I think it's a combination of a couple things. And Magie and Doyle are different situations.
With Magie it's mostly tradition for it to be included. The early checklisters didn't make much distinction between a different card and one with a caption difference. There are plenty of caption differences in T206 that aren't because of errors that it makes some sense.
The Herrer and Bakep cards in the 50's are debatable even as variations, but they're still included in the master list, mostly because they've been listed for so long.
Another reason for it being listed is that it's only comparatively recently that the error could be narrowed down to a particular part of the set with any certainty. When I started, it was almost impossible to find any list at all that showed the back choices as being limited.
So if it was an error that was maybe on one card out of a sheet it might be considered as a different card.
A lot of the T205s that are variations that aren't part of the main set are limited to one brand.
The Doyle is a bit different. I think it's being part of the main set is mostly because of how it was initially promoted by a dealer with a lot of influence.
There are paralells in other hobbies. In stamps the one cent stamp from 1851 was printed from a few plates and the image wasn't complete in nearly every position on all plates. The catalog lists them under numbers 5 through 9 with a couple having capital letters after the number like 5A. They're all essentially the same stamp, just with different degrees of completeness. The typical ones can be had for well under 100 dollars. There was one position on one plate that showed the complete design. That one is rare, and sells for around $85,000 The stamp right next to it on the sheet is just as rare, but only catalogs 16,000..........And yet, plate differences in any later series of stamps only get minor numbers(similar to variations) And even than not all of them are listed. The 1851 listings are against the published listing policy, but have been that way since the 1930's or earlier, so it's not likely to change anytime soon.
Steve B
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