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Currently, the tag is the primary tag, with synonyms and - it shouldn't be, though.

Cryptograms refer to a specific type of puzzle: one in which each letter has been replaced with another letter (or number, symbol, etc.). Cryptograms are always simple substitution ciphers. However, many of the puzzles in our tag are unrelated to cryptograms. They could be tagged as s or , but cryptograms are a subtype of cipher, not a synonym.

What should we do about this?

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I wholeheartedly agree! I've always wondered why was used when it really should be .

I vote for changing the primary tag to , and making a synonym of it.

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  • $\begingroup$ So, out of curiosity (not being hugely into cryptography), how should cipher differ from cryptography? Isn't a cipher just the mechanism employed in cryptography? $\endgroup$ – Alconja Feb 23 '16 at 1:15
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    $\begingroup$ @Alconja: From my experience, ciphers are generally doable by hand, while cryptography implies more complex mathematical concepts (number theory mostly). For instance, rot13 is a cipher but not very much cryptography, and RSA encryption is cryptography but not really a cipher. $\endgroup$ – Deusovi♦ Feb 23 '16 at 13:30

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