Template talk:Sonic character

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[edit] Height and weight

What purpose do the height and weight fields serve? I don't understand what encyclopedic purpose having the the height or weight of fictional characters serves, especially since it's generally not something that is commented on even in passing in the works in question. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 10:06, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Did you see the page history before you reverted? Okay, you'll find that link there. In regards to your issue with these fields, they are mentioned in the lead sections of the following articles: Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Knuckles the Echidna, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat. This information comes from the official character profiles and is verifiable information and I therefore think it satisfies WP:RS and is encyclopedic. The reason why we made this template is to move this information out of the prose and into the box according to WP:LEAD. (None of us want to delete valid information, so we decided to move it elsewhere into the article; we lacked an infobox and we decided that an infobox was a good place to put it.) However, if this bothers you that much, I invite you to find a good place to put the sourced information into the article(s) that is not in the lead section(s). Thank you. --DavidHOzAu 11:44, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

That's the thing; I don't think it's encyclopedic information. We don't list height and weight for real people, and the height and weight are never once commented upon in the actual source works (I don't remember once in any game, comic, or TV show someone saying, "Wow, you're just over three feet tall, Sonic!") and indeed they are misleading: Sonic, despite being listed as just over three feet tall in whatever official character profile on whatever fan-specific Sega site, is never significantly shorter than adult humans.

I don't understand what encyclopedic understanding this information offers. It may be verifiable, but it's sub-trivial.

Also, when you remove a field from the template, the information is still in the article source; it's just not visible. If I remove the height and weight fields from the template, it doesn't obstruct in any way moving the height and weight somewhere else in the article. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 02:58, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

You're right, the article(s) would proably be better off without them, and I have nothing against you removing those fields when you put it that way. However, Sonic is usually shown being significantly shorter than most humans, even 12 years olds. [pic] Although I admit that I didn't think of comparing him with full grown adults, I'll have to that to the article. Perhaps it would be better to make this comparison without specifically mentioning height and weight at all? --DavidHOzAu 12:13, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

It would probably be better to mention that sort of thing in the prose where appropriate, yes. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 12:19, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

Sorry to say but even the creators themselves state the height weight of characters not only on their official websites but also on the anime Sonic X. And many fans like to know this information, and it enhances the imagination of many fans in fan fics or little kids playing.

So Sonic goes up to Tails and says, "My, you're exactly two and a half feet tall!" in Sonic X? I think not. I still maintain that height and weight of fictional characters isn't encyclopedic information, and can be left to the "official profiles" full of trivial information and the fansites that slavishly reproduce those details. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 16:34, 2 July 2006 (UTC)