Halopedia talk:Canon policy

Something needs to be set up like Wookiepedia


 * Yeah, I'll get to it eventually. -ED 02:05, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

There's a lot of confusion among new and inexperienced users about the difference between fanon and fanfiction, and why we don't allow it. Perhaps a section on why we don't allow it as well?  Specops306 ,  Kora 'Morhek  04:50, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Bungie Employees?
I, personally, wouldn't put them at the top. Some Bungie employees were planning on making the Master Chief a robot in Halo 3 before they were stopped. I'd put them just under the books... --Sangheili Commando 021: Fluffball Gato 00:49, October 31, 2009 (UTC)
 * The authors of the books... Where do you think they get their canon information from? [[Image:DavidJCobb_Emblem.svg|16px]] DavidJCobb  02:07, October 31, 2009 (UTC)
 * P.S. The Halo Story Bible is written by Bungie employees, so don't even try that as a loophole to my rhetorical question. [[Image:DavidJCobb_Emblem.svg|16px]] DavidJCobb  02:07, October 31, 2009 (UTC)

Opinion
For the record, the current policy isn't the way I currently would have written it. --Andrew Nagy 21:48, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Statements from authors don't trump everything. They created the games, but they can't change them once they're gold. If a Bungie representative says in 2002 that Johnson survives Halo 1, he's simply wrong; anyone who's played the game on Legendary knows he dies.
 * One way of looking at it is that H1 is in a slightly alternate universe from the later games, which until FS E3 2003 was released was the only Halo universe we had access to.
 * One reason to accept Bungie statements over canon is if they represent the intent to change that aspect of canon; but even then, it shouldn't be considered completely canon until it's part of a published story.
 * Story-telling media like games, novels and audio dramas should trump supplementary/background material like manuals, websites, strategy guides and flavor texts.
 * An exception might be if the background material resolves a contradiction that previously existed; sort of a tiebreaker vote.
 * When there's a contradiction, the "cost" of resolving it one way or the other should be considered. GoO says (IIRC) that there were no second-generation Spartan IIs and no augmentation casualties among the Spartan IIIs; but if you accept that, the ilovebees audio drama can't have happened at all (no Melissa), whereas it doesn't really affect GoO's plot if just that passage is considered a mistake.
 * While the games should be the top level, actual game mechanics should be excluded from this; they're too often ridiculous, and they're not even consistent between games.
 * Also, some non-gameplay things like the Megg are clearly out-of-story; while things like the Thirsty Grunt and H1's Legendary ending are more ambiguous.
 * About GoO versus ilovebees, one was a book, and the other was an advertisement. A similar contradiction happened when the Believe Campaign showed Spartan 117 in a battle that he never took place in.(Quirel)
 * About GoO versus ilovebees, one was a book, and the other was an advertisement. A similar contradiction happened when the Believe Campaign showed Spartan 117 in a battle that he never took place in.(Quirel) --
 * Not seeing the relevance. And it's an advertisement only in a technical sense; it's also an independent narrative that adds substantially to the universe. --Andrew Nagy 19:02, October 24, 2009 (UTC)

Employees?
Does anyone have a source that employee claims are canon? To me it makes no sense to use that system of canon, because if employees say things that don't make sense or seem contradictory then there's nothing for the fans to do. If we see something in a game that is a contradiction, then we can always find an explanation. For example, I've always found the claim that only 200 millions survive on Earth after the invasion to be extremely dubious so I have assumed that it must be the result of propaganda.


 * I don't have an answer, User:CaptainZoidberg, but I would ask you to please sign any edits you make to talk pages. When you edit a page, you can sign it by typing four tildes in a row ; when you save the edit, the tildes will automatically be replaced with your username and the date that you made the edit. This is useful on talk pages, as it allows us to know what was said when by whom without having to dig through the entire edit history. [[Image:DavidJCobb_Emblem.svg|16px]] DavidJCobb  23:57, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Halo Encyclopedia's Canoness
Not sure if thats a word but... anyways, the HE has a wealth of new info, but a large number of mistakes regarding information we already knew. My question is, do we consider the new info canon, or do we wait for more conmirmation? Jabberwockxeno 00:04, October 24, 2009 (UTC)


 * The word's "canonicity", and yes, I needed Dictionary.com to look it up. I thought it was "canonicality", which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue lol. Anyway, I suppose it depends on how big the mistakes are, but in general, I'd recommend waiting for additional confirmation. [[Image:DavidJCobb_Emblem.svg|16px]] DavidJCobb  00:52, October 24, 2009 (UTC)


