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December 5

Category:Alumni by educational institution

The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was: keep. WP:SNOW keep. (non-admin closure) UnitedStatesian (talk) 22:08, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's rationale: and every single one of the sub-categories (and every single sub-sub-category, etc...). This is a textbook example of a category-tree which has almost all of the problems which could lead to deletion; and it being long-standing or widely used does not address any of these concerns.

First, and most importantly, in nearly all cases, this plain and simple fails WP:DEFCAT. Categories, as nicely explained at the relevant page, provide navigational links to Wikipedia pages in a hierarchy of categories which readers, knowing essential—defining—characteristics of a topic, can browse. I have yet to see anybody notable where the defining characteristics of their notability [as in the guideline example of Caravaggio, an Italian artist of the Baroque movement] include the place they went to school (the few exceptions might be something like "first women to graduate from X" or something like that, but those would invariably be WP:SMALLCAT). Like articles, categories are not there for WP:ITSINTERESTING factoids which serve little encyclopedic value.

Second, these categories are blatantly misused to an exceedingly large degree, showing how problematic they are. In many instances, these "alumni of X" categories are not even mentioned in the body of the article (showing how clearly they are WP:NONDEF - c.f. point 1). In other instances, the "mention" in the article sums up to an unsourced listing in the infobox (failing WP:CATVERIFY). In either case, the issue is widespread enough, and combined with number 1 and the sheer quantity of them, there's no reasonable way to expect this fundamental issue can be fixed. And, if something would require far too much editor time and ressources to be fixed, it is entirely justifiable to get rid of it, as it is helplessly broken.

The proliferation of such trivial-mention categories only accentuates WP:OVERCAT problems: there are plenty of examples of attributes which are both verifiable and which are notable intersections (even for world-famous institutions, ex. List of University of Oxford people) without them being defining characteristics of their subjects (to continue ex.: neither Edward VII or Edward VIII attending colleges at Oxford is defining for these persons). This should be obvious from the fact that attending an educational institution is not a claim to notability.

Finally, to rebut any argument that this might be repurposed into something useful, Category:Lists of people by school affiliation exists, and is usually already present on the few lists where such a categorisation is legitimate.

In short, this category-tree A) fails WP:DEFCAT B) is widely misused in practice and C) can be replaced by an existing more appropriate category in the few cases where the use is legitimate. RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 19:16, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

RandomCanadian, I don't have AWB either, so I have asked for help on the talk page. TSventon (talk) 21:53, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.

Category:Horticulture and gardening

The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was: do not merge; diffuse per Option A, with each Gardening category as a sub-cat of the corresponding Horticulture category. – Fayenatic London 17:41, 27 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The issue in the below speedy discussion is inconsistency between the top layer (not diffused to horticulture on the one hand and gardening on the other hand) versus the country subcategories (which are diffused to horticulture on the one hand and gardening on the other hand). There are two opposite options to solve the inconsistency:

As nominator, I have a weak preference for option A, I understand the two topics are related but they are also distinct. Though option B is still better than the status quo.

copy of speedy discussion
  • Category:Horticulture by country and Category:Gardening by country to Category:Horticulture and gardening by country – C2C to remain consistent with Category:Horticulture and gardening. –Aidan721 (talk) 03:48, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    • Oppose ALL these - pointless merge. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN PUT AS A SPEEDY! 14:22, 1 December 2021 (UTC)
      • @Johnbod: To the unsigned comment, how about a reason for your opposition because it clearly fits the criteria per WP:C2C. –Aidan721 (talk) 15:39, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    • The broader question at stake is whether it would make sense to diffuse Category:Horticulture and gardening to Category:Horticulture and Category:Gardening. I do not have the answer to that question but if the answer is yes, then the country categories can be kept separate too. Marcocapelle (talk) 21:14, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
      • Agreed. –Aidan721 (talk) 03:00, 2 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
        • The 2 appear to have been merged following a Wikiproject discussion: diff which perhaps refers to Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Horticulture_and_Gardening/Archive_1#Horticulture_and_Gardening. I would agree with Aidan721 that the subcats should have followed via C2C. Oculi (talk) 12:13, 2 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
          • I have taken a closer look at the content of the categories and in all fairness there seems to be a distinction between horticulture for commercial purposes versus gardening for one's own pleasure. Another issue is whether we should diffuse this by country at all, there is in general not too much content per country. Marcocapelle (talk) 05:08, 3 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
            • I agree with @Johnbod: that these categories should not be merged or renamed without a full discussion. C2C "should be used only where there is no room for doubt that the category in question is being used for the standard purpose instead of being a potential subcategory". National categories are relevant as these are land based industries and many of the categories are well populated. TSventon (talk) 11:11, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
        • We now have two objections, so the speedy was clearly wrong (by definition, as quoted above)! There are all sorts of issues here. I don't have an issue with the "by country" aspect, but the vast majority of the items in all these categories are gardening-related. Gardeners can be called "horticulturalists", but so can arable farmers and plant scientists (who don't seem to have a category), who aren't in here. A proper discussion is needed, not what seemed to have been a drive-by nom of all these. Johnbod (talk) 12:02, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
            • Looking at the links (for which thanks), why am I not surprised to find User:SilkTork at the bottom of this! The category merge (11 years ago!) was clearly out of process, & reversing it should certainly be an option. Though the current situation has been in place for 11 years without apparent complaints. Johnbod (talk) 12:05, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
List of horticulture subcats

