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This is not a retag request, this is merely an inquiry as to preferred protocol.

Especially in meta where we discuss the mechanics of the Trilogy, we end up with a lot of tags like [votes] and [voting] separately. But we are kinda divided on which version we prefer. A small sampling below...

  • [editing] 244 vs. [edits] 2
  • [commenting] 3 vs. [comments] 389
  • [voting] 286 vs. [votes] 66
  • [tagging] 64 vs. [tags] 539
  • [flagging] 71 vs. [flags] 12

I have retag ability, so I could, for example, get rid of those 2 edits, or those 3 commenting, but then I'd be at odds because I just opposed my own decision, in both directions no less. I can ease my confusion by just not doing any retagging on that end, but then I might want to ask a question about tags or tagging, and now I don't know which tag to actually use! So, what is the preferred choice here? Should we generally lean towards one direction or the other? Or should I just stick with the more popular choice for a given situation?

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3 Answers 3

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They're different topics, and IMO, should be tagged as such.

For example, [tagging] would have to do with any of the processes involved with tags (i.e., adding, deleting, editing, renaming, etc.), whereas [tags] refers to the objects themselves (i.e., "how do I search for tags?" refers to tags, not tagging).

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  • This is easier when the concept can hold its own, but them being separate topics is not always the case. In some cases, the tag may be related more to the word choice that the question-asker had when proposing a question. "What are flags for?" and "What is flagging for?" are exactly the same question, and yet would most likely be tagged differently.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Apr 27, 2010 at 18:14
  • @ccornet: It's always difficult to accurately tag a vague question. I wouldn't have a problem tagging that question with both tags, because such a question would deal with both things. The more specific the question is, the more likely it's going to fit into one of the two categories.
    – Jon Seigel
    Apr 27, 2010 at 18:23
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There is no one solution for this. Both are acceptable in practice and both can literally mean different things.

For instance

[tagging] vs. [tags]

tagging probably has to do with the act of applying tags and any thing about the tag editor/hint mechanism. tags is probably more about questions like this, asking about the tags themselves. Another tags question would be a retag request.

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    The difference between [tagging] and [tags] is fairly clear, since an individual tag can hold its own weight in a question. But take [editing] versus [edits]. The line is quite blurry here, in fact both questions that are currently [edits] can be cleanly retagged as [editing] without changing the topic at all.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Apr 27, 2010 at 17:56
  • @cco right now, but I could see the [edits] tag being used for if someone was to come to meta asking why there locked question was edited or something like that. More refering to the act of "why was my post edited"
    – Earlz
    Apr 27, 2010 at 18:05
  • I could counterclaim that such a question can be easily thought of as "Why did someone edit my post?" and ask about a specific act of "editing".
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Apr 27, 2010 at 18:10
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[voting] sounds better than [votes] in my opinion.

Plus, [voting] is clearly talking about any process of voting, while the meaning behind [votes] can be unclear.

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