Tag combining
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For help, advice, talk and arguments about combining or separating tags, go to the Combiners! group.
[edit] How do I combine tags?
Tags listed in the Related Tags box on a tag page can be combined. You can also use these methods to combine tags, if not available in the user interface. Tag combining is limited to annual or lifetime members.
You can combine by pasting the following in the URL bar: http://www.librarything.com/combinetags_combine.php?tag1=xxxxx&tag2=yyyyy
Another option is to go to the tag combination page (e.g., http://www.librarything.com/tagcombine.php?tag=xxxxx) and enter javascript:combineTags('xxxxx','yyyyy').
Use the plus sign when you have a space in the tag. For instance, if your "xxxxx" term is "world war 2" replace "xxxxx" with "world+war+2".
One warning: if X has already been combined into Y, and you want to combine Z with them, you have to combine Y and Z. If you combine X and Z, Z won't show up on the page for the combined tag.
[edit] What not to combine?
Only tags that are identical in BOTH meaning and use should be combined.
In general, tags should be combined only if they ALWAYS overlap in meaning, not if they CAN overlap.
Combining acronyms with non-acronyms should be avoided in general. For instance, combining "world war 2" with "world war ii" is good; combining "science fiction" with "SF" is not good, since other people use SF to mean "San Francisco" (or something else entirely).
Combining singular with plurals should be avoided in general. For instance, 'prayer' might mean the general concept of prayer where 'prayers' may mean a set of prayers. Similarly, multi-word and single word terms should be carefully researched before combining. For instance, "am history" could mean "American History", "Amarillo History", or "for a morning history class".