As a first pass, I think this is a good solution. Certainly, we should work to solve your problem, which is a valid problem.
Uri Yanover wrote:
I could think of several solutions to this problem:
- Remove the [[Middle Earth/]] part (e.g. [[Elrond]] instead of [[Middle Earth/Elrond]]. But this would not only add fictional content to the generally real-world encyclopedia but also confuse the readers (think about [[USS Enterprise]]!)
Well, is the content _fictional_? Or it is real-world content about a _fictional universe_? There's a subtle difference. If the content was fictional, it wouldn't belong in Wikipedia in the first place. But if it is highly detailed encyclopedic information about a fictional universe, then it does belong. I think it does belong.
- Creating a new namespace (e.g. [[Middle Earth:Elrond]]). But that would not automatically solve the linking problem, and would generally contradict the way namespaces are used now (the division being functional and not content-oriented).
Right! I'd be very much opposed to this. The namespace divisions should be functional, not content-oriented, unless we have an EXTREMELY compelling reason.
The primary reaso for the namespace division was to avoid collision between user nicknames and real articles.
- Creating a new Middle Earth wiki. Although it would solve most of the problems above, that would require too much effort and make linking with the "main" Wikipedia more difficult.
I think a Middle Earth wiki would be neat, but I think this wouldn't really solve the real problem here. Because the same problem will crop up in many other areas, I think.
I also think that a Middle Earth wiki could and probably should be fairly different from Wikipedia content about Middle Earth. For example, a Middle Earth wiki would probably want to make room for fan fiction.
I'd be happy to host such a
The solution which I would personally prefer is to add another addressing mode to the Wiki links.For example, we could add a #base directive after which all links except escaped ones would receive a certain prefix. For example:
#base [[Middle Earth/]] [[!JRR Tolkien]] wrote that [[Elrond]] was the lord of Rivendell.
The link with the prefixing "!" would not be affected. However after the #base directive, [[Elrond]] will automatically become [[Middle Earth/Elrond]].
What do you think about it? Could this be implemented or there's another (easier) solution?
I think that after we brainstorm, there may be some modifications to your proposal, but certainly something in this neighborhood might make sense.
--Jimbo