Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Television

MOS:TVCAST parentheticals

FeRDNYC added an example to MOS:TVCAST in this recent edit in which he placed the season parenthetical after the character description:

• Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman:
  White House Deputy Chief of Staff to Leo McGarry. Josh later leaves the White House to become the "Santos for President" campaign manager. When Santos is elected, Josh becomes White House Chief of Staff (regular: seasons 1–7).

I'm now aware that some articles like The West Wing and The Walking Dead (and I'm sure many others) use this placement, but I'm unaware of any discussion establishing this as the only proper placement (which this example suggests it is). I'm actually more used to seeing the information presented between the name and the description like this:

• Ana Brenda Contreras (season 2) and Daniella Alonso (season 3) as Cristal Jennings, a woman who knew Celia and allowed her to use her name as an alias
• Brent Antonello as Jude Kinkade (seasons 2–4), a junior agent, and Oscar's estranged gay son, who eventually becomes vice president of the Devils, and then the team's owner.
• Michael Gaston as Mark Sampson (season 3; recurring season 1; guest season 2), a Jewish friend of Frank's living in San Francisco, who later relocates to the Neutral Zone.

I prefer this placement, in part because the season designation refers to the cast member and character, not necessarily to the description, which is usually an introduction and not a summary of the character's plotline over the entire series. I also feel that the season designation gets lost when placing it at the end, as description lengths can vary greatly. In any case, illustrating only one placement option in the MOS example suggests that it is the only "correct" way, which I do not believe has been established by consensus, so I've added an alternative to MOS:TVCAST. We can make adjustments should any future discussion evolve. Thanks.— TAnthony^Talk 18:35, 10 September 2019 (UTC)

@TAnthony: Yeah, TBH my entire motivation for adding that example was that the paragraph above discussed the use of <br> tags to insert line breaks, and then presented no examples that contained a line break — contrary to the text preceding those examples, which basically said "see example below". So, I went and sought out a relevant format that was in active use "in the wild", and scared up an exemplar to make an honest MOS out of that section.

If consensus is that there shouldn't be line breaks in character lists, ever, then I am totally on board with that. But we should not only determine the extent of non-compliant character lists in the existing content that would have to be changed, but we should also update that section of the MOS so that it doesn't completely fail to make good on its own claims. 😃 -- FeRDNYC (talk) 23:26, 10 September 2019 (UTC)

(And, actually, now I realize your objection isn't even really about the line break — so, if there's an appropriate example with the line break, but with a different placement of the season details, then I see no harm in switching examples. I merely directly reproduced the formatting from a real article (with my sole criterion being that the example contained a <br> tag), I made no decisions or value judgements regarding the formatting or content.) -- FeRDNYC (talk) 23:32, 10 September 2019 (UTC)

Yes, I'm totally fine with your example, I hadn't noticed that there wasn't one addressing the line break. I didn't think you were making a statement about the parentheticals at all, but I wanted to explain here why I was adding another example since this page has been "perfected" by many editors and people tend to get touchy about changes LOL. And we TV series editors tend to be fussy about these style details (hence the detailed guideline) and I wanted to prevent the examples from being used in cast list debates since I don't believe we have established an official preference. It literally came to my attention today that some TV articles place the season info at the end, and when I checked this guideline I noticed your recent addition. And by the way I only moved your example to last because with the line break I thought it looked weird being in the middle.— TAnthony^Talk 23:45, 10 September 2019 (UTC)

Another option if the lines are really confusing is to combine recurring and guest so it's more like (main seasons 4-5; recurring/guest seasons 3,6-12) AngusWOOF (bark • sniff) 16:14, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

MOS:TVCAST "episode count" concern

Currently, MOS:TVCAST reads (in part), The cast listing should not contain an episode count, e.g. (6 episodes) or (episodes 1–6), to indicate the number of episodes in which the actor or character appeared. My concern is that these two examples are not the same, and the second one is in fact "correct" in certain circumstances.

The "no episode counts" was added for a very specific reason – without a cite, it's basically WP:OR, and thus not easy to WP:V. Indeed, episode counts, esp. for recurring cast, had become a major problem.

