I'd say that genre's definition is pretty flexible depending on the group you're talking to. Anyway the hinkiness with description has a lot to do with past discomfort about creating catch-all or overly broad threads-- a TV thread or a Comics thread. So there is TV all over the place and threads that have become fairly broad are misdescribed as being narrower than they are.

That's kinda my point. I'd be in favor of actually trying to make our threads describe what is contained in them.

I'd be in favor of actually trying to make our threads describe what is contained in them.

Then it looks like I can re-ask my previous question: how many of them still confuse? Let's get that cleared up.

I had no idea that the definition of genre was unclear, so it's good this came up.

past discomfort about creating catch-all or overly broad threads-- a TV thread or a Comics thread

I don't remember there ever being a problem with creating a comics thread--Jossverse became one without much comment, and that was pretty much that.

I'd say that genre's definition is pretty flexible depending on the group you're talking to

Tell me more--this isn't something I knew.

The only usages I've ever encountered for "genre" are the lazy adjective fandom uses (to mean scifi/fantasy/horror/etc -- rough shorthand for "not general interest" where one assumes that procedurals and sitcoms are general interest), and the dictionary noun that film and literature profs use meaning (more or less) "a kind of story." I don't think I've ever heard it used in a way that didn't make clear which meaning the speaker had in mind, though.

When I've used the term genre to people that aren't scifi/fantasy/horror fans they had no idea what I was talking about, and I had to make the connection for them.

I do think we could change the slug for the comics thread to say that it is a comics thread. I don't think that would really stop anyone from talking about other Buffy-related stuff, but since the major Buffy-related thing coming up is a comic book anyway...

genre means "other things like this thing" or means "things unworthy of your notice" or means "things worthy of your notice" or means "things in dialogue with each other over time." It's a basic sorting word, for classifying any intellectual or artistic output, like flavor for icecream and software.

And, as you can see from the above, it's a sorting word with a lot of cultural load on its back. In the context of a bunch of Buffy fans, I would instantly have pegged the usage of genre to mean "stuff like Buffy," i.e. stuff that is supernatural or otherwise non-mimetic. But then, I have a sci-fi orientation anyway, and I participated in Boxed Set from day 1.

But I noticed that Boxed Set now says "sci-fi/fantasy" upfront, so I think that problem is fixed. Here is a thought for Other Media 2: will the ordinary comic-books people freak if manga discussion develops as well? (Is there manga discussion already?) Do you want to also mention manga in the slug?

will the ordinary comic-books people freak if manga discussion develops as well? (Is there manga discussion already?)

There probably has been some, from time to time, but not much. And I doubt the ordinary comic-books people will care. IMO, it's not any different than DC people skimming past posts about Marvel comics (or -- heaven forfend! -- indie comics).

Tell me more--this isn't something I knew.

If you, say, owned a bookstore you wouldn't understand your genre books to mean just the sci-fi/fantasy books; it would encompass romance, mystery, horror -- I think "it's always seemed clear that supernatural/fantasy/science fiction/glayvin were what the term was (inaccurately) referring to" is limited to fandom.

But genre as it applies to tv has always, in my experience, had a narrower definition than with literature. It's never seemed confusing to me - I'm a little surprised that it's so contentious.

I think "it's always seemed clear that supernatural/fantasy/science fiction/glayvin were what the term was (inaccurately) referring to" is limited to fandom

Hmm. I do know people outside of fandom that use the term. But mostly I'm like brenda. I thought "genre TV" was a clear if annoying distinction.

Well, it's all history now. Now that Jossverse is cleaned up--is there anything else confusing to new folk?