Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 August 25
August 25
Category:Fast Folk artists
Category:Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party politicians
Category:Comics-related websites
Category:Songs by Cole Porter
Category:Dixieland mandolinists
Category:Outlet malls in the United States
Category:Cultural generations
Category:Weekly comics
Category:Comics by region
Per convention of Category:Categories by continent. - jc37 12:00, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename - as nominator. - jc37 12:00, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename per nom. Did I create this, and would it then be a speedy? Can't recall correct procedure. Hiding T 14:43, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment: What's wrong with this cat as it is? Seems to fit Category:Categories by region at least as well. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 23:10, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- In looking over Category:Books by region, the "by region" tree would seem to be cats about a region, rather than categorising "by location". - jc37 23:13, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- That may be a quirk of Category:Books by region. It doesn't apply to Category:Communication by region or Category:Politics by region, for instance. I don't understand why "continent" is preferable to "region" in this case. But I see that Category:Comics by region is a subcat of Category:Categories by continent, so I guess that's the problem. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 00:24, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Move Category:Comics by region to subcat of Category:Categories by region. Oceania (as in subcat "Oceanian comics") is not a continent. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 00:24, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- By that logic, shouldn't most everything in Category:Categories by continent be moved to Category:Categories by region? As it is now, there is an amount of ambiguity in how to use those two categories. Vegaswikian (talk) 02:49, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Oceania is a geographic location, and in some places, it is indeed considered a continent.
- But that aside, just try this simple test: Look at the contents of Category:Comics by region. Now look at the subcats of Category:Categories by continent. Now look at the subcats of Category:Categories by region. Which do you think that Category:Comics by region most resembles? - jc37 03:36, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well if we need to examine the contents to see where to place it, then the parents are ambiguous. Given the amount of overlap, do we need both to collect groupings of things? Remind me, what continent is Hawaii on? Vegaswikian (talk) 07:38, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- (Grin) You know, I had forgotten how much fun it was
arguing,debating, discussing here with you : ) - Anyway, I'm just trying to enclose within the (seemingly) most appropriate convention based on what we have now. I don't disagree that the "by region" tree is quite the gaggle of categories (Does it have a geographic or political region in the name? Then include it!) And "by continent" sounds odd, but seem to be at least "somewhat" better. (Incidentally, using the terms extant, Hawaii is apparently in Oceania geographically, and in North America politically : ) - jc37 08:03, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well, I know when I created this category I mirrored something. I'll let you two work it out. Sorry. ;) Hiding T 09:45, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Hey, not so fast.
- Vegaswikian, it looks to me that we have the category creator here. Why don't we ask him what his intent was when he created the cat? : ) - jc37 09:50, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Whoa. It turns out that his user name is right there in the edit history -- who knew??? :) But seriously... this is one of the reasons I always make a point of notifying category creators when I take one of their cats to CFD. Cgingold (talk) 10:32, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- He actually knew about this one in advance. : ) - jc37 11:02, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Whoa. It turns out that his user name is right there in the edit history -- who knew??? :) But seriously... this is one of the reasons I always make a point of notifying category creators when I take one of their cats to CFD. Cgingold (talk) 10:32, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I think I couldn't work out how to name the continent Australia was in correctly, since when I was a kid I was taught it was called Australasia and so I went to our article [2] and saw it was a region. I went to Australia [3] and saw that was also a continent and so was Oceania [4]. This all confused me, since I was always told there were seven continents. I glanced around at our article on Continents [5], and they all referred to Template:Regions of the world, [6]. Ah well, I thought, that solves the issue of how I name the damned continents. I can skip it and call them all regions and then I'll be right regardless and avoid POV. This seemed to me to be a cunningly good plan because of the shared history of Franco-Belgian comics, which doesn't fit into a "by country" or "by nationality" structure, but does fit into a "by region" structure. However, given that Jc does tend to know more about categories than me, and given that they like to standardise and I don't, and given that our discussions always go on longer than really I have the time or the energy for, on this one I was prepared to let Jc have their head rather than force the issue. I've lost enough arguments now when I know I've been right not to let one more bother me. But I think that any decision regarding this has to take into account Franco-Belgian comics. Normally I mirror something, but I honestly can't see right now anything which matches "by region" in the structure. That may have been different in 2006. Hope that clarifies. Hiding T 10:23, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- (rubs my head and wonders where it was going : )
- And he isn't kidding, put two sincere editors in a room, each trying to understand the other one, while each is continually attempting to clarify his or her own stance, and you have something close to a perpetual motion machine : )
- Humour aside, my main goal with this one is consistancy. And the grouping of sub-cats "looks" more consistant with "by continent". I'd be just as happy with "by region", if there was a consistant standard there, and this matched it. But it doesn't look that way, hence the nom.
- But if you're saying we may need to re-think this tree from scratch, I can accept that, and would be happy to withdraw the nom in lieu of that (likely lengthy) discussion : ) - jc37 11:02, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm happy to support that standardisation and avoid the lenghthy discussion, but I will likely avoid it anyway. My gut feeling is that this category should be placed where you would expect to find it chasing up and down the category structure. If that involves renaming it, so be it. My concern here would be to allow the reader to navigate through categories to their expectations. I placed it in Category:Arts genres by country or nationality because Category:Arts genres by continent wasn't then created. Now I would imagine I would place it there. I'd note I created Template:Comics region first, adding the cat to that before I created the cat. Hope that helps a little more. Hiding T 11:42, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Not to muddy the waters any further, but regardless of renaming, I suppose it could be placed in both cats...