My issue here is that the second example "(episodes 1–6)" is not at all the same thing as "(6 episodes)". Here is a concrete example: on The Outpost (TV series), Kevin McNally was only main cast credited through the first six episodes of the series (the first season ran 10 episodes). Now, as per TV cast, it's currently acceptable to list cast such as "Brent Antonello as Jude Kinkade (seasons 2–4)..." as per the thread above. I fail to see how "Kevin McNally[7] as The Smith (episodes 1–6)" is any different than the former example, except that McNally only appeared in a limited number of episodes rather than a limited number of seasons. Also, again, the problem with "recurring (6 episodes)" was that it was not (easily) WP:V, but a main cast member who is credited for only "(episodes 1–6)" is easily WP:V (just pull up those episodes on a streaming service and check the credits – many of us editors do this all the time, these days...). Again we deprecated "episode counts" because of WP:V concerns above all else.

Further, if you don't allow "(episodes 1–6)"-type listing for main cast, I'm not sure how else we would get across the same information. I guess you could do, "Kevin McNally[7] as The Smith (thru episode 6)", though I fail to see how this is really any different than "Kevin McNally[7] as The Smith (episodes 1–6)".

Bottom line, I think this line from TVCAST should be changed to read simply: The cast listing should not contain an episode count, e.g. (6 episodes), to indicate the number of episodes in which the actor or character appeared. And that's what I'm proposing we do here. --IJBall (contribs • talk) 12:57, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

Does "episodes 1–6" tell me how many episodes a cast member was in? It does: 6 episodes. Does "episodes 1–6, 8-12" tell me how many episodes they were in? Yes: 11 episodes. That means they serve the same purpose. Yes, it was deprecated for WP:V purposes, but the initial purpose of their inclusion remains the same: to show how many episodes a cast member was in.

There's already been discussions about how whether "(seasons X–Y)" should be allowed or not. I've seen a lot of pages that have editors that revert such additions, stating that it should be added to season articles or a Casting section. I agree with them; it adds far too much cruft and can get way out of hand, especially when we start with the whole "(main season 1, recurring season 2, guest season 3)", etc. The addition of a season "disambiguator" for cast isn't even supported by the MOS, so why should an episodes one be?

If the issue is with how long a cast member was credited as main cast, then I would suggest The 100 (TV series) as an example as to how to deal with this. Barring the use of hatnotes, follow TVCAST: If an actor misses an episode due to a real-world occurrence, such as an injury that prevents them from appearing, this info can be noted in the character's description or "Production" section with a reliable source. This applies to an actor leaving the series and not being credited anymore, so note the information in a Casting or Production section and source it: Kevin McNally appears as The Smith through to the sixth episode, after which he left the series and was no longer credited.

While primary sources are acceptable, Wikipedia relies primarily on secondary sources, so if we can use secondary sources, we should; that is, we should use and prefer reliable secondary reports over the episodes of a series. -- /Alex/₂₁ 13:05, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

It's unrealistic to expect coverage of something like this for a show like The Outpost. And we use WP:PRIMARY for cast stuff (and plot stuff) all the time... The point is, "How do we get this information across?" And I come back to the same thing – Saying "Main cast credited through episode 6" with a 'note' (as is basically done at The 100) and saying "(episodes 1–6)" is basically a distinction without a difference: it's saying exactly the same thing. Of course, I would probably not support a "(episodes 1–6, 8–12)" listing (not because it's not WP:V, but because it gets to be clunky...), though an "(episodes 1–12)" listing should be acceptable for the same reason. But you seem to be caught up on the "no episode counts" at all thing, without looking at the why we deprecated them: in fact, episode counts that are verifiable would be acceptable, as a MOS can't "override" WP:V. The reason why we deprecated "episode counts" was strictly on the basis of WP:V, because formal "episode counts" like that are almost never actually verifiable. The McNally example simply points up a flaw in the current wording, though, because this is a case where WP:V is easily met and "(episodes 1–6)" should be acceptable. --IJBall (contribs • talk) 13:31, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

Put another way, "(episodes 1–6)" is less an "episode count" than it is an "episode range". And if "season ranges" like "(seasons 2–4)" are acceptable, I don't see a legitimate reason why an episode ranges like "(episodes 1–6)" shouldn't be just as "acceptable". --IJBall (contribs • talk) 13:35, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

