Use Tag IDs To Filter?

Tag IDs are static numbers which indicate a specific canonical tag on AO3. Searching for tags by text is dependent upon the name of a tag and how it is wrangled. Many people like to save their preferred filters, whether with browser bookmarks or userscripts. If you don't want to lose your favorite filters because of a change in tag name or wrangling, using tag IDs for your searches will help prevent that.

How to Find Tag IDs

How you can find the ID for a tag will depend on the type of tag it is.

Fandoms, Characters, and Relationships: Use the RSS feed method described in "The "Search Within Results" Field and You, Pt. 2" AO3 News Post.
Freeform Tags: Use the browser page source tool method, as described in Chapter 3 of How to Use Hidden Search Operators (And Get Real Specific About It) by najio. This method would likely also work for other types of tags, but is more tedious than the other methods, so you'll probably only want to use it for freeform tags.
Categories, Ratings, and Archive Warnings: See the list below.

Tag IDs for Categories, Ratings, and Archive Warnings

This list is from AO3's "The 'Search Within Results' Field and You: The Round-Up".

Tag IDs for your convenience:

Categories:

Gen: 21

F/M: 22

M/M: 23

Other: 24

F/F: 116

Multi: 2246

Ratings:

Not Rated: 9

General: 10

Teen: 11

Mature: 12

Explicit: 13

Warnings:

Author Chose Not To: 14

No Archive Warnings Apply: 16

Graphic Depictions Of Violence: 17

Major Character Death: 18

Rape/Non-Con: 19

Underage: 20

Note on Metatags and Subtags

When one tag is a "subtag" of a "metatag", that means all works with that subtag also are treated as having that metatag. Work listings for the metatag include both works tagged with the metatag itself and works tagged with any of its subtags. This is especially relevant in the Merlin fandom, as the show falls under the umbrella of Arthurian-inspired media. (This is why there are two different Merlin/Arthur tags.) Keep that in mind when deciding which tag IDs to filter with. For more information, see AO3's "Wrangling Guidelines - Metatags".

Tag IDs for Notable Merlin Tags

If you are looking for the IDs of tags not on this list, check the Merlin fandom tag page for a full list of tags specifically under the Merlin fandom. Then you can use the methods described above to find those particular tag IDs.

Fandom Tags

This Fandom:

Merlin (TV): 232768 (We are here! Subtag of "Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms".)
Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms: 857557 (Metatag of "Merlin (TV)".)

Other Fandoms (the most popular fandoms for crossovers with Merlin):

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling: 136512
Supernatural (TV 2005): 71566537
Sherlock (TV): 133185
Arthurian Mythology: 4236
Marvel Cinematic Universe: 414093
Doctor Who: 406
The Avengers (Marvel Movies): 1001939
Teen Wolf (TV): 258526

Relationship Tags

These are currently the ten most popular relationship tags in the Merlin fandom tag.

Platonic Relationship Tags (with the "&")

Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 261238
Gwen & Merlin (Merlin): 577980

Romantic/Sexual Relationship Tags (with the "/")

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 260746 (Subtag of "Merlin/Arthur Pendragon").
Merlin/Arthur Pendragon: 20940 (This tag is under the Arthurian fandom category rather than Merlin. It is a metatag of "Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)".)
Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 236118
Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin): 157269
Gwen/Morgana (Merlin): 242770
Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin): 278955
Merlin/Morgana (Merlin): 260760
Gwaine/Percival (Merlin): 252083

Freeform Tags

Alternate Universe - Modern Setting: 11175
Fluff: 110
Angst: 176
Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence: 143795
Canon Era: 135777
Hurt/Comfort: 2379
Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin): 29615858
Established Relationship: 1160
Arthur Pendragon Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin): 88430962
Magic Revealed: 13090
Discord: Land of Myth (Merlin): 89576218 (This is the tag for my gen-focused Merlin Discord server. It's not a popular tag, but it qualifies as a notable tag, because I love it and want it to be here.)

