There is a grey area here.
Yes, the "canonical sources" include the issues that were published before,
during, and
after the crisis - up to but
not including the Byrne reboot. Remember that
Crisis was published from April 1985 to March 1986 - running for about a year. Six months later, in September 1986,
Superman #423 and
Action Comics #583 came out. So essentially, the canonical list includes the end of the Bronze Age - everything up to and including
Superman #423 and
Action Comics #583. This means there is a year of material published during
Crisis and a small number of issues that are "post crisis" but "pre reboot" - that six month window. Some of these issues are included here on STTA:
http://superman.nu/tales2/superboyprime/http://superman.nu/tales2/einstein/http://superman.nu/tales3/murdered_evil/http://superman.nu/tales4/thedream/http://superman.nu/tales3/imp/Based on
earlier discussions on this forum, we all decided that these stories should be included, but that crisis itself should be heavily downplayed. I agree with Starchild when he says,
I think the best way to approach writing articles is to put yourself in the pre-Crisis reality (not pre-Reboot, but pre-Crisis) when doing so and limit yourself to what is mentioned in the canonical sources.
So as far as the paragraph which was deleted from the Multiverse entry is concerned - I don't think we can mention things that take place outside the list of "canonical sources." So where was it ever mentioned that all the universes merged? I honestly don't know. If you're putting material in an article that others might question, just be sure to include your references.
None of this is cast in stone and we can certainly re-open the discussion. But I think it is important that we all be on the same page.
I'd also like to clarify my role here: When it comes to
Superman Through the Ages!, I am supreme ruler and dictator, and create my own preferred reality using bits and pieces of every continuity that ever existed and some that didn't. But I see
Supermanica as very different - it's more restrictive in that it has a strict set of "canonical resources," limited to one comic-book continuity, and not everyone may agree 100% with that list - but we all agree to stick to it, partly because we've all worked on creating it, and partly because we all know that there have to be common guidelines. On the other hand,
Supermanica is also less restrictive - it's a collaborative effort, where we all have to work together - it's not the one-man soap box that STTA is. However, when we've all agreed that we've needed someone to cast a final decision, and that that someone should be me, I've acted in that capacity and I am willing to continue to do so.