Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2006 September 29#Category:Inheritance characters

:The following discussion is an archived debate regarding the category above. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was {{{1|}}} delete, empty --Kbdank71 19:18, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

{{lc|Slovak heroes}}

• Delete, One man's hero is another man's villain. This category contained one article about an outlaw, which is now in :category:Slovak outlaws. Brammen 23:52, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Listify and Delete - this cries out for citations (as does slovak outlaws), which is obviously not possible in a category. - jc37 06:25, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete per above (and perhaps listify with citations per jc37). David Kernow (talk) 09:05, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. Janosik was an outlaw but he's associated only with flattering legends about the one "who takes from the rich and gives to the poor". Being outlaw is mere technicality (today he would be a populist politician). Pavel Vozenilek 22:38, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

:The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

:The following discussion is an archived debate regarding the category above. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was {{{1|}}} rename/merge as nominated --Kbdank71 19:19, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

:Category:Natives of Durham to :Category:People from Durham

• Rename. For consistency with other similar categories. -- Necrothesp 22:30, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

:The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

:The following discussion is an archived debate regarding the category above. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was {{{1|}}} rename/merge as nominated (to :Category:Brazilian racecar drivers and Foo drivers) --Kbdank71 12:45, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

• :Category:IRL drivers from Brazil
• :Category:Champ Car drivers from Brazil
• :Category:Indy 500 drivers from Brazil
• Delete all. If they are under :Category:Brazilian racecar drivers and the drivers category for the respective series, then why do we need these ones? Seems like serious overcategorization to me. Recury 17:42, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

:*Merge to :Category:Brazilian racecar drivers and appropriate series driver categories (one or more of :Category:Indy 500 drivers, :Category:Champ Car drivers and :Category:Indy Racing League drivers). Recury 19:48, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

• Keep or Merge to Foo Drivers (note if merging IRL would need to merge to Indy Racing League). When these categories were created, the drivers were removed from :Category:Brazilian racecar drivers and :Category:Foo drivers so they are not in both parent and child. If these cats are deleted, the articles must be returned to the parents. --After Midnight ⁰⁰⁰¹ 19:10, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

:The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

:The following discussion is an archived debate regarding the category above. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was {{{1|}}} no consensus --Kbdank71 19:21, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

(within :Category:Actors by drama television series)

• {{lc|24 (TV series) actors}}
• {{lc|The 4400 actors}}
• {{lc|7th Heaven actors}}
• {{lc|The A-Team actors}}
• {{lc|Alias actors}}
• {{lc|Baywatch actors}}
• {{lc|China Beach actors}}
• {{lc|The Colbys actors}}
• {{lc|Dallas (TV series) actors}}
• {{lc|Dawson's Creek actors}}
• {{lc|Degrassi actors}}
• {{lc|Desperate Housewives actors}}
• {{lc|Dynasty actors}}
• {{lc|ER actors}}
• {{lc|Falcon Crest actors}}
• {{lc|General Hospital actors}}
• {{lc|Gilmore Girls actors}}
• {{lc|Grey's Anatomy actors}}
• {{lc|House actors}}
• {{lc|JAG actors}}
• {{lc|Joan of Arcadia actors}}
• {{lc|Judging Amy actors}}
• {{lc|Knots Landing actors}}
• {{lc|Little House on the Prairie actors}}
• {{lc|Lost actors}}
• {{lc|MacGyver actors}}
• {{lc|Malhação actors}}
• {{lc|Melrose Place}}
• {{lc|Nip/Tuck actors}}
• {{lc|Northern Exposure actors}}
• {{lc|One Tree Hill actors}}
• {{lc|Over There actors}}
• {{lc|Oz (TV series) actors}}
• {{lc|Prison Break actors}}
• {{lc|Six Feet Under actors}}
• {{lc|The Sopranos actors}}
• {{lc|Tru Calling actors}}
• {{lc|Ugly Betty actors}}
• {{lc|Vanished (TV series) cast}}
• {{lc|Veronica Mars actors}}
• {{lc|The West Wing actors}}

(within :Category:Actors by crime television series)