- But that aside, I'm wondering about the creation of the "by continent" tree. As you note, there were (and still are) several trees based on region/location. I dunno. It's obvious that "Categories by region" needs cleanup rather badly.
- So anyway, after all of this, what's your preference?
- (I know, I know... CfD nominators are supposed to be die-hard believers in their noms, and shouldn't be actually attempting to find out what others opinions might be. What could I possibly be thinking?...) - jc37 12:17, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I don't have a preference. But like I said above, I'm happy for this to go through and if people want to speedy it on that basis, they can do so. It seems to fit better as by continent than as by region. If that means we have to rejig the sub-cats, so what. This is just stuff I made up one day a long time ago, remember. ;) What do you want to do? What's the standard? What does WP:NCCAT tell us? Honestly, I don't mind. Hiding T 12:41, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm happy to support that standardisation and avoid the lenghthy discussion, but I will likely avoid it anyway. My gut feeling is that this category should be placed where you would expect to find it chasing up and down the category structure. If that involves renaming it, so be it. My concern here would be to allow the reader to navigate through categories to their expectations. I placed it in Category:Arts genres by country or nationality because Category:Arts genres by continent wasn't then created. Now I would imagine I would place it there. I'd note I created Template:Comics region first, adding the cat to that before I created the cat. Hope that helps a little more. Hiding T 11:42, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well, I know when I created this category I mirrored something. I'll let you two work it out. Sorry. ;) Hiding T 09:45, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- (Grin) You know, I had forgotten how much fun it was
- Well if we need to examine the contents to see where to place it, then the parents are ambiguous. Given the amount of overlap, do we need both to collect groupings of things? Remind me, what continent is Hawaii on? Vegaswikian (talk) 07:38, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- By that logic, shouldn't most everything in Category:Categories by continent be moved to Category:Categories by region? As it is now, there is an amount of ambiguity in how to use those two categories. Vegaswikian (talk) 02:49, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment: Maybe I'm naive, but I assumed that Category:Categories by continent was for things that could be grouped by continent or by neat subdivisions of continents, viz., countries (except countries that span continental boundaries) -- and that Category:Categories by region was for things that could not be grouped as neatly because it consisted of subdivisions like "Oceanian" together with "Franco-Belgian." That would explain why "by continent" looks more consistent than the purportedly non-standardized "by region." -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 17:24, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well, Oceania isn't a problem because you can simply rename that branch to whatever the consensus name of the continent is. "Franco-Belgian" doesn't overly cause issues either since it can be categorised in "European comics" which is part of a continental structure. Hiding T 20:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment summary? Well I think from the above, there seems to be a consensus to discuss how Category:Foo by region and Category:Foo by continent are used and that discussion really involves how the two structures should be used. The problem I see is that while in some cases you can drop stuff into cleanly into Category:Foo by continent it also excludes may likes that tend to be grouped together. If you use Category:Foo by region, then you eliminate the problem of dealing with most or all of the things that don't fit Category:Foo by continent but bring up the question of how do you define some regions, geographically or politically or, even worst, both? I don't know where I would wind up on the bigger discussion. I think it would be a good idea to close this early as no consensus, open a discussion on the talk page here and invite any associated wikiprojects to help out. Based on that discussion, if there is a consensus allow the parties involved to make their changes as speedy using the bots to allow for automated processing of the consensus changesVegaswikian (talk) 18:49, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Like I said to Rob, I think this could be made to fit the by continent structure if so desired. But if it is felt a wider discussion is warranted feel free to do so. I have already stated I have no intention to participate. I do not care what decision is reached, only that one is reached. Best wishes, Hiding T 20:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep or Rename to "Comics by country" (following Category:Categories by country). "X by continent" is a separate structure and can co-exist and link into the Comics by country (as once you have the X by continent you'd move the continental categories out into it and just have the countries in that, as seen in Category:Books by country). It strikes me that "Comics by region" may actually be a parent to both categories. Note something can link into both as in: Category:British books it is a child of Category:Books by country but also a grandchild of Category:European literature, but why not "Category: European books"? I can't see a pattern there. We actually have a child of Categories by country: Category:Categories by nationality, which makes a fourth option as a possible precedent (this gets interesting as technically "British comics" may not be the same as "United Kingdom comics" - not how Category:British art is a child of and Category:Art by nationality - it leads you down the road of the natural of nations, nationhood, countries and some other stuff, which lead to complaints on Radio 4 that Team GB didn't really include people in Northern Ireland). So yes it all seems like a big mess resulting in numerous oddities like Category:Ethnic groups in Europe by country (so that it can also be brought back under continents and countries), so it looks like it all needs fixing. In the meantime I'd suggest we have two options: We keep "Comics by region" as a suitably general category; or we make "Comics by continent" and move the continent categories across to that and rename "Comics by region" to "Comics by country" and have all the countries in there. I'd suggest for now we keep it and kick this one out for a broader discussion and we see how it goes from there. (Emperor (talk) 03:57, 27 August 2008 (UTC))
- If we wait for the various "big trees" to be fixed, we'll likely never see this renamed/categorised within any of the trees.
