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1hnn
I just went ahead and combined "sf" with all the rest of the "science fiction" crowd. Or is there any hidden semantic in "sf" , different from "science fiction", which should have stopped me?
2Edward
My impression from watching the tag combination log is that "sf" is regularly combined into "science fiction" only to be separated again. So somebody will almost certainly separate it this time.
Combining 2-letter and 3-letter abbreviations is risky because they tend to have multiple meanings. I recall a complaint about the "sf"/"science fiction" combination, shortly after tag combining was introduced, from someone who used "sf" as an abbreviation for "San Francisco".
Combining 2-letter and 3-letter abbreviations is risky because they tend to have multiple meanings. I recall a complaint about the "sf"/"science fiction" combination, shortly after tag combining was introduced, from someone who used "sf" as an abbreviation for "San Francisco".
3HoldenCarver
The problem with combining 'sf' with 'science-ficition' is that, as Edward says, it can mean more than one thing. And while for you it may mean 'science-fiction', to others it may mean 'speculative fiction'. And to other people, science-ficition and speculative fiction may not be the same thing, so it all gets uncombined again. Given that both science and speculative fiction abbreviate to 'sf', where does it go? Impossible to say, so best not combine it.
Things like this lead to getting the 'similar, but not the same' groupings with these tags, where all the obviously science-fiction/sci-fi/etc tags are combined, but they're not combined with the 'science-fiction/fantasy' tags, which are in turn not combined with the fantasy tags.
Or to look at it on another level, you get people who think that 'sf' is the 'serious' label for proper works of science-fiction, while sci-fi is just rubbishy popular stuff like Star Trek, so therefore ne'er the twain should meet.
(Not everything written above is my personal view, I'm just running through a number of reasons why the tag 'sf' shouldn't be combined with anything.)
Things like this lead to getting the 'similar, but not the same' groupings with these tags, where all the obviously science-fiction/sci-fi/etc tags are combined, but they're not combined with the 'science-fiction/fantasy' tags, which are in turn not combined with the fantasy tags.
Or to look at it on another level, you get people who think that 'sf' is the 'serious' label for proper works of science-fiction, while sci-fi is just rubbishy popular stuff like Star Trek, so therefore ne'er the twain should meet.
(Not everything written above is my personal view, I'm just running through a number of reasons why the tag 'sf' shouldn't be combined with anything.)
4hnn
OK, I understand (even if I don't agree). Anyway, someone has just separated them again. Never mind...
(How come there is no log of separations, just combinations (and just those still valid)? There is no trace of my sf combination or the subsequent separation).
(How come there is no log of separations, just combinations (and just those still valid)? There is no trace of my sf combination or the subsequent separation).
5HoldenCarver
I think the reason separations aren't logged are so that those who separate aren't subject to abuse from the combiner (or others) if they feel aggrieved.
