code: def convert_str_tags_to_list(i):
      
  
      r=[]
  
      if type(i)==list:
         r=i
      else:
         ii=i.split(',')
         for q in ii:
             q=q.strip()
             if q!='':
                r.append(q)
  
      return r
docs: Input:  either a list, or a string of comma-separated tags.
  
      Output: If i is a list, it's returned.
              If i is a string, the list of tags it represents is returned 
              (each tag is stripped of leading and trailing whitespace).