@Aidan721, Johnbod, Oculi, and TSventon: pinging contributors to speedy discussion. Marcocapelle (talk) 17:48, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  • I would also support gardening becoming a subcat of horticulture. –Aidan721 (talk) 22:47, 10 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Horticulture" is certainly the larger topic; it includes in particular the growing & breeding of agricultural plants - really arable farmers are "horticulturists" too. A scheme with Gardeners as a sub-tree below them may be the simplest way, and is defensible. The vast majority of the articles in these trees relate to gardeners/garden horticulturalists (rose breeders etc) rather than wheat breeders etc. The current name is such a mouthful - if anything it should be "Gardening and Horticulture" reflecting the balance of the articles, and the alphabet. An awful lot of bio articles are in both trees, which is not necessary - we could try to define the terms more tightly. Personally the "inconsistency" doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I dare say there will be future drive-by attacks, although this is the first in 11 years. So almost anything, except the proposed speedies - which should certainly never have been proposed that way. Johnbod (talk) 03:46, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Not a key issue here, but I don't like that definition (which has not survived). Rather, arable agriculture is a sub-set of horticulture, which covers all forms of plant-growing (so also forestry). Whether botany, as the theoretical and scientific side, is the level above or below horticulture I'm not sure. The current category description: "Horticulture and gardening involve the aesthetic cultivating of ornamental plants, native plants, fruits, vegetables, and flowers in public and domestic gardens and landscapes. They combine agriculture, environmental design, botany, and the applied arts." is also wrong. It would do for gardening, but horticulture is wider. Johnbod (talk) 17:30, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I note there are a lot of speedy noms on subcats: can the closure of these be held off until this is closed? Peterkingiron (talk) 17:46, 9 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.

Category:Islamic psychology

Relisted, see Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2021 December 28#Category:Islamic psychology

Category:Country navigational boxes

The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was: keep (non-admin closure); @Grutness: feel free to nominate the target. Marcocapelle (talk) 06:26, 13 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's rationale: Basically identical categories. —— Eric LiuTalk 16:32, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]


The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.

Category:Security units of Nazi Germany disestablished in 1945

The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was: no consensus.Fayenatic London 08:23, 28 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's rationale: Per local consensus reached at Talk:33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne#"Military" unit. Scope of the proposed titles remains the same and is more precise. —Brigade Piron (talk) 12:08, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks TSventon, much appreciated. I can only comment on the categories I have seen, but I would personally suggest that the category tree be renamed accordingly with non-Waffen-SS units migrated to separate categories, if necessary, on a basis to be decided. —Brigade Piron (talk) 21:00, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Brigade Piron, the nomination would be stronger if you looked at the other subcategories of Category:Bandenbekämpfung I have linked above and suggested how to deal with them. TSventon (talk) 10:49, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.

Category:Group 4 silicates

The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was: soft merge (non-admin closure) Marcocapelle (talk) 06:36, 13 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's rationale: WP:SMALLCAT, only 2 articles out of a possible 3, if rutherfordium is excluded for obvious reasons. –LaundryPizza03 (d) 08:43, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]


The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.

Category:Doctoral students of Emmy Noether

The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more categories. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was: delete.Fayenatic London 08:25, 28 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's rationale: Delete Newly created category that is an WP:OVERCAT (we have no other similar categories by teacher) and WP:NOTDEFINING for any of the members of the category. UnitedStatesian (talk) 01:17, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]


The above is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the category's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.