The tag alias #54720 latex_clothing -> rubber_clothing has been rejected.

Reason: to fit in with the latex -> rubber alias that is currently implemented.
as well, rubber_clothing -> rubber and rubber_clothing -> clothing implications would be useful

EDIT: The tag alias latex_clothing -> rubber_clothing (forum #318186) has been rejected by @Rainbow_Dash.

idk, I'm split. Rubber makes sense and is easier to remember tagging.
but Latex...you just know latex in a drawing when you see it.

I was never really sure about this alias in the first place. Latex is a specific type of rubber, but not all rubber is latex. I understand you’re just following the formula that’s already been set in place, but I still kinda feel like it should be changed to an implication from all the latex tags to rubber rather than an alias.

imo either this alias should be approved or there should be some reasonable definition on the difference between "rubber" and "latex" in image tagging. as it is now, despite rubber and latex not being the same thing, it feels rather difficult to know which is which on a "tag what you see" basis.
so i think the latex_clothing -> rubber_clothing alias makes sense.

I did make a forum post on this myself quite recently, since I was planning to make an alias request from one to another.

I think it’s important for us to search the true definitions of ‘latex’ and ‘rubber’ (outside of e621). After several minutes digging around the internet, this is what I found regarding the differences between latex and rubber.

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Merriam Webster defines the two substances as the following:

Latex -
”a milky usually white fluid that is produced by cells of various seed plants (as of the milkweed, spurge, and poppy families) and is the source of rubber, gutta-percha, chicle, and balata.”

Rubber -
“an elastic substance that is obtained by coagulating the milky juice of any of various tropical plants (as of the genera Hevea and Ficus), is essentially a polymer of isoprene, and is prepared as sheets and then dried.”
and/or
“natural or synthetic rubber modified by chemical treatment to increase its useful properties (such as toughness and resistance to wear) and used especially in tires, electrical insulation, and waterproof materials.”

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Here is an interesting explanation I found online at https://info.unigloves.co.uk/blog/latex-vs-rubber-gloves

“Latex is a stable emulsion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. It is found naturally, but synthetic latexes (or latices) can be made too.  It is the liquid form, usually before it is converted into a solid product.
Rubber is a durable, waterproof, elastic substance made from latex, either natural or synthetic.  This is usually the finished product or at the very least a solid intermediary.”
“The term ‘rubber’ refers to durable, waterproof and elastic material made from natural or synthetic latex. Where rubber is usually the finished product, latex refers to the liquid form; a stable emulsion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous solution. It can be found naturally or manufactured synthetically and is eventually processed into a solid (non-liquid) rubber product.”

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So, long story short, latex is defined as a liquid substance while rubber is defined as the final solid product created from latex.

With that in mind, an alias would seem reasonable, but false, since they both are too different from each other. An implication would probably make more sence, but even here I’m not so sure.

even considering that, you also have to consider how people would use it.
people tag "latex" not to mean the liquid, but the... uh.. fabric, i guess you could call it.
you could.. maybe fix this by aliasing all "latex" to "liquid_latex" or something? so that "latex" becomes the liquid form and "rubber" is the solid?
but then i feel like it would just be mistagged all the time.

I think the main issue here is the fact that ‘latex’ is currently aliased to ‘rubber’, which is a huge error when you acknowledge the fact that they are both different. This has caused a lot of confussion within e621‘s tagging system. An implication at most would have made things much better and clearer.

you could.. maybe fix this by aliasing all "latex" to "liquid_latex" or something? so that "latex" becomes the liquid form and "rubber" is the solid?
but then i feel like it would just be mistagged all the time.

On the contrary it would make tagging much clearer, since the true definitions of latex and rubber are taken into account. A separate ‘latex’ tag would be ideal in this case, but to alias everything latex related to ‘latex’ is just overkill.
Even if people start to mistag posts due to confusing rubber with latex or latex with rubber, they can simply refer to the wiki pages and see the differences there.

Going back to your alias request,
If we accept that ‘latex’ is different from ‘rubber’, than they shouldn’t be aliased anymore and the two tags you are requesting must remain as individual tags. An implication might be a better option, but it is still disputable. I mean I haven’t heard of clothing made of pure latex (liquid form, not solid), but it is possible that there are some posts around here that more or less depict that.

If we still decide that ‘latex’ should remain aliased to ‘rubber’, than your alias request (latex_clothing -> rubber_clothing) might as well be correct.

i guess to continue off of that–if we say rubber is the solid form and latex is the liquid form....
then what is "latex clothing...?" clothing that's.. liquid latex? i don't see how anyone would be able to Visibly differentiate between "latex clothing" and "rubber clothing"

That’s a good question.

Here are some examples I found on e621 that can (hopefully) clarify the problem.

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Clothing that can be classified as latex clothing:
post #2021458 post #1896629 post #2669857 post #2418074 post #2053320

In the examples above, you can see how the ‘clothing’ is of a liquid/gooey substance. You may think that this can also imply living latex, goo creature, latex transformation, liquid latex, etc. But as long as it is clear that latex is being used/shaped as a form of clothing on a character, this tag can be used.

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Clothing that can be classified as rubber clothing:
post #2958417 post #2742448 post #2669738 post #2958287 post #2915058

In the examples here, the clothing appears to be in a ‘solid’ state. There is no presence of goo or fluids that suggest the clothing/suit is out of (liquid) latex.

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i don't see how anyone would be able to Visibly differentiate between "latex clothing" and "rubber clothing"

An implication from rubber clothing to latex clothing can be helpful in this situation, since rubber is made out of latex.

If it is unclear to determine whether the clothing in a post is out of latex or rubber, than the latex clothing tag should be used as a fallback.
Just like when one can’t determine what type of body a character has (xxx_scales, xxx_fur, xxx_feathers, xxx_skin, etc.) and an ‘xxx_body’ tag is used instead.

so to clarify, it would be something like (and i'll just make up shorthand for this for now)–

rubber_clothing i-> latex_clothing
rubber_clothing i-> rubber
rubber_clothing i-> clothing

latex clothing i-> latex
latex_clothing i-> clothing

rubber i-> latex
and then either liquid_latex a-> latex or liquid_latex i-> latex, if we're counting latex as "both solid AND liquid forms" then an implication would make more sense.

meowmcmeow said:
so to clarify, it would be something like (and i'll just make up shorthand for this for now)–

rubber_clothing i-> latex_clothing
rubber_clothing i-> rubber
rubber_clothing i-> clothing

latex clothing i-> latex
latex_clothing i-> clothing

rubber i-> latex

All of the above seem alright so far.

meowmcmeow said:
and then either liquid_latex a-> latex or liquid_latex i-> latex, if we're counting latex as "both solid AND liquid forms" then an implication would make more sense.

An implication would be better.

BTW, I started a new forum topic a few days ago regarding “latex” and “rubber” in general. We mentioned clothing as well. If you are interested, you can check it out here: topic #31106. You can skip over to the end where you can find the latest solution.

I can't see latex being directly implicated to rubber. Latex is just a kind of rubber, no matter what state of matter it is found, so, in this very case, an implication would be way more appropriate imo

The tag alias latex_clothing -> rubber_clothing (forum #318186) has been rejected by @Rainbow_Dash.