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I noticed that we have multiple tags related to protection: , , , , and . Based on the tag wiki excerpt for , it seems to encompass , , and , and even arguably (which has no tag wiki but seems to be mostly used for thermal shutdown questions). This suggests that all (or at least some) should be synonyms and should possibly be merged. There also seem to be a handful of questions which fall outside the current tag wiki guidance for , e.g., how to protect oneself from dangers.

What should we do about this? Possibilities include:

  • Make all (or some) of the tags synonyms of the most general tag, (and possibly merge them). This seems like a good choice to me since it will likely result in correct tagging in the future, for at least two reasons:

    1. Users are more likely to type "protection" in the tag list than something like "over-voltage-protection".
    2. Even if users intend to use a specific tag like "surge-protection" many users type "surge protection" (no dash) which results in the use of two tags instead of the single, more specific one.

    If we do this, which tags should be synonyms? Should be expanded to other forms of "protection" beyond circuit protection?

  • Leave for circuit protection, use for other forms of protection (like protecting oneself, heat protection, etc.). This could be useful to differentiate these types of protection, however it seems likely to produce incorrect tagging (most users will probably just type "protection" even for circuit protection questions).

  • Leave all the tags. If we do this we should at a minimum provide tag wiki guidance for all the tags, so what should each of the tags -- especially -- be used for?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Are the tags at all meaningful? They are awfully broad. Overvoltage, undervoltage, transients, ESD, EMI, overcurrent, creepage, polarity, reverse voltage, heat, dust, moisture, chemicals... the list goes ever on. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lundin
    Commented Nov 4, 2016 at 13:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Lundin There are tags for esd, undervoltage (but not overvoltage), current-limiting, emi-filtering, etc. They are broad but could be useful as a catch-all for general circuit protection. A circuit might need to be protected from overvoltage, undervoltage, ESD, reverse voltage, transients, overcurrent, etc., all at the same time -- a question about such a circuit could run out of tags that could be applied. \$\endgroup\$
    – Null Mod
    Commented Nov 4, 2016 at 14:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ Wouldn't protection apply separately to non-circuit elements, such as the environment and physical properties? If so, is this still in the realm of "Electronics Design" or is it "Systems Design"? \$\endgroup\$
    – rdtsc
    Commented Nov 10, 2016 at 12:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ @rdtsc The tag wiki excerpt for protection specifically says that it's "circuitry", though. \$\endgroup\$
    – Null Mod
    Commented Nov 10, 2016 at 14:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ Physical protection and electrical protection? Like waterproofing a circuit vs ESD protection. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bradman175
    Commented Nov 16, 2016 at 10:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ Protection is too meta, and should be retagged and burninated, the other protections are descriptive and ok except for circuit protection which should be looked at. I don't think it should exist because it should be more specific. What kind of circuit protection? could be described by other tags \$\endgroup\$
    – Voltage Spike Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2021 at 16:07

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