- And yes, this on the surface, this may seem duplicate to the subcats of Category:Comics titles by country. But I think Hiding made it fairly clear that his concerns were about regions such as Franco-Belgian. So really, I think that that's the main thing which needs to be resolved. So I suggest that "by region" be renamed to "by continent" (since that seems to be the intent?), and we can always discuss the merging of "by continent" with "by country" in a future discussion. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well, like I've said above, I don't think there actually is an issue with renaming it to Continents and mirroring by country. Franco-Belgian just sits in European, and France and Belgium can sit in Franco-Belgian and by country. Would that solve anything? Hiding T 22:06, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Yes it could. We would basically move the countries up into the "by country" category and create the "by continent" one for the difficult to define ones. However, there is clearly a larger problem that needs sorting out (and depending on how it goes it could mean another round of renaming) and as it stands the structure works and there are other "by region" categories so it isn't alone. The worst case scenario is if we create two categories for country/continent and the consensus comes back that all similar categories should come together under "by region" as it is a more general name that allows for breaking things down first by continent and then by country in one simple structure (as we currently have) - which would mean we would have to put everything back where it was. So I don't see any harm in waiting and seeing how things play out (I don't really have a preference, although "by region" makes sense to me, I'll be happy to go with the consensus). (Emperor (talk) 19:03, 1 September 2008 (UTC))
- Well, like I've said above, I don't think there actually is an issue with renaming it to Continents and mirroring by country. Franco-Belgian just sits in European, and France and Belgium can sit in Franco-Belgian and by country. Would that solve anything? Hiding T 22:06, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
Category:Comic book titles
This has the potential to be a sprawlingly huge category. Category:Comics titles by company already pre-exists, and makes for easier navigation.
(Note that I've already merged the 2 international cats that weren't already under Category:Comics to there.) - jc37 11:55, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete - as nominator. - jc37 11:55, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
Delete per nom.Hiding T 14:43, 25 August 2008 (UTC)- Delete per nom. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 22:44, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete; cat would be too large to be useful. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 23:11, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment - this was functioning fine, as it was with the titles by company and titles by region as its children - it was basically the catchall category for comic titles before they are recategorised to more specific categories (as sometimes it isn't necessarily clear with some stubs). I had assumed that this was going to be renamed to Comics publications but that now exists Category: Comics publications. I have been working through this category and reassigning the articles (I've got it down from a few hundred - so it was going to sprawl it was always going to shrink) and I am unsure what is going to happen with those articles. They really need assigning to comic titles by country but if this category is now deleted where are they going? Can we merge this to "Comics publications"? I'd rather these weren't scattered as they still need a more specific category. (Emperor (talk) 03:24, 27 August 2008 (UTC))
- No opposition to a merge to the appropriate subcats of Category:Comics publications. I was under the (apparently mistaken) impression that these were already so categorised. So please don't let this nom prevent you from this. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Merge per Emperor to Category:Comics publications to facilitate better categorising and save these articles getting lost. Hiding T 22:04, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
Category:Comic book magazines
Clarify purpose, and per convention of Category:Media about comics. - jc37 11:41, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename as nominator. - jc37 11:41, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- The current name is ambiguous, so Rename per nom. Cgingold (talk) 11:49, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename, current name is terribly ambiguous due to vagaries of the shared language. Do we also want to consider "Podcasts about comics" and "Websites about comics"? Hiding T 14:44, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Nominated #Category:Comics-related websites above. Not sure about the podcasts one since all three category members are rather specifically about comic books. - jc37 21:43, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename - just remember to whip out the few actual comic magazines as per discussion. (Emperor (talk) 03:18, 27 August 2008 (UTC))
Category:Comic book awards
- Rename Category:Comic book awards to Category:Comics awards per List of comics awards. - jc37 11:35, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename as nominator. - jc37 11:35, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename, there's a level of ambiguity here, especially as the medium evolves before our eyes. Hiding T 14:45, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename as per the above (Emperor (talk) 03:18, 27 August 2008 (UTC))
- Rename, consensus is at the project that if something is not clearly, specifically only for comic books, the general term comics should be used, as is here the case. Fram (talk) 13:12, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep -- "Comics" can also mean comedians. Accordingly, there is room for ambiguity. If anything it is the list that needs to be renamed to match the category. Peterkingiron (talk) 18:11, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- That can be dealt with, with a hatnote. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Agreed - I can't see there being much confusion as a comic (as in comedian) would be comedy awards. Category:Comedy and humor awards. A proper explanation and hatnote should iron over any wrinkles (although I'd be surprised if many people arrive directly at the Comic awards category looking for comedy awards). (Emperor (talk) 22:27, 27 August 2008 (UTC))
- Not only that, what do you do with something like the awards given out at Angoulême? They're comics awards, not comic book awards. It was settled a long time ago that comics is the term used to refer to the art form, and comedian was the term used for comedians. Let's not unpick all of that work for no good reason. Hiding T 08:33, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Agreed - I can't see there being much confusion as a comic (as in comedian) would be comedy awards. Category:Comedy and humor awards. A proper explanation and hatnote should iron over any wrinkles (although I'd be surprised if many people arrive directly at the Comic awards category looking for comedy awards). (Emperor (talk) 22:27, 27 August 2008 (UTC))
Category:Members of the FTP
Category:Members of the FTP (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)
- Rename to either Category:Franc Tireurs et Partisans members or Category:Francs-tireurs partisans members - or ???. The current name is malformed in two respects: as a rule, the word "members" should follow the name of the organization; more importantly, the initialism needs to be expanded to the full name. However, it's not clear whether the name should be "Franc Tireurs et Partisans" or "Francs-tireurs partisans" (or some other variant). In our article on the French Resistance, the former name is used throughout; but in the article it links to, the term is rendered as "Francs-tireurs partisans". I'm also not entirely certain about mixing French & English terms in a category name, hence the question marks.
