The tag implication #50361 cecaelia -> octopus_merfolk has been rejected.

Reason: Octomaid is just another word for an octopus mermaid

EDIT: The tag implication octomaid -> octopus_merfolk (forum #360543) has been rejected by @furrypickle.

Should this be an alias, then?

Both should be aliased to cecaelia.

The tag implication octomaid -> octopus_merfolk (forum #360543) has been rejected by @furrypickle.

The bulk update request #4562 is pending approval.

create alias octopus_merfolk (36) -> cecaelia (410)

Reason: It looks like octomaid -> cecaelia is already suggested (and debated) here, 6 years ago: https://e621.net/forum_topics/21435

I could see both going to -> octopus_merfolk as a compromise, if necessary. Or keeping both going to -> cecaelia.

Although I had never heard of the term cecaelia before... on the other hand, that can happen sometimes even with established but niche terms. So that alone doesn't really mean too much.

Looking into it, it does look like the term is fairly recently coined, and has been gaining somewhat in use over the last few years. More than the thread conversation from 6 years ago could have known whether or not it would. So I think it is probably a newish term, and it's a little more recognizable now, than it was then. Looks like it has become fairly established and accepted overall. It's still a little bit uncommon...But then again, so is the creature it is describing. Other than Ursula, there hasn't been a whole lot to popularize this type of creature. Although, the more people who draw it, then the more people have a reason to use a name for it, etc etc. So that is another part of the picture here as well.

I do like how cecaelia does seem to have a decent definition and concept for it in our wiki.

In contrast, something like "octopus_merfolk" could easily slip to a broader "anything that is octopus+anthro/humanoid" use over time, instead of keeping that specific body type described in the cecaelia wiki here. Also, cecaelia can be any cephalopod... but using "octopus_*" anything excludes squid or ambiguous styles, which doesn't seem helpful to narrow it that much. And octomaid has that same octopus-centric problem, + the genderizing problem.

So I'm a bit inclined to keep cecaelia.

Whatever name we pick, aliasing the other two terms to that will help people find it regardless.

furrypickle said:
In contrast, something like "octopus_merfolk" could easily slip to a broader "anything that is octopus+anthro/humanoid" use over time, instead of keeping that specific body type described in the cecaelia wiki here. Also, cecaelia can be any cephalopod... but using "octopus_*" anything excludes squid or ambiguous styles, which doesn't seem helpful to narrow it that much. And octomaid has that same octopus-centric problem, + the genderizing problem.

"Octopus merfolk" is supposed to apply exclusively to a split form in which the bottom half is octopus tentacles. It would imply "cephalopod merfolk" along with "squid merfolk". The "X merfolk" system is supposed to be analogous to the "X taur" system, but for marine animals without terrestrial limbs.

In this case, a tag like "octopus merfolk" (for example) is designed to fit a narrow definition and be supplemented by other similar tags.

To have an idea of how the system would work in practice, please check the species tags in post #3523790 and post #3526114.