 * I thought is was canonicty to, but I couldent find it... anyways, there are some timeline errors, wrong pictures in relation  to the text (it shows the scout helmet intsead of the rouge helmet in the rouge entry for example.)etc. the book is one of the coolest things I have ever read though, pick it up if you can. Jabberwockxeno 02:21, October 24, 2009 (UTC)


 * To illustrate how truly terrible the Encyclopedia is at keeping canon sacred, I need only state that it said that the cannon of a Scarab walker could be detached and used as a hand-held gun. (like H2's famed Scarab Gun). This book is bull. Read its talk page for a list of errors and discussion of its canon.--Nerfherder1428 19:30, October 24, 2009 (UTC)


 * Regardless of how many errors it has, every information in Encyclopedia will be considered as canon info unless of course it contradicts the established superior canon.-  5 əb'7 aŋk (7alk ) 19:34, October 24, 2009 (UTC)

Oddly, I find that the bit about the scarab gun that it gives reasonable. We already know that the scarab's main cannon (the H3 one, but it clearly states that the two scarabs are different models.)Is an enlarged version of the hunter’s main canon. Assuming this, it would be able to be detached. It says NOTHING about it able to be hand-held; it just says portable, which can mean it can be moved, not necessarily carried. Jabberwockxeno 17:29, October 26, 2009 (UTC)


 * I'd put the Encyclopedia's status at the bottom of the barrel... But everybody who has read through the HE's Talk Page already knows my opinion... very well.--Sangheili Commando 021: Fluffball Gato 00:47, October 31, 2009 (UTC)

Hierarchy Review
Currently, our canon policy still states that Bungie employees are the highest source of canon, above all others. Now that 343 Industries owns the Intellectual Property, this should be changed accordingly to reflect the transition. I'm all for loyalty to Bungie, that great company of awesome, but we're a Halo wiki, not a Bungie wiki. 343i employees are the new word of god for Halo.

It's a minor change, a few small words and a change of phrasing, but we've already seen the result of a confusing canon policy - 343i has made it abundantly clear that the Halo Wars version of the Mark IV suit is canon, yet we had (and may still have, I don't know about that) members here. This is just one example. There are many others. Currently, yes, our canon policy is phrased to make the Mark IV suit of "inferior" canon. But the policy is wrong.

Lacking admin status, I just ask our administration to review the issue. Perhaps submit it to a community appraisal (not vote, because then the claws would come out). But something must be done.


 * The Canon Policy has always been in its perfect state ever since it was created/introduced to the Halo Nation. The way you should interpret canon is really easy; everything and anything created by Bungie will remain superior and is set in stone. 343i merely manages the content, add new content to the established Halo Universe and is allowed to bend canon. If we consider that everything the creator has produced is changeable by the manager simply because the creator no longer owns the IP, then canon can easily be broken/ignored and retcons will be more apparent than ever before. In a way, Bungie-created content (i.e. games, novels) are the absolute canon where 343i merely expands canon, acting as the new caretaker of the Halo Universe. To get a sense of what I'm trying to say, refer to this section of the Wookiepedia's Canon article. A way to resolve this would be to embrace everything added to the Halo Universe by those contracted by Microsoft Game Studios as canon. This includes taking Halo Wars' Mk IV armour as canon but regarded as 343i's version of the Mk IV MJOLNIR.

"Currently, yes, our canon policy is phrased to make the Mark IV suit of "inferior" canon. But the policy is wrong."

- Specops306


 * For those who still think the Halo Wars' Mk IV is not canon, "screw them and let them live in their own fantasy world". As stated previously, Halopedia always regards everything created for the Halo Universe as canon and that the policy has always been in its perfect state since it was created. In what way has the policy is wrong?


 * Perhaps we should add a special section for 343i and its employees as "Expanded-Universe" team since they are in charge of expanding the Halo Universe. that would certainly clear up some issues (and hopefully not create another). They would be under Bungie and its employees since they are the creator of the Halo Universe. For an "Expanded-Universe" team, it cannot ignore the established/absolute canon (i.e. Honor Guard Councilor which has been confirmed by Bungie dev team as a internal bug, thus not canon but confirmed as canon by Halo Encyclopedia by 343i), but it can bend canon (by introducing retcon. i.e. example is Thel's first experience of fighting a SPARTAN). It can also introduce new canon that has not been covered by the established/absolute canon (i.e. Ralph-303, Booster Frame, visuals of a Covenant Escape Pod). This is what I think which is best to solve this problem.-  5 əb'7 aŋk (7alk ) 09:49, July 31, 2010 (UTC)