Posted under Tags
BUR #7887 has been rejected.
create alias dugong -> sea_cow
create alias manatee -> sea_cow
Currently manatee and dugong both have posts (also steller's_sea_cow). They're very similar animals so it makes sense to have one tag. The generic term for both is either "sirenian" (scientific) or "sea cow" (colloquial).
Does anyone here ever actually say "sea cow" these days? It seems like an outdated term that conjures up images of grizzled mariners from the age of sail. Google Trends shows it to be far less common than either of the more specific words.
iridescent_slime said:
Does anyone here ever actually say "sea cow" these days? It seems like an outdated term that conjures up images of grizzled mariners from the age of sail. Google Trends shows it to be far less common than either of the more specific words.
True, it is a less common term. Could put them both under manatee since that is the more common one, then just create a wiki entry for it explaining that it goes for all sirenians. But I still think they should go under a single tag.
853214728 said:
True, it is a less common term. Could put them both under manatee since that is the more common one, then just create a wiki entry for it explaining that it goes for all sirenians. But I still think they should go under a single tag.
This sounds like the better approach to me as a [North American] English speaker anyway. Treating "Manatee" as the main term feels right. I've never heard anyone say "Dugong" (or "sea cow") in everyday conversation.
Wikipedia suggests going the opposite direction (Treating both manatees and dugong as "Dugong") might be "right" in some sense, as according to it:
The dugong (/ˈdjuːɡɒŋ/; Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees
, suggesting that all Manatee species plus the specific Dugong species are "Dugong". That'd be another alternative. "Sea cow" does sound archaic to me. Edit: NNescio is correct, I misread this.
I might be fine with both, leaning towards the former perhaps, as they feel close enough to be interchangeable, and I don't think they're distinct enough for our users to differentiate them accurately by species anyway.
Updated
Shinjidude said:
Wikipedia suggests going the opposite direction (Treating both manatees and dugong as "Dugong") might be "right" in some sense, as according to it:
The dugong (/ˈdjuːɡɒŋ/; Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees
, suggesting that all Manatee species plus the specific Dugong species are "Dugong". That'd be another alternative. "Sea cow" does sound archaic to me.
The Wikipedia snippet mentions that the dugong is one member of the order Sirenia (the Sirenians), with the other three members being manatees. The manatees are not dugongs.
The bulk update request #7887 (forum #199875) has been rejected by @Hillside_Moose.
BUR #7923 has been approved by @evazion.
create alias dugong -> manatee
So "sea cow" is too obscure to use, but as I said I don't think it makes sense to have two separate tags. Someone hypothetically looking for pictures of this animal would miss about half the results if they only searched for one of the tags.
Considering manatee is the more common term that should probably be the one used as a tag.
Sorry if the "update" step is unnecessary; I'm not too familiar with how these BURs work.
853214728 said:
BUR #7923 has been approved by @evazion.
create alias dugong -> manatee
So "sea cow" is too obscure to use, but as I said I don't think it makes sense to have two separate tags. Someone hypothetically looking for pictures of this animal would miss about half the results if they only searched for one of the tags.
Considering manatee is the more common term that should probably be the one used as a tag.
Sorry if the "update" step is unnecessary; I'm not too familiar with how these BURs work.
The update step is redundant since an alias will automatically move all the posts in the process.
The bulk update request #7923 (forum #200080) has been approved by @evazion.
