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I just noticed that there is a large amount of tag wiki excerpts edits in the review queue, all of which are of the form:

X is for questions about X

A tag wiki excerpt should define what a term means to our community specifically and give usage advice. In particular, Stack Exchange offers the following default reason for rejecting an excerpt:

Tag excerpts amounting to, "[tag] is for questions about [tag]" are pointless and usually rejected. Excerpts should describe why and when a tag would be used.

See the help center for more details on what a tag excerpt should be.

While obviously well-intended, I believe such tag wiki excerpts should not be suggested (and/or approved). This post is to serve as a gentle reminder of that.

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  • $\begingroup$ I apologize, as I think I submitted a few bad examples. In some cases, it's hard to come up with an excerpt for tags that are considered "common knowledge" such as hotend or g-code. I, personally, find it easier to provide the details of the types of questions in the details. So, what would you suggest doing for an excerpt for "common sense" tags? $\endgroup$
    – tbm0115
    Mar 28, 2016 at 14:22

2 Answers 2

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Tag excerpts should at least try and give a concise definition as to the subject, and provided any usage guidance if necessary.

Therefore, you need to make sure to address a set of key points:

  • Is the tag name ambiguous? Will an amateur be able to understand the subject without having to research it? For example, what on earth is ?
  • Can the word have multiple meanings? If yes, you need to be specific as to which meaning you want. For example, vs
  • Are their cases when the tag should not be used?
  • Likewise, are their cases when the tag should be used?
  • Is the existing excerpt empty? Something is usually better than nothing.

In general, excerpts should provide at least some guidance, even if it may appear to be ridiculously basic. Therefore, interpretation of the rejection reason is critical:

Tag excerpts amounting to, "[tag] is for questions about [tag]" are pointless and usually rejected. Excerpts should describe why and when a tag would be used.

That's like saying, [abs]: For questions about [abs] filaments. That should probably be rejected.

This is better: [abs]: For questions about [abs] filaments - filaments that are used with blah blah printers, and are not toxic for use.

Or even better: [abs]: For questions about [abs] filaments - filaments that are used with blah blah printers, and are not toxic for use. Not to be confused with [pla] filaments. Do not use this tag if your question does not concern this filament specifically.

Obviously, I have no idea if abs is even a thing. Anyways, I hope this helps :)

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For reference, I would like to propose a copy-paste solution for tags.

Usage Guidance

For questions regarding {insert list of applicable topics} of {Tag Name}.

Details

{Tag name, unabbreviated}: {Definition}

Examples:
 - What is {blah blah blah}?
 - Where can I find {blah blah blah}?
 - Why does {blah blah blah}?
 - How do I {blah blah blah}?
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