ManyToMany relationship with self, symmetrical=True, related_name='something' doesn't work

[hwmrocker]

 class Tag(models.Model): 
    text = models.CharField(max_length=200) 
    children = models.ManyToManyField('self', blank=True, null=True, symmetrical=True, related_name='parents') 
    synonyms = models.ManyToManyField('self', blank=True, null=True)

When I do this I cannot check the parents of an object, since there is no Property created. When I try to use the related_name with an relationship to an other object than self everything works fine.

What I want is a symmetrical link to the same object, like a linked
list with the difference that these is a many to many relationship.
Since there is also something like synonyms treebear and mptt are not
usefull for me.

[Russell Keith-Magee]

That's because a symmetrical m2m with self doesn't use the related_name.

The reason for this becomes obvious if you look at the data being stored. In the case of parent/child, the relationship isn't symmetrical - if A is a child of B, it doesn't follow that A is a parent of B.

In contrast, "friend" is a symmetrical m2m relationship - if I am your friend, then you are my friend.

[hwmrocker]

thanks for your clarification, and sorry for the invalid report