The point of removing episode counts is to eliminate the "attendance record", games played/started or caps, aspect of tracking actor participation in episodes. Listing the episode ranging would be applicable for those nonstandard cases (actor abruptly leaves series and another actor has to replace the role) and could be footnoted or explained in the production section, as with Zooey Deschanel filmography for Deschanel's maternity leave in New Girl. If someone's part isn't in that day's episode, or if the actor takes a sick day, those are the details that do not need to be noted. If they participated in episodes 1-6, 8-12 of season 5, they're just regarded as being in season 5. For reality TV shows, they only need to be noted that they participated in that season as a regular, and people can refer to the elimination table or the biography section if they want to know specifically when they were eliminated. If they're in The Walking Dead, and their character is killed off sometime in that season, then they're in that season and the end year of their filmography could give the more specific information as to when they are no longer in the series, assuming they don't come back for ghost/flashback appearances.AngusWOOF (bark • sniff) 13:52, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

Yes, this is really talking about weird "edge" cases like McNally on The Outpost, or John Harlan Kim on Pandora (TV series). I really don't think there's any other way to handle these outside of an "(episodes 1–3)"-type listing... @AngusWOOF: Do you have any suggests on the (current) wording of this section of MOS:TVCAST on your end then?... --IJBall (contribs • talk) 13:57, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

Another example is Damon Wayans Jr.'s role as Coach in New Girl, who was a main for the very first episode of season 1 and not for the rest of that season. This was footnoted on the characters table. AngusWOOF (bark • sniff) 13:59, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

IJBall, I would use episode ranges for actor replacements, like McNally as The Smith (episodes 1-6), AngusWOOF as The Smith (episodes 7-). If The Smith's role was intentionally brief and no longer in the series then just leave it as that, and you can throw in the footnote if it is abrupt like Damon Wayans Jr's role in New Girl (season 1). Some series have prologue episode / story arc / pilot episode that stars a completely different cast that are all killed off, only to have the real "X years later" episode 2 go on with the story that goes through the series. Others have anthology story arcs with completely separate casts. Those can be noted with the episode range if need be or by the episode name. AngusWOOF (bark • sniff) 15:55, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

I see no clear consensus supporting the removal of the disputed phrase. Hence, it still remains applicable to all MOS:TV articles. -- /Alex/₂₁ 02:55, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Television#Television article splitting part 2

 You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Television#Television article splitting part 2. — YoungForever^(talk) 16:08, 3 October 2019 (UTC)

MOS:TVIMAGE – explicitly allow (and maybe prefer?) show logos

See also: Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Television/August 2016 updates/PSE image

With regards to this section of MOS:TVIMAGE:

For a show's main article, an intertitle shot of the show (i.e., a screenshot capture of the show's title) or a promotional poster used to represent the show itself should be used.

I propose to replace it with:

For a show's main article, the show's logo, a promotional image used to represent the show itself, or an intertitle shot of the show (i.e., a screenshot capture of the show's title), should be used. In such a case where the logo is free to use, it is preferred over non-free media.

My reasons for the proposal are thus:

• This would reflect current practice: see, for example, The Simpsons, House (TV series), Sesame Street, all FAs which use representative free-to-use logos instead of non-free intertitles.
• Intertitles for use in infoboxes tend to have massive image compression problems to try to find a sweet spot with regards to passing NFCC, an issue that we can side-step with a free-to-use logo.
  • If free media can be found to represent a television show just as well as the intertitle, then WP:NFCCP#1 implicitly fails for the intertitle. Sceptre (talk) 20:56, 21 October 2019 (UTC)
• This would also bring us in line with other Wikipedias; taking The Blacklist for an example, the free-to-use logo (i.e. commons:File:The Blacklist logo.svg) tends to get used most often, followed by promotional images (e.g. zh:File:The Blacklist poster.jpg), then intertitles (e.g. en:File:Blacklist Title Card.jpg).

It's also easier these days than before to find vectorizable logos; for example, with the advent of Apple TV and 4K, there are very-high-quality logos available through web-scraping.

