Issue: Category creation control

Not sure if this is sufficient for your purposes, but here goes:

In the next build, categories will not be physically created simply by using the tag. However, you can still visit the category and see the index of pages that used the tag. If an admin or editor so desires, they can then physically create the category by adding intro text to the index. If the category is improperly named or prohibited, they can remove the references by editing the tagged articles, and there won't be the added step of also deleting an unwanted (now empty) category page.

I'm still lost on this. Does a category get created automatically? Or must you create it manually, if so where?

The index (list of articles in that category) is always created automatically. However, currently an article with no text is also created automatically that allows you to put a description or intro on the index (clicking "Edit" on the index). With the next build, this empty description will not automatically be created (you can still add a description by clicking "Edit").

As you can see, the change makes no difference for the category's function or the ease of editing it, but just prevents empty records from being created when they aren't desirable.