The "security" tag is ambiguous. Should we re-define it according to the general meaning?

Question

I just noticed the security tag has an ambiguous meaning. I started to address this with some tag edits, and then realized I should post here about it so we can discuss & document the decision, since I'm also proposing to change the current tag wiki definition.

Here's the problem:

• On the one hand, the tag wiki currently defines "security" in the sense of finance: "A security (also known as a financial instrument) is a tradable asset of any kind. For questions related to a specific asset class, use a specific tag, e.g. "stock" or "bond"." There are/were a handful of questions that used the tag in this sense.

• On the other hand, most of the questions that actually use the security tag relate to the more general meaning, i.e. of being free from danger/threat or guarding against such. Questions using it in this sense talk about security tokens, online security, login credentials, identity theft, whether you can trust a company, etc.

I was thinking we would prefer that latter more general definition, since:

1. It is the prevalent use here already, and
2. I can't see the finance-specific term "security" being of significant use around here since we've already got very specific tags for the kinds of securities individuals deal with: stocks, bonds, options, mutual-funds, certificate-of-deposit, etc.

So:

Should the security tag be re-defined to mean only the concept of security as in being free from danger/threat or guarding against such, e.g. as in "computer security". I propose yes. Discuss :)

Answer 1

I agree with your proposed redefinition. I'm in favor of the more general definition because

1. I think the term "security" will come up in more searches for topics related to the general definition. We already have tags addressing topics that relate to "all financial securities", e.g. investing and trading.

2. This is a minor point, but the term "security" can be somewhat ambiguous, e.g. in these questions. As I said above, the general tags that cover topics that concern securities are more than adequate, in my opinion.

3. It's a purely normative preference, but tags that apply to multiple, mostly orthogonal concepts, e.g. "stocks" and "password security" should probably be split into more specific tags if possible.