diff --git a/etiquette/helpers.py b/etiquette/helpers.py
index bcd80e4..ff4a04a 100644
--- a/etiquette/helpers.py
+++ b/etiquette/helpers.py
@@ -127,10 +127,12 @@ def chunk_sequence(sequence, chunk_length, allow_incomplete=True):
 
     return chunks
 
-def comma_split(s):
+def comma_space_split(s):
     '''
-    Split the string apart by commas, discarding all extra whitespace and
-    blank phrases.
+    Split the string apart by commas and spaces, discarding all extra
+    whitespace and blank phrases.
+
+    'a b, c,,d' -> ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
     '''
     if s is None:
         return s
diff --git a/etiquette/searchhelpers.py b/etiquette/searchhelpers.py
index 54ee356..ac384fd 100644
--- a/etiquette/searchhelpers.py
+++ b/etiquette/searchhelpers.py
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ def normalize_authors(authors, photodb, warning_bag=None):
         return None
 
     if isinstance(authors, str):
-        authors = helpers.comma_split(authors)
+        authors = helpers.comma_space_split(authors)
 
     user_ids = set()
     for requested_author in authors:
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ def normalize_extensions(extensions):
         return None
 
     if isinstance(extensions, str):
-        extensions = helpers.comma_split(extensions)
+        extensions = helpers.comma_space_split(extensions)
 
     if len(extensions) == 0:
         return None
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ def normalize_tag_mmf(tags, photodb, warning_bag=None):
         return None
 
     if isinstance(tags, str):
-        tags = helpers.comma_split(tags)
+        tags = helpers.comma_space_split(tags)
 
     tagset = set()
     for tag in tags: