The bulk update request #2972 is active.

create alias mechanical_fan (0) -> electric_fan (1530)
mass update rotary_fan -> oscillating_fan
create alias portable_fan (0) -> handheld_electric_fan (35)
create implication oscillating_fan (535) -> electric_fan (1530)
create implication handheld_electric_fan (35) -> electric_fan (1530)
create implication box_fan (29) -> electric_fan (1530)
create implication ceiling_fan (299) -> electric_fan (1530)
create implication bladeless_fan (5) -> electric_fan (1530)

Reason:
1. "Mechanical fan" is tagged on a handful of posts, and is used in every case to describe an electric fan.
^{"Mechanical fan" could describe fans on a computer case or car engine, or potentially a mechanically driven fan (a fan powered using a spring or crank), but the former isn't particularly worth tagging (and a vague use of "mechanical fan" anyways), and the latter is unlikely to ever show up on e621.}
2. rotary_fan is currently being used to tag oscillating electric fans, the name should be corrected, as "rotary" actually describes the motion of the blades (most fans are rotary fans)
3. Portable fan is a vague tag that can be confused for fans which can simply be moved easily, or traditional hand fans
4. Oscillating fans are electric fans
5. Handheld electric fans are... electric fans
6. Box fans are electric fans in a box frame
7. Ceiling fans are electric fans
8. Bladeless fans are electric fans

• "rotary fan" was the only tag I could find being used for an oscillating fan (the actual term) when I added a large number of posts, but it's not a really a term outside of this site, depending on feedback, the BUR could be updated to change "rotary fan" to oscillating_fan or rotating_fan
• portable_fan could be updated to a more specific name (battery_fan? handheld_electric_fan? portable_electric_fan?), traditional hand fans are alsoportable

Edit: changed the BUR a little:

• Added bladeless_fan
• Added mass update of rotary_fan to oscillating_fan
• handheld_electric_fan may be a better tag name for portable_fan as opposed to portable_electric_fan, there are small desktop oscillating fans that can be portable (battery or USB powered) or wired fans considered portable because of their size, but aren't handheld.

EDIT: The bulk update request #2972 (forum #341240) has been approved by @gattonero2001.

hungrymaple said:

• "rotary fan" was the only tag I could find being used for an oscillating fan (the actual term) when I added a large number of posts, but it's not a really a term outside of this site, depending on feedback, the BUR could be updated to change "rotary fan" to oscillating_fan or rotating_fan

+1 for oscillating_fan

• portable_fan could be updated to a more specific name (battery_fan? handheld_electric_fan? portable_electric_fan?), traditional hand fans are also portable

+1 for portable_electric_fan

Add bladeless_fan too please

Alternatively: Biggest Fans (BUR)
Contains more ideas, but flips the mechanical_fan -> electric_fan alias.

furrin_gok said:
Alternatively: Biggest Fans (BUR)
Contains more ideas, but flips the mechanical_fan -> electric_fan alias.

Disagree with the flipping, "mechanical" has far fewer posts, and isn't what most people call an electrically powered fan.

Additionally fan_(utility) would be better described as fan_(machine) or fan_(object), however, I'm not sure if we need a tag to encompass both manual and electric fans; the portable_fan -> rotary_fan implication doesn't make sense, unless "rotary" describes the motion of the blades, rather than the rotation of the head of the fan, in which case, all electric fans outside of bladeless fans are "rotary".

hungrymaple said:
Disagree with the flipping, "mechanical" has far fewer posts, and isn't what most people call an electrically powered fan.

Additionally fan_(utility) would be better described as fan_(machine) or fan_(object), however, I'm not sure if we need a tag to encompass both manual and electric fans; the portable_fan -> rotary_fan implication doesn't make sense, unless "rotary" describes the motion of the blades, rather than the rotation of the head of the fan, in which case, all electric fans outside of bladeless fans are "rotary".

A rotary fan is any fan that spins its blades in a circle around the head, an oscillating fan is a fan that moves left and right (or up and down in some cases).

furrin_gok said:
A rotary fan is any fan that spins its blades in a circle around the head, an oscillating fan is a fan that moves left and right (or up and down in some cases).

In that case, rotary fan should definitely be updated to oscillating_fan, even before my adding more posts, the entire tag was oscillating fans, maybe someone misunderstood "rotary" for "rotating back and forth"? I'm reluctant to alias rotary_fan to oscillating_fan, so I'll just change the BUR to update the contents of the tag instead.

+1
Is there a reason rotary_fan shouldn't be aliased to electric_fan? Aren't all electric fans rotary fans, except the bladeless ones which have their own tag?

The bulk update request #2972 (forum #341240) has been approved by @gattonero2001.