• {{lc|CSI actors}}
• {{lc|CSI: Miami actors}}
• {{lc|Columbo actors}}
• {{lc|Homicide: Life on the Street cast}}
• {{lc|Law & Order cast}}
• {{lc|Matlock actors}}
• {{lc|Miami Vice actors}}
• {{lc|Murder, She Wrote actors}}
• {{lc|NYPD Blue actors}}
• {{lc|Pacific Blue actors}}
• {{lc|Perry Mason actors}}
• {{lc|The Shield actors}}

(within :Category:Actors by comedy television series)

• {{lc|30 Rock actors}}
• {{lc|All That cast members}}
• {{lc|Arrested Development actors}}
• {{lc|Bewitched actors}}
• {{lc|Brady Bunch actors}}
• {{lc|Cheers actors}}
• {{lc|Curb Your Enthusiasm actors}}
• {{lc|Drawn Together actors}}
• {{lc|Ellen (TV series) cast members}}
• {{lc|Entourage actors}}
• {{lc|The Fairly OddParents actors}}
• {{lc|Family Guy actors}}
• {{lc|Family Matters actors}}
• {{lc|Frasier actors}}
• {{lc|Friends actors}}
• {{lc|Full House actors}}
• {{lc|Futurama actors}}
• {{lc|Good Times actors}}
• {{lc|Hannah Montana actors}}
• {{lc|Happy Days actors}}
• {{lc|Kim Possible voice actors}}
• {{lc|King of the Hill cast members}}
• {{lc|Laugh-In cast members}}
• {{lc|Leave It to Beaver actors}}
• {{lc|Lizzie McGuire actors}}
• {{lc|MADtv cast members}}
• {{lc|Malcolm in the Middle actors}}
• {{lc|Married... with Children actors}}
• {{lc|Mouseketeers}}
• {{lc|The Nanny actors}}
• {{lc|The Office actors}}
• {{lc|Perfect Strangers actors}}
• {{lc|Rude Awakening actors}}
• {{lc|Saturday Night Live cast members}}
• {{lc|Saved by the Bell actors}}
• {{lc|Scooby-Doo actors}}
• {{lc|Scrubs actors}}
• {{lc|Seinfeld actors}}
• {{lc|Simpsons cast members}}
• {{lc|So NoTORIous}}
• {{lc|South Park actors}}
• {{lc|SpongeBob SquarePants actors}}
• {{lc|The Suite Life of Zack & Cody actors}}
• {{lc|That '70s Show actors}}
• {{lc|That's So Raven actors}}
• {{lc|What's Happening!! actors}}
• {{lc|Whose Line Is It Anyway? contestants}}
• {{lc|Will & Grace actors}}
• {{lc|Yes, Dear actors}}
• {{lc|You Can't Do That on Television actors}}

(within :Category:Actors by science fiction television series)

• {{lc|Andromeda actors}}
• {{lc|Babylon 5 cast and crew}}
• {{lc|Battlestar Galactica cast and crew}}
• {{lc|Crusade cast and crew}}
• {{lc|Doctor Who actors}}
• {{lc|Farscape cast and crew}}
• {{lc|Firefly cast and crew}}
• {{lc|Knight Rider actors}}
• {{lc|The Outer Limits actors}}
• {{lc|Power Rangers actors}}
• {{lc|Quantum Leap actors}}
• {{lc|Roswell actors}}
• {{lc|Sliders actors}}
• {{lc|The Twilight Zone actors}}
• {{lc|V actors}}
• {{lc|X-Files actors}}

(within :Category:Actors by fantasy/horror television series)

• {{lc|Are You Afraid of the Dark? actors}}
• {{lc|Blade: The Series actors}}
• {{lc|Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast and crew}}
• {{lc|Charmed actors}}
• {{lc|Dark Shadows actors}}
• {{lc|Hercules: The Legendary Journeys actors}}
• {{lc|The Outer Limits actors}}
• {{lc|Tales from the Crypt actors}}
• {{lc|The Twilight Zone actors}}
• {{lc|Xena: Warrior Princess actors}}

(within :Category:Australian television actors by series)

• {{lc|A Country Practice actors}}
• {{lc|Home and Away actors}}
• {{lc|Kath & Kim actors}}
• {{lc|Neighbours actors}}
• {{lc|Number 96 actors}}
• {{lc|Prisoner actors}}
• {{lc|The Restless Years actors}}
• {{lc|The Sullivans actors}}
• {{lc|The Young Doctors actors}}

(within :Category:British television actors by series)

