To-do list:

Consensus was to create two new namespaces for pages currently located in Useful Notes, a Platform/ namespace for media platforms (game consoles, operating systems, etc., like Nintendo Game Cube, Microsoft Windows, and Steam) and a MediaNotes/ namespace for pages containing background information on media, like How Video Game Specs Work or ANSI Standard Broadcast TV Schedule. Thus, the following will need to be done:

• Go through the Useful Notes index and see which pages should be moved from UsefulNotes/ to either Platform/ or MediaNotes/.

Original post:

Useful Notes, from what I understand, is meant to be specifically about informing readers about complicated subjects that show up a lot in the media, to help them understand how to properly portray it. These subjects range from historical events to real-life locations and cultures. There's some subjectivity about what's "useful" here, but it's a pretty specific namespace otherwise.

However, we also have a class of pages that really don't fit this mold. However, they're in UN because there's no better namespace for them. These are the "media history" pages, such as the pages on various game consoles. They're not work pages because these things aren't tropeworthy, they're not creator pages because they're individual works, tools, or concepts; and they're not trivia because why would they be? They're in Useful Notes because they're informative pages on things related to media, but you'd be hard pressed to say that reading UsefulNotes.Nintendo Game Cube would help you write a book. These pages serve a function that's definitely relevant to the website, but they just don't fit the intended use of Useful Notes.

The reason I'm bringing this up now is because the TRS thread for RetroGaming wants to make it UsefulNotes, which... I did vote for because at the moment there ain't no rule saying it doesn't go there, but I did make it clear that my true stance is a lot different. I didn't want to derail the discussion though, because Retro Gaming would just be another drop in the ocean, not the problem in and of itself.

This reminds me of the state of the Franchise/ namespace before Derivative Works/ was created pretty recently. The namespace was being used for things it shouldn't be used for simply because we lacked anything more suitable. So one possible solution would just be to create a new namespace for these pages, such as Media History/ or something, to preserve them as their own category.

The other solution is to just expand the definition of "Useful Notes" to include pages like these. I'm not sure I agree with this because in my opinion this would just validate some of the serious decay issues the namespace has (seriously, there are a lot of superfluous pages), but it would also be the easiest thing to do and would allow us to maintain the current status quo.

And of course, you may disagree with me that there's even a problem here at all. I'm just calling it as I see it based on my understanding of the namespace guidelines, especially as UN misuse and bloat has been called out elsewhere in the past.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Feb 23rd 2024 at 1:25:29 PM