Notified creator with {{subst:cfd-notify}}
Cgingold (talk) 09:53, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- I've also left notes at both articles and at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject France. Cgingold (talk) 10:39, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment. If it should be renamed according to Cgingold's suggestion, it should be Francs-tireurs et partisans or Members of the Francs-tireurs et partisans or Francs-tireurs et partisans members. Capitals are usually used only for first word in French party names, and "franc-tireurs" is one and only word, not two different words (see fr:Francs-tireurs et partisans). "Membres des FTP" or "Membres des Francs-tireurs et partisans" is not acceptable for English Wikipedia. Francs-tireurs partisans is another, unrelated except by name, group, from the 1990s, see fr:Francs-tireurs partisans Tazmaniacs (talk) 21:48, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Note: Tazmaniacs was the creator of the category. - CG
- Thanks for your reply, Taz. So if I understand you correctly, you're saying that that the word "et" ("and" in English) must be included as part of the proper name of the organization. I don't have occasion to deal with French language material all that often, so I wasn't aware of the capitalization rule you referenced. Apparently, neither of the articles got the name exactement. (You might also want to address these issues vis-à-vis the articles in question.) I take it that the name "Francs-tireurs et partisans" is nothing more than the combination of the two terms, "francs-tireurs" ("sharpshooters") and "partisans". (It just dawned on me that "franc-tireur" is the French equivalent of freischutz in German -- "free-shooter" in English.) Summing up, of the two viable names you've suggested, I'm inclined to think that the better option is Category:Members of the Francs-tireurs et partisans. Cgingold (talk) 23:03, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Checking a couple of translation dictionaries, I find that there is no English version of the French name, that it is indeed Francs-tireurs et partisans (linking the historic term francs-tireurs for anti-Prussian irregulars of the 1870s with partisans), and that the et is often dropped in English sources due to misunderstanding. Support Rename to Category:Members of the Francs-tireurs et partisans. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 23:20, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
Category:Luxury Hotels
Category:Biology interdisciplinary fields
- Category:Biology interdisciplinary fields - Template:Lc1
- Nominator's rationale: Unclear criteria for inclusion. It's pretty hard to delimit the interdisciplinary fields of biology from the non-interdisciplinary ones. Nowadays more or less all biology is interdisciplinary. Eleassar my talk 08:15, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
Notified creator with {{subst:cfd-notify}}
Cgingold (talk) 11:46, 25 August 2008 (UTC)- Delete per nom. I was hoping to hear from the creator, but that hasn't happened. In any event, I agree with Eleassar's assessment -- for example why Category:Astrobiology but NOT Category:Evolutionary biology? There's also another problem: all of the subcats were pulled out of the uber-cat, Category:Biology, so unless a reader happens to look in Category:Biology interdisciplinary fields, s/he won't find them, since it's not absolutely obvious that that is where one should look for them. Cgingold (talk) 11:27, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
Category:Education in the Middle East and North Africa
- Category:Education in the Middle East and North Africa - Template:Lc1
- Nominator's rationale: I'm not sure that grouping the Middle East and North Africa is useful here. There does not seem to be much relevant content, anyway. --Eliyak T·C 08:13, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
Notified creator with {{subst:cfd-notify}}
Cgingold (talk) 11:47, 25 August 2008 (UTC)- Comment - I'm undecided about the merits of this category, but I can see a valid rationale for it, since the geography clearly encompasses countries with populations that are primarily Arab and Muslim. To that end I've added two more parent cats, Category:North Africa and Category:Arabic culture. And I would also note that the category has a very substantial main article at the same name. But I would like to see more arguments pro and con before I make up my mind. Cgingold (talk) 12:14, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment - As the editor who created the category, I would like to say that Cgingold's comment hit the nail on the head. While the Middle East and North Africa are separate geographically, there is sufficient similarity in population/culture that it is logical to group them, especially vis-a-vis elements of society such as education. Furthermore, I did take into consideration the existence of the Education in the Middle East and North Africa article, before creating the category. As to the dearth of content in the category, I hope to fix that. Right now, I am working -- albeit alone -- on the Middle East Textbooks WikiProject, which should create articles for that category. Also, I would like to point out that it may be the case that there are already a number of topical articles, which simply have not been placed in the category yet. ← Michael Safyan (talk) 15:03, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment - The Middle East and North Africa (from Mauritania to Sudan and Djibouti) are united by the Arabic language. But the article that defines this cat includes Iran and Turkey, which are linguistically and culturally distinct from the Arabic-speaking nations. So I'm puzzled. Islam is not the unifying criterion, as in that case the category would continue through southern Asia and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia. So as defined by the article -- which is more like an essay than an encyclopedia article -- the category is neither linguistically, geographically, nor ideologically unified. It seems that the category serves a single, essay-like article that draws an arbitrary line on the map. What is the point? -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 23:39, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Iran and Turkey are a part of the Middle East, hence their inclusion in the article. The association of the Middle East with North Africa is done quite frequently outside of Wikipedia. For example, a Google search for "Middle East and North Africa" gives an impressive number of results. Also, a Google Scholar search for "Middle East and North Africa" gives a similarly impressive number of results. Furthermore, if the association is good enough for the World Bank, for UNICEF, for the U.S. Department of State, and for Amnesty International, then it ought to be good enough for Wikipedia. ← Michael Safyan (talk) 03:14, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- OK, other people