• {{lc|'Allo 'Allo! actors}}
• {{lc|Absolutely Fabulous actors}}
• {{lc|Afterlife actors}}
• {{lc|All About Me actors}}
• {{lc|Always and Everyone actors}}
• {{lc|Are You Being Served? actors}}
• {{lc|Avengers actors}}
• {{lc|Bergerac actors}}
• {{lc|The Bill actors}}
• {{lc|Blackadder actors}}
• {{lc|Blake's 7 actors}}
• {{lc|Brookside actors}}
• {{lc|Bugs actors}}
• {{lc|Casualty actors}}
• {{lc|Casualty and Holby City actors}}
• {{lc|Cold Feet actors}}
• {{lc|Coronation Street actors}}
• {{lc|Crisis Command participants}}
• {{lc|Dad's Army actors}}
• {{lc|Doctor Who actors}}
• {{lc|Doctor in the House TV actors}}
• {{lc|Dream Team actors}}
• {{lc|EastEnders actors}}
• {{lc|Emmerdale actors}}
• {{lc|Family Affairs actors}}
• {{lc|Fawlty Towers actors}}
• {{lc|Gimme Gimme Gimme actors}}
• {{lc|Grange Hill actors}}
• {{lc|Green Wing actors}}
• {{lc|Hollyoaks actors}}
• {{lc|Howards' Way actors}}
• {{lc|Jonathan Creek actors}}
• {{lc|Last of The Summer Wine actors}}
• {{lc|Merseybeat actors}}
• {{lc|Mile High actors}}
• {{lc|Minder actors}}
• {{lc|Neverwhere actors}}
• {{lc|The Office actors}}
• {{lc|Only Fools and Horses actors}}
• {{lc|The Prisoner actors}}
• {{lc|Red Dwarf actors}}
• {{lc|Space 1999 actors}}
• {{lc|Touch of Frost actors}}
• {{lc|Trial & Retribution actors}}
• {{lc|Undercover Customs actors}}
• Delete categories and convert to lists, Per discussions in the cfd for :Category:Actors by television series, this is an umbrella nomination to convert most or all of the "Actors by television series" subcategories into list articles. The reason is that, if most television series and films have their own unique category for actors, then many actors would end up with 30 or 50 or more categories at the end of their article; one category per show or film in which they appeared. Therefore rather than use individual unique categories to compile actors that appeared within a television series, I recommend using list articles, such as "List of actors that have appeared in 24 (TV series)". Using a list also has the advantage of allowing additional information about the actor to be included (eg. name of the character they played), as well as differentiating between "regular" star and "guest" star credits. I will compile affected subcategories above for discussion. Dugwiki 17:29, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• FYI, I'm still in the process of listing and tagging all the affected subcategories. I should have it complete this afternoon. Thanks for your patience. Dugwiki 17:47, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment: find an actor in 30 such categories and I'll agree with your reason for deletion. — AnemoneProjectors (talk) 21:15, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment: I agree with AnemoneProjectors - none of them are for films, and which actor will possibly be in 30 categories? Is it against any Wikipedia rules? Are they doing any harm? Trampikey ^{(talk to me)(contribs)} 21:18, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Just to reply, the point would be to do the conversion now rather than wait until the number of show-related categories grows to the point that it becomes more of a problem and is also harder to correct. As far as a hypothetical example, how about Tara Strong ([http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0152839/ IMDB listing]) She's a voice actress with 197 credits to her name, many of which are television shows in which she played recurring characters. Now imagine if each of those shows had its own category called "ThisShow actors"; she'd end up with 100+ categories in her listing. Dugwiki 21:47, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• And may I ask what's wrong with having a lot of categories? The point of categories is to group articles with similar ones, something that the subject of the articles have in common, which is applicable to these categories! Trampikey ^{(talk to me)(contribs)} 10:11, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• Delete per nom. Categories are not the way to do this. Recury 17:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. Wrong use of categories. Attempt to turn WP into a database. 18:05, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. After seeing some actor pages with too many categories just promoting what shows they've been in, I have to say delete. RobJ1981 19:15, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. Agree with all the reasoning above. Also think that since lists can have more relevant information added to them, they would be more utilized by the average Wikipedia user. Just my two cents... --Ebyabe 20:20, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. I almost nominated these a while ago, but I was too lazy. Agree with all the points made above. —Xezbeth 20:42, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep or Listify or Rename: People should not be added to these categories if they were only in one episode of the series. However, I do think the categories should remain for actors who played main characters and maybe recurring characters. I think it might be a good idea to rename the categories to things like :Category:Actors who played main characters of That '70s Show so that editors are encouraged to use them correctly, and discouraged from using them on guest characters. It is still interesting though to see lists of actors who appeared in a series. Therefore, at the very least I think the categories should be converted into lists. If the categories are in list fomat, then people will still be able to find the information without the category section of an actor's article being filled with categories with little relavence to the actor. I would hope that, if the categories are to be deleted, that people wait to delete them until after they have been converted into list format. Q0 21:00, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• I agree the categories should be converted to lists. (I clarified that in my vote above). I don't want the information in these categories lost; I just want it converted into list form. I also agree that, if possible, the categories should be first converted into a list, and THEN deleted. However, once the lists are created, I see no benefit to keeping the categories around, and in fact allowing the categories to propogate will probably cause problems as I described in my nomination. Dugwiki 21:08, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Follow-up (Phew! I finally finished tagging all the cats.) One quick note; although I'm nominating deleting all the subcategories, do keep the parent :Category:Actors by television series because that is where all the list articles would be placed. So it becomes a category filled with list articles instead