Tardis talk:In-universe perspective

The Doctor

Now, I know that it says articles are to be in past tense, but what about the Doctor. Not the past versions, but the current one. Since his character is presently ongoing and changing, should his page be in past tense? I know the biographical stuff should, but what about the personality? Clothes? etc. I think these should be the exception. I mean, take a look here. Before, it was in present tense, giving the feeling that this is the present Doctor, but when it changed to past tense, it makes it seem as though the Eleventh Doctor isn't the present one, and that his personality etc. is now set, as he has regenerated. Do you see what I mean? --The Thirteenth Doctor 22:07, June 18, 2010 (UTC)

This sort of exception has been allowed at Memory Alpha, and it's created utter chaos over there. They have the notion of the "eternal concept", in which things that are effectively timeless can be written in the present tense. Only problem is that everyone wants to argue that the article they're writing has timeless qualities. If you want a trip through truly headache-inducing chaos, see their comparable talk page.

It's largely because of the negative example of MA that our rule isn't based on philosophical judgement, or placing yourself within the fictional environment at a certain point in the narrative timeline.

It's simply a stylistic call.

And it's really simple. If you're writing about something within a narrative — like a character, a species, a bit of technology, or a religion — do so with the past tense. Without exception. Every sentence, every paragraph — except those under a "behind the scenes" section head. We could have just as easily said, "use only the present tense or the future tense." But we didn't. We simply chose past tense, and are requiring all editors to do the same simply to engender stylistic harmony.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  13:34: Thu 15 Nov 2012