The bulk update request #11461 is active.

remove alias oposssum_penis (0) -> marsupial_penis (762)
remove alias posssum_penis (0) -> marsupial_penis (762)
create alias opossum_penis (0) -> marsupial_penis (762)
create alias possum_penis (0) -> marsupial_penis (762)
create alias possom (0) -> virginia_opossum (5766)
create alias opossom (1) -> american_opossum (12834)

Reason: Corrects some typo'd aliases into their intended form without the extra "s".

Also aliases away common misspellings of possum and opossum into the same tags as their counterparts. See tag history:
https://e621.net/post_versions?commit=Search&search%5Btags_added%5D=possom
https://e621.net/post_versions?commit=Search&search%5Btags_added%5D=opossom

EDIT: The bulk update request #11461 (forum #455398) has been approved by @spe.

possum is a different animal

nin10dope said:
possum is a different animal

Correct... sort of. For the longest time, e621 aliased it to phalangiform (AKA Australian possums), but that was a big problem. Possum is also a valid regional variant of opossum, especially the Virginia opossum, which is the predominant opossum/possum on the site. So, people were tagging possum a lot when they should have been tagging virginia_opossum and thus phalangiform kept getting tagged to a lot of posts it shouldn't have been.

So, it finally annoyed us enough to finally get around to fixing things based on how people were actually using the tag. We switched phalangiform and didelphid to Australian possum and American opossum so the layperson would know what animals we were talking about, aliased opossum to American opossum because that's what they are, and aliased possum to Virginia opossum because that's how Users were using the tag. Effectively, we disambiguated possum without making a disambiguation tag.

If you'd like more insight on why we did it that way, there's this thread from a first attempt at the switch over and my reasoning at the end of the actual switch over BURs.

clawstripe said:
-snip-

God damnit, I KNOW I shouldn't Google these things, but here I am, palm on my face and phone in my hand, as I am here to say that, yes, your reasoning is sound, and no, no one should ever have to Google that.

clawstripe said:
Correct... sort of. For the longest time, e621 aliased it to phalangiform (AKA Australian possums), but that was a big problem. Possum is also a valid regional variant of opossum, especially the Virginia opossum, which is the predominant opossum/possum on the site. So, people were tagging possum a lot when they should have been tagging virginia_opossum and thus phalangiform kept getting tagged to a lot of posts it shouldn't have been.

So, it finally annoyed us enough to finally get around to fixing things based on how people were actually using the tag. We switched phalangiform and didelphid to Australian possum and American opossum so the layperson would know what animals we were talking about, aliased opossum to American opossum because that's what they are, and aliased possum to Virginia opossum because that's how Users were using the tag. Effectively, we disambiguated possum without making a disambiguation tag.

If you'd like more insight on why we did it that way, there's this thread from a first attempt at the switch over and my reasoning at the end of the actual switch over BURs.

You're right, it just felt necessary to bring the difference up. Without going to those topics, I feel like I was probably there or at least saw them. At the risk of sounding like another frequent forum user, I wanted to be a stickler to absolute correctness with possums in particular. I wish there was a better name for the genera of Australian possums

Ah well, back to a thumbs-up, I initially was + but changed it to - at least until what I had to say was heard

The bulk update request #11461 (forum #455398) has been approved by @spe.