of a category filled with subcategories. (In fact, the lists would presumably go under the corresponding subcat, such as lists for comedies going under :Category:Actors by comedy television series). Dugwiki 21:12, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment: I think if all the subcategories are renamed, then the main category should be renamed :Category:Lists of actors by television series to indicate it is a category of lists. Q0 22:37, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Good suggestion on the new name, Q0, assuming the categories are converted into lists.Dugwiki 23:42, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep or Listify - Mainly per User:Q0, due to this nomination and the nominator calling this a "vote" I feel compelled to notify that I have lost all respect in this user after his prior category shuffle in the prior week which I did not mind. The nature of the categories should be for main characters only, however. The best course of acion would of been a request at the project, not a CFD thanks/Fenton, Matthew Lexic Dark 52278 Alpha 771 21:38, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• FYI, I just used the word "vote" above as a figure of speech; I never implied that CFD is strictly a voting process. I'm also not sure what "shuffle" you're referring to, but if you have an issue with something I edited recently feel free to let me know on my talk page or on the page I edited. Finally, I created this nomination based on feedback from the :Category:Actors by television series cfd, and also as a means of compiling all the affected subcategories in one place. In fact, the only thing unusual about this nomination is its size. thanks/ Dugwiki 22:03, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Do you even have any idea how many TV show WikiProjects there are? Just because not every single little person was notified means that the logic behind the nomination should be ignored. Major WP:POINT. People "voting" keep just because "no one asked me first" is insane. -- Ned Scott 23:48, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep all per previous discussions. Tim! 22:07, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Could you link the previous discussion on the subcategories for reference, Tim? The only discussion I found was to delete the overall parent category, which isn't the recommendation. I'm not saying you're wrong; I just can't seem to find the discussion you're talking about when it comes to the subcategories. Thanks. Dugwiki 22:20, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Wikipedia:Categories_for_deletion/Log/2005_December_26#Actors_by_series_and_its_sub-categories included 57 subcategories; only the nominator and one anonymous editor supported that nomination. Tim! 19:39, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Oh-so-very-keep. Firstly, it's been decided, time and again, that cats and lists are not necessarily redundant. A list of cast and crew is great, but where would these people all go if we deleted the cat? Category:Actors? We subcategorize for a reason. It would be ridiculous to move all these people up in the category scheme. - Che Nuevara 23:19, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• To answer the question, the actors themselves would remain under either :Category:Television actors or the appropriate subcategory of :Category:Television actors by nationality. In addition, the lists replacing the subcategories would all be sorted under :Category:Actors by television series, and the actors would of course appear on those lists as well. So no, the actors wouldn't be moving "up the scheme" to just "Actors". Dugwiki 23:39, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Do you realize how huge that would make Category:Television actors? Look at the list of categories up for deletion -- it's a rather large number as it is. Category:Television actors would become useless as a category. - Che Nuevara 06:08, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Actually the category size wouldn't change at all. All of the actors in the above subcategories are already listed (or should already be listed) either under :Category:Television actors OR under a national subcategory. There's no shuffling or adding of additional categories occuring; these actors are already in the category you're talking about. So Category:Television actors would remain exactly the same size as it is now. Dugwiki 12:19, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete per nom and above. -- Ned Scott 23:45, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep all Editors have spent hours and days categorizing all of these actors by their series, and I find it nice to be able to just go into a category and find out who's appeared in a show. Actors are defined by their series, not just their names, and to delete the categories would undermine this as an information source. Nate 01:57, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep as I've found them useful and I can't imagine this being clutter if the categories are used in the right way. As stated above, they need to be RESTRICTED to the main and recurring cast. Several users are adding guest stars to these categories, and they should NOT be in them. Many of these categories need to be cleaned up to remove guest stars and a note should be placed on the parent category stating that guest stars should not be included. Appearing in a show for one or two episodes is really not a notable characteristic. But other than that, I think being a part of the main or recurring cast in a notable television show is a notable characteristic. --musicpvm 03:26, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Strong Keep I didn't create :Category:Star Trek actors subcategories for it all to be erased. These are a useful navigation tool. NorthernThunder 03:33, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• FYI, :Category:Star Trek actors isn't currently on the list for deletion/listifying. It's not a subcategory of :Category:Actors by television series because it crosses multiple media types (television, movies and video games). I intentionally left this out along with the other subcategories of :Category:Actors by series that cross media types. So don't worry, your category isn't actually up for discussion here. Dugwiki 11:54, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• This nomination leaves a bad taste by only choosing television series, for example Star Trek actors is not up for deletion, whereas Doctor Who actors is: Doctor Who has been on television, radio, webcasts, and audio dramas, there aren't just subcategories to cover those types of media. Tim! 19:39, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep I think that