Talk:Cathay, North Dakota

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[edit] City?

A city with 56 inhabitants? What makes it a city? Flapdragon 13:23, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

We've gotten this question many times in relation to incorporated places in North Dakota. The answer is simple: every incorporated place in the state of North Dakota is classified as a city. There are no villages, towns, or hamlets. --MatthewUND^(talk) 19:43, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Interesting. That should probably be stated in the article as I think most people would be pretty surprised that such an insignificant place (no disrespect to its inhabitants) could be a city. So is just this North Dakota or may there be other states that apply that rule? Flapdragon 23:57, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Added that info here and at North Dakota. Flapdragon 08:40, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

While it is a fact that every incorporated place in ND is a city, I feel that that information does not belong in an individual city article like this. It would seem rather redundant and pointless to go through the 300 or so articles about cities in ND and add this same information. It is a good idea to include this information in the main North Dakota article which I see you already did. --MatthewUND^(talk) 09:20, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, I take your point but I also think people will be particularly surprised by a "city" as small as this. Seeing, say, Fargo described as a city no-one would bat an eyelid, but there's a strong risk someone would just think this was a mistake or a joke, as I did for a moment, and in extreme cases like this I don't see it does any harm to add a little word of explanation even if it's not done 100% consistently -- come on, does that really cause a problem? Again, does anyone know if this practice is confined to North Dakota? I'm intrigued to know where it comes from and whether it's really just in one state. Flapdragon 00:43, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't be opposed to wikifying the word "city" in each article about North Dakota incorporated places and linking that to an article that explains what is meant by a "city" in North Dakota terms. Perhaps we could make a new article titled something like North Dakota city. Or, we could link the word "city" to List of cities in North Dakota where the designation is already explained. What do you think? --MatthewUND^(talk) 01:39, 18 May 2006 (UTC)