Posted under Tags
What IS the difference between the two?
The wiki for tail hold says "Don't confuse it with the act of holding a tail, which would be tagged either holding own tail or holding another's tail." yet there's a handful of posts with the tag depicting just that
That said, the description also sounds like it describes prehensile tail. So what IS the difference between the two?
A quick glance at prehensile tail suggests that it might be useful in cases where a tail is obviously capable of grasping but isn't holding anything at the moment. Consider post #2041193 and post #587086. The first doesn't fit the definition of tail hold at all, and the second only works if you interpret "hold something" much more broadly than we presently do.
That said, the prehensile tail tag also appears to be used for a lot of situations where prehensility isn't apparent, so the tag may need some cleaning up. A flexible tail isn't necessarily a prehensile one. You don't need a prehensile tail to balance things (post #1866746) or to diddle yourself (post #2051165). And I have no idea what is going on in post #1171562, but that tail doesn't appear to be designed for picking up anything but its owner.
"Prehensile definition, adapted for seizing, grasping, or taking hold of something" and taking it further for fantasy, total control like a limb.
So prehensile_tail would be doing anything at all (besides basic wagging) with a tail.
tail_hold being a subset for holding things with tails, would also be prehensile_tail by definition.
Some images should be tagged holding_own_tail instead. (ambiguous? tail_hold -> holding_with_tail?)
iridescent_slime said:
You don't need a prehensile tail to balance things (post #1866746) or to diddle yourself (post #2051165).
Hmm, i disagree, both would require muscles/magic/plotstuff inside the tail to control/move it.
Some of nazrin's supporting-basket-with-tail could be done with a strong non-flexible tail but the majority seems to imply fine control over tail movements.
