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We currently have three tags about voices: , , and . Here are the definitions:

  • : "This tag should be used for questions about the usage of a literary voice in your writing, such as questions about common words in a certain style, rhyming or the representation of sounds created to communicate between two members of a species."
  • : "This tag should be used for questions about utilizing the passive voice in your writing, for example how much you should use the passive voice or when to prefer passive voice over active voice."
  • : "This tag should be used for questions about the process of choosing a voice in which you want to write your literary work."

Neither of them is used very often, and it seems to me that the latter two could be merged into the first one. The difference in the descriptions is marginal - one notable exception is "representation of sounds created to communicate" in the definition, but that already seems slightly out of place within the tag itself.

Should these three tags be merged?

And side question, is this question even necessary, or should I simply have made the changes? I see lots of discussions about tags here, so I thought it best to ask the question first. However, users get the ability to change tags very early on. It seems as if this is supposed to encourage proactivity.

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    You get the privilege to edit questions, which allows you to re-tag questions. But erasing a complete tag from existence is something that should be discussed in the community first. There are some implications to doing stuff like that, for example the fact that every edit bumps a question to the top of the frontpage - which can very easily clog up the complete frontpage with very old question and therefore making it harder for people to find other posts that are really active right now. Editing in batches of maybe 3 to 5 questions and then waiting a day or so is often preferrable.
    – Secespitus
    Jun 24, 2019 at 9:39
  • Thank you for the clarification. Would this also be a problem if they were simply set to be synonymous?
    – PoorYorick
    Jun 24, 2019 at 9:43
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    Creating tag synonyms doesn't bump the affected posts. Moderators can also merge tags without bumping.
    – Monica Cellio
    Jun 24, 2019 at 14:38
  • Hey @MonicaCellio our OP is asking about next steps (see my answer and comments). Can you address this? What happens next? Thanks!
    – Cyn
    Jun 26, 2019 at 14:00
  • @PoorYorick I am bringing this up here because it seems a side-effect of this discussion. I note you've edited word-choice. While it needs it for sure, can we discuss the details? Grammar is not off-topic; we even have a grammar tag. It just needs to be in a writing context. I also wouldn't encourage so much overlap with voice though you are correct that they can be used together if need be. Thanks.
    – Cyn
    Jun 27, 2019 at 15:37
  • @Cyn, sure, let's talk about it. Maybe I jumped the shark there. My understanding was that questions about grammar are off-topic unless they are about breaking its rules, using it in some special way in writing, or actually about style questions. After all, this is a general site about writing, and many of us do not even write in English. So why would we discuss English grammar rules here?
    – PoorYorick
    Jun 27, 2019 at 15:42
  • @Cyn, by the way, I don't have editing permission yet, so it was just a suggestion. The tag wiki was empty, and the excerpt only told people to go to the English SE. I thought this would be an improvement for sure, which is why I didn't make a new question in Meta. If you want, I can ask one but you can also go ahead.
    – PoorYorick
    Jun 27, 2019 at 15:46
  • The grammar tag reads: "Questions about the rules of grammar, and how to properly apply them to writing." I would simply either not mention grammar in word-choice or point to the tag. Not sure if this all should be its own meta discussion...
    – Cyn
    Jun 27, 2019 at 15:46
  • Yeah, I saw it in the suggested edits queue. I have not chosen an action. But it is likely to be approved. It can be re-edited of course, so that's not a big deal. The timing is not so important.
    – Cyn
    Jun 27, 2019 at 15:47

1 Answer 1

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I agree they should be merged, with only remaining.

We can also edit the wiki to incorporate all 3 current guidances. For example:

This tag should be used for questions about the usage of a literary voice in your writing, such as questions about common words in a certain style, the process of choosing a voice, the representation of sounds created to communicate between two members of a species, and active vs passive voice.

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    Fully agree. Even though voice-choice sounds too good to let go...
    – NofP
    Jun 24, 2019 at 21:01
  • Should I accept this answer? What should happen now?
    – PoorYorick
    Jun 26, 2019 at 8:39
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    I've merged the tags. Please update the tag wiki for the survivor (voice).
    – Monica Cellio
    Jun 26, 2019 at 15:21
  • @PoorYorick You should have the honors of editing the tag wiki, in whatever way seems suitable to you. It's a badge and maybe some points too (not sure).
    – Cyn
    Jun 26, 2019 at 15:33
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    Thanks, Cyn. @MonicaCellio, I have updated the tag wiki, now it just needs peer review.
    – PoorYorick
    Jun 27, 2019 at 12:02

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