Tardis:Prefixes

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Revision as of 12:30, 30 July 2011 by Tybort (talk | contribs) (Clarifying to avoid confusion with BBCR.)

This is the list of prefixes on the TARDIS Index File Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki. Prefixes, which can be used to quickly cite sources for statements in articles on this wiki, have been created for most every resource allowed by our resourcing policy. The following article explains how prefixes are used on this wiki, then gives a list ordered by medium.

Usage

Prefixes may be a foreign concept to users coming from academia, Wikipedia, or other reference projects. They are a kind of shorthand which obviates the need for laborious in-line citation or footnotes. They allow a few letters and a linked story name to subsitute for anything more formal.

For instance, an obvious use of a prefix would be

Sarah Jane Smith met the Doctor whilst pretending to be her aunt, Lavinia Smith. (DW: The Time Warrior)

The DW saves the editor the bother of having to type,

Sarah Jane Smith met the Doctor whilst pretending to be her aunt, Lavinia Smith, in the Doctor Who television serial, The Time Warrior.

New editors may wish to bookmark this page for easy reference, at least until they become more familiar with the more arcane prefixes used on this site.

Television/Film/Video/Web

BBC

In-universe

Real world

Generally, the following sources should be used on real world pages. However, information from these sources could conceivably be used in "behind the scenes" sections of in-universe articles.

Mixed use

  • WC - Webcast, by which is usually meant, "comic, prose or animated fiction, published to websites of entities who produce licensed Doctor Who material", such as the BBC's official website. A good example of proper usage is WC: Real Time. However, official sites have, in exceptional circumstances, published behind-the-scenes material, such as WC: Doctor Who Video Explorer, or any one of a number of videos on the BBC America website. Thus the prefix can actually mean that the cited resource is either in- or out-of-universe. It can also be used beyond BBC websites, so long as that website is officially licensed, as with Big Finish Productions' website.

Non-BBC

Audio

Big Finish Productions

BBC

  • BBCR - Doctor Who universe stories which were originally made public as broadcasts on BBC Radio.
  • BFA/BBCR - Collaborations between Big Finish and BBC Radio (i.e. series 1 of the ongoing Eighth Doctor BBC Radio series).
  • SJAA - The Sarah Jane Adventures audiobooks.
  • TWA - Torchwood audiobooks.
  • TWA/BBCR - should be used for any TW dramas that debuted on radio.
  • AG - Long-time editors will know that this prefix used to be BBCA. However, owing to the purchase of BBC Audiobooks by AudioGo, the entity known as "BBC Audio" was downgraded to a mere imprint, and the entire back catalogue of Doctor Who material became AudioGo's to play with. This abbreviation is therefore used for anything released under the BBC Audio or AudioGo logos which does not fall into other categories. For example the Hornets' Nest range, the various soundtracks to missing episodes, and the new audio novelisation of The Stones of Blood would be prefixed by AG, but not any of the audiobooks that appear on the New Series Adventures page, nor those audios which would be better tagged with SJAA or TWA. Target Books novelisations would generally be prefaced with DWN, unless one were discussing something specific to the audio, in which case it would be prefaced with AG. [Please note that BBCA is now a redirect for BBC America.]

Others

Prose

Novels

Target/Virgin

BBC Books

Big Finish

Penguin Character Books

Telos Novellas

Short prose fiction

Other

Comics

The important thing to remember about citing comic stories is that comic strips are frequently reprinted. It is important, therefore, that we cite the publication of first publication. For instance, DWM: The Stockbridge Horror' is correct, while DW84: The Stockbridge Horror should only be used when referring to differences between the original printing and the American reprint. The following list of prefixes is alphabetised.

Other