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I tried to add a new tag: unity-2017.2 the other day with my question

What is the size limit to the Unity 2017.2 Tilemap?

It was later removed by a moderator, but I still think we need a new tag, even if not exactly what I tried to create.

We currently have unity, and unity5 as tags to differentiate general unity questions from questions about specific features to that unity version.

My question was in regard to the Tilemap feature new to Unity 2017.

As such, a new tag specific to Unity 2017 would allow filtering between topics about Tilemap, now standard to Unity, and the older questions related to TileD and other non-unity-developed Tilemap plugins.

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We currently have unity, and unity5 as tags to differentiate general unity questions from questions about specific features to that unity version.

That's not exactly the case.

Taking a look at the page for unity tag synonyms, you'll see unity5. This means that and represent the same thing, with the "front face" being unity.

It's been discussed and decided the in the past that there was little value to add a tag for a specific increment of the engine. Like with the đź”— tag that we had, users tend to tag their question with everything they think is valid. Letting users tag a question with unity and unity-2017 that is not specifically about the features that are exclusive to that version will end up polluting the new tag anyway.

Also, the feature you're mentioning seems to have been implemented in Unity 2017.2. To be perfectly consistent, we'd need a tag for each release of Unity in order to cover the new features. I don't think it's a good idea as we'll end up with a lot more of what I've described before. What if you need a feature from Unity 2017.2 and one from Unity 2018.1?

We've also decided in the past to convert unity-related tags to being synonym of unity. Maybe the concept of tilemap in Unity 2017.2 is so different than what the basics of are that we'd need a unity-tilemap tag. But then again, we'd need a watchdog for that tag, able to distinguish if the question is about using the feature of the engine or not.

An alternative approach is to use the search.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I agree with this; in general I believe that versioned tags add more noise than they are worth, promote over-classification of minutiae in questions, and create too much space for duplicate-or-not rules-lawyering. There hasn't been a lot of support or strong arguments for keeping them when they crop up. \$\endgroup\$
    – user1430
    Nov 20, 2017 at 18:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ I agree to most of your points, but one drawback to the search you provided is that it only works if the Asker makes that distinction. After this new feature, most user looking for answers to this in unity will be inquiring about the built-in feature rather than what it used to mean: tilemap plugins/add-ons. How can we differentiate from the old context to the new, if not through a specific tag? \$\endgroup\$
    – Stephan
    Nov 20, 2017 at 19:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Stephan There are alternatives: users can sort the posts with the newest tab, or they can use advanced search features to include dates. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vaillancourt Mod
    Nov 20, 2017 at 19:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm not entirely familiar with how the synonyms work, would a unity 2017.2 synonym be of any value? \$\endgroup\$
    – Stephan
    Nov 20, 2017 at 19:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Stephan The tag synonym feature can be viewed as a way to redirect/funnel traffic when tagging a question. A good example is the formula. Users who search for a tag and type formula will be presented with the mathematics tag instead. After that, there is no way to distinguish if a question has been tagged with formula or mathematics. The only use I'd see with a tag for unity-2017 would be to stop users from trying to re-create the unity-2017 tag again and again. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vaillancourt Mod
    Nov 20, 2017 at 19:19
  • \$\begingroup\$ Ok fair enough. And i just found the suggested tags section, so sorry for cluttering Meta with this. Thanks for clarifying everyone! \$\endgroup\$
    – Stephan
    Nov 20, 2017 at 19:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Stephan There is no such thing as cluttering Meta with this :) Thanks for bringing that here, Meta is made for that :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Vaillancourt Mod
    Nov 20, 2017 at 19:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ Having a unity-tilemap tag would make it the scenemanager problem all over again. I think specific features can be identified with a simple one-word tag, in this case, there's already a tag for tilemap and tagging the question with unity and tilemap should provide the clarity needed for anyone reading the title and the tags. \$\endgroup\$
    – John Hamilton
    Nov 29, 2017 at 12:26

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