Talk:Eraserhead

Unnecessary cast section
In order to avoid breaching 3RR I'm stating this discussion now, although per WP:BRD the onus should be on to defend their changes. This article passed several content review processes with a plot section noting its cast in asides as their characters were first mentioned, going through a Good Article nomination, a Peer Review, and a Featured Article candidacy with this convention--at no point was this formatting challenged, and its use was clearly established by long-standing practice and the approval of each of the review processes. As such, WP:STYLEVAR states it is inappropriate for a Wikipedia editor to change from one style to another unless there is some substantial reason for the change [...] If you believe an alternative style would be more appropriate for a particular article, discuss this at the article's talk page. No such discussion has been opened, and cavalierly disregarding long-standing style in a featured article without any discussion is bad practice. The addition of a bullet-pointed cast list adds nothing not already presented in the article; it falls afoul of WP:INDISCRIMINATE (why do we need a listing for "Thomas Coulson as The Boy" when neither "The Boy" nor Thomas Coulson are even mentioned in the article; ditto for the actor Allen Joseph), and serves only to obsfuscate readers by removing names from the context they had in the established version. It is a shame that a comprehensive article can go through such vetting only to be held ransom by an editor who refuses to follow policy or engage but now is the chance to do so. ᵹʀᴀᴘᴘʟᴇ ꭗ 15:48, 7 November 2021 (UTC)


 * I've protected the article (stability is important for Featured articles) so you two can work this out on the Talk page. I expect the edit warring will not continue after protection is lifted. -- Laser brain  (talk)  17:14, 7 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I'll admit that I don't love the fact the disputed change is the version currently protected but if that's what it takes to get a discussion going then needs must. ᵹʀᴀᴘᴘʟᴇ ꭗ 17:53, 7 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, the wrong version ;) -- Laser brain  (talk)  18:17, 7 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I get what you're saying but it's surely not ideal to protect a disputed change and not the pre-dispute revision. ᵹʀᴀᴘᴘʟᴇ ꭗ 23:09, 7 November 2021 (UTC)


 * I agree with Grapple here. The article went through reviews from GA to FA and has been stable since those reviews. The cast section is superfluous in this instance.  Lugnuts  Fire Walk with Me 18:15, 7 November 2021 (UTC)


 * For what it's worth, both the Boy and Joseph (Mr X., the father) are mentioned in the synopsis (you oughta actually read it), which is why I listed them. Furthermore, if listing the cast in its own section is so "obfuscatory", why is it standard practice for almost every other film article? Why is it such a problem here? I could go on about how none of the reviews touched on this issue or how a decade-old review doesn't make an article infallible (if anything, most featured articles of that age are ripe for a FAR, considering that standards have become more thorough), but I am prepared to let this whole thing go and am glad you actually bothered to make actual points this time (weak ones that could've easily fit in the edit summary, but nonetheless). I will not litigate this further; I hope we can all move on with our lives. UTILITY MESSIAH (talk) 22:52, 7 November 2021 (UTC)


 * The point is that the onus should not have been on me to bring this up, and your approach was problematic from the off—even if you had a reason for the change other than "other articles do it", change is determined by consensus, and you made no attempt to seek that, you edit warred away from the established version until another editor was forced to table the discussion for you. As to "actually reading", you'll noticed that I specified the actors, who are not discussed. That's what makes it indiscriminate information; in an in-depth, 4,000+ word article nothing can be said of the involvement of either actor (and believe me, in researching this thing from scratch they didn't come up once), so what gain is there to add listings like this for them? From now on please follow the basic principle of WP:BRD and discuss any contentious changes instead of edit-warring with no reason other than "other stuff exists" to force through a stylistic change. If you genuinely feel this article should be taken to FAR, by all means, any editor is free to initiate such a review, but if you have any specific concerns with more merit than your opposition to simple formatting differences then you're welcome to share them. ᵹʀᴀᴘᴘʟᴇ ꭗ 23:09, 7 November 2021 (UTC)


 * You did specify Coulson's character (the Boy), and I though that applied to the character of Joseph as well. Thanks for correcting that misunderstanding. UTILITY MESSIAH (talk) 00:03, 8 November 2021 (UTC)