Chapter 2: Additional Merlin Tags

Chapter Summary

These tags aren't as popular/notable. I am unlikely to assemble a comprehensive list anytime soon, because that would be rather tedious, and users can easily seek out tag IDs for individual tags they are interested in filtering by. However, since I happen to have already have collected the IDs for these tags, I will list them here.

Chapter Notes

I have marked this work as complete since I do not currently plan to expand the list of additional tag IDs. I feel that the IDs for notable tags from the first chapter, along with the guides on how to find tag IDs for oneself, will serve most users' purposes well enough. However, feel free to subscribe to this work just in case I do end up adding any more IDs.

Relationship Tags

Romantic/Sexual Relationship Tags (with the "/")

Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)/Original Character(s): 956799
Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)/Original Female Character(s): 2821887
Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)/Original Male Character(s): 2821896
Arthur Pendragon/Percival (Merlin): 260767
Arthur Pendragon/Sophia (Merlin): 153470
Arthur Pendragon/Vivian (Merlin): 316070
Freya/Merlin (Merlin): 154788
Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin): 278955
Gwaine/Percival (Merlin): 252083
Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 236118
Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin): 157269
Gwen/Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 260202
Gwen/Morgana (Merlin): 242770
Lancelot/Merlin (Merlin): 260744
Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 260746
Merlin/Arthur Pendragon: 20940
Merlin/Morgana (Merlin): 260760

Platonic Relationship Tags (with the "&")

Arthur Pendragon & Percival (Merlin): 5141017
Arthur Pendragon & Uther Pendragon (Merlin): 577134
Elyan & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 629919
Elyan & Gwaine (Merlin): 40324648
Elyan & Gwen (Merlin): 629918
Elyan & Lancelot (Merlin): 30630686
Elyan & Leon (Merlin): 43955590
Elyan & Merlin (Merlin): 1290015
Elyan & Percival (Merlin): 21826635
Freya & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 702915
Freya & Merlin (Merlin): 4684494
Gaius & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 863597
Gwaine & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 1042905
Gwaine & Gwen (Merlin): 2821983
Gwaine & Knights of the Round Table (Merlin): 38168071
Gwaine & Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin): 44992462
Gwaine & Lancelot (Merlin): 578262
Gwaine & Leon (Merlin): 21826632
Gwaine & Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 13414351
Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin): 409769
Gwaine & Morgana (Merlin): 32811073
Gwaine & Percival (Merlin): 438757
Gwen & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 576248
Gwen & Elyan & Leon (Merlin): 51887790
Gwen & Knights of the Round Table (Merlin): 11223787
Gwen & Lancelot (Merlin): 562455
Gwen & Leon (Merlin): 2802345
Gwen & Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 1163063
Gwen & Merlin & Morgana & Arthur Pendragon: 576254
Gwen & Merlin & Morgana (Merlin): 5207416
Gwen & Merlin (Merlin): 577980
Gwen & Morgana (Merlin): 542432
Knights of the Round Table & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 8386831
Knights of the Round Table & Knights of the Round Table (Merlin): 31351414
Knights of the Round Table & Leon (Merlin): 27855643
Knights of the Round Table & Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 70687540
Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin): 578855
Lancelot & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 562643
Lancelot & Knights of the Round Table (Merlin): 22099398
Lancelot & Leon (Merlin): 30630716
Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin): 295756
Lancelot & Percival (Merlin): 9513208
Leon & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 2910225
Leon & Merlin (Merlin): 712835
Leon & Morgana (Merlin): 8277615
Leon & Percival (Merlin): 21194134
Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 261238
Merlin & Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin): 562487
Merlin & Morgana (Merlin): 418902
Merlin & Percival (Merlin): 1219796
Merlin & Uther Pendragon (Merlin): 723916

Afterword

End Notes

I originally assembled this list after a conversation in the Land of Myth gen-focused Discord server. Feel free to contact me if you would like an invite link to the server. For more publicly posted resources inspired by conversations there, see the merlingen Dreamwidth community.

BBC Merlin gen fandom (Land of Myth)