User:Mini-mitch/Sandbox Three/Referring to certain characters
Because of a need to achieve consistency on the wiki, we have taken a stand as a community about the way we refer to certain characters. We acknowledge that there could be other ways of handling certain characters, but we nevertheless have a preference for certain syntax over others.
Incarnations of the Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]
By way of forum consensus, the names of specific incarnations of the Doctor shall use the ordinal number of the incarnation in front of the word Doctor, and both words shall be capitalised. Terrance Dicks' use of this form in PROSE: The Eight Doctors was seen as particularly determinative to the question of whether it was an "in-universe expression". Consequently, the names, "First Doctor", "Second Doctor", and the like, were approved for use within the bodies of both real world and in-universe articles. This ruling does not preclude the use of other forms which allow editors to vary their word choice. Equally valid are terms like: "first self", "second body", "third incarnation", "fourth lifetime", "fifth life". In these instances, however, neither word shall be capitalised.
Please do not pipe switch to the name "the Doctor", as this generalises a more accurate and specific name. Please consider that many of our readers will not necessarily know as much about Doctor Who as you. Therefore the phrase "The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan . . ." — which might clearly identify the incarnation of the Doctor to you — is not as helpful as, "The Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan . . ." The latter construction instantly identifies the incarnation without forcing the user to mouseover. It is especially important to clarify the incarnation of the Doctor on pages where more than one Doctor is discussed.
| Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
|
[[First Doctor|the Doctor]]
|
| First Doctor | first Doctor |
| first whatever |
Romana[[edit] | [edit source]]
By way of forum consensus, it was decided that this wiki shall consistently refer to the Romana played by Mary Tamm as "Romana I"; the one played by Lalla Ward as "Romana II", and the incarnation depicted in The Shadows of Avalon and other BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures as "Romana III".
We fully recognise that she's never known within a narrative by these names. Nor do we suggest that Romana I is necessarily the first incarnation of Romana. However, the use of the Roman numeral nomenclature is unchallenged by a suitable in-universe alternative.
The Monk[[edit] | [edit source]]
It has been agreed that the predominant way of referring to the Time Lord adversary first encountered in The Time Meddler shall be "the Monk", not "Mortimus", a name later revealed in a novel. Nevertheless, a redirect at Mortimus was allowed when that debate was closed because it's a valid alternate name.
K9[[edit] | [edit source]]
By way of forum consensus reached after several months of debate, the name of K9 shall usually be rendered without a hyphen in page titles, shall always be rendered without a hyphen in category titles, and is the preferred way of rendering the name in the body of articles.
- See K9 naming convention for more details.