draw boundaries at the same place as this article and category, although they typically include Israel as well. I am unclear why this article/cat/WikiProject excludes Israel and the Occupied Territories, which also have school-age, Muslim, Arabic-speaking inhabitants. This seems like a well-intentioned effort, but is it encyclopedic? Wikipedia may not be the proper home for what is admittedly a one-person project, apparently a research project at that. (I realize I've gone beyond the bounds of a category discussion, but all of this seems relevant to evaluating the category.) -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 17:34, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- You are mistaken; the category doesn't exclude Israel nor does it exclude the Palestinian territories. Category:Education in the Middle East contains the child category Category:Education in the Middle East, which includes the child category Category:Education in Israel and also the child category Category:Education in the Palestinian territories. As for the comment about WP:WikiProject Middle East Textbooks... every WikiProject began with only one member. I am hoping to gain additional members. I am not sure I understand why you are linking to WP:OR, since the articles created by the WikiProject are well-sourced. Also, can you explain the relevance of the WikiProject vis-a-vis deciding to keep or delete the category? Are you voting keep or delete? ← Michael Safyan (talk) 19:57, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep. Thanks for pointing out the subcats; that takes care of one concern. Mschiffler made a number of useful suggestions on the talk page. I would only add that there are formatting problems (doubled line breaks between paragraphs) that seem to have been caused by pasting in the contents of a Microsoft Word document. But the article has a lot of potential. Looking more closely at the WikiProject, my first impression was mistaken: The project seems to be aiming to bring a body of existing research into Wikipedia, which is welcome. The main article is an original work and can be made more encyclopedic. (MSchiffler's suggestions, made in February, have not yet been acted upon. But that's not the responsibility of any one person.) The articles the project links to are a mixed bunch, and some could certainly use extra help. If the project goes nowhere, we can revisit this category later, but for now it appears to have potential. I know of no standardized way of referring to the Middle/Near East and the Maghreb in categories, so this will do. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 21:58, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- You are mistaken; the category doesn't exclude Israel nor does it exclude the Palestinian territories. Category:Education in the Middle East contains the child category Category:Education in the Middle East, which includes the child category Category:Education in Israel and also the child category Category:Education in the Palestinian territories. As for the comment about WP:WikiProject Middle East Textbooks... every WikiProject began with only one member. I am hoping to gain additional members. I am not sure I understand why you are linking to WP:OR, since the articles created by the WikiProject are well-sourced. Also, can you explain the relevance of the WikiProject vis-a-vis deciding to keep or delete the category? Are you voting keep or delete? ← Michael Safyan (talk) 19:57, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- OK, other people draw boundaries at the same place as this article and category, although they typically include Israel as well. I am unclear why this article/cat/WikiProject excludes Israel and the Occupied Territories, which also have school-age, Muslim, Arabic-speaking inhabitants. This seems like a well-intentioned effort, but is it encyclopedic? Wikipedia may not be the proper home for what is admittedly a one-person project, apparently a research project at that. (I realize I've gone beyond the bounds of a category discussion, but all of this seems relevant to evaluating the category.) -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 17:34, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Iran and Turkey are a part of the Middle East, hence their inclusion in the article. The association of the Middle East with North Africa is done quite frequently outside of Wikipedia. For example, a Google search for "Middle East and North Africa" gives an impressive number of results. Also, a Google Scholar search for "Middle East and North Africa" gives a similarly impressive number of results. Furthermore, if the association is good enough for the World Bank, for UNICEF, for the U.S. Department of State, and for Amnesty International, then it ought to be good enough for Wikipedia. ← Michael Safyan (talk) 03:14, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment. If the intent of this category is to include education in Arabic countries, why not rename to Category:Arabic education? It would be more precise, and would also include Somalia, which the article Arab World includes. I think that other organizations use the grouping "Middle East and North Africa]] in order to divide the world neatly into regions, without overlapping or leaving places out. But that reason does not apply here, and would only create category clutter. --Eliyak T·C 10:19, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- One reason (I assume) is that not all education in mostly Arabic-speaking countries is done in the Arabic language. Some countries have linguistic minorities with their own schooling; some schools and universities teach in the former colonial language (French or English). Also I believe Michael Safyan indicated that Israel would be within the scope of this category, so add Hebrew to the mix. (Maybe this is a case for refining the scope of the article and category.)
- Your point about how organizations use "Middle East and North Africa" is well made. Wikipedia has no such consistent internal boundaries for regions. We'd have to allow that not all editors would have the same definition of ME&NA in mind as Michael Safyan and whoever joins the Middle East Textbooks project. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 13:43, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
Category:Fictional double agents
Were you a "bad guy" and switched sides, but didn't tell your old friends? Then have we a category for you. How about you were a good guy, who "went bad", but didn't tell your old friends? Same category.
How about if you're a good guy who's "under cover"? Wouldn't the bad guys call you a "double agent" if they found out? Same with a bad guy under cover?
What if it doesn't involve "good guys" and "bad guys", except that it's merely Spy vs. Spy, swapping sides, "under cover" and keeping the "fun" to yourself?
This is a fairly common theme in fiction. (I'm trying to think of any James Bond story which didn't have this at one point or other.)
