Wiki143:Centralized discussion/alternative timeline literature

Alternative timeline literature/alternative history novels seem to hold the interest of a lot of Wikipedia users. While it seems perfectly appropriate that a prominent author, or even a prominent individual work of literature receive an entry, it seems as though readers of this sort of novel create vast numbers of articles covering all manner of minutiae in their alternative worlds.

Look: for a fan of, say, the Wizard of Oz (to take it out of the realm of discussion for a moment)would it not be enough to have an entry on L. Frank Baum as author; the Wizard of Oz books as a series; the Wizard of Oz movies; and leave it at that? Would we really need an entire entry on each character, lines and lines and lines of backstories, entries for complete discussions of the system of insignia on uniforms of the Wicked Witch's Guards, an entry on the system of electing mayor and coroners in Munchkinland; separate entries on Modes of Transporation in Oz; an entry on Agriculture and Metalsmithing in the Oz worlds; etc. etc., see the point?

Or am I a mean-spirited philsitine who doesn't understand the importance?

Let me point out that I came to this idea when reseraching some political matters, and running into several entries for political parties and offices in these alternative universes that have the same name as real ones. Again, so as to keep this from attacking individuals, suppose you were looking for something on the Republican Party, and all that kept popping up were references to the Republican Party of the Empire in Star Wars; the Republican faction of Ruritania in the Prisoner of Zenda; the Republican revolutionaries on Planet Blah Blah in Episode Umpteen of Star Trek; the Republicn Party in the Turner Diaries; etc.

• Our relevant guideline would be WP:FICT. I don't think you'd get much of a consensus for mass deletion of overly-specific articles on details of fiction (or, as some call it, Wikipedia:Fancruft). Note by the way that your apparent assumption that the Republican Party should refer to the one in the United States is systemic bias; many countries throughout the world have republican parties. Hence, we disambiguate. And if we disambig anyway, we might as well list the parties for Narnia, Middle-earth and Oz. Radiant_>|< 18:58, 23 January 2006 (UTC)