Category talk:Lists of mayors

This category and Category:Mayors by city
There is another category called Mayors by city which overlaps this one, but only partially. I know almost nothing about how Wikipedia categories work (and I'm already quite busy enough on the New York City mayoralty elections page), but this page could be even more comprehensive and complete, and the labour of compilers, researchers and readers alike greatly reduced, if the two could be somehow combined. Shakescene (talk) 21:03, 30 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I suppose, until this overlap is resolved, that those who create, contribute to, or consult any page that contains a list of mayors should check that both of the existing categories are included in the "External Links" section (if one exists) and edit accordingly if not (including starting, if necessary, an "External Links" section). Shakescene (talk) 22:07, 30 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The category "Lists of mayors" should only contain pages that are titled "Lists of mayors of ". Exceptionally it may also include articles with large sections including such lists, e.g. Berkeley, California). It should not include subcategories titled "Mayors of ".


 * There is no overlap with Category:Mayors by city as that categories only includes mainly categories of the type "Mayors of ". Mayors by city shouldn't be made a subcategory of this one . -- User:Docu


 * "There is no overlap with Category:Mayors by city as that categories only includes mainly categories of the type 'Mayors of '." -- Probably because of the kind of incomplete rewriting and editing of our own prose that we all do from time to time (e.g. not recognizing words that need to be deleted), this sentence makes no sense to me. I'm have no interest in correcting other people's grammar or style in simple informal conversations like this, except when the result is so obscure that I can't make out what the writer is trying to tell me.Shakescene (talk) 06:10, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
 * As if to demonstrate how easy it is to miss incomplete edits of one's own prose, I just made my own grammatical nonsense by writing "I'm have no interest in correcting other people's grammar or style" when I started to change "I'm not interested" to "I have no interest" without finishing the job. So I'm in no position to throw stones (or flames); I just wanted to get your meaning. :-) Shakescene (talk) 07:04, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * It did catch what you meant though ;-) My prose should have read
 * There is no overlap with Category:Mayors by city as that [category] categories only includes mainly [sub-]categories of the type "Mayors of [, rather than lists of the type "list of mayors of " ].
 * Hope it's clear now. -- User:Docu

Inserting a new list
Can anyone tell me how to retitle the list embedded in "History of Brooklyn" so that the category shows up in appropriate alphabetical order instead of under "History" (where it's far less likely to be found)? Shakescene (talk) 22:07, 30 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Your edit solved this. -- User:Docu

Category description
As a new user who has no special technical training, I just don't understand what this means:

"The lists are generally also categorized:


 * in the category for the city (e.g. Category:Utrecht) or its government (e.g. Category:Government of Los Angeles)
 * and, with an asterisk ("*") as sortkey, in the category for the mayors of the city, if available, (e.g. Category:Mayors of New York City), state (e.g. Category:Leaders of cities in Michigan), or country (e.g. Category:Mayors of places in the Netherlands)."

Could someone who does understand what's involved edit this paragraph so that ordinary non-technical users comprehend it at first glance (what's a "sortkey"?)

And is there any way of wrangling the category structure at Wikipedia so that there aren't so many "subcategories" with little plusses (+) that are really just simple pages? Shakescene (talk) 22:18, 30 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The description should mean that
 * list of mayors of Utrecht would go into:
 * Category:Utrecht or, if it exists: Category:Government of Utrecht
 * Category:Mayors of Utrecht (if it doesn't exist: Category:Mayors of places in the Netherlands).
 * I linked "sortkey" to the help page.
 * Personally I'd prefer we wouldn't make subcategories for countries with just one or two lists, such as Category:Lists of mayors of places in Norway. These lists can easily be found through Lists of mayors by country -- User:Docu