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Followup to: Did C. Ross have to manually re-tag all [dd] questions to [dnd]?

Looking at the questions tagged dnd, almost all of the questions either concern generic fantasy RPGs in general or are about specific editions.

I suggest that it be synonymed into a tag which represents the genre of fantasy RPGs, which is what I think it signifies.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Is this like how certain categories of people in the Deep South will refer to all carbonated beverages as a Coke, whether it's actually Coca-Cola--or even a cola of any kind--or not? \$\endgroup\$
    – JUST MY correct OPINION
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 7:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ So would questions specifically about DnD rules be changed from [dnd] to [fantasy-rpg] and [d20]? \$\endgroup\$
    – LeguRi
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 13:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ Could you link some of the questions that you feel are using dnd as a synonym for "fantasy RPG"? I only saw a couple with a cursory glance. \$\endgroup\$
    – AceCalhoon
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 14:16
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    \$\begingroup\$ @LeguRi - As I understand it, the d20 system is used by more RPGs than just DnD. So, questions specific to DnD should not just be lumped indistinguishably with other d20-system questions as there may be DnD-specific rules applied or the question itself may not even relate directly to the d20 system itself. \$\endgroup\$
    – Iszi
    Commented Oct 21, 2010 at 18:03

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I disagree with this. It's true that, for many questions, D&D maps to a specific system.

But it may not always do. There could be cross-edition questions (about, for example, how to make halflings interesting in D&D, or how D&D has developed across editions).

And, for the moment, I think it's better to overtag than undertag. If, later, we find that dnd is a useless tag, we can synonym it then. For the moment, let's keep our options open.

That said, I think a "fantasy" tag, meaning any fantasy rpg, is a good idea. We could use it alongside the dnd tag.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Not sure about a fantasy tag. It just seems it would belong on half the site. \$\endgroup\$
    – C. Ross
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 17:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ +1 For overtagging. Folksonomies emerge, they're not designed. \$\endgroup\$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Commented Oct 21, 2010 at 1:09
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I think we have both going on. There are questions that dnd is used as synomous for all fantasy rpgs, but the majority seem to denote a specific style of play I associate with D&D and are not relevant for say, Ars Magica or even WarHammer.

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I tend to agree. As a questioner, if you say "D&D" but really anyone playing fantasy could help, you're cutting yourself out of answers. I've seen people similarly say "D&D4" or even more tightly scoped tags for general questions, which is sad for them because that puts those posts on my ignored list.

Word to the wise, as a questioner, only scope down to a specific system and/or version in the tags if you really only want answers from the perspective of that game and version, which means the only people answering you will be the small subset of people on SE that play that game and version. (For comparison, from the stats only about a third of the players on this site play even the largest game, D&D4, or at least ask/respond to questions on that topic.)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I suppose the question here is how can an asker telegraph an affinity to a system in a question, if not by tagging the question with the appropriate tag? For example this question is looking for a specific application of a general topic. It is possible to answer without knowledge of D&D, but answers that don't make sense within the D&D framework aren't useful to the asker. \$\endgroup\$
    – AceCalhoon
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 15:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ @AceCalhoon: What you said. I tagged that D&D because that style of play is almost exclusive to D&D and its variations, and anyone playing in that style, with, say, Savage Worlds is almost certainly starting from D&D assumptions and translating them into their system of choice. Really, if there was a "all D&D-like campaigns" tag I'd use that, but I doubt such a tag could be agreed on usefully. [Fantasy] isn't it. \$\endgroup\$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Commented Oct 21, 2010 at 1:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ If you think answers only make sense from a D&D kind of framework, tag it D&D. If not, don't. \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Oct 21, 2010 at 2:25

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