The tag alias #58884 common_pigeon -> rock_dove has been rejected.

Reason: rock dove and common pigeon are synonymous

EDIT: The tag alias common_pigeon -> rock_dove (forum #344789) has been rejected by @gattonero2001.

Wouldn't it make more sense to alias in the other direction or for rock_dove to imply common_pigeon? Tags are not meant to be the most accurate, they are meant to reflect common language so uninitiated users can use them effectively.

oozeenthusiast said:
Wouldn't it make more sense to alias in the other direction or for rock_dove to imply common_pigeon? Tags are not meant to be the most accurate, they are meant to reflect common language so uninitiated users can use them effectively.

I mean, that's true for general tags it's not necessarily true for species, for example, we have bat aliased to chiropteran.

darryus said:
I mean, that's true for general tags it's not necessarily true for species, for example, we have bat aliased to chiropteran.

that's still dumb and bad and shouldn't be

strikerman said:
that's still dumb and bad and shouldn't be

I agree

strikerman said:

darryus said:
I mean, that's true for general tags it's not necessarily true for species, for example, we have bat aliased to chiropteran.

that's still dumb and bad and shouldn't be

quite frankly, you inspired me to reshuffle the ordering between opposum and didelphid

darryus said:
I mean, that's true for general tags it's not necessarily true for species, for example, we have bat aliased to chiropteran.

That's absolutely awful. Who's idea was that? Nobody looking for a bat is going to search chiropteran. It's not even more accurate, no biologist would call a bat a chiropteran, it's a name that only exists for clinical evolution charts and people trying too hard to be smart. This site shouldn't be either of those things.

oozeenthusiast said:
That's absolutely awful. Who's idea was that? Nobody looking for a bat is going to search chiropteran.

I mean, you don't have to, it's an alias so you can type bat into the search bar and it works just fine. the main problem with tags that aren't in plain, clear english is that they're a bit hard to parse when looking at/through the tag list, which is something that's considerably more important for general tags to be as they're way more numerous.

I agree with @OozeEnthusiast that it makes more sense the other way around. One specific reason for this preference is as follows.

The domesticated pigeon (Columba livia domestica), as a subspecies of the common pigeon (Columba livia), will often be referred to as a common pigeon yet is fairly frequently distinguished from the "pure" rock dove. This naming scheme can be seen in this webpage's "About" section on the rock dove, for instance.

To refer to a "pure" rock dove as a common pigeon would not run afoul of these guidelines, yet to refer to all common pigeons, including the domesticated pigeon, as rock doves would violate this naming pattern. Thus, aliasing rock_dove -> common_pigeon would respect the conventions in terminology when referring to domesticated and wild pigeons, whereas aliasing common_pigeon -> rock_dove would not.

All that being said, it is neither genetically nor taxonomically incorrect to call Columba livia domestica a rock dove -- just it violates the naming convention that some authors have chosen to observe.

+1 to alias both tags to "flying_rat" instead.

kemononiphoc said:

votp said:

+1 to alias both tags to "flying_rat" instead.

Damn, I was just about to say that!

+1 to ban votp and kemononiphoc for pigeon slander

dripen_arn said:
+1 to ban votp and kemononiphoc for pigeon slander

why would you assume that "rat" is a bad thing?

darryus said:
why would you assume that "rat" is a bad thing?

ah shit, your right

+1 to ban me for rat slander

I'm inclined to alias it the other way around. Yes, rock dove is another name for the common pigeon, but that doesn't make the latter name wrong. (Actually, it doesn't make either name wrong.)

Compare puma and cougar. Puma concolor has a lot of different names, all valid and none wrong, but the tag puma (for example) is aliased to cougar because we had to choose one over any others. "Rock dove" and "common pigeon" are both equally valid names, so the alias can go either way. However, my inclination rests upon the fact that the average user is more likely to know that "common pigeon" refers to one of those ubiquitous birds infesting our cities and towns. "Rock dove" just loses the bird in the clutter of all the other Columbiform birds, doves and pigeons alike.

In other words, we know what a common pigeon is more than we do a rock dove.

On a more serious note, as pigeons are feral-domestics/domestics, unless we also intend to alias all dog and dog breed tags to "gray_wolf" we should probably... not do this.

votp said:
On a more serious note, as pigeons are feral-domestics/domestics, unless we also intend to alias all dog and dog breed tags to "gray_wolf" we should probably... not do this.

if we were aliasing pigeon -> rock_dove then i'd agree. but this is requesting an alias to common_pigeon -> rock_dove. and the name common pigeon is actually an alias for rock dove in real life (as opposed to the general name pigeon or dove, which is synonymous with the family as a whole; Columbidae)

The tag alias common_pigeon -> rock_dove (forum #344789) has been rejected by @gattonero2001.