Kind regards, Sceptre (talk) 20:56, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

Discussion

Why was this taken straight to RFC instead of just starting a good-faith regular discussion and resultant consensus? -- /Alex/₂₁ 22:17, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

RfCs get more eyes on them. For such an effectively wide-ranging change, going to a RfC is appropriate. Sceptre (talk) 22:50, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

RFCs are typically used when an agreement cannot be reached through discussion. -- /Alex/₂₁ 22:56, 21 October 2019 (UTC)

WP:RFCBEFORE even says "Before using the RfC process to get opinions from outside editors, it's often faster and more effective to thoroughly discuss the matter with any other parties on the related talk page. Editors are normally expected to make a reasonable attempt at working out their disputes before seeking help from others. If you are able to come to a consensus or have your questions answered through discussion with other editors, then there is no need to start an RfC." --AussieLegend (✉) 04:54, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Survey

• Support as proposer. Sceptre (talk) 20:56, 21 October 2019 (UTC)
• Support. We actually prefer, I would think, an inter-title screen grabs of the logo (i.e., the on-screen title card) since it's more representative. However, in the rare case that a show's logo is somehow free content, WP copyright policy actually supersedes this preference: WP always prefers free content when it is available. Aside from that observation, the proposed change makes sense anyway, and it was silly that we didn't mention show logos, per se, at all.  — AReaderOutThataway ^t/_c 05:19, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
• Oppose: There is absolutely nothing wrong with the current guidelines of MOS:TVIMAGE which states: For a show's main article, an intertitle shot of the show (i.e., a screenshot capture of the show's title) or a promotional poster used to represent the show itself should be used. — YoungForever^(talk) 22:02, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

Discussion at Talk:List of Toriko episodes#Requested move 26 October 2019

 You are invited to join the discussion at Talk:List of Toriko episodes#Requested move 26 October 2019. Discussion is about whether you can have a "List of episodes" article without having a "TV series" article. --IJBall (contribs • talk) 19:36, 26 October 2019 (UTC)Template:Z48

Discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Television#Bob's Burgers (season 10)

 You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Television#Bob's Burgers (season 10). — YoungForever^(talk) 23:15, 30 October 2019 (UTC)Template:Z48

Discussion at Talk:Watchmen (TV series)#About starring cast order

 You are invited to join the discussion at Talk:Watchmen (TV series)#About starring cast order. — YoungForever^(talk) 15:33, 5 November 2019 (UTC)Template:Z48

Article hierarchy clarification

The recent RM at List of Toriko episodes was closed as no consensus. One of the, in my opinion, silly claims was that because MOS:TV does not explicitly say that the main article for a TV series has to be a TV series article. I challenged the editor championing this claim to look for any of the 47,000+ articles that use {{Infobox television}} to find one series that did not use a TV series article as the main series article but he refused. I acknowledge that having a TV series article as the main article for a TV series is pure common sense but common sense is something that not all people are born with so I feel it needs to be included in the MOS. I'm not suggesting that this be mandated but that it should be "strongly recommended". Something along the lines of "Normally the main article for a television series is an article specifically about the television series" is what I'm recommending, "specifically" being included to avoid the situation where the main article is something that covers more than just the television series itself. Thoughts, opinions? --AussieLegend (✉) 00:54, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

Oppose for the reason that no MOS has any control of article heirarchy. The MOS is there to guide editors on how to organize articles. Not what article should be subject to what. By making that change, you are now attempting the MOS to be less of a guideline, and more of a policy.

It has to be stated for clarity's sake, AussieLegend wants this because s/he does not recognize Anime/manga articles as "main articles". For example: Toriko at the moment covers both the manga and anime. Three lists were split off from the main article for characters, chapters, and episodes. This editor believes if they add that verbiage, they can re-open the discussion and move List of Toriko episodes and move it into Toriko (TV series).

The editors of WP:ANIME disagree with this because it requires changing perfectly solid list into a poor-quality article. The editors of WP:ANIME don't want to immediately create a Start-class or a Stub-class without any hope of improving it to or . It was recommended that drafts be used instead. That way the article can be incubated and editors can work to improving it before theres no absolute proof.

This will not affect just that one article. But hundreds more for WP:ANIME. the reason it is this way is because majority of combined /manga articles done have enough information to sustain a good-quality article. The majority of them would just be list articles with some basic broadcasting information. Lack of production and reception information would prevent it from ever becoming a class.

