Forum:Categories and Subcategories

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What's the convention used here for categories and subcategories?

I've taken it upon myself to assign as many of the uncategorized comic book articles into their correct category. I've see some articles that are of superheroes that are only in the Comics category, some only in the Superheroes category, and some in both. Since Superheroes is a subcategory of Comics, should any article tagged with Superheroes not be tagged with Comics as well? <-- Entry by DrObvious 20:49, 12 July 2006 UTC

If you want it to appear in Category:Comics, then yes. A subcategory is simply a navigation aid, added to the subcategory's page like this: {{subcat|ParentCategory}}, to make it appear in the parent category's page. There's no automatic upstream or downstream addition of subcategories (or their parents) to actual articles... I hope that makes sense...  c • > • cunwapquc? 04:06, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

I think I get what you are saying. Just to be clear, and entry for say Spiderman should have the [[Category:Superheroes]], but not [[Category:Comics]], while things like kryptonite should be in [[Category:Comics]]--DrObvious 04:10, 13 July 2006 (UTC) (and one of these days, I'll remember to sign every post)

See, that didn't make sense! Dammit, I never make sense... Spiderman should have both [[Category:Superheroes]] and [[Category:Comics]] in the article, if you want it to appear in both category lists. In other words, the mere fact that Superheroes is a subcategory of Comics won't cause Spiderman to appear in Category:Comics automatically. Oh, and don't hesitate to put him in Category:Insects too, just for an extra larf.  c • > • cunwapquc? 05:12, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

That's silly and we're a serious encyclopædia. Of course we know that spiders are arachnids, not insects. Spiders eat insects. Still, if there were a Category:World Wide Web or Category:Debugging tools he'd probably end up there too. --Carlb 15:07, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Technically, Spiderman is neither arachnid nor insect. In fact, if we want to get really technical, Spiderman isn't even human, or even a living organism, but is rather a concept as illustrated in various Marvel Comics™ media creations over the past several decades. It reminds me of the time I was given a birthday card by a group of co-workers, and the person who bought the card wrote in it, "Happy birthday! I saw this card and it just looked like you, so I had to buy it." Of course, I was devastated that someone, a co-worker no less, would think that I looked like a small piece of folded card-stock, albeit with a fanciful design on it. I had to leave early, I was so depressed and discouraged. But when I got home, I looked in the mirror, and you know what? She was right! I had, over the previous several weeks, "let myself go" to the point where I had shrunk and flattened almost to greeting-card-like dimensions. So, naturally, I did what anyone in my position would do - I put myself in an envelope and mailed myself to Hawaii, where I drank beaucoups pina coladas and pineapple frosties until I looked like my old self again! Of course, by the time I got back home, I'd been given up for dead by most of my friends and family, lost my job, and had my MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant rescinded. But it was a small price to pay, and if I were in the same position again, I'd do the same thing, believe you me.  c • > • cunwapquc? 07:21, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

DrObvious: You can also add them to both, among others, if it applies to more than one category. » Brig Sir Dawg | t | v | c » 09:05, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

The above quote by Some User has now earned a place in the Spiderman article; congrats. I have an additional related question: what's the point of ever using subcat, when a category and just as easily be added to a category (and appear in the right section, too)?— Lenoxus 03:50, 25 February 2007 (UTC)