The tag alias #75326 bad_ending -> bad_end has been approved.

Reason: Same thing, and bad_ending is <100 posts. I would just go through and add bad_end to all posts with bad_ending, then remove bad_ending from everything, but I don't want to look at 70 gore pictures.

EDIT: The tag alias bad_ending -> bad_end (forum #440098) has been approved by @spe.

I think they should probably both be invalidated. "Bad end" is a term that comes from media where there are multiple possible endings, with some achieving the intended or desired goal ("good") and others indicating an undesired or unwanted result ("bad"), and is often used in reference to video games that have multiple endings based on player performance. "Bad" is a subjective term, in some games a "bad" end can be the good ending to certain people. The tag's use seems to vary between a death and gore, a character being raped, or a "Game Over" type screen, with no visual consistency.

We also have good_guy_loses and defeated_hero, which seems to cover mostly the same stuff while being more specific.

I like bad_end as a common term to describe a character losing in a gamified situation. It's generic enough to work as a catch-all and doesn't ascribe a personality to the characters involved. While a "bad" end is morally relative, the term is very common among discussion of porn games with hard or soft game overs (Grove, Prowler, Corruption of Champions, Trials in Tainted Space, Flexible Survival, Tavern of Spear, etc.) to the point where people see the term as synonymous with a specific kink - getting "bad ended". It's similar to the theme of "corruption", which is also an ambiguous and morally relative tag but is still useful for finding specific kink content.

In a vacuum, I approve of this alias since both tags mean the same thing, and as a tag, I think it's useful to keep so people can find that kink under a commonly used umbrella term.

song said:
I like bad_end as a common term to describe a character losing in a gamified situation. It's generic enough to work as a catch-all and doesn't ascribe a personality to the characters involved. While a "bad" end is morally relative, the term is very common among discussion of porn games with hard or soft game overs (Grove, Prowler, Corruption of Champions, Trials in Tainted Space, Flexible Survival, Tavern of Spear, etc.) to the point where people see the term as synonymous with a specific kink - getting "bad ended". It's similar to the theme of "corruption", which is also an ambiguous and morally relative tag but is still useful for finding specific kink content.

In a vacuum, I approve of this alias since both tags mean the same thing, and as a tag, I think it's useful to keep so people can find that kink under a commonly used umbrella term.

How different is this from game over?

leafdapple said:
How different is this from game over?

Game over doesn't imply or really encompass the idea of a bad end all that well. You can get a game over for mundane things like losing a team match, falling into a pit, or running out of lives, but these don't have the same connotations as a bad end in a game. To my understanding, bad ends are more along the lines of siding with a villain, surrendering to demons, etc. where there's a broad denigrative or corruptive element in-universe for the character(s) affected. Bad ends can also be alternate endings to a story as opposed to game overs (not strictly a failure condition), contrast with good ends and true endings.

song said:
Game over doesn't imply or really encompass the idea of a bad end all that well. You can get a game over for mundane things like losing a team match, falling into a pit, or running out of lives, but these don't have the same connotations as a bad end in a game. To my understanding, bad ends are more along the lines of siding with a villain, surrendering to demons, etc. where there's a broad denigrative or corruptive element in-universe for the character(s) affected. Bad ends can also be alternate endings to a story as opposed to game overs (not strictly a failure condition), contrast with good ends and true endings.

This really all sounds broad and vague, trying to mush together multiple disparate ideas. There doesn't seem to be an "idea of a bad end", but whatever someone feels like is a "bad"/kinky scenario. Looking at posts with the tag, we have stuff like

post #2266904
the villain of a story having the upper hand (not even an end, there's nothing to indicate they aren't still fighting and could overcome him). How would this not apply equally to any depiction of a contest/fight with someone winning? This would also necessitate bringing in external information about who the protagonists and antagonists of a story are.

post #5199108
game_over. Not to mention, it's not unusual for a game to have a "Game Over" screen after winning and the final scene concludes. How do we know Wolf Link wasn't on a quest to get laid? Need more external information to say whether this is the desired ending or not.

post #3596701
Just rape.

post #5238592
Just vore.

post #5362824
Just torture.

post #5182505
Free_use/after_sex.

And more, but I think my point's clear. These cover a broad range of concepts, where anything can fit into the tag if you really want it to.

I was under the impression that "bad end" was supposed to refer to a specific meme and that any other use of it was misuse.

The tag alias bad_ending -> bad_end (forum #440098) has been approved by @spe.

Make a separate request to invalidate the tag so it can be discussed/voted on properly. These are the same thing, so there’s no harm in consolidating them in the meantime.

The bulk update request #10511 is pending approval.

change category bad_end (1277) -> invalid

Reason: Better to invalidate rather than disambiguate in this scenario.

I think it'd be better to alias to invalid_tag since it can pretty much be anything.

watsit said:
I think it'd be better to alias to invalid_tag since it can pretty much be anything.

Depending on what it's tagged for, it could be game over or any of the other appropriate valid tags. Aliasing to invalid tag doesn't seem right in this case