these categories are very useful for finding other actors with the same shows and finding out more about them. Also, list articles who mot be very encyclopedic. ISD 07:10, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Listify and Delete - The format: List of characters on (compare to (List of characters on The West Wing) This way, the characters are what is listed, with who portrayed them. It's a win-win. - jc37 06:25, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Regarding navigational concerns - I see a couple of replies that talk about it being nice to be able to find other actors with the same shows and find out more about them. I agree, that is the sort of search capability you want. However, I want to point out that, far as I can tell, putting the cast list in a list article offers that same navigational ability as putting them in a category. Remember, the idea would be to replace the categories with lists, not delete them entirely. In fact, a list provides more functionality because it can include all the cast, including guest stars, and list things like character names and episode appearances. So my question is this: in this instance, what navigational advantage do the categories offer that a cast list article doesn't provide? Dugwiki 12:04, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• :Are you arguing that all categories should be deleted, because "lists are superior" could apply to every single category. What is wrong with these categories compared to any other category that we have? Tim! 10:15, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• ::Please see: Wikipedia:List guideline, Wikipedia:Categorization, and most specifically read: Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes. - jc37 19:55, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
• :::And what specifically on any of those pages relates to these categories in particular? Tim! 21:55, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
• :::I was responding to:...because "lists are superior" could apply to every single category... - The links, especially the last one, show clearly the pros and cons of categories and lists. - jc37 22:20, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
• Strong Keep per User:Mrschimpf, also some actors can't be on the lists as they have only had minor roles (characters with no given name etc.) - so they're not on the appropriate lists... Trampikey ^{(talk to me)(contribs)} 12:06, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• One advantage of a list over a category is that it would allow you to seperate and include regular cast and guest stars/minor actors (similar to how IMDB does cast lists, seperating the two). A category, by contrast, makes no such distinction, so you either end up having both regular cast members confused with guest stars, or you have the category including only regular cast members and losing the information about who might have made a guest appearance. Hopefully that addresses your concern that "some actors can't be on the lists", but it's possible I misunderstood what you meant so if not feel free to reply. (P.S. Who is User:Mrschimpf? I don't see a comment from her above. Just curious.) Dugwiki 12:27, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Comment: If a guest character does not have a name, the name of the actor who played the character can still be added to the list. I thought that the main emphasis of the lists would be the names of the actors, and other information like the name of the guest character, and the episode the character was in would be secondary information. One advantage of lists to categories is that lists can include people who do not have articles, but categories cannot. Q0 15:26, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep. I've read the discussion, and do agree that these categories should have more stringent inclusion guidelines, to emphasize that they're only for regular actors in a particular series, and not for anyone who may have had a minor guest-starring role, unless such role is a major part of their notability. I also think that having "List of" articles is a good idea, for the reasons mentioned above about being able to include additional information (time appeared, name of character, etc.). For those rare situations where an actor has appeared in so many shows that it actually causes category clutter on their bio page, perhaps it would be worthwhile making a guideline like, "In those cases, only the 5 most notable shows in the perspective of that actor's lifetime career should be included. In other words, if the soap opera General Hospital got a fair amount of notoriety for having Elizabeth Taylor as a guest star, then she should appear on the List of General Hospital actors page, but shouldn't have :Category:General Hospital actors on her bio, since it's not one of the most important things that she was known for in her career. Bottom line though, I do think that the categories serve a useful purpose, and should be kept. --Elonka 20:33, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Keep. I haven't read all the comments on this page but I agree with Elonka and ISD at least. — AnemoneProjectors (talk) 20:46, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
• Delete and stick to lists which can be properly cited. If an actor's involvement in a program is sufficiently noteworthy, the category becomes redundant because the actor's article will name the show and the cast list will name the actor. This isn't TV.com. See WP:NOT. Wikipedia is not a database. Doczilla 05:50, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• Delete per the above. >Radiant< 10:06, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• Keep, the categories add information of interest, and are easier at hand for the user than lists would be.Bjones 17:13, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• Delete all. These are all redundant with the actors' lists of appearances and the articles' cast lists. If an article's list of cast members is harder to navigate than a category or if an actor's article doesn't give context to their role in a TV series, that's a reason to improve the article, not to create yet another narrow, fannish category. As noted, many of these actors (especially voice actors) will be in dozens of categories if these are kept and fully populated. If these categories are kept, I see no reason why :Category:Actors by film shouldn't be fully populated with a category for every film. Ludicrous, yes, but so are these categories. :Category:Television actors and its more specific subcategories are more than enough to replace them. -Sean Curtin 19:26, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• Keep all They are useful. Michael 20:31, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. I have read through the various comments. My problem is that this information may be better presented by lists. People aritcles are already clogged with categories for everything and we really need to do something to manage the growth. This is just a start. With a listify we lose nothing and provide a more professional looking product. I don't see how the categories are more useful here. It is far easier to update one article for changes then to update several articles. Add to that the ability to add other information like seasons, regular role or guest and lists should win hands down. Vegaswikian 03:34, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
