Difference between revisions of "Help talk:Conventions"

Latest revision as of 21:12, 16 October 2009

Redirects for accented names[edit]

Has anybody thought of using redirects to allow linking to names with accents? The link would be redirected to the appropriate page automatically. This would allow the convention to be reversed also: you could have redirects without accents linking to articles with.

I'm trying without success to think of an example… HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 07:36, 14 December 2006 (PST)

I did think of this, but I thougt it unlikely that someone would search for an accented name instead of using the A-Z index :) I don't mind creating redirects for names with accents, if it's thought they'd be helpful, but I'd prefer to continue the practice of not using them for the articles themselves. For people not familiar with the alt-characters, it's a big pain, and they add special characters to the page titles that make it hard to just type them in, for those who choose to do so. I'm open to discussion on any way we could make it easier... -whitearrow

There is a page named Mediawiki:Edittools which is displayed in "edit mode" below the buttons (at least in the skin I have selected). You can add stuff in there which will display accented characters and allow users to enter them with just a click. What I don't know, and I'm trying to find out, is what you can do with it without the extra bells & whistles we have at Wikipedia. HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 04:22, 18 December 2006 (PST)

Dragon name translations[edit]

I've been adding a lot of translations for the individual dragons' names under the biography section of their page, but it seems an awkward place for it. Would there be any objections to adding a brief translation to the name section of the template (e.g. Mortiferus ('deadly') or Volatilus (volatilis = 'rapid'))?

A question regarding "historical approach"[edit]

The example given (which shows how to refer to plot actions as if they had been real incidents) is clear, but if we are to present entries as if they are in a real universe, then many entries that are currently past tense, perhaps ought to be cast in present tense.

People who existed at the time of the Napoleonic Wars would no longer be living in our present times (assuming that the Temeraire universe has advanced as far as 2007), but dragon breeds and individual dragons might still be in existence.

For instance: 1) "Regal Coppers were descended from . . ." perhaps ought to be "Regal Coppers are descended from . . ." 2) "They were fast attackers that dove . . ." could be "They are fast attackers that dive . . ." 3) whereas "Jane Roland was a strong, confident woman . . ." would be correct because a human would not be expected to be living still in present time.

How then ought the convention be applied to entries for dragons?

LadyLyn 07:46, 12 August 2007 (PDT)

I was operating on the presumption that given current history does not show that dragons still exist, that dragons probably do not exist in our time. Splitting up tenses would also be very confusing. -whitearrow 17:45, 13 August 2007 (PDT)

OK . . . got it! Though so sad to think that perhaps the author is planning a wholesale extinction, rather than an open-ended alternate universe.

LadyLyn 07:46, 14 August 2007 (PDT)

FYI, I'm not suggesting that I know that to be the case, or that I even think we'll ever see that happen "onscreen" (I doubt we will). It feels like a logical extrapolation, however, and it also keeps things simpler. The grammar and style on a lot of pages is quite messy as it is, and I don't think we should intentionally make things more confusing. -whitearrow 21:29, 19 August 2007 (PDT)

I know I keep sticking stuff like this in all over the place, and please do let me know if it's getting tedious, but using a factual/historical perspective doesn't necessarily mean everything has to be past tense, which can be jarring. While I'm reading the wiki my mode of thought is almost that I'm reading information published at the time. As if the wiki were available in 1807 and so on. That's why I find things like "Berkley was the Maximus' captain" discouraging, because it suggests a future that hasn't happened yet and we can't know about assuming that it's now 1807. A wiki as society pages in a newspaper? The majority of the articles should be written in the past tense, because the action's already happened, but if it's an ongoing situation, "is" seems more appropriate and as more books are brought out, and the canon moves on, article will be updated from is to was naturally. --Andrew 08:40, 6 November 2007 (PST)

Definative Quotes[edit]

I was thinking of adding quotes to each character profile (if available) - it might assist in engrossment and would be in my opinion a neat little addition.

For example: for Obversaria: "You are too old to be flying with your eyes closed." - Obversaria chiding Temeraire on his recklessness.

Take how the quotes are used in the Team Fortress 2 wiki [url]http://tf2wiki.net/wiki/Heavy[url]

Let me know what you think! If this is approved I'll take it onto myself.

Sure, that sounds fun! -whitearrow 14:12, 16 October 2009 (PDT)