By keeping it merged with the franchise article, it leaves room for expansion but doesn't affect the quality of the article. If more information is presented over the passage of time or by just having more resources, it will definitely allow a split. Examples are Sailor Moon (TV series) One Piece (TV series), Dragon Ball (TV series), and Fullmetal Alchemist (TV series). Blue Pumpkin Pie (talk) 03:00, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose for the reason that no MOS has any control of article heirarchy - This is completely irrelevant to what I am proposing, which is simply extra guidance since some editors obviously don't understand how TV articles are established. As I said I'm not suggesting that this be mandated but that it should be "strongly recommended".
• t has to be stated for clarity's sake, AussieLegend wants this because s/he does not recognize Anime/manga articles as "main articles". - You need to start assuming good faith and stop attacking other editors.
• it requires changing perfectly solid list into a poor-quality article. - As has been explained to you ad infinitum at 3 different venues now, this is not the case at all.
• This will not affect just that one article. But hundreds more for WP:ANIME. - The MOS already applies to 47,000+ articles. If it makes a few hundred more consistent with those 47,000+, that's not a bad thing.

Much of what you've said here is what you've argued elsewhere and is really irrelevant to this discussion. The purpose of this discussion is not to keep on about List of Toriko episodes, it's a discussion about adding some extra guidance to the MOS. It affects all editors, not just those from WP:ANIME. You've made you opposition clear. Instead of trying to confuse the discussion as you did at the RM, the Village Pump discussion and then the RfC, please stick to the topic and allow other editors to have their say. --AussieLegend (✉) 09:16, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• Comment - There is a related thread here in terms of what has been brought up: Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous)#Request for Comment - 1 November 2019 - Is WP:ANIME subordinate to other projects?. - Knowledgekid87 (talk) 04:02, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

That discussion really has no relevancy to this one. The aim here isimply to improve guidance for the editors who don't seem to understand the conventional practices that we follow when creating articles about television programs. --AussieLegend (✉) 09:49, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• (edit conflict) I am opposing this because what your essentially trying to do is modify MOS:TV to close what is a perceived loophole to fix an issue that doesn't need fixing. I get that the reason to move List of Toriko episodes to Toriko (TV series) is because there isn't a parent TV series article but the answer to the solution is not renaming the LoE as if they are the parent TV series article. It is misleading to casual and first time Wikipedia readers and it is downright clickbait as it gives the impression the LoE is an article when it is not. WP:ANIME has said for a lot of these scenarios there isn't enough TV specific content to create a standalone TV article, WP:TV says its okay to have duplicating content across articles. Instead of putting all this effort into avoid working with WP:ANIME on an approperate solution why doesn't WP:TV actually take a look at some more mainstream shows like Tokyo Ghoul and actually create Tokyo Ghoul (TV series) utilizing both MOS:TV and MOS:ANIME to go along with List of Tokyo Ghoul episodes as a proof of concept to WP:ANIME??? In cases where a parent TV series article can't be created can those LoE be an exception and let their franchise articles be their parent article? Is it honestly that hard to extend an olive branch and try to work out something to achieve goals that will make both parties happy? Honestly this would be a lot better solution especially for our readers than just blindly moving a bunch of lists to article titles that do not accurately reflect their structure and content. Alucard 16_{❯❯❯ chat?} 05:55, 10 November 2019 (UTC)
  • Alucard, I've worked with you a lot over the past few years so I know you are a good editor, however this comment just fails to understand the issue.

    You can't have an argument that says there isn't enough TV specific content to create a standalone TV article and then create a standalone TV article. A list article, is still an article.

    And to but the answer to the solution is not renaming the LoE as if they are the parent TV series article - this was already replied to numerous times - this isn't "just" a renaming. The article should eventually get enough information to actually be the series article.

    WP:TV says its okay to have duplicating content across articles - no it doesn't.

    And finally, remember that even if we were to create a TV series article with enough information for a specific series, then still per WP:TVSPLIT and Wikipedia:Article splitting (television), a single season would still need to be merged into the series article.

    All this to say is that arguing MOS:ANIME is just blindly missing the whole problem. --Gonnym (talk) 08:45, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

    • your [sic] essentially trying to do is modify MOS:TV to close what is a perceived loophole to fix an issue that doesn't need fixing. - Some editors are obviously misunderstanding simple, conventional practices and obstinately arguing that because the MOS doesn't explicitly say something that shouldn't need to be said they don't have to follow conventional practices. Clearly, something needs to be fixed.

      It is misleading to casual and first time Wikipedia readers and it is downright clickbait as it gives the impression the LoE is an article when it is not. - That's not correct at all. It was demonstrated by IJBall that the LoE page really is a main TV series article. You obviously understand that there isn't a main series article and that is the problem. A main series article can contain (and does for many series) a list of episodes but a LoE page should not exist without a main series article. That's how all TV series work. In any case, this is not about that particular LoE page. It's about trying to give extra guidance to editors to avoid confusion in the future.

