Do we need a mythology/folklore tag?

Question

I'm looking at this new question What are the components of a legend (in the sense of a tale, not a figure legend)? and went to add a mythology tag, but we don't have one!

We also don't have folklore or legends

As the question I linked to points out, creating such background for your world is often an important task. This question is on topic because it's asking how to write the legends. But other questions about mythology and the like are also on topic for Writing. An author can use myths for research, inspiration, or character development. Or an author may wish to duplicate or echo the structure of a myth. In addition to the story in the above question, many authors write folktakes and such either for their world or just outright. It's a genre, and not one you can just toss into fantasy

I would consider mythology, folklore, and legends to refer to the same thing.

There are 26 questions with the keyword "mythology" plus another 14 (non-dups) with the keyword myth. Only 2 questions with "folklore." And 1 question with "folk" that does not also have "mythology" and is about folk tales. 1 question about folktales. 22 questions about legends.

I have not checked all these for duplicates or suitability for such a tag, but it looks like there are a fair number.

My suggestion is that I start a tag that encompasses all these things. The primary name can be either mythology or folklore or folktale or legend, but we might want to consider synonyms too. The reality is that you can not search the text of tags, only the names (and the synonyms don't come up under tags, only if you're adding to a question).

Note: that this is a related Meta discussion, though not a duplicate. Do we need an 'ethnicity-religion-race' tag?

Please let me know what you think.

Answer 1

Mythology should exist without synonyms

From your research I think these questions need better tagging. Those 26 questions should definitely have the mythology tag. It is relevant are useful.

However I disagree that mythology and folklore are the same thing. Source from this article the Oxford English dictionary defines mythology as:

A collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition. A set of stories or beliefs about a particular person, institution, or situation, especially when exaggerated or fictitious.

While folklore is described as:

The traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth. A body of popular myths or beliefs relating to a particular place, activity, or group of people.

I think there is enough distinction between these two things to warrant not being synonyms or falling under a single tag. Though they share a lot of similarities I don't think they should be the same.

Interestingly though with only those few questions it is difficult to make a case for folklore to exist and perhaps a better tag would be legends as it seems more popular.

I suggest you go ahead and make the mythology tag but we shouldn't rush to make synonyms. Folklore may emerge as its own tag at some point and breaking the synonym will be more difficult then.