7
$\begingroup$

We have quite a few sub-tags of :

Now, these tags are useful. They allow filtering based on the specific type of mathematics involved. They are also all sub-tags. Puzzles involving , for example, all also involve . I found an old meta-discussion which explains the rationale for using on all math-based questions along with any applicable sub-tag.

Including broad tags along with specific ones makes filtering content much easier. It is hard to imagine anyone wanting to search for, e.g., "all math puzzles except puzzles involving probability, combinatorics, arithmetic, geometry, number sequences, ...", whereas a search for "all math puzzles" seems quite reasonable. I think it makes sense to include all tags that could apply to a post.

So great, should be used on questions even if they have sub-tags. I personally edit into questions which only have a sub-tag. But, do we want this information in the tag wiki excerpt? An example of this (not added by me) in the excerpt:

Questions/puzzles involving functional equations in mathematics. Usually used together with the [mathematics] tag.

An example without it in the excerpt:

A puzzle based on combinatorics, which is the study of counting discrete structures.

Would the excerpt be improved by adding a line similar to "Usually used together with the [mathematics] tag"?

I suggested an edit along that line. (Actually, I suggested it twice - sorry, I thought I hadn't the first time!). It was rejected for "no improvement". An analogous edit of mine on the excerpt was approved.

My question for the community:

Do we want excerpts for sub-tags of to include a line saying that should also be used? (This can be shorter than the example above; a simple "Use with [mathematics]" should suffice)

In response to the duplicate suggestion:

I'm not asking about how the math sub-tags should be used in questions. That's addressed in the first part here; sub-tags are not synonyms and should be used along with . I'm specifically asking about whether we want that information to be included in tag wiki excerpts.

$\endgroup$
2
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? What to do if one tag is always a subset of another tag? $\endgroup$
    – melfnt
    Commented Dec 19, 2020 at 18:13
  • $\begingroup$ @melfnt It doesn't really, since that old post is about a specific situation, which was "solved" in a bad way that's since been fixed. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Dec 23, 2020 at 10:22

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5
$\begingroup$

These are useful edits.

Tag wiki excerpts are actually specifically designed to include usage guidance for the tag on this site - as opposed to the main tag wiki which can have more detailed background information on the topic that the tag is about. Usage guidance might be things like "don't use the tag on this type of question, use that other tag instead" or "use the tag together with this other tag".

screenshot of the guidance seen when editing a tag wiki excerpt

So yes, mentioning that mathematical tags should be used together with seems like a fine thing to do in the tag wiki excerpt. Don't sweat it too much though: we've never been very consistent about putting the tag on all maths puzzles anyway.

$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .