Help:Theories

Unlike some other Wikis, Heroes Wiki is a fan site first and an encyclopedia second. This means that in addition to strictly encyclopedic content like articles on episodes, characters, and actors, it includes speculative content such as fan theories and spoilers for unbroadcast episodes.

To keep the quality of the encyclopedic articles high, all fan theories, speculation, and spoilers should be clearly marked as such and confined to the appropriate articles or article sections. For more information on what qualifies as "canon" information and what qualifies as speculation, see Help:Sources.

Fan Theories

Fan theories are just that: theories about unrevealed information from the show, created or espoused by fans.

Theories

Theories articles are the proper home for all fan theories. Centralizing all fan theories in one place provides an easy way for fans to access, compare, and evaluate all theories. Bear in mind that theories articles are still articles, and not a free-for-all debate.

• Follow the formatting conventions of the articles.
• Follow the normal style guidelines just as you would for any other article. In particular, be careful to maintain a third-person perspective throughout. Avoid adding comments like "I believe" or "my theory"—even if you are the source of a theory you are posting, remember that you are collaborating with others to report fan theories, not presenting your own theory.
• Add links appropriately as you would for any other article.
• Do not add personal comments or sign entries on the Theories page.
• Do not remove information from the theories articles merely because you personally disagree with it or do not believe a theory is plausible. Theories articles are a report of existing fan theories, not an endorsement or critique of any given theory.
• Do not strike through theories unless they are conclusively disproved by a canon source. Only aired episodes and released graphic novels count as canon sources. Interviews, articles, spoilers, previews, and unaired episodes are not canon sources. See Help:Sources for more on using different sources.
• If you have information that either supports or refutes a theory, add it to the appropriate column in that theory's entry.

Collections of Theories

You should add your theory to the appropriate article:

Article	Description	Examples
Theories:Events	All theories related to events	The explosion, Peter's visions
Theories:Items	All articles related to items	Hiro's sword, AWI's gun
Theories:People	All articles related to characters	Niki Sanders, Peter Petrelli
Theories:Powers	All articles related to powers and their effects	Space-time manipulation, Rift
Theories:Miscellaneous	All other theories	AWI, The Symbol

If you aren't sure which Theories page to add your theory to, check the category of the article to which your theory relates.

Format of the Theories Pages

To make information easier to access and understand, the theories articles consist of a series of tables named to match an encyclopedic article. For jump links from the main articles to work, the section of the theories page must be labeled exactly the same as the main article title. For example, for the jump link from Peter Petrelli to jump correctly to his section of the Theories:People article, the section must be labeled "Peter Petrelli", with that exact spelling, capitalization, and name order.

The format of each theory table should be the same:

• The first column states the theory
• The second column provides any canon-source information which supports the theory
• The third column provides any additional information, such as canon information which refutes the theory or makes it less likely to be true, but also including non-canon source information which supports or refutes the theory.

Adding a new theory to a table

To add a new theory to an existing theory table, simply add a new row to the theory:

1. Edit the appropriate Theories article and find the appropriate table
2. Go to the end of the table, denoted by |}
3. Insert a new line between the last row, denoted by |-, and the end of the table
4. Add cells for the three columns:
   1. Type a single pipe followed by the theory
   2. On the same line, type a double pipe and the evidence
   3. On the same line, type a double pipe and any additional information
   4. On a new line, type a new final row mark consisting of a pipe and a dash
5. Preview your changes, add an edit summary and save your changes

Your entry should look like the following (existing text is in blue, your entries are in red):

|-

| [[Peter]] is [[Sylar]] || None whatsoever || Sylar is revealed to be Gabriel Gray in ''[[Episode:Six Months Ago|]]''
|-

|}

Adding a new table

Adding a new table is like adding a new theory, but involves a few more steps.

1. Edit the appropriate Theories article
2. Find the appropriate location for your new section. Remember to alphabetize characters by last name.
   • To get the section to both link properly and display by last name, an extra step is required:
     1. Before your section heading, add <span id=""> </span>
     2. In the id="" part, add the correct title of the article you are referring to (e.g. <span id="Peter Petrelli"> </span>). This will cause the link from Peter Petrelli to work properly even when the section heading doesn't match (see below).
3. Skipping a line after the last table's end of table mark (denoted by |} ), add a section for your table
   • Type two equals signs, two left brackets, the name of the article the theory relates to, two right brackets, and two more equals signs
   • Your finished section heading should look like this: ==[[The Mark]]==
   • To display a name surname first, pipe the reformatted name, like this: ==[[Peter Petrelli|Petrelli, Peter]]==. Be sure to add the span tag mentioned above, or the link will not work!
4. On the next line, add the table:
   1. Open the table with {| class= "wikitable"
   2. On the next line, add a row with |-
   3. On the next line, add the table headers with ! width="40%" | Theory !! width="30%" | Evidence !! width="30%" | Notes
   4. On the next line, add a row with |-
   5. On the next line, add cells for your theory as above (single pipe, theory, double pipe, evidence, double pipe, information)
   6. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for additional theories as needed
   7. On the next line, add a final row with |-
   8. On the next line, close the table with |}
5. Insert a blank line after your table and before the next table's section heading
6. Preview your changes, add an edit summary and save your changes