This just cries out for listifying, if only to explain the nature of the "doubling". - jc37 07:40, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Listify - as nominator. - jc37 07:40, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Listify, agree with Jc. Hiding T 09:34, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep - fundamentally defining characteristic. That double agents are common in fiction is not a reason to delete it. Otto4711 (talk) 16:14, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- It isn't just that they're "common". It's that (as I note above) there are different reasons for someone to be called a "double agent". (Not to mention the always fun triple or quadruple agent. I personally will never forget Peter Ustinov in Romanoff and Juliet : ) - This is just too vague as a category. Explanations in a list would better serve the topic. jc37 21:04, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm sorry, but I'm just not seeing the fact that there are different scenarios for double agency as a reason for deleting the category. And I think that you're cutting things artificialy finely to justify the nomination. "What if you tell your friends?" "What if you don't?" Well so what if you do or don't tell whoever? You're still working for both sides, you're still a double agent. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Otto4711 (talk • contribs) 18:33, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- There there are "different scenarios" is a reason for listification. You keep commenting as if you're concerned the information will be "lost". It's merely being moved to a format more applicable to the topic. On a list the characters, the incidents, an so on can be referenced/cited/explained/etc. It allows for sortability if formatted to a table (which is common in lists). It allows for structure by presentation. It's adaptable, and allows for all those things that a category does not. - jc37 22:59, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm sorry, but I'm just not seeing the fact that there are different scenarios for double agency as a reason for deleting the category. And I think that you're cutting things artificialy finely to justify the nomination. "What if you tell your friends?" "What if you don't?" Well so what if you do or don't tell whoever? You're still working for both sides, you're still a double agent. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Otto4711 (talk • contribs) 18:33, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- It isn't just that they're "common". It's that (as I note above) there are different reasons for someone to be called a "double agent". (Not to mention the always fun triple or quadruple agent. I personally will never forget Peter Ustinov in Romanoff and Juliet : ) - This is just too vague as a category. Explanations in a list would better serve the topic. jc37 21:04, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete - redundant cat. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 22:44, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Redundant to what? -MrFizyx (talk) 03:57, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I'm just saying the nominator has a point. The category reeks of WP:OR. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 03:54, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Redundant to what? -MrFizyx (talk) 03:57, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
Category:Fictional characters with eidetic memory
Photographic memory? Rather common for an author to "grant" this ability to the "smart person" archetype in their story. This might make a decent list (allowing for references, and explanations of presentations of the ability), but not a category. - jc37 07:33, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Listify as nominator. - jc37 07:33, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Listify, agree with Jc. Hiding T 09:34, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep, this has already been discussed in this CfD. I'll say now what I said then, eidetic memory is often an important and defining characteristic for many characters currently in the category. Far more defining in many cases than being able to turn intangible (Category:Fictional characters who can turn intangible) or being able to stretch (Category:Fictional characters who can stretch themselves). --Philip Stevens (talk) 18:40, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete and listify with nom's conditions. On reading some of the categorized articles, I find no indication of how they fit in this category. I agree to listification on the condition that it is not merely a list of names. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 21:57, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep - per previous cfd. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 22:44, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
Keep per two previous CFDs, April and July 2007. If some articles contain no support for being categorised this way, by all means remove them from the cat. - Fayenatic (talk) 19:54, 27 August 2008 (UTC)Expanding the above as requested below: Eidetic memory is a significant characteristic, and many fictional characters have eidetic memory as one of their defining characteristics. Inclusion criterion can be simple: Characters explicitly identified in their source material as having eidetic memory. To support the categorisation, this should normally be stated and sourced in the Wikipedia article on the character. - Fayenatic (talk) 12:40, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Comment - For all of you who said "per x previous CfD". Please clarify what arguement(s) in those previous CfDs you feel applies. CfD is a discussion, not a vote. And vague, blank statements do not help foster discussion, and in no way indicates that your doing any more than "voting" I like it or I want it. Without such contextual support, the closer may ignoreor discount your "vote", since, as noted, CfD is not a vote. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Reply: I have no objection to this and have complied, but I would comment that the process is asymmetric. Although CFD is now named as discussion rather than deletion, the overall process still favours deletion. Once a category is deleted, then re-creation is a ground for speedy deletion, even if the original decision was marginal or the grounds were temporary i.e. based on bad membership at the time rather than clear principle, and ignoring any clear statement of criteria that might have been added to the re-created category page. Contrariwise, if it was kept, it can be re-nominated for deletion. In this case, the previous CFDs were dominated by Keep and Strong keep arguments, and there were links to them on the category talk page. Shouldn't the onus be on the nominator to explain why the arguments that previously persuaded the closing admins were mistaken or no longer apply? Without that, a repeat CFD nomination can come across as "I don't like it". - Fayenatic (talk) 12:58, 28 August 2008 (UTC)(talk) 12:56, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Not at all. If you'll look at the top, I did provide reasons for the nomination. I didn't say "Per being adverse to the result of the previous CfD." Indeed, there are quite a few nominations of "Fictional characters with x feature or ability" which have been repeatedly deleted. But rather than just point to the hundreds of CFDs, I decided to see where Consensus is currently, as (as I would presume you know) Consensus can change. That aside, what I said above is true. Closers can and often do discount "votes". See also: WP:JUSTAVOTE (and other sections on that page) which may provide a fuller explanation. And finally, I would be happy to delve into analysing the previous CfDs. Most of the arguements (where they exist) were merely statements that this ability is "defining" for the character. Besides those blank statements, the main arguement seems to be made by User:Dr. Submillimeter. (And if you are a "vote" counter, 4:3 doesn't look like overwhelming consensus either...) The other discussion made it clear that there was an issue with WP:OR. (Something I alluded to in my nom.) The 3 "oppose" "votes" merely stated that the inclusion criteria should be narrowly defined. "characters who don't have eidetic memory as their defining attribute should be removed." Again focusing on "defining attribute". To be clear, someone or something may have some feature as a "defining attribute", but that doesn't mean that we should categorise by that. (WP:OC and the archives of WP:CFD haves quite a few examples of that.) Listification is often the better choice, as it allows for references/explanations/etc. And in looking over those previous CfDs, and looking at the current state of the category, I think that's as clear as ever. - jc37 19:55, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Reply: I have no objection to this and have complied, but I would comment that the process is asymmetric. Although CFD is now named as discussion rather than deletion, the overall process still favours deletion. Once a category is deleted, then re-creation is a ground for speedy deletion, even if the original decision was marginal or the grounds were temporary i.e. based on bad membership at the time rather than clear principle, and ignoring any clear statement of criteria that might have been added to the re-created category page. Contrariwise, if it was kept, it can be re-nominated for deletion. In this case, the previous CFDs were dominated by Keep and Strong keep arguments, and there were links to them on the category talk page. Shouldn't the onus be on the nominator to explain why the arguments that previously persuaded the closing admins were mistaken or no longer apply? Without that, a repeat CFD nomination can come across as "I don't like it". - Fayenatic (talk) 12:58, 28 August 2008 (UTC)(talk) 12:56, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- You're right. [apart from the 4:3 :-)]. Changing my view to listify and delete. As you may be aware, a list already exists at List of people in fiction with claimed eidetic memory. I haven't checked its quality or inclusiveness. - Fayenatic (talk) 18:23, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
Category:Fictional thieves
Well for one thing, this category would potentially include nearly every villain in comics, and much of fiction. A nearly all-inclusive cat is purpose-less for categorisation.
