Talk:Cthulhu Mythos biographies
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[edit] Brown Jenkins
I moved this character to Elements of the Cthulhu Mythos#Other supernatural beings because he is primarily a non-anthropomorphic creature (that is, he is more rat-like than human). I believe the focus of this article should be on human characters (notwithstanding the inclusion of Wilbur Whateley, who just barely qualifies). However, if Brown Jenkins is to be included in this article, he should appear under Keziah Mason (yet to be expanded as of this date), as he is said to be her familiar and thus serves a secondary role.
,-~R'lyehRising~-, 18:00, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] In-Universe vs. Out-of-Universe
A lot of WP's Cthulhu Mythos-related articles suffer from a problem described in the guidelines for writing about fiction: Way too much of it takes an in-universe perspective, which is to say it's written under the pretense that the Cthulhu Mythos is real. Take this article as an example, starting with the title: It's "Cthulhu Mythos biographies" (as if they're real people), not "Cthulhu Mythos characters". Most if not all the entries avoid any mention of stories, writers etc., instead describing the characters straightforwardly as if they actually existed. The sources for the entries are presented in a complex system that obscures rather than clarifies where the information came from.
I realize that a lot of work was put into this, and much of it is quite well-done from an in-universe perspective. But that's not the way WP is intended to do these things, and it's not the most helpful way the information could be presented, even for fans. (If you're writing your own Lovecraft pastiche, wouldn't you want to know if an Elder God's origin was described by Lovecraft or by Lin Carter?) I've begun an attempt to rework the major Mythos-related articles to make them more out-of-universe; it's a major job, and I welcome anyone who wants to help. (I would recommend reading WP:WAF to start with.) Nareek 03:41, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Couple additions
I added Dr. Clarendon and his clinic-man Surama from "The Last Test".
