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I edited this question about Kali Linux. The OP asked that a tag for Kali Linux be created. This seemed reasonable to me, so I added that tag.

My edit was approved, but the tag was removed by a moderator.

To be clear, I trust the moderator is much better able to judge the need for this tag than I am. I am not contesting his decision. I am, however, curious about the reasoning. Offensive Security themselves seem to find it different enough from BackTrack to give it a different name. So what is the reason for not giving Kali Linux a tag of its own?

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    Update: Just made backtrack a synonym of kali-linux...
    – AviD Mod
    Commented Nov 26, 2013 at 13:22

1 Answer 1

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First of all, Kali is not "different" from Backtrack, it is the rebranded name for a new version of the same product (at least, to my understanding - it's not something I handle regularly. Please correct me if I'm wrong...)

In general, I tend to disagree with ALL requests for "my question is about [X], make me a tag [X]!" from new users.
First, because usually there already other tags that could fit, but the new user is just not aware of them; and second, because by definition a tag should not have a single question. Tags are used most of all for categorization (also searching and some SEO, but most of all the categorization) - a category of one is not really a category. When there multiple questions that should be categorized together, as in "this question has something in common with that question", then it makes sense to create a tag for them.
Tags should not be used as a list of keywords that is a replacement for, or a summary of, the question itself. Indeed, tags should not add any new information not already present in the question (not saying this is the case here, just clarifying my position).

Removing the tag now just saves on tag-cleanup later, especially after it gets misused a lot....


That said, I did already have a second thought (and mentioned this in the chatroom...), that perhaps should in fact be created as a synonym for , or perhaps the opposite direction. Since it is not my forte, I left it there to consult with those that know...

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    Since Kali is the 'new' name for backtrack going forward it makes more sense for backtrack to be created as a synonym of Kali and not the other way around imo. :)
    – NULLZ
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:13
  • +1, what @D3C4FF said.
    – user10211
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:15
  • Thanks @D3C4FF - but isnt backtrack still more "well known" than kali?
    – AviD Mod
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:15
  • What I mean is, "Kali is the new name for backtrack", and not "Backtrack is the old name for Kali" (at least, not yet...)
    – AviD Mod
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:16
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    @AviD not anymore in my security circles. Its like the ethereal -> Wireshark thing all over again imo
    – NULLZ
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:16
  • Heh, I still call it ethereal.... :$
    – AviD Mod
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:17
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    Haha, see, that's what happens when you get old, you get stuck living in the past :P
    – NULLZ
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:17
  • Thanks @AviD, your answer explains it. I did notice Kali Linux in some other questions and answers, otherwise I wouldn't have tried to create the tag. A tag synonym sounds like a good idea. Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 9:18
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    I vote for kali-linux (not kali) to be a synonym of backtrack. In general, Sec.SE doesn't need tags for Linux distributions. Kali/BT gets in not because it's a Linux distribution, but because it's a tool commonly used by security professionals, like nmap and metasploit. Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 11:33
  • @Gilles so if it's not in as a distro, why "kali-linux" instead of just "kali"? And why kali->bt instead of bt->kali?
    – AviD Mod
    Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 13:48
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    @AviD I prefer kali-linux because it's the official name and it's more descriptive, but I don't think it's a big deal. The synonym should indeed have kali[-linux] as the main name since it's the name going forward. Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 14:00
  • @Gilles Couldn't you apply the same logic, regarding tag nomenclature, to backtrack? Or does that overflow the tag character limit?
    – Iszi
    Commented Aug 22, 2013 at 2:04

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