Posted under General
I noticed something odd today; the tag for missile_launcher simply is aliased to the tag for rocket_launcher. That's entirely inaccurate, there's a distinct difference between the two. If it's really necessary for a dual-purpose rocket/missile launcher to be in something (Such as Einhander's Wasp) it would still make more sense to put both tags in since Wasp has two different firing modes.
There is, after all, a recoilless_rifle tag. Making that differentiation is a start at least.
What's the difference? This is a sincere question. I mean, even Wikipedia redirects from "missile launcher" to "rocket launcher" and they presumably have better reason to nitpick technical details than an anime art gallery does.
This alias was made way back in 2011 without comment (topic #8176) and nobody else has complained since then as far as I can tell, so it seems that these objects are essentially the same as far as the average layperson is concerned. Unless there are obvious visible differences between them that can be succinctly summarized in a wiki page, I'd support retaining the alias to ease the burden on uploaders. Tag gardeners who are more familiar with individual weapon models (e.g. rpg-7, panzerschreck) can add those tags wherever necessary, which should be enough to narrow search results.
iridescent_slime said:
What's the difference? This is a sincere question. I mean, even Wikipedia redirects from "missile launcher" to "rocket launcher" and they presumably have better reason to nitpick technical details than an anime art gallery does.
This alias was made way back in 2011 without comment (topic #8176) and nobody else has complained since then as far as I can tell, so it seems that these objects are essentially the same as far as the average layperson is concerned. Unless there are obvious visible differences between them that can be succinctly summarized in a wiki page, I'd support retaining the alias to ease the burden on uploaders. Tag gardeners who are more familiar with individual weapon models (e.g. rpg-7, panzerschreck) can add those tags wherever necessary, which should be enough to narrow search results.
OK...
1. I suddenly have a lot less respect for Wikipedia. I'm tempted to complain to them too, in fact. Does Wikipedia have a Discord server?
2. I guess the main difference I see between rocket and missile launchers is that missiles have to have a lot of added equipment for targeting (Such as seekers and the associated sighting equipment) which looks pretty distinctive (To me at least). Not to mention, any "rocket" with any degree of tracking is considered a missile.
Equipment attached to the launcher is not a reliable visual indicator of whether a system uses guided projectiles or not. An AT4 fitted with an AN/PVS-4 has "added equipment for targeting", but is unguided. A 9K32, 9K34, or 9K38 MANPADS is guided, but is aimed with iron sights. This also means that unknown or fictional equipment also cannot be reliably categorized visually, even if it hews to real-world design language.
In any case, I don't see the need. The average uploader, tagger, or user doesn't know or care, and shouldn't be expected to. Users who know and care enough to tag or search for specific systems will do so. I suspect the middle ground of users searching for the theoretically more specific but practically still very vague distinctions of "any launcher, of any description, for any unguided rocket" vs. "any launcher, of any description, for any guided missile" is very slim indeed. I could certainly be wrong, and there could be a need. But I'd like to see it demonstrated before someone has to clean up every post tagged with rocket_launcher, bazooka, rpg, missile_pod, etc., create wiki pages, and maintain those tags in perpetuity.