(This nom does not include its subcats.) - jc37 07:26, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete - as nominator. - jc37 07:26, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- I do not oppose listification, especially for the reasons Hiding suggests. - jc37 10:26, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete or Listify, I could see a list as part of a Crime in fiction article topic, or something similar. Certainly would support research and aid readers, which is what we are here for. It's just that the category structure isn't the place for doing this, since we can't see why these characters are similar and why they are different within the topic for which the category classifies. How are the Artful Dodger and Cockney Wanker the same? Hiding T 09:46, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete and avoid listifying, as the criterion is too broad. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 21:59, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete - per jc37's points, this one is non-defining. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 22:44, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Alternate proposal - I would suggest possibly keeping this as a container category, with all articles being assigned to sub-cats for specific types or genres of thieves. (I've got a handy-dandy template available with a clear note to readers for such categories.) We already have two sub-cats, and I'm pretty sure Category:Fictional cat burglars and Category:Fictional art thieves could be readily populated with existing articles. Category:Pickpockets is another possibility (the Artful Dodger and Fagin, for starters). Cgingold (talk) 23:46, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Question on that: Would that mean the category page should be properly posted as "Article should not be added to this category, but to its subcategories. This category will be routinely removed from articles."? Also, will subcats that have small, as few as 1 or 2, members be shielded to a degree by being part of this umbrella?- J Greb (talk) 22:54, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- That is basically what I was suggesting that we might want to do, J Greb -- here's the template I mentioned:
No articles about individuals should appear directly in this category, which is solely a container category for sub-categories. All articles should be placed in the appropriate sub-categories. |
- As for the sub-cats, I'm no fan of overly small categories. In any event, I'm not really suggesting that every variety of thief should have their own sub-cat -- merely that there are certain specific types that do lend themselves to being used as categories. Cgingold (talk) 01:56, 29 August 2008 (UTC)
- Well, the subcats have similar problems of subjectivity. (For example, Cat burglar redirects to Burglary.) And categorising by what is stolen sounds like a bad idea (Art, money, vehicles, etc.) Also, quite often a single character will qualify for some if not most of these subcats, so the subcats would likely be bloated, near-duplicates of the parent. Again, this all sounds like something that could be cleared up in a list. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- I mentioned Cat burglars precisely because there are characters who are specifically described as being "Cat burglars" -- so that's not a subjective call. A quick-and-dirty search turned up seven sure-things (with existing articles) -- the most famous being Big Pussy Bonpensiero, Black Cat (comics) and Catwoman -- as well as four others who are mentioned in articles and could have redirects under their names. I fully intend to create and populate that category in the next day or two, which will give us three sub-cats -- enough to justify keeping Category:Fictional thieves as a container category. I haven't had the time to look more closely into other possible sub-cats, but I think there are probably at least one or two other specific varieties of thief that would also work as categories. Cgingold (talk) 13:12, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
- Keep there's no reason not to use this as a grouping level. use {{diffuse}} 70.55.85.122 (talk) 12:38, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Yes there is, per the discussion above. (Whether, in your judgement, you may agree or not, is a whole other matter.) - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Note to closing admin: Please relist for further consideration, as the early "Delete" votes were posted prior to my Alternate proposal. Cgingold (talk) 13:16, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
Category:Fictional bullies
Category:Fictional orphans
This category inclusion criteria is essentially based upon whether the parents died before their children.
Literary present tense is one problem. Another is that this is an incredibly common theme in fiction. Everything from Oliver Twist, to the Pirates of Penzance to Superman and Batman. - jc37 07:21, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete - as nominator. - jc37 07:21, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- I do not oppose listification, especially for the reasons Hiding suggests. - jc37 10:26, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- The inclusion criteria should not be as described by the nominator, but only for those whose parents died during the character's childhood. See Orphan. Any current members whose parents died during the character's adult life can be removed now. - Fayenatic (talk) 13:53, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Actually, that's not what is said in the article. It essentially states what I said, but then noting that "common usage" (i.e. semnatic connotation) suggests that this applies to "children".
