On-topic? And tag suggestion: bush-crafting

Question

TL;DR: Bush-crafting - on topic? - tag?

This question goes hand in hand with the one I just asked about the on-topicness of filtering and carbon usage. I thought of this question while finishing up that one, and I think this might be a good discussion to have first, or at least in unison.

I just looked for and did not see a bush-crafting tag. I thought that might help with some of the issues I mentioned in my other meta question. Is there a related tag?

In my (very opinionated) mind, what some people call "bush-crafting" is one of the most TGO-ish activities there is, leaving behind what everyone else considers normal and becoming one with the outdoors rather than merely bringing the comforts of home to trek through it.

I have noticed a lot of survival questions which I think would be useful even in non-survival situations. In fact, the "air filter mask" question that prompted the above-linked meta question has no survival tag, and I almost suggested adding it until I thought "Nah, it's not survival-only." But it would fit this proposed topic well.

Making charcoal is one thing I thought would go well there, as most people don't bother making it (as far as I know) unless they are in a bush-crafting mindset.

The possibility of making reasonably good activated charcoal would fit it even better, though I'm still researching that one myself to see how feasible that is in the wild.

A lot of other questions we already have would go well in a bush-crafting tag. However, many of those questions are already labeled as survival. And bush-crafting encroaches a lot on survival, and where one ends and the other begins is a matter of opinion, so I'm not married to this idea.

As an alternative, can we be lax on the interpretation of survival and shove anything into it that is tangential to survival or which involves bush-crafting (within reason)?

Maybe there is no real distinction though. One person's tent camping is another person's survival, and one person's cabin-renting is another person's camping. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Still, I think that bush-crafting is something that too many people on TGO shy from and discount (my evidence is all of the "but that would violate leave no trace!" comments on posts which said nothing about leave no trace), but which many people are very interested in (as evidenced by the questions, and by pop culture [ie: all the TV shows and YouTube videos about it]).

Am I making something out of nothing? If not, what do you think about the on-topic-ness, and even the possibility of a tag for, bush-crafting type skills?

If you are for it, then suggesting an alternate term should also be part of the discussion. Different people use different terms for this topic, and I'm not sure if the average Joe would think to look it up under that name.

Answer 1

This question seems to have fallen through a crack.

My reaction to this sort of question (Is X on-topic?)is "Why not? Throw out a question and see what happens." That is, unless the topic is patently off-topic, such as outdoor tennis.

A trial question has to be carefully thought out and the asker has to have patience and a thick skin. You experimented with boating, and had problems.

My suggestion for introductory bushcraft questions are to ask how bushcraft and survivalist techniques differ and how bushcraft and minimalist equipment differ. That would establish a base-line. I looked at a few bushcraft articles, and the pictures of equipment laid out on the ground sure doesn't look minimalist. Also, might ask how bushcraft jibes with Leave No Trace. That large axe in the pictures raises that point.