A Stylistic Question: Present or Past tense?

[Chaos he/him]

Feather has consistently made good points about switching to present tense, and I am pretty much persuaded at this point. It will be a weird transition, but I'll live I think. Considering the articles I write most--the magic related ones--are present tense, and always should be, this is really the only way we can make it consistent.

[cem he/him]

I'm sorry cem, but I think I'm also maybe defecting to the present

I can't say I'm not disappointed a bit because I'm still convinced it'd be best if we wrote the wiki as if writing real world articles but I'm not overly concerned with it either. Like I said, I'd rather have consistency.

[Joe ST he/him]

On those points I agree with you cem.... I'm evidently indecisive XD I want to write it 'in world' (but from a 'far-future' perspective, so everyone (but Hoid) is long dead) but I kinda like the present tense... I'm not really fussed as long as it doesn't chase away any prospective (or current) contributors XD

[WeiryWriter he/him]

This is only a matter of perspective. Many fan wikis are written as if their fictional world was the real world, and many are written otherwise. There is no wrong thing to do here, only what we decide. Obviously, I am in favor of the former.

 

Avatar Wiki, for example, writes their articles the way I'm suggesting. Here's their manual of style: http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Avatar_Wiki:Manual_of_Style#Tense

 

And WoT Wiki is (for the most part, it's not as well edited as Avatar Wiki) written as you're suggesting.

Dragon Age Wiki is written as you're suggesting: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_Wiki:Manual_of_Style#Tenses

 

edit: da wiki is a better example

 

I understand that not all fan wiki's write in present tense but I do think they should.  According to the powers that be who decide the rules of English, the definitively correct way of talking about fictional things is in present tense.  Those wikis are welcome to do what they want but it is technically wrong.  I'm sorry if that sounds a little harsh but just because somebody is doing something doesn't make it the correct way of doing it.

 

And personally I don't want the coppermind to be just another fan wiki.  As Feather always says "the Cosmere Fandom is the Best Fandom" and I think that should be reflected in our wiki.  It should be held to a higher standard.  Yah we have a lot of work to do but that is part of the fun. It might be years before we reach the level I would want to see it at but I think it should always be our goal.

[Chaos he/him]

I think the biggest thing that leans me to present tense is the fact that the Coppermind is not solely an in world document. There are articles on Brandon himself, other out of universe things, and sometimes out of universe things mix with the in universe things. Having different POVs for both of them would be messy.

[Meg]

Is this the decision then?

[cem he/him]

I think the biggest thing that leans me to present tense is the fact that the Coppermind is not solely an in world document. There are articles on Brandon himself, other out of universe things, and sometimes out of universe things mix with the in universe things. Having different POVs for both of them would be messy.

Except, adopting perpetual present tense will cause us to have to use different tenses for fictional and real world articles too. As WeiryWriter and FeatherWriter explained, perpetual present tense is used for fictional works. We would still use past tense while writing, for example, Brandon's biography.

 

I understand that not all fan wiki's write in present tense but I do think they should. According to the powers that be who decide the rules of English, the definitively correct way of talking about fictional things is in present tense. Those wikis are welcome to do what they want but it is technically wrong. I'm sorry if that sounds a little harsh but just because somebody is doing something doesn't make it the correct way of doing it.

And personally I don't want the coppermind to be just another fan wiki. As Feather always says "the Cosmere Fandom is the Best Fandom" and I think that should be reflected in our wiki. It should be held to a higher standard. Yah we have a lot of work to do but that is part of the fun. It might be years before we reach the level I would want to see it at but I think it should always be our goal.

Yes, I understand the correct way to write articles about fictional works is using perpetual present tense. That doesn't mean we can't write articles from an in-universe perspective.

 

Is this the decision then?

Yeah, it seems like it's time for a decision to be made. I feel like we've all made our points. No one seems to be convincing anyone right now. Maybe we should take a poll to see the opinion of the whole community, then leave the final say to the admins.

Edited December 20, 2013 by cem

[Chaos he/him]

The wiki staff (Joe, Windy, Weiry, and I) had a discussion about this earlier today, and we have come to a consensus, which I have added in the style guide: http://coppermind.net/wiki/Coppermind:Style#Tense

We will not dissuade people from writing in past tense, as others are more comfortable with that. Write how you prefer, as content is king. Additional exceptions may appear and can be added to this guideline.

[Kurkistan he/him]

*Has free time tonight*

 

Let's change some tenses! 

[Chaos he/him]

Personally, I think there are probably more productive things to do than altering tense, but I shan't stop anyone for wanting to that

[Kurkistan he/him]

I'm really bad at adding content to wikis. I swear it's a curse. But I like to be able to pretend to contribute sometimes.

[Chaos he/him]

Well, there you go See this is exactly why I say content is most important, because hey, there are some people who just want to adapt current content, and that's totally fine!

I'm liking the present tense change so far in what you and Weiry have done.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Thanks.

 

I'm currently leaving the "minor edit" box unchecked when I tensify articles, though I'm not sure if I should be. Changing tense is a bigger deal than correcting a bit of spelling, but it's not necessarily worth calling "major". What's the protocol on this?

[Chaos he/him]

I don't have strong opinions on whether you leave it checked or unchecked. I would probably say it's a minor edit for most articles.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Aww, how cute, you think we have a protocol...

 

Personally I would check it, but it really doesn't matter whether you do or not.  It's kind of up to the editor's discretion.  I don't always do so, even when I should.  Generally if I'm not adding content, I think it is a minor edit.

[Chaos he/him]

I would agree with that general rule of thumb, Weiry.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Okay, wilco.

[Joe ST he/him]

I kinda just .... leave it on >< I don't really see it as a useful indicator, and I review every edit anyway so I kinda just ignore it XD