[QUESTION] What is a tag for?

Hi,

So I want to track Linus's 2.6 git tree as well as do a little small time hacking. I'm not brave enough to sit on the very bleeding edge and build what ever happens to be at the "HEAD" of the tree. However when a kernel releases I'd like to build *that* kernel.

I keep thinking of tags like labels in the old convetional SCM case. Is this correct? I can see once I've done my update (fetch/cogito what ever) that these tags apear in my local tree:

22:42 alex@malory [linux-2.6] >cat .git/refs/tags/v2.6.16-rc1 f3bcf72eb85aba88a7bd0a6116dd0b5418590dbe

So what do I do with them now? Are they only for branch points? Is the only way to know I'm building 2.6.16-rc1 to branch from it as described in git-branch, even if I'm not planning on doing any development?

Is this part of the concept that branches are cheap and you should feel free to create and throw them away at will?

I look forward to your elucidation and the ah! moment that finally gets my head around git ;-)

Cheers,

--
Alex, homepage: http://www.bennee.com/~alex/
Zoe: "So.. Trap?" Mal: "Trap." Zoe: "We goin' in?" Mal: "Ain't nothin'
but a few hours out." Wash: "But, remember the part where it's a trap?"