Your finished new section should look like this:

<span id="Peter Petrelli"> </span>
==[[Peter Petrelli|Petrelli, Peter]]==
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
! width="40%" | Theory !! width="30%" | Evidence !! width="30%" | Notes
|-
| [[Peter]] is [[Sylar]] || None whatsoever || Sylar is revealed to be Gabriel Gray in ''[[Episode:Six Months Ago|]]''
|-
|}

Finally, add a link to your new table from the page to which it relates:

1. Edit the article your table relates to
2. After the last section, but before any navigational templates, add the {{theories|page=}} template to add the Fan Theories section and links
   1. After page=, add the appropriate page variable:
      • if your theory is on Theories:Events, add events
      • if your theory is on Theories:Items, add items
      • if your theory is on Theories:People, add people
      • if your theory is on Theories:Powers, add powers
      • if your theory is on Theories:Miscellaneous, add misc
3. Preview your changes, add an edit summary and save your changes

Here's a blank table you can paste into the Theories article:

==[[ ]]==
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
! width="40%" | Theory !! width="30%" | Evidence !! width="30%" | Notes
|-
|  ||  || 
|-
|}

Spoilers

Any information about unbroadcast episodes, including unseen plots, characters, events, and the like, regardless of source, is considered a spoiler. Some spoilers (those from credible sources, like official NBC episode descriptions) are more credible than other spoilers, such as those published by fan sites or bloggers. All spoilers, now matter how well supported, are still considered speculation because any information can change by the time the episode is finally aired.

It's therefore important to separate spoilers from encyclopædiac content for two reasons: one, as the name implies, such information can "spoil" upcoming episodes for readers who don't wish to learn speculative information about unaired episodes, and two, by its very nature all spoiler material is not up to the standards for encyclopædia articles in terms of canon sources.

The Spoiler Category

All articles which contain spoilers should belong to Category:Spoilers (and only to Category:Spoilers) to isolate the information from readers who do not wish to be "spoiled" and to make clear that the information is speculative. To assign an article to Category:Spoilers, simply add [[Category:Spoilers]] anywhere within the article (though for consistency's sake, all categories should be added to the very end of the article).

You should also use the spoiler templates {{spoiler}} or {{unairedspoiler}} at the top of the article to alert readers that the article contains spoilers, in case they reach the page through a poorly labeled link or the "random page" button.

Articles in the Spoiler Category

Nearly any article which could appear in the main portion of Heroes Wiki can also be made as a spoiler article. Announced characters, locations, plot points, episodes are all possible spoiler articles. In general, it's best to write articles for such subjects only when the spoiler comes from a reputable source or has been "confirmed" by multiple sources.

Be sure to use the same standard formatting you would use if the same article were in the main section of the site, including any sidebars and navigational elements. However, do not update any navigational elements to include spoiler articles. For example, if you are writing a spoiler article for a new unseen character, you should include the {{character box}} and {{characternav}} templates, but don't add a link to your article to the {{characternav}} template until the new character appears. See Help:Style for more information on standard formatting.

If your spoiler information is not substantial enough to warrant its own article, you may consider adding it to an existing spoiler article. Most of these articles reside in the Spoiler: namespace. For example, each announced episode has a spoiler article, such as Spoiler:The Fix. General spoilers can be added directly to the Category:Spoilers article itself.

Making a spoiler article into a normal article

If you have written an article for a spoiler and the spoiler has subsequently aired, you can easily make your article into a normal article. Simply remove [[Category:Spoilers]], assign appropriate categories, and add links to your article from other articles and templates as appropriate. If you created your article in the Spoiler: namespace, simply move it to a name that does not include the Spoiler: namespace. For example, an article called "Spoiler:Uluru's girlfriend" could be moved to "Uluru's girlfriend" after the character first appears in a broadcast episode.

Be especially careful to make sure your former spoiler article is added to navigational templates and portals as appropriate. Also remember to reassign any spoiler images used by your article to the appropriate image category.

Links to Spoilers

Links to spoiler articles should always be clearly labeled as such. Avoid adding spoiler articles to navigational templates. Avoid linking to spoiler articles within the body text of a non-spoiler article. If your spoiler article is related to a normal article, it's best to simply add a Spoilers section at the bottom of the main article with a link to the spoiler article.