• Stovetop@lemmy.world
      15·
      5 days ago

      Tangentially related but just want to voice one peeve: I really hate it when wikis for works of fiction update “is” to “was” if a character later dies in a story.

      Sometimes I just need to remember things like where a character is from or how old they are, so I look them up but end up getting spoiled on the second or third word of the article just when it says (e.g.) “Darth Vader was…”

      If I had technical know-how, I would make a “No tense spoilers” browser plugin that changes the tense of “was” to “is” on wiki pages.

        • Stovetop@lemmy.world
          3·
          5 days ago

          Not familiar with that series, but I looked up its wiki (even for a character I saw that had a stated death) and they thankfully seem to use “is” for everyone.

          Not sure if it’s a series I’ll ever get around to looking at, but just in case, I didn’t linger on any pages long enough to have any memory of who anyone actually is.

        • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
          6·
          5 days ago

          I agree. All fiction was written in the past and enjoyed in the past. If there is an article about it on a wiki, it should be written past tense by default.

          This is how I talk about fiction in daily life as well. Unless I am currently enjoying the story with a friend of something, I dont talk about fictional characters in the present tense.

          Im happy to talk about how Spock* is* the coolest guy on the bridge while im watching TOS, and Superman wasn’t as cool as I was hoping ( if I had watched the movie, like even a week ago).