Help talk:Style guide/Quotes

New guideline and change to existing guideline

I'd like to propose a new guideline:

1. Quotes should only come from Team Fortress 2 or related media

This means that any quotes from other games, movies, clips, etc. should not be used. I think this can introduce a lot of confusion if we start including non-TF2 stuff. Since I had to wait until this became a problem instead of making it preventative, an example of this can be found here and here. Even as someone who isn't new to TF2 or even the Wiki, reading a quote from "The Guardian of Metal" or "Lars Halford" confuses me because neither of these characters are even mentioned on that page. I think this just serves to add unnecessary confusion, especially as TF2 has quite some obscure characters in its lore.

2. Specific quotes guideline should be removed

I do not believe this guideline brings any value. The biggest example of this is the Kritzkrieg and the Roaming Roman, both of these quotes have a direct relation to them (the Kritzkrieg being a simple and boring description of its ÜberCharge, while the Roaming Roman's is a Latin phrase which is something people often attribute to the Roman empire). I replaced the Kritzkrieg quote with a more humorous one that isn't a simple "this weapon gives crits". I also replaced the Roaming Roman's quote with one I found more fitting. However, both of these had to be removed due to replacing a specific quote. I don't believe this is a productive guideline, as a quote like the Conga's falls under this guideline, but can also very easily be kept for the reason "this quote fits the article much better than any other quote".

I would like to know people's opinions on these two.
| s | GrampaSwood (talk) (contribs) 10:06, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

I think it should be allowed to use quotes from other games/media in the case of promotional items but not other wise. Since I'm the one that "made it a problem" and added the Brutal Legend quotes you're singleing out I will admit that in hindsight I probably could've/should've tweaked the descriptions to make them a bit more clear. I think using a quote from the other game is a nice touch and can be kinda fun but I agree that just "Lars Halford" is pretty vague if someone isn't really familiar with the other game. I think a simple link to the character on the Brütal Legend wiki or changing the description to something like "Lars Halford, on haircare in Brütal Legend" would solve the confusion.
For the specific quote guideline I think more flexibility in the quotes is a good thing and that your example of the Kritzkrieg is totally valid and would be a better quote. Mediarch ♥ Talk ♥ My Edits 14:34, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

The issue isn't your edits specifically, they're just examples. I posted about this in the IRC but I had to wait until something like this actually happened to make a post about it. It's nothing personal. As for clearing it up, requiring a separate wiki page to know who the character is is exactly the issue. Specifying that he's talking about hairstyles in the game would break another guideline of unnecessary quote descriptions.
| s | GrampaSwood (talk) (contribs) 14:40, 21 April 2024 (UTC)