      WP:ANIME has said for a lot of these scenarios there isn't enough TV specific content to create a standalone TV article - As Gonnym has said, you can't say there is not enough for a stand-alone article and then create a stand alone LoE article. I hate having to concentrate on Toriko but, as I've already said, IJBall demonstrated that there was enough content for at least a Start class article. Unfortunately, that work was reverted by another editor.

      Instead of putting all this effort into avoid working with WP:ANIME on an approperate solution - Nobody is doing that. There already is a well established solution, but a small number of editors refuse to accept that solution or suggest anything better.

      In cases where a parent TV series article can't be created - I'd argue that a parent TV series article can always be created. It's never been a problem with 47,000+ TV articles and IJBall demonstrated that it can be done with an anime article that some editors couldn't be done.

      Alucard, ... I know you are a good editor, however this comment just fails to understand the issue. - I agree with all of this. --AussieLegend (✉) 09:46, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

      • Gonnym and AussieLegend I appreciate the kind words and I don't think I got the point I wanted across which is my fault. I did not know about the past versions of Toriko so thanks for pointing that out AussieLegend. However I must admit here your deletion of content under another MOS during a high point of contention between WP:TV and WP:ANIME does not instill WikiPeace between the editors of the two WikiProjects. It also could give the impression that you are working against them FYI (not that I believe you are just pointing out how I saw it from a 3rd party perspective.)

        I fully understand that in most cases the parent for a "List of... Episode" article is a TV series article and usually shows with approximately 13-26 episodes don't qualify for a standalone list. I fully understand where y'all are coming from on that. However at the same time I understand where WP:ANIME is coming from as well in regards to their article structure where in most cases where the "franchise" article is serving as the parent article for the "List of.. Episodes" article. Both WP:TV and WP:ANIME have been around for almost the same amount of time (I'm not splitting hairs figuring out who was first it doesn't matter both are old.) In the same vein MOS:TV and MOS:ANIME have been around for almost the same amount of time (again y'all both old), both are "generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply."

        When I joined Wikipedia and found out about WikiProjects I knew WP:TV WP:VG and WP:ANIME were for me and so I've been with all three for a long time. I may not have been as active as I like but I have seen each WP grow, develop and evolve their MOS over the years. In other words I hold each MOS in the same regard and one doesn't take precedence over the other to me. So when conflicts like this arise for me this is how I look at each situation:

        1. I Ignore all rules and think "How does this improve Wikipedia?"

        2. How does this improve and enhance the reader experience?

        The RM didn't leave me with much confidence that moving these LoE to TV series articles would improve Wikipedia or the reader experience. Outside of Toriko, there is a lot of FL quality stuff here that could be impacted by moving a bunch of these lists to articles just to satisfy the standard that the TV series article before LoE. At the same time if some FA and GA franchise articles are not handled with care it would impact them as well. This would hurt both WP:TV and WP:ANIME. Like Naruto, List of Naruto episodes and List of Naruto: Shippuden episodes will require great care to separate the TV content into a separate article to ensure that the franchise article maintains FA quality and it would be desirable to have the TV series article as high as possible quality as well. Although I personally find no harm in the current structure of the Naruto articles and believe them to be easy to read for newcomers and first time readers.

        Outlaw Star is another GA article I'm concerned about in an attempt to split its TV content from the franchise article or merge the list of episodes back into the article. Angel Links on the other hand is one where you can merge the list of episodes into the parent article and it probably would benefit. To me it is really a case by case basis here and applying common sense. I actually feel for Attack on Titan (TV series) that the list of episodes needs to be split back out to List of Attack on Titan (TV series) episodes to improve readability. My goal is existing FA, GA and FL content is handled with the care it deserves by both sides and the LoE's that are moved or the new TV series articles that are created improve Wikipedia and enhance the reader experience. If that can't be guaranteed then its best to leave well enough alone especially with the FA, GA and FL content. Alucard 16_{❯❯❯ chat?} 12:05, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• Support any clarifying with exact words TBD later so not to fork this discussion. --Gonnym (talk) 08:45, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose per the points given by Blue Pumpkin Pie and Alucard. I believe that WP:IAR applies here as this isn't something that needs fixing. - Knowledgekid87 (talk) 16:44, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