• Strong Keep All - three reasons. Firstly, its a "verging on the racist" nomination - why just nominate the Brit's and the Aussie's for listification, why not the Americans and Canadians and everyone else out there? I think perhaps the nominator realises that the resultant list/s would be too long - have you seen the number of actor changes on a popular Aussie/Brit soap? Secondly, because the resultant lists would be poorly maintained - some new editors just stick their new addition at the top of a list, while a category is at least maintained alphabeticaly. Thirdly, its very scientific/encyclopedic - you can prove they were on a series, where as lists are used for less encyclopedic issues. Plus the lists would get full of one-episode actors, let alone animals: Yuk! A poor nomination, based mainly on the practicalities of maintenance of such information. Rgds, - Trident13 18:15, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
• Just to reply quickly, "Brits and Aussies" aren't the only nominations. Please reread the subcategories above; it included all the categories, most of which are US shows. Secondly, the nomination didn't have anything to do with "maintainence of information", it is due to the potential for the number of categories per actor article to grow out of control if most individual television series are allowed to have unique categories for cast lists. Finally, I understand your concern about automatic-vs-manual sorting of entries, but also consider that there is objective, useful and easily verified information such as character name and first appearance date that can be included in a list that can't be included in a category. Dugwiki 22:50, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
• Keep all, unless the person who suggeste this is prepared to keep EVERY list up to date. Categories allow you to move quickly from one actor to another, without having to go to the list's own page. Alphabetical order and general tidiness is difficult to keep on a list. --MartinUK 23:00, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
• To reply to the "going to the list's page" comment, consider that there is basically no difference between "going back to the list's page" and "going back to the category's page" when you want to view another actor on the same show. It takes exactly one click on the Back button in both cases from the article you're reading. Also, adding an actor to a list or removing an actor from a list isn't more difficult than adding or removing them from a category; both require editing an article. The only difference is that in one case you're editing the actor's article, and in the other case you're editing the cast list article. In terms of time spent editing per change, though, it's the same. Finally, note that there is currently no one person keeping EVERY CATEGORY up to date, so the fact that one person won't maintain the same number of list articles isn't relevant. In both cases, the maintainence is done by editors interested in the particular topic or project.Dugwiki 22:58, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
• I feel that categories are much easier to maintain than lists. When a new editor creates an article for a particular actor, it's fairly intuitive to add categories for that actor's shows. It's not always intuitive to add the actor's name to a particular "list" article, which may have an unusual name, may or may not exist in the first place, and may or may not have been kept up to date. Though having said that, I still think that having both mechanisms, a list and a category, is the proper way to handle this, rather than forcing a choice of one or the other. --Elonka 23:15, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
• Delete All and Listify. As Wikipedia continues to grow exponentially, List articles are going to be the least cumbersome method for database info such as this. --Satori Son 18:39, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
• Strongest keep imaginable. --FateSmiled&DestinyLaughed 19:38, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
• Definately keep - it's clear and very helpful (Kyleall 22:07, 3 October 2006 (UTC))
• Strong, strong, STRONG keep, per above. SergeantBolt (t,c) 22:48, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
• I would rather consider them individually but as a group, Keep. Mallanox 17:33, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
• Strong keep all. This is what categories are for. Lists are a pain in the ass to maintain. --- RockMFR 19:47, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
• Keep all I actually believe that this can be interesting, if somewhat trivial info. After reading this debate, I proposed the following on the village pump (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Village%20pump%20%28proposals%29&oldid=81091787#minor_categories Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#minor categories]): why don't we make a slight change to the wiki software (and this is really not a hard thing to implement) so that articles can be categorized into minor categories. The article would indeed lie in the category and would be accessible when browsing that category. However, when reading the article, you would only see by default the most meaningful categories. There could be a "show all" button which allows one to see all categories. Simple enough solution I think. With that system both the actors that hold main roles in a given series and those that only have secondary or guest-star roles would lie in the category. But, at least by default, that category would only appear as part of the article for actors whose part in that series was significant enough. That does not prevent a user who is more specifically interested in that actor to see all categories. By the way, if you like that idea, I'd love to hear from you on my talk page or on the village pump in the relevant section. I think this could be a decent improvement to the categorization system. Pascal.Tesson 22:12, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

