Category talk:Wikipedian scuba divers

Discussion of category deletion
This category was recently removed from all userboxes in which it was included. However, the reason given that the category "does not foster contribution" does not fall under the criteria for speedy deletion (Criteria for speedy deletion). I have therefore undone the deletions and ask for further explanation here before any action is taken. Benstrider 02:20, 8 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Nothing has been deleted. The category was just removed from the userboxes, and ^demon's bot had nothing to do with it. You should be civil, and remember that Wikipedia is not MySpace. --Core desat 03:21, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

I apologize if I have caused any offense. I can assure you it was not intended. But I don't see why this category is being compared to MySpace. To me, it seems just as valid as, for example, Category:Wikipedian mathematicians. Furthermore, removing this category from all the userboxes that have it empties it of almost all of its members and makes the category as useless as if it was actually deleted. So I simply ask that this be discussed before any actions are taken. Benstrider 04:50, 8 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The general consensus seems to be that people adding themselves to categories manually is ok, but adding them automatically from a userbox is rather frowned upon, as it gives a false impression of the number of people who actually want that category (as you know, there are many people who add dozens upon dozens of userboxes, even if they don't necessarily dive, for example) ^ demon [omg plz] 08:41, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

That seems reasonable, but I'm not convinced that such a consensus exists. Looking at Userboxes/Interests, it seems that there are a great many userboxes that automatically add users to a category. I will admit that many of these categories are excessive, but others, like Category:Wikipedians interested in economics, seem acceptable. I would hope this category falls in with the latter group. Benstrider 19:38, 8 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I was referring to the mass-deletion and purging of user categories that has been happening at WP:UCFD for the past few weeks. ^ demon [omg plz] 11:09, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Ok, I can buy that. Thanks for the explanation. Benstrider 04:44, 26 July 2007 (UTC)