Board Thread:Administrative/@comment-61022-20170426203615

Hi there everyone,

So as previously discussed we are going to be tracking multiple points of chronology when a character appears in a flashback or if they appear in-between stories.

Presently, I've been trying to figure out different ways of doing it and would like some input on what everyone thinks is best.

Right now, we currently identify the different points of continuity in the Notes section under the heading "Chronology Notes".

I've also created two tags for chronological flashbacks and  for characters who appear in various stories in-between the pages of a given story (great for crossovers where characters appear concurrently in multiple stories). These are hyperlinked tags so if a user clicks on it, they are automatically taken down to the Notes section. I suppose we could create one for a chronological Flashforward but I haven't run across too many of those (I we do impliment one, perhaps would be the best one to use)

I've come up this two different methods and have an idea for a few more in mind. I think what we should go with is whatever is the least complicated way to code it all. I'd like to put it to a vote.

I'll explain everything by the different codes and the methods I've tried. They work, so this is merely cosmetic input on what is easiest and what is easiest to implement.

Use
The Chronology Tag is used when a character appears concurrently in that story and others happening in other issues. Basically, it's a means of identifying this and breaking down how that chronology works.

How it Works
In this situation, the affected character would be coded in the appearance section like this:

Clicking on the tag will take you down to the Chronology Notes section.

In that section, there would be a paragraph that explains that the X number of characters chronologies are affected by the fact that they are appearing concurrently between this issue and others.

Use
This tag is used when a character appears in a flashback that takes place at a different point in the narrative of the story and happens at some point earlier.

Examples

 * 1) 1 - Spider-Man's origin is told in, however, events in that story are expanded upon in flashbacks in Spider-Man: With Great Power... Vol 1, , , and countless others. It is this situation where you would use the tag.


 * 1) 2 - A story flashes back to the events of a few hours in the past between the "present" of the story. This flashback chronologically happens within the confines of the story. The tag is not use, just use the,  or whatever relevant tag.

How it Works
In the situation where there is a flashback that requires the tag, then the appearance section would look like this:

In this case, you would be noting the chronology of the present day version of the character in the appearance section. Clicking on the tag will bring people down to the Chronology Notes to see how the flashbacks impact them in the story.

In that section, there would be a paragraph that explains that the X number of characters chronologies are affected by a flashback and breaks it down.

How Should We Display This Information?
When there are only one chronology point, it's just simply a list of the affected characters. Where it gets more complicated is when these chronology points weave in and out of a story (such as during a major event)

This is where I need peoples input on how we should display it.

I've come up with two methods. Here are some examples:

Method 1: - This one lists the page point where characters chronologies deviate from the main story.

Method 2: - This one identifies the characters who are affected, then has a series of links that identify the pages/panels between the points in chronology.

Personally, I like method #2 best, so people aren't hunting down an endless list of names to find various chronology points.

Vote #1
Can I get a census on people voting which method they prefer? If you don't like either, please explain an alternative that works for you.

Vote #2
Should these points of chronology include a brief explanation as to what these flashpoints are?

For example: - The Hulk fights Captain America before leaping off to join the Celestial Cheese quest.

Yes or No? If you have an alternative to suggest, please explain.

Third Method I just Dreamed Up
As always I am constantly thinking of multiple ways to present the information on pages. One thing that I have an issue with the above is the fact that users have to go down to the bottom of the page to find these chronology explanations. So I've been putting my mind to how we can have these points of continuity at the TOP of the page but not in the way that would be confusing to readers.

This new method would utilize a reference tag(s) instead next to the appropriate flash tag (IE: / etc) and we abandon and  tags. Or, we maintain these tags just remove the links and use ref tags next to them.

Because these are complex situations we would have to use instead of {{r|

So an example would be:

{{apn|Hulk|Incredible Hulk #999|Avengers: The Cheese Quest #12}}

Vote #3
Do we adopt this? Or don't we?

Please provide suggestions on how we can make this work.

Thats about it. Until then, I'm going to continue doing the Chronology Notes section as we previously agreed upon. We can make the necessary changes once a census is made.

Thanks 