Template talk:Real

Category
I don't really understand why everything tagged with this is added to Category:Future, not every upcoming thing is real and visa-versa, so…? Nyargle blargle (Talk  ·   Contribs) 14:55, 6 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Looks like a copy-paste error to me. 15:35, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Purpose
I don't understand the purpose of this template. Why bother using it -- readers can figure out if the subject in quest is "real" or not. Besides, what about cross-overs such as amiibos which are "real" collectibles but are also canon? 15:35, 6 October 2015 (UTC)
 * I've seen it used on other wikis. It can be helpful for distinguishing between in-game content and related content that actually exists. As for the amiibo, there originally were articles for the actual amiibo themselves (Inkling Boy amiibo, etc.), but they got merged into one page at some point. Not sure what to do with that. -ShrimpPinsig.pngSquidIcon.pngShrimpPinTalk.png 15:50, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Is this notice needed?
Do we really need a notice at the top of pages telling people something is found in real life?

The realness of something should be apparent from the first few sentences.

Notices are normally used to notify readers of important temporary statuses and necessary warnings, like future content, or stub status, or pending deletion of an article, or specific content improvement needed. Realness is not a temporary status, and realness is not something that editors can "improve", and there doesn't seem to be a reason to warn or notify readers of realness.

You might say it's useful to quickly know if Hisashi Nogami is a real person, or a video game character. But you can already quickly get that information based on the info in the very first sentence.

We could keep the articles in Category:Real life, of course. I have nothing against the category. I just don't see why we need the notice. I am interested in everyone's thoughts and reasoning to keep using the notice, or stop using it. Heddy (talk) 01:42, 2 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I think it is relevant for, say, merchandise or physical media related to the game, not so much for devs/voice actors/etc. 02:13, 2 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I believe its use is necessary. It is still a helpful clarifier to have, as some readers may want to exclusively see in-game or alternatively only real world content. Readers may want to be warned or notified that what they are about to see is not found while actively playing the game. I would perhaps try to make the template smaller so that it doesn't take up as much space from the article, but I do think that it holds good relevance. It may also very possibly be good for SEO related terms (splatoon real merch, for example), more so if a comment is added—though I don't know that for sure. Another possibility is instead of the Template being a header area notice box, it is an enlarged text–only message on the bottom instead. Trig - 05:45, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree with all Trig's points. 16:36, 2 August 2023 (UTC)