Is there a category for fun, semi on-topic stuff?

And also possibly for 1% baked ideas (see the recent
controversy
).

A big +1 for me.

No objections to (a few) additional categories. But…

“General discussion” (what the Python Help category really is) is too broad,
“Python Help” is a misleading name and doesn’t sufficiently cover the
community interests.

I am very -1 on renaming “Python Help” to anything else.

“Python Help” was chosen deliberately after a period of not being called
that. It used to be called “Miscellaneous” or something, and not be the
top topic. That caused much noise, as many assorted “help”-like posts
showed up in more focussed categories.

This is both disruptive to more focussed categories, and ineffective
for people seeking help because some of the “tutor”-minded readers won’t
be reading all the focussed categories.

After some discussion, we:

  • renamed it to Python Help, its primary (but not only) purpose
  • made it the top category because people were not finding it, or not choosing it
  • put in a very concise yet broad description

The heading wants to be read with a little context - the associated
description. The Python Discuss front page shows this category as:

 Python Help
 General help/discussion forum for the Python programming language.  All welcome.

The description is very deliberately easy to read and short and
welcoming. Your statement:

 "Python Help" is a misleading name and doesn't sufficiently cover 
 the community interests.

only makes sense if you haven’t taken the time to read the description line.