Talk:A Different World/Archive 1

message: In the "Hillman College Reunion" online interview  Debbie Allen says that the HIV/AIDS episode was the first one done by any show in prime time, period. Do we have an outside source for that? (I ask because those associated with a show often think it is the first to do something even though it's not true; Florence Henderson has said that for years she believed "The Brady Bunch" was the first TV show to show a married couple sharing a bed, but that someone pointed out that a different show actually did it first — "Bewitched," maybe?) Lawikitejana 05:53, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  HIV/AIDS episode 

message: I started out trying to fix them, but they're too numerous for a quick fix ... misspellings of character names or titles, poor grammar and typos, non-encyclopedic presentations of information ("can be seen in syndication at 2 pm and 4 pm on your local station" vs. "can be seen in syndication, twice daily in certain markets"). I know it's all silliness to begin with, as it's fictional, but Wikipedia typically takes an encyclopedia-style approach even with whimsical material like this. I'm trying to avoid just reverting the edits, as some information has been added, but it's hard when so much error is introduced. Lawikitejana 01:19, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Update: Going to go check the history section so I know who deserves the thanks for the great edits. It preserved much of the solid information that was added while vastly improving the style. Lawikitejana 19:26, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reunion section errors 

message: I'm thinking about creating A Different World characters page similar to the Sex and the City characters page with the link under the Cast section header.  This will reduce the size of the page. Also, I think an episode guide is needed. Once that's created, the Hillman College Reunion can be merged into that. Any arguments. Kyros 04:37, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: WOW. A characters page such as you describe would be a terrific move. As for an episode guide, this should be done slowly ... so many articles end up with associated episode guides that are lousy. I've seen everything from each episode having a one-line article (waste of bandwith, even just in theory) to practically a play-by-play synopsis ("Prison Break" episodes especially), which is not encyclopedia. However, as I've said, the current article doesn't do justice to many of the notable episodes, so I'm for the idea in general. You might look at TV.com (with all of us bearing in mind the need to avoid just "ripping off" what the people over there have done). The IMDb version doesn't have enough to go on; I had to go through the whole episode set there and migrate the cast page by page through some 144 episodes, marking who was in an episode and who wasn't. --Lawikitejana 07:04, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: How about a List of A Different World episodes, sort of like the List of The Cosby Show episodes? RedRollerskate 18:29, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Nice Kyros 02:53, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Agreed! This list is going so gangbusters, I've occasionally hit an edit conflict because RedRollerskate and I were editing the same season at the same time! Thanks for the addition. I've also now gone in and moved up the "Notable episodes" section within the article. We still need to add some material about "If I Die Before I Wake" and the episode where Ron and Dwayne get into a fight over a slur. (Seems like the episode is "Cat's in the Cradle," but I persist in thinking that title must have gotten mixed up with the previous episode's title, which is something like "Just Another Four-Letter Word." There's no other explanation for the weird title.)Lawikitejana 03:20, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Changes

message: I'm going to add the following sections because all trivia is worthy trivia:
*A Different World/Spike Lee Connection
*A Different World/Final Fantasy Connection
*A Different World/Fresh Prince Connection
*A Different World/Sub-Character Relation Trivia
*A Different World/Kevin Bacon Connection. Here it goes:
**Lisa Bonet → Deniro (in Angel Heart) → Kevin Bacon (in Sleepers)
**Jasmine Guy was in Guinevere (1999) with Brian Frank (I) Brian Frank (I) was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
**Cree Summer was in Hearts of Fire (1990) with Maury Chaykin, Maury Chaykin was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
**Glynn Turman was in Black Man's Guide to Understanding Black Women, The (2006) with LisaRaye, LisaRaye was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
**Marisa Tomei was in Loverboy (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
**Whoopi Goldberg was in Bogus (1996) with Stuart Hughes, Stuart Hughes was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
**Dawnn Lewis was in Wood, The (1999) with LisaRaye, LisaRaye was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
**Mary Alice (I) was in Wishing Tree, The (1999) with Alfre Woodard, Alfre Woodard was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Kevin Bacon 
I can keep going and going and going Kyros 02:53, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Oh, Lord ... please don't. NOT all trivia is worthy trivia from an encyclopedic point of view, though IMDb might enjoy these additions. One reason this article kept getting tagged with "cleanup tags" is because it already had too much trivia. It has taken weeks of work by several people to be able to integrate the trivia to the degree we have, and adding things like Kevin Bacon connections will just drag the article down — it's not as if Bacon had ever even appeared on the show. There are different web sites for different purposes, and I feel certain that several of them would enjoy the lists you're proposing — Nick at Nite's message boards, TV.com, etc. Just please, don't add these things here; surely there's something more encyclopedic that such a fervent fan as yourself can contribute. :) Lawikitejana 03:18, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Sarcasm ... Sarcasm on my part, I want to eliminate most of the trivia because it's not relevantKyros 23:04, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Trivia Trivia Trivia

