Board Thread:Policies/@comment-1895174-20130128004155

I was looking at the various Comic Appearance Templates, and started to become a bit confused. Spencerz and I had a (very small) discussion about this a while back here but it didn't really result in anything.

There's a few different Comic Appearance Templates that appear to be redundant, or are at very least ambiguous in how they are supposed to be used:


 * and - Personally, I've just been guessing as to what the difference is.  I've been using  when referring to our chronology and  in reference to the in-universe chronology (i.e. flashbacks, prequels, maybe some time travel, etc.).  For example, Erik Lehnsherr (Earth-10005)'s  appearance would be X-Men, while his  appearance would be X-Men: First Class.  I could have that completely backwards, however, or they could just mean the same thing.


 * - I've interpreted this as a death that turns to not be a death, but it's equally valid to use it for an ambiguous death. This is the issue that actually came up in that (very small) discussion I had with Spencerz. An example of the former would be Jean Grey (Earth-10005) in X2, while an example of the latter would be Raza (Earth-199999) in Iron Man.


 * and - Apparently do the same thing
 * is what's normally used, however.
 * is what's normally used, however.
 * is what's normally used, however.


 * undefined - I have no idea on this one. It could refer to something that happened behind the scenes, as in a production note, but then there's no reason for that to even be mentioned, and the template is useless.  On the other hand, it could refer to a character who is "behind the scenes", as in someone manipulating events (pulling strings, if you will), but then that would just get a  tag and no.


 * and - Should  only be used when another character explicitly kills another?  Likewise, should  only be used if the character's death is accidental?


 * and - Although they don't do exactly the same thing, like  and, the two appear to be completely interchangeable.


 * - I actually just have a problem with the way this one is written. It automatically adds an "a" into the template.
 * Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) = Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)
 * As you see, "a Winter Soldier" doesn't make any sense. It appears it can really only be used when referring to an adjective like "Skrull" or "traitor", as opposed when an identity is revealed.  Personally, I just think it would be better if that "a" wasn't there so we can use it in both instances and just add "a" when it's needed (i.e..


 * , and  - Although not appearance templates, I just have no idea what the difference is between the three.

I was hoping an elder & more experienced editor could explain what the difference between those templates are, and maybe just write a 1-sentence explanation on the page for said templates. It would definitely clear up some confusion, and help guide editors in the future. After all, it's not all that uncommon for me to find an old page that uses instead of.  