It's not something that should need fixing but clearly it does need fixing. When editors refuse to follow a standard convention that has worked for 47,000+ TV series using the lack of an explicit statement in the MOS as justification, clearly something needs to be fixed. As for IAR, it's not enough to pull the IAR card, you need to justify why you think the rules need to be ignored. In this case you also need to explain what rules you think you are ignoring by opposing the proposal. I expect that will be difficult because there are no rules to ignore. You can't ignore a rule unless one exists to ignore and no rules are proposed. Citing IAR therefore makes no sense. --AussieLegend (✉) 08:14, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose as, I'm sorry AussieLegend, you appear to be attempting to fashion yourself a cudgel. Personally, I do not contribute to Wikipedia for the purpose of being an arms dealer.

Knowing none of the backstory regarding the specific articles in question, and caring even less about it (because that backstory has no real relevance to a discussion of guidelines), but based solely on your own writings here... well, let's just say that I agree with you on this point:

Some editors are obviously misunderstanding simple, conventional practices and obstinately arguing that because the MOS doesn't explicitly say something that shouldn't need to be said they don't have to follow conventional practices. Clearly, something needs to be fixed.
— User:AussieLegend

...Yes, clearly something does have to be fixed. And my perception, based on this discussion, is that the "something" in question is your perception of The Only Correct Way™ this should be done.

You've failed to establish your POV as consensus among the other editors working on certain articles, who clearly disagree that your viewpoint represents the only acceptable way to do things (or even just the "conventional approach"). So now you want a line in the MOS asserting that same POV, so that you can point at it and attempt to win the debate by making an Appeal to Authority.

But as numerous other editors have already pointed out, that's not the function of the MOS, WP:IAR is very much in play, and I think you probably need to take a step back and reevaluate your pre-existing biases on this topic. What you call "simple, conventional practices" can only ever achieve that status organically... not by fiat. If you were to succeed in writing your POV into the guidelines, it would no longer actually be "conventional practice". You'd have elevated it to imposed (or strongly recommended) house style... despite questions of content organization not being topical for the MOS. -- FeRDNYC (talk) 17:43, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose – per above. At this point it looks like you've decided you've lost the debate over at the Village Pump, so you've just decided to try and go around the discussion and force your own opinion on a set of articles that you don't edit simply because you don't like the fact that they are arranged differently. Consistant does not make articles better across the site. Different articles require different arrangements to be the best they can be. No one, and I mean NO ONE, should be trying to force other articles to fit some arbitrary mould that you've decided is right.--Ditto51 (My Talk Page) 21:28, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• To be quite blunt I find some of the responses here offensive, bordering on personal attacks and being disruptive. If you've come here with the intent to disrupt this discussion as happened at the recent RM and 2 Village Pump discussions then please, go away. The entire purpose of this discussion is simply about providing additional guidance to editors not familiar with the conventional TV (and Wikipedia in general) article hierarchy. Please read the original post if you have not, as it appears some have not.

  I must admit here your deletion of content under another MOS during a high point of contention between WP:TV and WP:ANIME does not instill WikiPeace between the editors of the two WikiProjects. - The edit was fully justified and the problem that I fixed had been mentioned in related discussions. My edit summary pointed to MOS:LEAD and even quoted from it. If anyone had a problem with that sort of edit then perhaps they should not be editing Wikipedia. Since that edit four people, including you, have edited that page and I don't see that you have directly criticised them. Your edit was to revert me, which certainly is not the sort of thing that instills WikiPeace. People in glass houses and all that. There had previously been opposition to turning that article into a TV series article, and what I did was simply fixing an error that had been missed in all the other deletions.

  The RM didn't leave me with much confidence that moving these LoE to TV series articles would improve Wikipedia or the reader experience. - This discussion is not at all about the RM, nor is it about the 2 discussions at the Village Pump. It is simply about adding extra guidance (note specifically the word "guidance"!) to editors unfamiliar with creating TV articles and the normal hierachy that they follow.

  there is a lot of FL quality stuff here that could be impacted by moving a bunch of these lists to articles just to satisfy the standard that the TV series article before LoE. - Again, this is not about moving a bunch of these lists. It is simply to provide further guidance. As the OP states, nothing is being mandated and nothing is proposed for moves. Don't read more into this than has been stated.

  an attempt to split its TV content from the franchise article - Nobody has suggested this or anything similar.

  per the points given by Blue Pumpkin Pie and Alucard. - BPP has made a number of claims that have been thoroughly rebutted including some incivility and personal attacks, especially claiming that my intent is something completely different to what it is. Alucard has presented some valid opinions but he has also addressed a lot that has nothing at all to do with this proposal.

