Tardis:Point of view: Difference between revisions
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{{moss|When writing an article, imagine that you know everything about your topic, | {{moss|When writing an article, imagine that you know everything about your topic, but that it no longer exists. Write the in-universe portion of articles in the past tense, without exception.}} | ||
{{sc|T:POV}}It's important that our articles be consistently written from the same '''point of view'''. Otherwise, you'd end up with one article written in past tense, another in future tense, and yet another in present tense. Or maybe, some of the articles would be written from a character's perspective rather than the audience's. | {{sc|T:POV}}It's important that our articles be consistently written from the same '''point of view'''. Otherwise, you'd end up with one article written in past tense, another in future tense, and yet another in present tense. Or maybe, some of the articles would be written from a character's perspective rather than the audience's. | ||
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#All narratives, regardless of medium, have equal weight. Whether it's a comic strip, audio, novel or television story, it's all equally valid here. | #All narratives, regardless of medium, have equal weight. Whether it's a comic strip, audio, novel or television story, it's all equally valid here. | ||
== | Here are some common situations: | ||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
:"...Liz Shaw is a fictional character in the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction]] [[television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''..." | ! style="background-color:#8cb82c;border-bottom:1px solid black" width=50%|Correct | ||
! style="background-color:#e25822;border-bottom:1px solid black" width=50%|Incorrect | |||
|-style="padding:10px;border-bottom:1px solid black" | |||
|style="background-color:#8cb82c; padding:10px;"|[[Liz Shaw]] was a [[companion]] of [[the Doctor]]'s [[Third Doctor|third incarnation]] during the early part of his exile on [[Earth]]... | |||
|style="background-color:#e25822; padding:10px;"|Liz Shaw is a fictional character in the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction]] [[television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''... | |||
|-style="border-bottom:1px solid black" | |||
|-style="padding:10px;border-bottom:1px solid black" | |||
|style="background-color:#8cb82c; padding:10px;"|The universe was a vast region of uncertain proportions, comprised of, amongst other things, planets, satellites, asteroids and stars. | |||
|style="background-color:#e25822; padding:10px;"|The universe is that place where most of the lifeforms in the [[DWU|''Doctor Who'' universe live. | |||
|-style="border-bottom:1px solid black" | |||
|} | |||
[[Category:Policies|Point of view policy]] | [[Category:Policies|Point of view policy]] |
Revision as of 03:13, 15 November 2012
When writing an article, imagine that you know everything about your topic, but that it no longer exists. Write the in-universe portion of articles in the past tense, without exception.
It's important that our articles be consistently written from the same point of view. Otherwise, you'd end up with one article written in past tense, another in future tense, and yet another in present tense. Or maybe, some of the articles would be written from a character's perspective rather than the audience's.
We've therefore decided on a couple of simple rules:
- Use past tense for in-universe portions of articles
- Write from the perspective of a neutral observer who has access to all known facts about your topic. You, the writer of the article, are omniscient, even though the subject of your article is not.
- Use only valid sources — which is to say narratives — to write your article. Material from reference works, deleted scenes, or documentaries can only go in "behind the scenes" sections.
- All narratives, regardless of medium, have equal weight. Whether it's a comic strip, audio, novel or television story, it's all equally valid here.
Here are some common situations:
Correct | Incorrect |
---|---|
Liz Shaw was a companion of the Doctor's third incarnation during the early part of his exile on Earth... | Liz Shaw is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who... |
The universe was a vast region of uncertain proportions, comprised of, amongst other things, planets, satellites, asteroids and stars. | The universe is that place where most of the lifeforms in the [[DWU|Doctor Who universe live. |