Can we change our tag line to include more topics and make us easier to find?

Question

A recent question on main Meta entitled Is there any site about animals or nature? led me to look at our tagline. And I have to say I didn't like what I found:

For people who love outdoor activities, excursions, and outdoorsmanship

If the word "nature" had been in there, the asker on Meta would have found us. I understand we don't want to list "hiking, boating, climbing, biking, horse-riding, ..." ad infinitum. But I don't know why "excursions" somehow deserves to be in there and as for outdoorsmanship, there has got to be a better way to express that concept:

• it is barely a word, and not one people seem to use much
• it may make some non-men feel excluded, no matter how much people claim it is gender neutral and correct
• as a search term it adds nothing to "outdoors" which it contains

Can we talk about a more inclusive tagline? And one that mentions nature, wilderness, and other variants of outdoors-ness? This is how we are found among the ever-increasing number of sites on the network. I think it matters.

Some searches using the "all sites" on the dropdown:

Btw, What’s the “elevator pitch” for our site? has only one answer that mentions outdoorsmanship and it had -5 votes, a lot for how tiny the site was back then. So I actually have no idea where the line came from.

Answer 1

I imagine a more polished version of something similar to the following (neither native English speaker nor very good with words here):

For people who love being outdoors enjoying nature and wilderness, and for learning about the skills and preparations required for outdoorsy activities.

And here comes such a more polished (and succinct) version, thanks Kate Gregory:

For people who love being outdoors enjoying nature and wilderness, and learning about the required skills and equipment.

In general I like @KateGregory's approach to describe what the site is about, instead of using a word. I just don't think listing specific activities is the way to go, that excludes other things, while I'd like to see the site as inclusive. Ideally even supporting "cross-polination" of know-how, between different activities that require similar skills (e.g. knots in sailing and climbing). That's why I mentioned skills/preparations instead.

Also about "Outdoorsmanship": 21'800 google hits and first page are only dictionary type sites, no text that is actually using it. So regardless of any connotations of the word, I think it is safe to say it isn't very common.

Edit:
I just realized this sentence is not only used in the tour, but for a short description on the list of stack exchange sites too. I don't see many people reading it, but I guess it's our main description nevertheless - so having a nice sentence there would be nice. That means the sentence needs to be shorter/catchier than mine. Please if you like the general idea, write your own version and post it as answer (or comment and I'll gladly add it here with attribution).

Answer 2

"Outdoorsmanship" is exactly right. It not only covers being outdoors, but also the skills and techniques of dealing with unique situations of being outdoors. For those that don't like this particular word, some alternatives that convey about the same thing are bushcraft, primitive skills, and outdoor survival skills and techniques.

However, I agree that "nature" should also be mentioned. That isn't really covered by "outdoorsmanship", but is something the site has clearly evolved to include.

Answer 3

I don't think it's lacking inclusiveness. Merriam-Webster defines "outdoorsman" as one who spends much time in the outdoors or in outdoor activities , with no mention of gender.

However, as this is a prescient issue, an option might be "outdoor enthusiasts".

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Edit to account for changes to the OP:

I would suggest skipping "outdoorsmanship" and "excursions" altogether and instead opting for something along the lines of "A site for outdoor enthusiasts", with perhaps additions such as camping, climbing, canoing, etc. to help convey the general idea of what we mean by "the great outdoors".

Answer 4

For people who love to be surrounded by nature.

Answer 5

I happen to like outdoorsmanship

one who spends much time in the outdoors or in outdoor activities

dictionary.com

a person devoted to outdoor sports and recreational activities, as hiking, hunting, fishing, or camping

To me adding the ship brings in outdoor skills and also outdoor equipment. It also brings in the karma as in sportsmanship.

outdoorsmanship

Skill in, or fondness for, outdoor pursuits or sports.

Regarding nature the site is also about preserving nature but not really sure how to bring that in. If you take the literal it does not include nature.

I don't like listing activities as it could be taken to exclude activities.

Maybe People interested in nature, conservation, and outdoorsmanship.

Answer 6

I think I would reword it as

For people who love outdoor activities (including camping, hiking, and climbing), nature, and the wilderness.

I put our sort of "big three" of topics in there but others might have different opinions on that. I think these are the sorts of things people will type into the search box when looking for a specific site.

I don't need to find a noun to substitute for "outdoorsmanship" because whatever that is, it's covered by "activities" in my opinion.