:* I can just see the major-minor category edit-warring now (shudder). - jc37 22:21, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

::I've heard that argument but frankly I don't know why people are so pessimistic. A simple guideline or a note on the page of certain categories would say: actors that have only secondary roles or were guest stars in the series should be categorized with the "minor" option. Why do people always assume that edit-warring is inevitable? Pascal.Tesson 08:07, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

• Comment: Some of the comments above say that lists are harder to maintain than categories. I think lists are easier to maintain. If I want to add a bunch of actors who appeared on a telelvision show, when in list format, I can do all my editing in one place. In category format, however, I would have to edit the articles of each person I am adding to the category. Q0 22:51, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

:*I think that's a great and correct point - so here's the counter argument. Because Lists are so easy to add to, they are more fallable to poor maintenance - why stick it in alphabetic order, why not just stick it where you feel at that moment? Most of us here in this debate have 1000+ edits experience - these types of lists will be attractive to mainly non-registered editors. Putting that point aside, the second problem is that you can add anything to a list - so what happens if the second unit directors niece has a walk on by part to pay her college dues: do we list her? In a list we clearly can (but I didn't think that was the point of Wiki to be the ultimate source of everything); where as who is going to write her a bio page just to put her on a category - and even if they do, the bots will pick up a poor/small/unlinked bio. I can see where this proposer is trying to get at - some Bio's do look more like lists of categories than Bio's. However, its the practicalities of maintenance that worry me in such a "youth-fan(atic)" dominated area. I think this has been a great debate, but its brought up some issues which are outside the bounds of a simple "keep/delete" page debate. Best Rgds, - Trident13 00:05, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

• Comment: If we do end up keeping them, a few of them need to go through the renaming process so they all follow the same format ("actors" vs "cast" vs "cast members", etc). --- RockMFR 05:53, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

:The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the category's talk page (if any). No further edits should be made to this section.