Forum:NPCs removed from game

I've been wanting to bring this up for awhile and since 4.0.3a is probably going to concern this the biggest so far...

Shouldn't NPCs/mobs, at least named ones, still contain their racial and affiliation categories? While the other categories can be removed. 21:56, 30 November 2010 (UTC)


 * I guess in theory removed NPCs and mobs should be removed from all categories and go into a separate category for removed content. I'm not familiar enough with past practices to give a fully informed opinion, that's my take though. --Bellocois (talk) 05:19, 1 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Well, my original justification for keeping Fiora Longears in Category:High elves was that even if the NPC was removed from the game, it doesn't mean the character retroactively never existed in lore. - LucidFox (talk) 05:38, 1 December 2010 (UTC)


 * That's actually why I brought this up... but I was talking on the IRC and we decided lore/major characters can keep their categories, if they get removed.... one such example can be Cairne Bloodhoof. 07:49, 1 December 2010 (UTC)


 * This could be tricky if categories are added by infobox templates. For the most part we are safe, I think, but we should keep an eye out for this. --[[Image:gengar orange 22x22.png]] Fandyllic (talk &middot; contribs) 11:05 AM PST 1 Dec 2010

Hello. I am sorry to necro such an old topic, but it is relevant to something I want to discuss now. Recently I got into a debate with Gourra, debate that you can read there on his user page. The thing is that I often see NPCs and mobs that were removed in the Cataclysm and that also, at some point in their history, had their racial and affiliation categories removed from their pages. I disagree with that, and you can read my reasoning on Gourra's page. So I checked the Category policy and I can't see anything in there related to having to remove all categories from a removed NPC or mob, and it also seems from this topic that a decision was already made years ago to keep the categories for removed NPCs. So, what's the opinion of other people on this? Xporc (talk) 12:55, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * I agree with Xporc and PeterWind on this, that removed NPCs should keep categories related to their race, affiliation, class etc. while they are removed from zone categories. -- 13:17, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Agree. Mordecay (talk) 13:43, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Ditto. -- Dark T Zeratul (talk) 16:48, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * So long as they are notable, cause honestly unnamed NPCs/mobs don't really matter. 17:14, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Agree. MaxKeyboard (talk) 19:31, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm actually less in agreement with that, largely on the basis that it's arbitrary and inconsistent. Whether or not they're still in WoW, they're still humans/orcs/dwarves/etc. who have appeared in Warcraft. The most minor of characters who've appeared only briefly in either books or comics or older games still retain their racial categories. Those "nameless" mobs still go in the  Characters categories. So why should it make sense, for instance, Dark Iron Demolitionist to be removed from the Dark Iron Dwarves category, but for Orc Warlock (Warcraft III) to still be part of the Warlock Characters category? -- Dark T Zeratul (talk) 17:40, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I concur with DarkTZeratul. "Notable" is sometimes not easily defined. The better practice (in my opinion) is keeping that information regardless of "notability" because it is less open to creating inconsistencies and generating arguments amongst editors. Aliok (talk) 22:08, 16 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I say we should categorize everything properly, no matter the notability. A Dark Iron Demolitionist should be categorized as a Dark Iron Dwarf and as a Demolitionist (or in this case, as a Sapper), even if the mob only appeared once and was removed since. Why make information harder to reach? Xporc (talk) 17:59, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I obviously have my preferences, but above all I think consistency should be key regardless of what we decide. The way I see the purpose of the racial categories, a removed entry, can be just as relevant as an active one, depending on what you are looking for. If for whatever reason I'd like to look up the wolves category, I'll be looking for wolves. If I wanted to look at hunter pets, I'd check the ferocity beasts or tamable beasts categories. Since we have categories for mobs and NPCs by zone, that's not gonna be a conflicting issue either. Ofcourse removed mobs should not be categorized as a zone mob/NPC, as they aren't there, and the info on where they were should be in the description. The racial categories are great for those interested in naming schemes of races awell, and having to dig through the categories for removed entries is just not effective. As Xporc says, it's all about accessibility. PeterWind (talk) 18:15, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Agreed. -- 16:28, 18 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Since we're discussing the topic, does everyone keep the same stance when it's about non-Cataclysm entries? Like, I think the Frost Wyrm Raptors of the Scourge Invasion should be categorized as "frost wyrms" for example. Xporc (talk) 19:51, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Here's a yes. Mordecay (talk) 22:47, 15 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Agreed. PeterWind (talk) 00:10, 16 October 2016 (UTC)

Well seeing as nobody has objected since the necrobumping of this thread, I guess it's fine to just go right ahead. PeterWind (talk) 08:31, 3 November 2016 (UTC)
 * There is plenty of stuff that could be worked on. One day when I have the time I'll try to go through mobs and NPCs related to removed holiday content and removed world events, but there are also removed dungeons, etc. So much work ... Xporc (talk) 09:22, 3 November 2016 (UTC)
 * True. With all the new content added with legion and even 7.1. It can be hard to decide on what to focus on aswell. New content or "old categories". The categories for removed content are at least often quite manageable. Some of them large, but always from a-z. PeterWind (talk) 09:42, 3 November 2016 (UTC)

What about categories for NPCs that appeared ONLY in alpha / beta versions of the game? They practically never existed in (live) WoW. Mordecay (talk) 23:39, 19 November 2016 (UTC)
 * I'd say add them to the proper categories as if they were removed NPCs. So no to adding them to categories like "category: quest givers" or "category: terokkar mobs", but ok for "category: Orcs" and so on Xporc (talk) 23:56, 19 November 2016 (UTC)
 * This one I'm not so sure about, but I'm inclined to agree with Xporc. -- 18:43, 20 November 2016 (UTC)
 * I feel the same way as DeludedTroll on this one. While I think it's fine with the racial categories for naming scheme purposes, I'm not sure if adding them to organization and/or class character categories is a good idea. I guess it depends on whether or not the NPC is refered to, anywhere within the Warcraft universe, as is sometimes the case. PeterWind (talk) 18:54, 20 November 2016 (UTC)