Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Administrator's note:  this topic has been split from this one (http://superman.nu/smf/index.php?topic=3434.0)

Since they are limited number of issues, I don't see anything wrong with spelling the issue citations out in full if they are necessary for an entry, just like "Detective", "Strange Adventures", Brave and Bold" etc (and how "Black Lightning" could have been treated as well).

If you look at this entry for the Flash, its not a "sin" to mention a Showcase entry, just spell it out.  The inclusion of all kinds of partial or selected issue numbers just makes the list more confusing and gives a sense of picking and choosing based on personal preference.  I know that when I write entries its EASIER to know the series that can be abbreviated and those that should be spelled out in full without having to go back to a long canonical source page that has selected issues listed.

EXAMPLE

The Flash

Late one stormy night in [[Central City]], a stray lighting-bolt crashes  into the lab of police scientist, Bartholomew Henry (Barry) Allen. Bouncing off a shelf of chemicals, Barry is struck by this lightning and becomes the fastest man alive, the Flash (Showcase No. 4, Sep/Oct 1956: "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt").

A founding member of the [[Justice League of America]], Barry is capable of running many times the speed of light, and has reflexes to match his speed. He has demonstrated this by moving his arms with enough momentum to break through the trunks of trees. He can also vibrate the molecules of his body to pass through solid objects or even become invisible.

This Scarlet Speedster has raced [[Superman]] several times over the years:

*(S No. 199, Aug 1967: "Superman's Race With the Flash!")
*(The Flash No. 175, Dec 1967: "A Race to the End of the Universe")
*(WF No. 198, Nov 1970: "Race to Save the Universe" [part 1])
*(WF No. 199, Dec 1970: "Race to Save Time" [part 2])
*(DCCP No. 1, Jul/Aug 1978: "Chase to the End of Time!" [part 1])
*(DCCP No. 2, Sep/Oct 1978: "Race to the End of Time!" [part 2])


In May 1977, Superman and the Flash combine forces to combat the spread of a so-called "journalists disease" that inflicts members of the press gathering for a convention in Central City.  In reality a plot by [[Amalak]] and [[Nam-Ek]] to infect Earth with an alien plague carried by young [[Jamie Lombard]]'s dog, the disease infects [[Lois Lane]] and [[Lola Barnett]] before Superman and [[Supergirl]] are able to stop its progress.  In the course of their battle, the Flash is knocked into orbit by Nam-Ek and only survives due to the intercession of [[Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)|Green Lantern]] who nurses the Speedster back to health in the JLA's satellite headquarters (S No. 311: "Plague of the Antibiotic Man!"; S No. 312, Jun 1977: "Today the City... Tomorrow the World"; S No. 313, Jul 1977: "The Only Way You'll Save the Earth Is Over My Dead Body!"; S No. 314, Aug 1977: "Before This Night Is Over, Superman Will Kill!").
 

Actually, my preference would be to spell all references in full and have the canonical sources be those that are refered to often.  I actually don't think that the casual visitor has any idea that "WK" means "World Of Krypton" or that SSY means "Superboy, the Secret Years"...

As far as how to refer to the canonical sources, I'd actually like to see people start using the <ref> tag like on Wikipedia.  It creates inline footnotes that each link down to a "references" section where the full comic name, story title, issue number, and date could all be spelled out in full.

There are probably better examples, but to see what I mean, check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butlerian_Jihad
which has five such inline footnotes.

I hate to disagree but I do for two reasons. 

1. I actually like the academic approach of citing references at the point they are introduced (rather than footnotes) because they can be seen without scrolling down).  Research papers usually do this, while book reviews and shorter summary papers use footnotes.  It also gives Supermanica a unique "academic" look that I like.

2. Changing the format of 1,500 entries will take forever.

The difference is that they link back and forth to each other.  Clicking on the footnote takes you down to the reference; clicking on the reference number takes you back up to the footnote.  Very easy and elegant to use.


That's why I never suggested it.  But the method we're using is counter to the Wiki way.

Maybe its just me, but I really like that Supermanica has a distinct look from all the other DC wiki sites, it really is classic encyclopedia format with the interesting addition of listing the entries as real characters and places and without the "statistics boxes" and other things.

Supermanica may not use all the tools that Wiki offers but I like that its different.  Someday, when all the typos, etc. are fixed, it might be cool to make all the references hot links to an entry that lists all comics that are covered by the database.

I wasn't suggesting changing the encyclopedia format, treating the characters as fictitious, nor adding statistics boxes.

I was suggesting footnotes, which allows one to spell out the full name of the comicbook title and story without interrupting the flow of the main article text.

How much more traditional and official-looking than footnotes can you get?

I agree with MEL --the clunky way we do it now is distinctive.  Footnotes would be more elegant and wikified, and a way to update The Great Superman Book, but we are only concerned with updating to 1986, after all...

Well, many academic journals and most scientific journals cite references in parentheses in the body of the article (though usually in those cases, author(s) and year). Footnotes are used in "Nature" and "Science" short articles.

Of course a big reason also is that I've spent a while adding a few hundred new entries and editing references on many more and going back and re-formatting would be a lot of work, especially since only about 4 or 5 people work on Supermanica in the long term.