--Espritduo 01:04, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
Hey all, I've been perusing this site for some time now and I'm definitely impressed by what you guys have done here. This site is quickly becoming my go-to site for researching various Final Fantasy subjects, and that's saying alot because I'm a tough crowd to please.
One thing I've noticed more than once, though, is the addition of "questionable" information on various pages that may or may not be true. I'm aware that anyone can edit anything they like, but it seems some rather obscure things are being added and then accepted as true without any sort of real validation or citation. A prime example of this and the reason I finaly decided to make an account here(which I should have done a long time ago anyways) is the General Leo page. There's a paragraph in his bio that tells a little story about him training Terra in Narshe which is completely untrue as far as my knowledge of the game goes, and it goes pretty darn far. It's certainly not in any version of the game, and as far as I know, it's not in the Settei Shiryou or the Complete Works Japanes guides. That leaves nowhere else to pull the info from except someone's fanfiction claiming to be canon. Now I can't claim to have translated every word of the the Japanese books, but if the person who posted that info can show exactly what page of what book that info on, I'd be happy to open the books up and find them and see for myself.
And that brings me to the larger point I wanted to make. Whether this info is true or not, it's so obscure and so esoteric that there really should be some sort of disclaimer or citation stating where it's coming from. I think it would be in the best interest of the site if all info taken from sources other than the game itself was cited in some way. Not only would it sate the critical and curious eye of fans like myself who would like to know where the information is coming from, but it would go a long way to legitimizing the site as a source for FF info. As it stands now, spurious info like the Leo snippet only devalue the site because you just don't know if it's true or not and it makes the site feel like a glorified fanfic some times.
I was sorely tempted to just go and edit this type of information out(you know, be BOLD like the site says), but I felt I should at least give the person who put it there the benefit of the doubt and ask where it came from so I could double check it myself and maybe learn a thing or two, as well as introduce myself along the way.
Your concerns are duly noted. While we're not trying to emulate Wikipedia too much, there's no hindrance in adding references - it is allowed so that readers know that the content is official and not from fan-fiction. If there is doubt, you can always trace back the page history and ask for source from the person who added the certain entries. BTW, welcome to the Final Fantasy Wiki. | |||
--Espritduo 01:38, 7 September 2008 (UTC) Thanks. I tried to do that before I signed up, but I wasn't familiar with the way the site kept track of edits and got a little lost. I've figured it out now and tracked the edit back to its source. Unfortunately, the user who put that piece of info there hasn't been active for over a year, and I doubt any attempt to contact him would be successful. I was hoping there was maybe someone around here who was aware of the origin of this info and could vouch for it.
- There's always the option of contacting other users who had also added content on the page. Usually, talk page responses do take time due to user's real life concerns. Bluer 01:43, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
8bit BlackMage - Beyond the Sky TALK - Why do chemists call helium, curium, and barium 'the medical elements'? Because, if you can't 'helium' or 'curium', you... um... ._.; - {{{time}}} | |||
@Esprit: You said on Leo's talk page that you've read all official VI information books. Does that include the Ultimania? Is there even an Ultimania for VI? There has to be some place where we get all that obscure "Loves/Hates/Hobby/Blood Type" stuff. | |||
--Espritduo 02:16, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
Well, I've read all that I know exists, at least. And there is definitely no Ultimania for any FF's before FFVII, although there are various books that give detailed information from the creators that were made by the people that would go on to make the Ultimanias. The FFVI Settei Shiryou and FF1-6 Complete Works are two such books, and are the source of the goofy information like the Loves/Hates stuff. These books are in Japanese, and I am certainly not fluent in Japanese, so what I know comes mostly from other people who have translated specific sections of them(and sufficiently cited which pages and sections!). Thanks to some recent eBay purchases I do now own the books though, and can at the very least do rough and ugly translations on my own to confirm whether or not people are really citing these books or not.