3 ms·

> “should users be able to query a specific tag alias?” ie, can I search for stories tagged with the alias snarry? There’s no correct choice here. AO3 went with

> “should users be able to query a specific tag alias?” ie, can I search for stories tagged with the alias snarry? There’s no correct choice here. AO3 went with “no”. This is a very interesting point. My initial thought was: there definitely IS a correct choice, which is "no". If the choice were "yes", that would imply there's a difference between the tags, but they're aliases, so there shouldn't be a difference. An alias should be exactly interchangeable. Then I thought about how practically impossible that is to enforce, given the nature of language. The usage choice itself implies a difference; there are no true aliases in language.

zamnos 4y ago
I think it depends on the usage is tags, and how important the tagging system actually is, because there's a tagging system in wide use that allows for aliases. That system is reactj on Slack messages. For those outside the slack ecosystem, that feature allows you to an emoji to a message, even or especially if you're not the author. Thing is, as tiny pictures, people remember what they remember about the emoji, and people often remember an alias and may not even know the offical name. Slack further allows customization by letting users add their own reactj imbuing each slack workspace with its own personality. If someone wants to type in dumbbell and someone wants to type in weight, and it goes to the same tiny picture, is that really so broken?
- oneeyedpigeon 4y ago
  It always bugs me that the default alias for the fist bump emoji is "facepunch"... I think we're ultimately in agreement — aliases should be 'transparent' and not imbued with any specific meaning. Of course, it's much easier for a very limited system like emoji to be able to deal with these things than an open-ended tagging system, especially one that caters for the entirety of Unicode.
at_a_remove 4y ago
AO3 has many, many decisions around tagging that are quirky, at best.

zamnos 4y ago

I think it depends on the usage is tags, and how important the tagging system actually is, because there's a tagging system in wide use that allows for aliases. That system is reactj on Slack messages. For those outside the slack ecosystem, that feature allows you to an emoji to a message, even or especially if you're not the author. Thing is, as tiny pictures, people remember what they remember about the emoji, and people often remember an alias and may not even know the offical name. Slack further allows customization by letting users add their own reactj imbuing each slack workspace with its own personality. If someone wants to type in dumbbell and someone wants to type in weight, and it goes to the same tiny picture, is that really so broken?

oneeyedpigeon 4y ago
It always bugs me that the default alias for the fist bump emoji is "facepunch"... I think we're ultimately in agreement — aliases should be 'transparent' and not imbued with any specific meaning. Of course, it's much easier for a very limited system like emoji to be able to deal with these things than an open-ended tagging system, especially one that caters for the entirety of Unicode.

at_a_remove 4y ago

AO3 has many, many decisions around tagging that are quirky, at best.