Should we create Bedrock and Java edition specific tags for Minecraft questions?

Question

I recently began writing highly detailed Q&A for creating add-ons in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (here is the first one publicly available). With that in mind, there are a few more in the works surrounding more specific topics such as:

• How can I create a custom item in my Minecraft: Bedrock Edition add-on?
• How can I create a custom entity in my Minecraft: Bedrock Edition add-on?
• How can I create a custom block in my Minecraft: Bedrock Edition add-on?

However, we currently only have the tags minecraft and minecraft-modding. My concern is that if these Q&A begin generating more questions related to Minecraft customization, it may be beneficial to have tags for the respective Java and Bedrock editions at a minimum since customizations between the two games are vastly different.

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🛠️ The Modding Suffix

This related post examines the idea (that seems to have been approved) that tags surrounding the modification of games, should be something like gamename-modding:

I propose that we rename game-specific tags to have a "-modding" suffix, so we'd have skyrim-modding and the like.

With this however, if the community consensus is for the creation of the version specific tags, then how do we handle this going forward? Do we create a modding tag for each too, or, do we simply retain the minecraft-modding tag and that gets added to the question?

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Should we create the tags minecraft-bedrock-edition and minecraft-java-edition to help separate questions in the future? If yes, should we retire the minecraft tag?

Answer 1

👍 Yes

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My arguments for yes are mostly organizational. Having version specific tagging, at least for Minecraft, will help users find questions relevant to the version they're playing, improve search results, and, potentially reduce duplicates by increasing question visibility.

Another benefit is for clarity with concise question titles, for example, if I ask the question "How can I change the sound that plays when placing wooden blocks?", then the answer is slightly different between the two versions. In Java edition, this sound is "block.wood.place" but in Bedrock edition, its "sounds/step/wood1-6".

As an added note, from a technical aspect, Java and Bedrock editions are separate games.

Answer 2

Should we create the tags minecraft-bedrock-edition and minecraft-java-edition to help separate questions in the future?

In the case we get a consensus on Yes, I think we should keep the tags in line with the other modding tags:

• minecraft-bedrock-modding
• minecraft-java-modding

Answer 3

If yes, should we retire the minecraft tag?

The minecraft tag is currently a synonym for the minecraft-modding tag.

So retiring one means retiring the other.

This is a complicated task as it requires to visit every question and update the tag, and will probably depend on the answer to the question

Does it even make sense to allow minecraft-modding questions if they do not specify which Edition they're about?

If it does not make sense to allow "minecraft-modding" questions, then I suppose we'll need to visit every question, update the tag if the text of the question makes it clear which edition it is about, and close the other questions as "needs details", then watch for anyone asking new questions about it and ask them to specify the edition (a bit like we do with unityscript) (that is, we will not add it to the "black list").

If it does make sense to still have questions about minecraft-modding without specifying the edition, then there is not really a need to worry about it.

Answer 4

🙅 No

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Creating additional tags isn't something (in my opinion) that should be done on a whim, but rather based on community demand. With focus on my earlier concerns, there's a big if. There's a possibility (and, it's a pretty good possibility) that traffic surrounding Minecraft customizations remains consistent with current trends. This isn't something that changes overnight, not even over the course of a month (without major influence), but rather over the course of a year or more. So, why create a tag now? Why not wait a while until we have an influx of questions that demonstrate a need for tags that separate the versions. In the same example given for my yes arguments, one could simply say that the title or question content should specify the version, given the absence of specific tags.