Forums: Index > The Wizengamot > Past/Present tense?
Is there is a clear policy on using present or past tense. Like when your editing an article of a person who is not known to have died, but talking about events in the past, should it use past tense, or present tense? -- Ratneer Owl Me! 21:49, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
- Past tense should be used in all in-universe articles, as if the events had happened in the past and we are simply recording the information as a historical record. This also applies to articles set in the "future" such as the DH epilogue. - Cavalier One
(Wizarding Wireless Network) 23:17, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
- Ah ok, So we are acting like we are always ahead of the story. Got it. I guess alot of articles need changing then. Wait, Then why are the characters who are alive, say things like = Harry potter is, and not Harry Potter was. I thought if they didnt die, then it should be in present tense. -- Ratneer Owl Me! 23:31, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
- No, articles should be written in the past tense regardless of whether or not the character is alive. And a lot of articles probably do need changing. - Cavalier One(Wizarding Wireless Network) 23:49, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
- No, articles should be written in the past tense regardless of whether or not the character is alive. And a lot of articles probably do need changing. - Cavalier One
- Ah ok, So we are acting like we are always ahead of the story. Got it. I guess alot of articles need changing then. Wait, Then why are the characters who are alive, say things like = Harry potter is, and not Harry Potter was. I thought if they didnt die, then it should be in present tense. -- Ratneer Owl Me! 23:31, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
- Hm, I know that many editors (myself included) have regarded the past-tense-for-in-universe-articles as set policy, but after looking through the wiki's policy pages, I can't find it actually specified anywhere. Maybe I missed something, but if not, this does need to be addressed. - Nick O'Demus 09:07, December 26, 2009 (UTC)
- I looked around, and its not uncommon on the Wiki for the introductory paragraphs of an article to be in present-tense, and the rest to be in past-tense. Still, there's an overall discrepancy between the tenses of articles. Perhaps we should hold a vote? I'm still in favor of the current leaning toward past. ----Parodist
(Send me an Owl) 03:03, December 30, 2009 (UTC)
- I looked around, and its not uncommon on the Wiki for the introductory paragraphs of an article to be in present-tense, and the rest to be in past-tense. Still, there's an overall discrepancy between the tenses of articles. Perhaps we should hold a vote? I'm still in favor of the current leaning toward past. ----Parodist
- Maybe sentences like "Harry Potter is a wizard" should be in the present tense (as Harry is alive) and sentences denoting actions should be in the past tense (such as "Harry went into the Chamber of Secrets in his 2nd year")? -- Seth Cooper owl post! 03:32, December 30, 2009 (UTC)
- I think the Biography and Relationships sections at least should be written exclusively in past-tense. However, descriptive information, such as in the article header, Personality and Traits, and Magical Abilities and Skills could be present-tense, unless the character is confirmed to be deceased. - Nick O'Demus 11:01, December 30, 2009 (UTC)
- But what about characters who may be either living or deceased, such as the Death Eaters after the War? ----Parodist
(Send me an Owl) 15:32, December 30, 2009 (UTC)
- But what about characters who may be either living or deceased, such as the Death Eaters after the War? ----Parodist
- If they're not confirmed to be deceased, they should be presumed to still be living, at least for now. - Nick O'Demus 17:07, December 30, 2009 (UTC)
- I think this should be put to a vote. I still believe that the biography should be in presetn tense, If they are still alive. As for everything else, It should be written in past tense, like it should be, since it is in the past. We need to write as if we are in the universe As on 2017, IMO. -- Ratneer Owl Me! 20:23, December 30, 2009 (UTC)