Board Thread:Site Discussions/@comment-1272757-20160223002433/@comment-4220590-20160225132753

Kagimizu wrote: Ultrasonic9000 wrote: It would also set up restrictions for them. Consider this: In the Pre-SGW, Snively was called Snively Robotnik and after that he was called Doctor Julian Snively. Following the formula you propose, that would mean that the original incarnation of Snively would be given the article name "Doctor Snively/Pre-Super Genesis Wave" and that we know is not a proper article name for it. Sure, Mobius En. works around this by altering the title with the "DISPLAYTITLE" template, but personally, I think that is hiding information and misleading those ignorant to this concept. As a wikia, we should not try to hide anything at all.

What I am trying to say is that putting them as subarticles put too many restrictions on them and the articles have to deal with every situation.

I just looked at the Mobius Encyclopedia article for Snively, and honestly.... how is that hiding anything? The articles are both accurate to their respective timeline while still acknowledging the fact that they're the same character.

What's more, Snively is an edge case caused by the fact that Snively used to be related to Eggman, and SEGA put down a mandate that game characters cannot have family in the comics. The current writer got around it by not directly referencing any familial relationship, but with the Super Genesis Wave Snively is the one character who needed an overhaul in both name and backstory. Can you name one other character to actually have their name changed the same way Snively did? Rotor the Walus and King Acorn as a few examples. Also, what I mean by hiding information on Mobius is that they are hiding the true article names. On Snively's subarticle, its true article name is "Doctor Julian Snively/Pre-SGW". However, that is hidden with the pre-mentioned template, making it look like it is named "Snively Robotnik". This is both hiding the true article name for the ignorant readers AND it is not the correct name for this incarnation of the character. As a wikia, we should try to be as truthful and precise as possible, which means no hiding actual facts, and keep the contents as close as possible to what the article name is.

As for Snively being an "edge case" is no excuse. The articles are meant to be able to handle any situation. If even one stray variable appears, then all the articles must be adjusted to handle similar cases, because they have to have a consistent system. First there was King Acorn and Maximilian Acorn; then there was Rotor the Walrus and Rotor walrus; and there is Snively Robotnik and Dr. Julian Snively. Sure, those are the cases now, but who is to say that similar situations will not occur in the future? We cannot allow ourselves to ignore one variable, both for the sake of keeping it consistent in the present, but also in preparation for the future.