message: I think it should be taken out--while some people may think that this show was teaching others about social responsibility, others may see these episodes as when A Different World jumped the shark.  In my opinion I also find that several of these episodes, such as "Mammy Dearest," are based on the writers' opinions rather than fact.  THE evil fluffyface 22:14, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Notable episodes section 

message: I would really like to see whatever your source is for the show's ratings in black homes and if there is similar citability for other shows with a primarily black demographic (ex.: this show's parent series).  WAVY 10 Fan (talk) 18:10, 13 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  U.S. Television Ratings-(Black Households) 

message: :Image:Differentworld-cast.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
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BetacommandBot (talk) 13:46, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:Differentworld-cast.jpg

message: This concerns POV tag cleanup.  Whenever an POV tag is placed, it is necessary to also post a message in the discussion section stating clearly why it is thought the article does not comply with POV guidelines, and suggestions for how to improve it.  This permits discussion and consensus among editors.  This is a drive-by tag, which is discouraged in WP, and it shall be removed. Future tags should have discussion posted as to why the tag was placed, and how the topic might be improved.  Better yet, edit the topic yourself with the improvements.  This statement is not a judgement of content, it is only a cleanup of frivolously and/or arbitrarily placed tags.  No discussion, no tag.Jjdon (talk) 22:39, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  POV tag 

message: In the last revision I edited, I found duplicate named references, i.e. references sharing the same name, but not having the same content. Please check them, as I am not able to fix them automatically :) 
* "museum" :
** A Different World, Museum of Broadcast Communications
** Second museum reference
DumZiBoT (talk) 10:47, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bot report : Found duplicate references ! 

message: I recently removed the living arrangements table, as I found it trivial and unnecessary to all but the most hardcore fan of the show.  However my edit has been reverted, as it seems there's at least one user who disagrees with my assessment.  Fair enough.  So I guess we can discuss the matter here.  I for one fail to see any encyclopedic value for the table, as it has pretty much no relevance to almost any reader I could imagine.  To me it clearly comes within the range of WP:TRIVIA, as well as WP:LISTCRUFT, and fails to meet notability guidelines per Wikipedia:Notability (fiction).  There I argue that it should be removed to make room for more relevant, encyclopedic content.  Though I am willing to hear arguments to the contrary. Drewcifer (talk) 03:04, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Perhaps you should move the table to a small picture template. The table is a bit large, but it does display the information in a more graphic manner.Smallman12q (talk) 20:26, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: My concern isn't the table's size, it the table's content.  It doesn't matter how big or well-laid out it is (though I agree it is pretty huge and unwieldy at the moment), it's still clearly unencyclopedic information. Drewcifer (talk) 20:30, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: So unless there's any clear arguments to the contrary, I'm going to remove the table again. Drewcifer (talk) 22:52, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Living arrangements table 

message: A request for comments has been started that could affect the inclusion 
or exclusion of episodes and characters, as well as other fiction articles. Please 
visit the discussion at 
Wikipedia_talk:Notability_(fiction)#Final_adoption_as_a_guideline. Ikip (talk) 11:33, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Request for comment on articles for individual television episodes and characters