- This creates several problems for categorisation. The first is that what a "child" is, is debateable throughout the world. (Noting, of course, that modern definitions aren't necessarily applicable to fiction, which can be of any historical era, and also not required to conform to the "common usage" of terms and rules in that era or any other.) Consider also the Orphan#Orphans in literature section (the first line in particular). This is a plot device which is very common and which varies in presentation. And I'm still thinking of the pirate king from Penzance. He was orphaned as a child, but was only presented in that presentation as an adult. Would he be categorised? If so, why. If not, why not? Oh wait, that would be a judgement call. And if a judgement call needs to be made, then this requires references. And if we need references, then this should be a list not a category. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- The inclusion criteria should not be as described by the nominator, but only for those whose parents died during the character's childhood. See Orphan. Any current members whose parents died during the character's adult life can be removed now. - Fayenatic (talk) 13:53, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- I do not oppose listification, especially for the reasons Hiding suggests. - jc37 10:26, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Listify. There should be an article on Orphans in fiction, that has to have been discussed in academia and must be a topic of note. A list will support such an article. A category would not. Hiding T 09:34, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Actually there is such an artcile, but it is still part of the main article (which could possibly be used as a splitting point for such a new article): Orphan#Orphans in literature. I believe that section reinforces this nom. - jc37 21:44, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep - methinks this one is legitimate. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 22:44, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
- Delete as too large and lumping to be useful. -- ℜob C. alias ⒶⓁⒶⓇⓄⒷ 00:30, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- Rename Category:Fictional characters orphaned in childhood, since it is defining for many characters, like Swiss Miss Heidi, Little Orphan Annie, Anne of Green Gables, Oliver Twist. Being orphaned is used a the core event to drive characters in revenge stories. 70.55.85.122 (talk) 12:42, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
- I do not think this category deserves to be deleted. Fangusu (talk) 08:53, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep and Rename to Category:Fictional characters orphaned in childhood. Being orphaned as a child is certainly important enough to warrant a category. Cgingold (talk) 12:06, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep, rename and pre-approve a split. If this is renamed as Category:Fictional characters orphaned in childhood I propose to create a new sub-cat Category:Fictional orphaned children or Category:Fictional child orphans for those characters whose are notable as children (as a sub-cat of Category:Fictional children). Please comment on this sub-proposal. - Fayenatic (talk) 12:48, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep It's a common enough theme, but how does that make it non-useful? Make more specific as necessary, such as Cgingold's proposed re-naming. --Icarus (Hi!) 04:35, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Category:Fictional blondes - "It's a common enough theme, but how does that make it non-useful?". Should be self-explanatory. - jc37 04:57, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Sorry, please eludicate. Are Category:Fictional Americans and its parallel categories non-useful, on the grounds that this characteristic is too common? - Fayenatic (talk) 13:06, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- This is just a guess, but I would presume that there are quite a few more blondes world-wide than Americans. And I'd even venture to guess that there are more orphans world-wide than Americans. But those are just guesses. (And Elle Woods is clearly defined by her hair colour, right?)
- But that aside, in looking over Category:Fictional Americans, I'd likely nominate that whole tree for listfying. For one thing, presuming that a character is "American", even if it is never specifically stated anywhere, just because the character may be shown as active somewhere in the United States? Well, that's quite clearly WP:OR: "...should make no analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, or evaluative claims about the information found in the primary source." But this is a touch off-topic, I suppose. - jc37 19:55, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Sorry, please eludicate. Are Category:Fictional Americans and its parallel categories non-useful, on the grounds that this characteristic is too common? - Fayenatic (talk) 13:06, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Category:Fictional blondes - "It's a common enough theme, but how does that make it non-useful?". Should be self-explanatory. - jc37 04:57, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
- Keep According to the definition on this site and elsewhere, orphans are children who lost both parents through death or abandonment during childhood. At what age a person is considered a child varies with the social environment, but since our fictional children live in one such culture it's feasible to use that society's criteria for being a child versus an adult. Also, once an orphan, always an orphan. However, if the parents were lost when the character was an adult, the character would not be considered an orphan. So on one hand side, even if the story starts in a character's adult life, the character would be listed in this category. But renaming the category to something like "Fictional characters orphaned in childhood" sounds like a tautology. After all, it's always childhood in which the character gets orphaned, even if we get to know him only during his adult life. In summary I am for keeping this category, even if it's getting pretty big because of the common use of the concept in fiction. autrata 11:50, August 30, 2008 —Preceding undated comment was added at 05:17, 30 August 2008 (UTC)
Category:Fictional lottery winners
Category:Fictional Internet personalities
Category:Fictional dictators
Category:Fictional conspiracy theorists
Category:Fictional characters with powered armor
Oasis (band)
Category:Chemistry images that should be in SVG format
Category:Film supervillains
Category:Scientologists by Nationality
- ^ The silent milkman ; After 16 years as an EastEnder, the ultimate soap extra finally has something to say Daily Mail (London); Nov 16, 2001; PETER MARKHAM; p. 27
- ^ BUSHELL ON THE BOX : GARRY BUSHELL'S VIEWS The Sunday People (London); Jul 24, 2005; GARRY BUSHELL; p. 36
- ^ Twenty Years Gold The Sun (London); Feb 19, 2005; Julia Francis, Kate Noble, Adrian Motte, Susanna Galton; p. 24
- ^ Soundtrack of their lives: Nick Berry, Adam Rickitt, Jennifer Ellison - music lovers had no reason to admire soaps. Then Gideon Coe noticed some inspired background tracks The Guardian (Manchester); Feb 28, 2004; Gideon Coe; p. 8
- ^ I'm glad that I had time to talk to my dad before he died The Sun (London); May 31, 2003; Giovanna Iozzi; p. 36
- ^ Once upon a time in the East `Anyone Can Fall In Love', Anita Dobson once sang to the EastEnders theme. And in the programme's 15 years, her words have proved true for the most unlikely characters. David Benedict and Fiona Sturges look back (in Ongar?) at events in Albert Square from the year Dot The Independent (London); Feb 18, 2000; David Benedict, Fiona Sturges; p. 9
- ^ EastEnders row over party ban The Daily Mirror (London); Feb 21, 1997; CHRIS HUGHES; p. 3