Topic: [REJECTED] Mopping Up "Mobian" (BUR)

Posted under Tag Alias and Implication Suggestions

The bulk update request #3536 has been rejected.

create alias mobian_bat (3) -> bat (56322)
create alias mobian_fox (3) -> fox (367407)
create alias mobian_hedgehog (1) -> hedgehog (45358)
create alias mobian_lynx (3) -> lynx (21953)
create alias mobian_rabbit (5) -> rabbit (230550)
create alias mobian_chipmunk (2) -> chipmunk (9658)
create alias mobian_snake (3) -> snake (47590)
create alias mobian_cat (4) -> domestic_cat (279686)
create alias mobian_dog (1) -> domestic_dog (343054)
create alias mobian_pred (0) -> invalid_tag (3)
create alias mobian_prey (0) -> invalid_tag (3)

Reason: These tags are all redundant and little used in comparison with the massive amount of Sonic fanart there is on this site, they don't serve any purpose - what's the difference between a "mobian fox" and an anthropomorphic fox besides the art style the character is drawn in? These tags seem to only be added by a couple of users as "filler" tags in addition to the actual species tags, but these redundant tags could lead to mistags in the future, so they should be aliased away.

Mobian (species) aliases to sonic the hedgehog (series), so this BUR has each tag alias to the series name, but depending on feedback, these could instead be aliased over to each individual species instead. On second thought, aliasing to the individual species seems like a better idea.

The final two are also filler tags that crop up on Sonic vore posts, and like the mobian_* tags, are undertagged and don't seem to have any use, but I have no idea what to do with them besides aliasing them to invalid to prevent their usage, aliasing to the series, or recategorizing them (which wouldn't stop them from being used, but would make them invalid tags).

EDIT: The bulk update request #3536 (forum #349758) has been rejected by @maplebytes.

Updated by auto moderator

Compare to topic #35709, which takes the alternate route. I think the alternate route would be better since it's possible for someone's Sonic OC to be tagged as a "mobian_x" species, without anything official to the Sonic series being present, or even being in the "Sonic style".

watsit said:
Compare to topic #35709, which takes the alternate route. I think the alternate route would be better since it's possible for someone's Sonic OC to be tagged as a "mobian_x" species, without anything official to the Sonic series being present, or even being in the "Sonic style".

The problem is that there's nothing concrete that differentiates a "mobian x" from a normal "x" besides whether they're drawn in a style identical to, or at least somewhat similar to, the Sonic franchise. For example, is Comet_the_dog a "Mobian Dog" even when he's drawn in a completely non-Sonic style? Is he only a Mobian Dog when drawn in the Sonic style? Is he even intended to be connected to the Sonic franchise beyond the style he's drawn in? It seems more sensible to just stick with the established species so that these characters don't change species or have species arbitrarily assigned based on art style.

The other big practical issue is that if we were to keep these tags, there would need to be a massive tag project to bring every single Sonic character and fan character in line with these tags, arguably for little benefit, all of these mobian_x tags together are tagged on 564 posts (probably less because of multiple tags applied to a single post), while there are over 76.7 thousand posts under the Sonic franchise tag.

And going by that thread, it's not even a term that's used consistently in the Sonic franchise, and doesn't have a real definition besides "anthropomorphic characters in the Sonic universe", making it even less appropriate to keep around.

Updated

  • 1