Talk:The Monk (Doctor Who)

message: Perhaps I should explain why the Monk's appearance in the thirtieth anniversary special is particularly noteworthy, but it's a spoiler and in any case I don't suppose anybody here cares much. So I probably won't. --Paul A 03:20, 18 May 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Years too late, but WHAT? You mean Dimensions in Time? The never-made Dark Dimension? The Pertwee BBC Radio serial? The Airzone Solution? 197.83.246.23 (talk) 14:00, 28 July 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: oldest thread

message: Hello. I've spotted the comments made at Admin Noticeboard and thought I'd pop by. 
First things first, I'm not an admin. But I've been here for yonks and know when a talk page is getting out of hand when I see one. So in the spirit of co-operation and neutrality, I thought I'd nip by.
The main take I'm seeing from this talk page is passion. Passion is good, and can be harnessed well in the right circumstances. What we need to do is try to take a step back, breathe, and then see what direction the passion needs to take for the good of Wikipedia. Remember that, ultimately, this is Wikipedia. Not Wikia, not a Geocities fan site, not a notepad in your bedroom. This article needs to be comprehensive, accurate, neutral, and true to any viable, credible, official sources. If you're spending too long going back-and-forth about a fictitious character on Wikipedia, I do suggest that you close the laptop and try focusing on other things for a few days. It truly is not so important. 
You all need to calm down. The character of the Monk isn't real. "Doctor Who" isn't real. Each producer, writer, author and actor associated with "Doctor Who" brought their own spin on each particular era. The Monk was one tiny fragment in the show's entire and on-going run, so of course, over 40+ years, different sources will do different, contradictory, and occasionally stupid things with the character. Wikipedia can't have 50-odd articles for each different version, so one article will have to do. It's fine for one article about a fictitious character to be filled with contradiction. It's sci-fi, remember, rules do tend to be written in haste and ret-conned at leisure. Calm down, if you think it's vitally important to be absolutely exact about each and every facet of The Monk's backstory. Guess what, each successive writer probably gave less of a damn about canon than you are. 
So now that you're calm, think about the content. If you want to focus on Big Finish, then make a section about their versions of the character. Make that your focus. If you want to focus on sources other than Big Finish, then make a section and focus on that. Each section will explain to the readers of the future why elements don't quite add up, and why some details contradict others. Remember, this is The Monk from "Doctor Who" - it is not the Bible, it is not Israel-Palestine, it is not Trump, you don't have to get emotionally involved over the "right" or "wrong" about the content of this article. Find sources, use them. Find details, explain them. Find characterisations which don't quite add up to previous or subsequent ones, and outline them.
And guess what? Editors will follow you, and undo and redo and change what you've done. That's Wikipedia for you. Don't stress and sweat over this one article to such a degree as you seem to. Be kind to each other. Be reasonable. Be focused. Realise that The Monk from "Doctor Who" is not *that* important, and is not *so* big a deal if the article is full of different sources which are at odds with each other. You will have your edits, and other editors will have theirs, and a compromise must be made. Because the alternative? You're blokes spending all day on Wikipedia arguing over something which does not exist, and nobody wants to have that lightbulb moment on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Be good x doktorb wordsdeeds 10:01, 2 August 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Calm down.