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So one of my tag edits was rejected. I'm curious as to why this is. Surely, having something in a tag, even if it is basic info like year, system, and genre, is better than having completely empty tags.

The rejection reasons are, "Simply defining what a [tag] is rarely helps those using it unless the tag's name itself is ambiguous. Excerpts should describe why and when a tag should be used. See the help center for more guidance.". The latest meta decision I know of is this one and it supports the format I was using.

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  • I think the point isn't that it's not a good edit, but that since user's are being rewarded for edits, they should strive for more complete edits, which is why most edits that only change a few letters usually get rejected, more. However in your case I would've thought that your tag edit was more than enough.
    – Aequitas
    May 29, 2017 at 1:27

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I don't think they were correct to reject. I didn't know the information in the tag description that you added, so having that information is certainly better than not having it. Even if it's not the ideal tag, it's still a step in the right direction.

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  • Looking back, I should've chosen Improve for this instead of Reject, however, the rejection reasons tend to revolve around the idea of the tag wiki being useful to users on the site. For someone who knows what the game is, that description doesn't explain how the tag is to be used on the site. Sure, it saves users who don't know the game already a quick Google search, but from my understanding, that's not the point of tag wikis. I realize that the agreed upon tag wiki and excerpt format does not mention it, but I think a "This tag should be used on questions about X" clause should be added.
    – Vemonus
    May 18, 2017 at 15:21
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    @Vemonus I don't fully agree. I think the tag usage for any game tag is implied to be "use this tag for questions about this game". It doesn't make sense to add that to every single game tag, because that's literally what they're meant for to begin with. You should only include tag usage instructions for the more abstract/generic tags, like [pc] or [terminology], or for different versions of the same/related game(s).
    – Mage Xy
    May 18, 2017 at 16:15
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    To extend what @MageXy said, we include "use this tag if" clauses in basically every Minecraft tag because it is recognized as being necessary. It's on the main tag because it's needed to distinguish it from the pocket and console editions. It's on the Redstone and commands tags because those two aspects of the game are often quite distinct. But for a game like Borderlands 2, it's already pretty clear where that tag should be used. If you're asking about that game, there's no second thought as to which tag to use. Forcing someone to include this in a main tag edit is often counterproductive.
    – MBraedley
    May 18, 2017 at 16:53
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    Valid points, however, I think it's useful to include something along the lines of "Use this tag for questions about this game, regardless of platform". Or "only for platforms x, y, and z." In this case, there may need to be a distinction between the 2015 PS4/Vita rerelease from the original 1992 SNES release. On the other hand, there may not be. Usage guidance about when to pair a tag with other tags is very helpful, even more so when a game has been rereleased on various systems, especially when the systems differ as much as an SNES and a PS4.
    – Vemonus
    May 18, 2017 at 17:29
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    @Vemonus Useful, yes. Absolutely mandatory to the point that you should reject an edit that omits it? No.
    – Invader Skoodge
    May 18, 2017 at 17:38
  • @Beedrill right, that's why I said "looking back, I should've chosen Improve instead of Reject." I acknowledge that rejection was not the right choice there.
    – Vemonus
    May 18, 2017 at 17:39
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    To that end I have re-approved the edit.
    – Robotnik Mod
    May 18, 2017 at 21:15
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    Can we change the reject reason? To me, that tag only defined what the game was. Honestly, I have no problem with that, however I know one of the reject reasons is for when a tag defines what it is only. Should the reject reason be altered or removed?
    – Timmy Jim Mod
    May 19, 2017 at 15:42
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    I don't understand why that reject reason would exist at all, anywhere on stackexchange. "Defining what the tag is" is the most important information to have in the tag wiki, for every tag on every site, so it makes no sense to prefer no information over it.
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    May 22, 2017 at 17:21
  • @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Minor nitpick-- I think the purpose of the tag is to direct users how to use the tag on the site. Since tag usage varies across SE sites, general guidance usage is helpful. I agree that explaining what the tag is for is a must, but for a site against "meta" tags like Arqade, we should be more forward in our expectations.
    – Vemonus
    May 23, 2017 at 1:37
  • @Vemonus Since SE decided to call them "tag wikis" makes me think they are meant to be wiki-style informative sections. In the wiki section, you expand on the (maximum) 25 characters that was used to name the tag. For this specific instance, I noticed a tag for a Star Wars game I was unfamiliar with. Since there was no tag wiki, I did some quick searches to see what it is. Then I decided to save other users having to do the same thing and just put that information into the wiki for the tag.
    – Batophobia
    May 24, 2017 at 17:45
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    @Batophobia sure, but there are actual posts that explain what tag wikis are for, too. Like this meta post "The main purpose of the tag wiki excerpt is to tell people what the tag should be used for", which appears to be another way of saying what Jeff Atwood said tag wikis are all about. See #s 3 and 4.
    – Vemonus
    May 24, 2017 at 17:49
  • @Batophobia to be clear, your tag wiki excerpt was what was declined - not the tag wiki. The excerpt is the portion you see when you hover over a tag or what is seen when you are filtering questions by the tag. The wiki section is the part where you can add more information and links about the game.
    – Timmy Jim Mod
    May 24, 2017 at 17:49
  • @TimmyJim I believe the actual tag wiki was rejected, as well, in this case.
    – Vemonus
    May 24, 2017 at 17:50
  • @Vemonus I was going by the link at the beginning of this post - it leads to the excerpt. But yes, the tag wiki was also rejected.
    – Timmy Jim Mod
    May 24, 2017 at 17:51

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