Forum:Alternative timeline individuals
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.
Yesterday, I created a category called "Alternative timeline individuals". As Skittles the hog pointed out to me, I probably should have started a discussion on the subject first as it covers a fairly broad area. My apologies for not doing so. He also asked me to remove the category from all non-canon individuals. What does everyone else think? Should the category only be added to character which have been definitively stated be from alternative timelines such as the Burner Doctor and Unit 190 or should it be expanded to non-canon and/or ambiguously canon individuals?
--GusF 16:21, September 17, 2011 (UTC)
It seems like expanding it the way you suggest would be forcing the wiki to take a stand on the idea that non-canonical fiction happens in an alternate timeline of the canonical universe. And I think that's wrong for multiple reasons.
- There are all kinds of other realms that aren't alternate timelines, but also aren't part of the main Whoniverse. (This may seem like a silly distinction, but the show has explicitly distinguished alternate timelines from parallel realities, and this wiki has followed by trying to come up with a firm definition for each, and acknowledging that some things don't seem to be either.)
- There are events that canonically happened in alternate timelines, which is very different from non-canonically happening in the main timeline.
- There are also events that non-canonically happened explicitly in alternate timelines, and just tossing all non-canonical events into alternate timelines makes it impossible to distinguish them.
- Many non-canonical events clearly were intended to happen in the main timeline of the main Whoniverse. For example, Time's Champion cannot reasonably be considered part of an alternate timeline (otherwise, it doesn't actually explain any of the events it's meant to explain). It's either part of the 6th Doctor's main continuity, or it just didn't happen.
As a side note, I think you mean "alternate timeline", not "alternative". --70.36.140.19 18:55, September 17, 2011 (UTC)
- "Alternate timeline" has a specific meaning in regards to canon; it's something that does exist in canon, but in a reality apart from those of the main Doctor Who universe. This covers alternate universes in the main narrative like Pete's World. The various non-canon individuals with entries on this wiki are well outside what we would call "alternative timelines," they are excluded from the Doctor Who universe for whatever specific reasons the source stories they come from are excluded. The category is therefore not of use for non-canon articles. — Rob T Firefly - Δ∇ - 05:49, September 18, 2011 (UTC)
