Talk:Crime fiction/Catalogs/Prominent writers

Does Ian Fleming count as a mystery writer? I always thought of him as a suspense/action writer. James Bond movies I don't think are really mysteries.--Robert W King 09:36, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Good question -- well, he's certainly well known; I suppose the question comes down to "classic" mystery writers (Conan Doyle, Christie, etc.) vs. "mystery thriller" or "spy" novelists. I'm not sure what purpose this list is meant for, but since it's just a catalog I guess it can be fairly inclusive! Russell Potter 09:49, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Additionally, I agree with your questioning of this lists' "purpose"--why, exactly, do we have this entry?--Robert W King 09:50, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Evidently Larry S. likes lists, which he calls catalogs, and encourages them. Stephen Ewen changed my Prominent Tennis Players to Catalog of prominent tennis players. I have looked at the existing Catalog of famous philosophers and see what is going on there. But I don't understand where the info on Socrates comes from. If you go to Edit, all you see is a {{Socrates}thingee, with NO text! Where does the text come from?! I think that if this (non-Socratic) method, hehe, were applied, say, to Catalog of Mystery Writers, I would simply have Name, Dates, Place of Birth & Death, Nationality, Type of Books (thriller, cosy, espionage, etc.), Most Famous Work, Interesting Trivia (Agatha Christie once had an amnesiac period and famously disappeared for a couple of weeks), Most Famous Detective, Etc. The same thing could be done for the Catalog of prominent tennis players, with Best Stroke, Major Victories, World No. 1 Ranking, What Year, etc. etc. What are your thoughts on this, and HOW is it done?! Hayford Peirce 11:08, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Well, Larry may be fond of them, but I have no idea what why they're here as independent entries. If, for instance, you search for "Mystery" or "Mystery writers," you get this catalog -- hmm! But where is the entry on Mystery writing as a genre?

The only use I can see for these is as interim filters, enabling those who search for a subject on which we don't yet have an overarching entry to see a few articles which would be related to the main entry if there were one. So, to my mind, the sooner we have a main entry on Mystery (literary genre), or whatever we end up calling it, the better -- this list can then be part of that main entry. Russell Potter 11:28, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

I agree with you, I think. But have you checked out the Catalog of famous philosophers? Take a look at that, please, then tell me what your thoughts are. I can see, I *think* the possibility of having both a Catalog, in some sort of stylized form, AND the mystery article, AND individual FULL articles about each author. It would just be three difference ways of approaching Agatha Christie, say. Hayford Peirce 11:32, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Please see this forum board--something I hope we'll start more formally this summer. --Larry Sanger 11:30, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Also, cf Religion and catalog of religions. --Larry Sanger 11:32, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

I remain skeptical of the value of such catalogs and lists -- though I agree, if we had such lists as well a main entry and individual entries, then they might indeed have a complementary value. The search engine should be modified somehow, though, to show searchers that catalogs or lists are just one type of entry; I'd be concerned if someone came to CZ looking for an encyclopedic entry, found only such a list, and thought that it was all we had! 11:52, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Okay, at least with the catalog of religions I can *see* where the text is coming from. And I can see that I could do the same thing with, say, my catalog of prominent tennis players. With a link from each name on the list to the *article* about the individual player. But can you direct me to a spot that tells me where the Socrates info comes from? Thanks. Hayford Peirce 11:51, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

Well, I think that on the *catalog* page there should be a link to the *fuller* article, as well as a NOTE or something saying: "this is just a brief synopsis, see so-and-so for a fuller article."