| Winston Smith | 31 Jan 2019 11:06 a.m. PST |
Your civilized species has a long tail.
Do you keep your tail inside your uniform, or is it free on outside?
The same applies to your space suit. |
 Jeff Ewing  | 31 Jan 2019 11:22 a.m. PST |
Outside. The tail isn't just decoration, it helps with balance, expression, or best of all, is prehensile. Re. spacesuit, it seems to me if you have to wear a spacesuit, then you need to protect your tail. I think you'd have to weigh whether making a "tail sleeve" is feasible or cost effective; it might be better to tuck it in. By comparison, we humans lose a lot of expressiveness when our heads are in space helmets -- so would a bipedal dog or cat if they had no visible tail. |
| Frederick | 31 Jan 2019 11:45 a.m. PST |
Outside as well for all the reasons stated above – plus when the Drill Instructor says, "The Corps gave you that tail for a reason, Mister!" link For the space suit I guess it depends on environment – for a zero-G I can see how tucked in would be better – for environments with grav, having a tail might be important for balance |
| warwell | 31 Jan 2019 11:57 a.m. PST |
My first thought is that a "tail sleeve" would make sense |
 Editor in Chief Bill   | 31 Jan 2019 12:11 p.m. PST |
If it was free on the outside of your spacesuit, it wouldn't last very long!  |
 etotheipi  | 31 Jan 2019 12:18 p.m. PST |
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| Oberlindes Sol LIC | 31 Jan 2019 1:02 p.m. PST |
I doubt that tailed species even consider designing clothes, space suits, and body armor (powered and unpowered) that don't accommodate their tails. The tail is an integral part of balance and movement for all tailed animals, and stuffing it out of the way somewhere is just going to make them awkward. Powered armor tails could be quite dangerous weapons, especially for rat-like or lizard-like tails. (For the Traveller players, I'll note that Vargr in battle dress actually present no greater danger to household lamps than any other troops in battle dress.) |
| Lion in the Stars | 31 Jan 2019 5:17 p.m. PST |
Uniform? Outside. Space suit? inside. |
| Mark Plant | 31 Jan 2019 7:10 p.m. PST |
If it was free on the outside of your spacesuit, it wouldn't last very long! Why? If you are in space then a tail could be outside the suit. Heat is lost extremely slowly, because their's no conduction (and at body temperature we radiate very little). You have issues about
1) touching things that are at non-body temperature, and
2) radiation from nearby suns etc. But it's not dangerous to expose a limb to a hard vacuum. |
| Walking Sailor | 31 Jan 2019 7:52 p.m. PST |
My internal pressure is approximately 130/70. The pressure in space is effectively Zero (0). Without protection, the tail will swell as it fills with (precious bodily) fluids. Ultimately it may burst. |
| Mark Plant | 01 Feb 2019 12:06 p.m. PST |
You've seen too much bad sci-fi if you think critters burst in a vacuum. But it is possible fluids might pool, I suppose. |
 Legion 4 | 02 Feb 2019 9:11 a.m. PST |
Yes, in space or other harsh environs the tail should be in the suit. But in an environment "friendly" to the tailed lifeform I don't see having the need for tail to be inside the uniform. |
| The Last Conformist | 03 Feb 2019 11:11 a.m. PST |
Outside (for uniform) or in a tail sleeve (for space suit), for the simple reason that otherwise you can't see the figure has a tail! |
| cypherkk | 04 Feb 2019 1:37 p.m. PST |
dress/campaign outside, even if it's a fluffy bunny tail or rat/lizard tail. Interacting with uniform is especially cool, whether saluting, lifting the cover in a gentlemanly way, or holding the weapons/rifle at parade rest. Space suit: if it's like Nasa's or bigger, inside. If it's smaller (less bulky) or like old mans war (basically a full body leotard) outside. They never look good having bulky suit with a tail envelope/pocket, never looks right, mostly like they have a place to take a dump. Because the bulky ones are rigid typically. |