  I'm sorry AussieLegend, you appear to be attempting to fashion yourself a cudgel. - That is clearly WP:IDONTLIKEIT and you're opposition is based on attacking another editor. I suggest that you read WP:NPA which clearly says "Comment on content, not on the contributor."

  my perception, based on this discussion, is that the "something" in question is your perception of The Only Correct Way™ this should be done. - Again, "Comment on content, not on the contributor."

  So now you want a line in the MOS asserting that same POV - This is completely incorrect. The convention is already that the main article for a television series is a television series article, as demonstrated by the fact that 47,000+ articles do exactly this. This proposal is simply to provide extra guidance, including for those editors who can't, or won't, look at a TV series and say "Hey, 47,000+ articles use a television series article as the main article for a television series so maybe that's how this TV series should be setup."

  What you call "simple, conventional practices" can only ever achieve that status organically - That 47,000+ TV articles do that now demonstrates that the status has been achieved organically. The MOS was originally written to document the practices that were already in place.

  At this point it looks like you've decided you've lost the debate over at the Village Pump, so you've just decided to try and go around the discussion and force your own opinion - That's a complete and, quite frankly expected, misinterpretation of what has happened. What has actually happened is fully explained in the opening post. Have you read it?

  Consistant does not make articles better across the site. - That makes no sense at all. One of the main points of the MOS is to ensure consistency. It's strange how nobody has opposed this and, instead, just ignored it even though it has been mentioned several times. WP:MOS#Clarity quite clearly says "The MoS presents Wikipedia's house style, to help editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting, making Wikipedia easier and more intuitive for users." Given that the MOS says this, perhaps it's time to give up on the silly claim that consistency is not a good thing.

  No one, and I mean NO ONE, should be trying to force other articles - Nobody is doing that, as is quite clearly explained in this discussion's opening post.

I don't want to have to reply to any more posts like I have had to here. Please try to keep this discussion on track and specifically about the proposal made in the opening paragraph without tangential discussion of things that have no relevance. I'll say again, the RM and the village pump discussions are not relevant, nor is anything about having to move any anime articles because of any change because that has not been proposed nor is the intent to mandate that AS ALREADY STATED! And no more attacks. If you can't express your opinion without having to attack me, I am more than happy to take that matter further. --AussieLegend (✉) 06:05, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

@AussieLegend: i'm genuinely sorry you feel personally attacked, but you're not asking for this for the sake of clarity's sake. you still want something to come out of it, to deny that can be considered deceitful. No MOS should control the article hierarchy because that's not what the purpose of the MOS is. The goal of the MOS is to help present the information in an organized way.Blue Pumpkin Pie (talk) 06:46, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

Your concern seems disingenuous given what follows and you are still making false claims about intent. Please stop your attacks. --AussieLegend (✉) 08:14, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

That is clearly WP:IDONTLIKEIT, and your position isn't also that? I'm sorry if you feel my comments are in any way attacking you, but you surely understand that people will see this as you trying to force your opinion after so many other debates have fallen either to the other side or into a stalemate. The guidelines aren't as accurate as you want them to be because that gives editors breathing room, as with WP:ANIME, to arrange articles in a way that allows them to produce the best articles better. No one who comes to Wikipedia is going to look at one TV series arrangement of pages and decide that it looks too different from another TV series' arrangements and then decide not to use the site because most people don't care. All they care about is if the article is a good article that is readable and has sources that can back up their opinion.--Ditto51 (My Talk Page) 09:55, 11 November 2019 (UTC)* Oppose as per the reasonings by Knowledgekid87, Alucard 16, Blue Pumpkin Pie, Ditto51 and FeRDNYC. Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 07:36, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

"Oppose per others" is not really a convincing position unless you can address the multiple flaws in their arguments that they have failed to address. Just saying. --AussieLegend (✉) 09:44, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

They can agree with other users without having to give an arguement, they don't have to give a reason if they agree with what the other users have said--Ditto51 (My Talk Page) 09:55, 11 November 2019 (UTC)