Tardis:Disambiguating other realities

Disambiguation Disambiguation term → Disambiguating story titles → Disambiguating in-universe counterparts → Disambiguating other realities

Normally, we disambiguate by story. But when you find yourself confronted by a person or thing from an alternate reality who has a "twin" in the regular DWU, disambiguate by the name of these universe, not by the story name.

Shortcut:

T:DAB OTHER

Generally speaking, we disambiguate by the first story a person or thing appears in. However, this isn't usually practicable when an alternate timeline, parallel universe or a pocket dimension is involved.

Multiple versions of same person often introduced in same story

Imagine the case of Greg Sutton. He was a character introduced in Inferno. But so was the version of him in the parallel Earth of that story. So the name Greg Sutton (Inferno) is ambiguous.

It's important, therefore, to disambiguate on the basis of the entire location, not just the story — even if that means creating a name for the world. Hence, Greg Sutton (Inferno Earth) achieves the goal of clarity. Equally, so does Pete Tyler (Pete's World).

Historical figures in alternate realities

Another good reason to disambiguate by a named reality is the case of the historical figure. Often, realities become "alternative" because someone famous is said to have done something different than what they did in our "known" universe. The famous person may not even make an appearance in the story, so you can't use the story name as a dab term.

A good example is Adolf Hitler (Inferno Earth). He doesn't exactly appear in the book The Face of the Enemy, but his legend on Inferno Earth is described. A name like Adolf Hitler (The Face of the Enemy) simply wouldn't make much sense.

In order to make these pages easily discoverable by other readers, it's important to stick to one term to describe all people from a certain reality. People from the main DWU reality either have no disambiguation term (if their name is sufficiently unique), or are disambiguated by the name of the first adventure in which they're seen.

Choosing a good name for the universe

Finding an appropriate universe name isn't easy. On rare occasion, the script will offer it up. "Pete's World" is the perfect case in point. The Tenth Doctor actually says it in the script, so that's what we go with.

But when the name isn't so obvious, it's probably a good rule of thumb to go with something like:

Story name + Earth
or
Story name + universe

Don't feel afraid to ask for naming help at Board:The Panopticon, or to grab an admin.