User:Batternut/sandbox

Ethnic/national descent categorization (WIP)
Or "Ethnic/national descent intersections categorization"

Also straight descent categories such as: Category:People of Irish descent.

All "X people of Y descent" categories should be moved to (or merged with) "X-Y people" categories, and stripped of all articles whose subject does not have being X-Y as a "defining characteristic". Eg, move "American people of German descent" to "German-American people", and only subsequently contain articles that claim "(subject) is a German-American noted for...".

As they are, these descent categories amount either to tagging contrary to guideline "do not add categories to pages as if they are tags" of WP:Categorization or they are overcategorization, per WP:Overcategorization. I doubt that having some ancestor of nationality or ethnicity X is a "defining characteristic" of the subject, as required by WP:CATDEFINING. If a subject claims to be Celtic, English or whatever, even half or quarter so, they can be categorized as being Celtic, English etc. Considering the descent categories of Barack Obama, I'd say only the "African-American" stuff is defining.

I propose carefully emptying and deleting all "People of X descent" categories. Some subjects may have been put into a descent category where a intersection category would be suitable, eg "German-American inventor" William P. Bettendorf, is tagged with "American people of German descent", but may be categorised under "German Americans". Some subcategories are fine as they are, eg Category:German expatriates in the United States‎, just incorrectly placed under "American people of German descent" (while correctly under "German emigrants" and "Immigrants to the United States").

(many subcategories of Category:People by descent)