Forum:Proposal for Infobox Guidelines policy

There has been some discussion recently about infoboxes. Specifically whether to include names such as Perkins and Parry 'Otter that were attributed to Harry even though he did not use them himself. What do you all think? --Hcoknhoj 07:31, January 25, 2010 (UTC)

Specifically, there has been a lot of dispute as to whether the "Alias" section of a character's infobox should include names the character was called by others, or just names they used themselves. For example, should Severus Snape's aliases include "Snivellus" as well as "the Half-Blood Prince"? Should "Hermy" be listed for Hermione? There are three options:


 * 1) The "Alias" section should be restricted to names used by the respective characters themselves.
 * 2) The "Alias" section should include all names which were used to refer to the character, by themselves and by others.
 * 3) A new section, "A.K.A." could be added to the infobox template below "Alias", in which names used by others would be listed.

This change would be incorporated into the existing Character infobox family guidelines policy, which would be renamed as simply Character infobox guidelines. - Nick O'Demus 08:12, January 25, 2010 (UTC)


 * While I prefer choice 2, I would not object to option 3. --Hcoknhoj 08:51, January 25, 2010 (UTC)


 * Let me give you a taste of what the infoboxes will look like if we go for option 2 or 3. Let's take Snape for example.

If you really think this is an acceptable standard for this wiki, then you could make a case for adding just about anything to the infoboxes. The alias field is for alias and nothing else. J a y c e  Darkmark.png•Avada Kedavra •Crucio •Imperio • 10:19, January 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * Snape
 * Proffessor Snape
 * Sev
 * Snivellus
 * Snivelly
 * Idiot
 * Git
 * Freak
 * The Half-Blood Prince
 * Greasy Git
 * YOU COWARD
 * The bravest man I ever knew
 * His favourite, most trusted advisor
 * Ugly Git
 * Slimeball
 * Overgrown bat
 * Greasy haired kid
 * That awful boy
 * That Snape boy


 * That's a good point, but a lot of those could be taken out with a few simple restrictions:


 * Snape - his name, not a nickname or alias
 * Professor Snape - his title, ditto
 * Idiot, Git, Freak, Slimeball, Coward, etc. - generic insults, could be used on anyone, neither nickname nor alias
 * Bravest man, Awful boy, Overgrown bat - more descriptors than aliases or nicknames, he was never directly addressed as such
 * Sev, Snivillus, Half-Blood Prince - unique to this character, referred to or directly addressed as such, would be valid under Proposal 2 or 3
 * Greasy Git - debatable


 * After all, Alastor Moody is known as Mad-Eye, and called this by others, but when does he ever directly refer to himself as such? The closest I can recall is when he (or rather Crouch while impersonating him) says "and they say I'm mad". By that reasoning, we couldn't consider "Mad-Eye Moody" as an alias either.


 * In short, a valid alias/nickname/AKA/whatever would be:


 * 1) Singular to that character (with a possible exception for Barny Weasley). "Mudblood" would not be a valid alias, but "Scarhead" or "Loony Lovegood" could be.
 * 2) Something the character either referred to themself as or was directly addressed as.

Nick O'Demus 11:21, January 25, 2010 (UTC)


 * Im sorry but that's like saying people can add stupid things to the infobox if they want, but only to a certain degree. And what about mispronounciations, such as "Hermy" by Grawp, "Parry Otter" by Slughorn, and "Dunderbore" and "Dumberton" by Mrs Cole? Are they alias as well? J a y <font color="#8DB87A">c <font color="#406B2E">e  <font face="Arial" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8;">Darkmark.png•<font color="#406B2E">Avada Kedavra •<font color="#8DB87A">Crucio •<font color="#406B2E">Imperio • 15:38, January 25, 2010 (UTC)

That still doesn't address the issue with Moody. Also, by that logic we can't use "The Boy Who Lived" as an alias for Harry Potter, unless you can show when he directly used the term himself. And when did Voldemort ever call himself "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"? We'd have to exclude several prominent characters' well-known aliases if we went that way.

So let's look at Voldemort's permissible aliases under option 1:
 * Lord Voldemort
 * Heir of Slytherin
 * The Dark Lord
 * The greatest sorcerer in the world

What could not be permitted, and would have to be removed:
 * You-Know-Who
 * He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
 * Chief Death Eater

<font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="4" color="FF8000">Nick O'Demus 19:01, January 25, 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm with Jayce Carver on this one. It's already been adressed by the Admin, and they agreed not to include nicknames in the infobox. I'd say Mad-Eye is acceptable as it's used instead of his real name, and he clearly has no problem being called that. Jayden Matthews 19:16, January 25, 2010 (UTC)


 * But wouldn't Sev be acceptable by that reasoning then? It was used by Lily instead of his real name, and he clearly had no problem being called that. - <font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="4" color="FF8000">Nick O'Demus 19:31, January 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * I guess there could be a case for it. We don't really know how often the name was used though, we only have one occassion of her using it. Jayden Matthews 19:35, January 25, 2010 (UTC)


 * I would deem aliases to be unique alternate names by which the character is known. Therefore, aliases would only be terms that can be only applied to that particular character (i.e. "Mudblood" might be an alias for a bunch of different characters, while "The Amazing Bouncing Ferret" would only apply to one person). -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 20:14, January 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * Here are some definitions.

We cannot go around saying that the "Amazing Bouncing Ferret" is an alias of Draco Malfoy etc, because it's simply not true. Jayden Matthews 20:35, January 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia:An alias is usually used nowadays to describe a name which hides someone's true identity
 * The Free Dictionary:An assumed name
 * Word Reference:assumed name, false name, a name that has been assumed temporarily
 * Your Dictionary: an assumed name; another name

How about this... If a person has been called a certain name more than once (to make sure it wasn't a mistake) then it is an alias. This would exclude derogatory terms like Mudblood though. 22:09, January 25, 2010 (UTC)