The following discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not change it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No more changes should be made to this discussion.

The outcome of this request for deletion was to  Keep. This discussion has gone on for 2 weeks now, and with only 2 votes and some good dialogue, it appears for now, the current consensus is to keep. Enfcer (talk) 22:34, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Category:Period television series

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Category:Period television series (edit · talk · history · links · watch · logs · delete) · close request

Auntof6 has nominated this page for deletion for the reason: "Period" is a vague term. Every television series is set in some period or other. It would be better to use something like "Television series by decade of setting". Auntof6 (talk) 20:22, 3 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Please discuss this request below, but keep in mind that you shouldn't vote on everything and that there may be options other than "keep" or "delete", such as merging.

Discussion

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The fact that other Wikis have the category is irrelevant. The term is neither simple nor clear, and so does not serve us well here. --Auntof6 (talk) 23:35, 3 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
To me, the term is simple and clear, although I realise that may not be the case in countries where the term (or its translation) is not in common usage. Can someone suggest a better wording for the category?
There are not yet enough articles on simple to create cats for each decade of setting. On en, there is a Period television series cat, containing cats for each decade.
Jim Michael (talk) 10:33, 4 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Again, what is on enwiki doesn't matter here. I see that the cat there has the decade articles in it, but I don't think they fit. The definition of "period" has to mean more than just being set in a time period. If that's all it means, then all fictional series would fit there because they're all set in some time period or other. If "period" means something like "set in a timeframe before it was created", then we can't include the decade categories because some of those were set in the decade when they were created.
How about the wording "Television series written about the past"? --Auntof6 (talk) 16:27, 4 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
It means that they are set in an earlier time period (years at least) than when they were released. Most fiction is set in what is at the time the present, hence most works of fiction do not fit the cat. The decade of setting cats such as en's Category:Television series set in the 1960s do not include fiction that was released in that decade. If you meant cats like Category:1980s television series, then those cannot go into this cat, because they are for programmes originally shown during that decade, not those originally shown later than when they were set. Calling the cat Television series written about the past is saying that they are factual, wheareas most of them are fictional - most of them are set in the past, but not about actual past events etc. Television series set in the past would be a better title. I was unaware that terms such as period television and period drama are not well-known terms across the Anglosphere. If I were to use the term period drama (or similar) to any of my acquaintances in real-life, they would certainly know what I was talking about, even though they do not all watch them. Jim Michael (talk) 18:38, 4 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
OK, I see that "written about the past" wouldn't work. I still don't think "period" in this sense is simple, but maybe it's the best option we have. (I am very familiar with it, by the way, but the issue here is simplicity, not how many people know the term.) I was not talking about categories like "1960s television programs". As for the "set in the 1960s" types of categories, if we take your meaning, then they are more examples of category names that do not fully describe what they are meant for. To me, they mean anything set in the decade specified, no matter when it was released. If I were to populate those categories (which I don't, because I don't think they're very helpful), I would not limit them as you describe. Something like "set in a time period earlier than when they were released" would be more accurate, although probably too long. --Auntof6 (talk) 04:31, 9 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I think Period television series is the best title, and it is the term used on en. I cannot think of a better term and no-one has suggested a term which is better understood and concise enough to be a cat name. If the cat remains as it is, and a description put on it, that would solve the possible problem of many people not knowing what the term 'period' means in this context. It is a broad term, but I do not think it is vague. On here, as on en, works of fiction are only put in the 'set in' cats if they were not released then. Some of the en cats have a description on them to explain that. The large majority of fiction is set in what is at the time the present day and that is assumed to be the case unless it is stated or shown during the novel, TV show, film etc that it is not. The 'period' and 'set in' cats are to denote that it is not the case with them. Jim Michael (talk) 17:30, 9 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This request is due to close on 20:22, 10 May 2014 (UTC), seven days after it was filed, although it may be closed earlier at the discretion of an administrator.

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not change it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No more changes should be made to this discussion.
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