One way to get a member's attention is to tag them in a post. If the member has the notification setting 'when someone tags you' checked they will receive a notification that they were tagged. Tags can also be used as a simple way to identify a specific member you are talking about or to create a link to a member's profile.

Tagging works by placing an @ before the person's username.

Important things to remember.

• A new line, space or special character must be before the @ or the system will assume it's an email address and will not create the tag.


• NO SPACE between the @ and the username.


• A username must be used, however after being posted the members Display Name will be shown.


• Tagging a display name will not work. The system will attempt to find a username matching what was typed.
  


• A new line, space or special character will end a tag. Any name containing these is not a username.
  


• Usernames are always entirely lowercase alpha-numeric characters. Examples: admin   harry   steve37


• Multiple tags must be separated by a new line, space or special character or they will not render properly.


• Since usernames cannot contain commas or apostrophes, adding these in your post immediately after tagging a username will not negatively affect the end result.

The member's username is used because it cannot be changed. It is a constant identifier and ensures the tag will remain accurate over time. However after the post is created the display name with proper styling will be shown. This is because people identify member's by their display name. If a member is tagged and they change their display name all tags will update to reflect their new name. A post won't become outdated and readers will know who was specifically being talked about.

After tagging someone and submitting your post, the tag becomes a display name and is clickable. This will take you to the member's profile.

Finding a member's username for tagging.
There are 3 ways to easily find out a member's username when posting.

1. Hover over any Display Name you see and the member's username will be displayed with the @ symbol.
2. If you have started typing a quick reply you can Alt + Click on any Display Name and the tag will be appended to the end of the quick reply message.
3. If you are on a composition page you can click the Insert User Link icon. Search for the member by any name and click on the micro profile in the results. The tag will be inserted into the message.

Related Note: When you Quote a post the author value is actually a tag.
[quote author="@admin" timestamp="1372440480"]Hello[/quote]