Forum:Aliens and enemies templates: the final battle

Index → Panopticon → Aliens and enemies templates: the final battle

Spoilers are strongly policed here.
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.

We've had a number of discussions on whether the navigation boxes housed in category:Aliens Navigation templates should stay or go. They've persisted, it seems to me, because none of the preceding discussions were concluded. As I switch over navboxes to their new and more flexible format, I'm stumped as to whether I should do the work on converting these templates, because opposition to them in the various threads seems to have been reasonably high. It's an awful lot of work to do if we, as a community, don't even want the boxes in the first place.

For your review, here are the previous discussions on this issue that are giving me pause:

• Forum:Aliens and Enemies
• Forum:Aliens and Enemies Template
• Forum:Navigation Templates

I think that some of the objections raised in these threads have been answered by the new format allowed by {{navbox}}. One major bone of contention in the previous thread was where the navbox was to be placed. I had argued for a placement under the infobox, but this new template neatly stows things above the category strip. Fine. That issue is settled. TD had hated, as do I, the bulkiness of a number of different navboxes on top of each other. That also has been solved by the new navbox system, since multiple navboxes can now be nested inside a single container. (See Sarah Jane Smith for an example of this in action.)

What remains, then, are three central questions. And, as we've already had a ton of discussion about this, it's time to have a clearer vote on these issues. Thus the questions are asked in a series of polls. These polls will remain open for one week from today, at which time the aliens and enemies templates will either be revamped in the new format, or redirected to a blank template, which will neatly make them disappear from all pages.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  <span style="">15:33:33 Tue 29 Mar 2011 

Examine the following navbox:

<poll> Should we keep navboxes like the one above? Yes No </poll>

If you answered "yes" to the above question, then continue on to the following question. If you answered "no" please do not answer the following question.

<poll> If the answer to the above question is "yes", then do we keep the templates as "aliens and enemies" or do we divide it into SEPARATE "enemies" and "aliens" templates? Keep as "aliens and enemies" Divide into two navboxes, "aliens" and "enemies" Keep only the enemies part Keep only the aliens part </poll>

If you answered to keep "aliens" then continue to the next question. If you answered "keep only the enemies part", above, do not answer the following question:

<poll>If we keep "aliens", who counts as an alien? The Doctor is the titular character, so an "alien" is anyone not a Time Lord The audience is human so aliens are anyone not human Aliens are anyone who aren't the same species as the Doctor and/or companions (therefore, Alzarians, Trions, and Trakenites, for example, aren't aliens) </poll>

Discussion

Keep navboxes, they make the wiki richer, divide into aliens and enemies, both are important to note but should not be conflated, aliens are anyone not human (Alzarians count for Season 18, Time Lords for Season 6 and Season 15, etc.), otherwise the navbox omits the fact that a species was introduced or focused on. -- Noneofyourbusiness 13:59, March 31, 2011 (UTC)

I think they should be kept in principle but modified somewhat. Splitting them into separate aliens and enemies would probably solve the problem since they're a bit overfilled and unwieldy at the moments. Otherwise, concentrate on the main villains/races rather than listing every henchman or minor species. Skteosk 14:24, March 31, 2011 (UTC)

I might be missing something here in the discussion but when I make a distinction between the terms 'aliens' and 'enemies' I tend to think of them as (alien to human) 'species' and 'individually-named' enemies. The Librarian 14:58, March 31, 2011 (UTC)

Keep the navboxes, but divide into enemies and non-humans it will make it more understandable and the problem will be solved. The mysterious 13:22, April 2, 2011 (UTC)

Just a question about this thought, though. If we divided into "non-humans" as you say, won't we then logically have to put Time Lord in every single story, except Mission to the Unknown? Or won't we have to put "Alzarian" in every story featuring Adric?
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  <span style="">20:23:30 Sat 02 Apr 2011