User talk:SeanWillard

Welcome to Memory Alpha, ! I've noticed that you've already made some contributions to our database – thank you! We all hope that you'll enjoy our activities here and decide to join our community.

If you'd like to learn more about working with the nuts and bolts of Memory Alpha, I have a few links that you might want to check out:


 * Our policies and guidelines provides links to inform you on what is appropriate for Memory Alpha and what is not. Particular items of note are the and  policies, the, our ,  and guidelines for proper.
 * How to edit a page includes a basic tutorial about how to use our special wikitext code here on Memory Alpha.
 * Naming conventions provides guidelines on how to name a new page that you may want to create.
 * The Manual of Style is an overview of the basic guidelines for how to format and style your articles.
 * How to write a great article is a list of suggestions that can help you put together an article that might end up on our Featured Articles list someday.
 * See the user projects page for current projects of our archivists, or help us to reduce the number of stubs.
 * Look up past changes you have made in your contributions log.
 * Keep track of your favorite Memory Alpha articles through your very own watchlist.
 * Create your own user page and be contacted on this page, your talk page.

One other suggestion: if you're going to make comments on talk pages or make other sorts of comments, please be sure to sign them with four tildes to paste in your user name and the date/time of the comment.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in our Ten Forward community page. Thanks, and once again, welcome to Memory Alpha!--Alan del Beccio 21:37, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Recent edit
Do you have a source for your information in your recent addition to the Squire of Gothos page? We only note similarities or references to other works when there is evidence they are deliberate, such as a statement from the episode writer or a producer saying so. This is to ensure that such a similarity is not merely a coincidence.--31dot 10:13, August 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * Trelane's exact words after turning from Uhura to Yeoman Ross are:


 * And this. Is this the face that launched a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?  Fair Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.


 * The first three lines of the famous speech from are:


 * Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
 * And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?--
 * Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.--


 * That's an unmistakable (though not 100% accurate) quote, at length, of a specific literary work, not just a coincidence, nor the use of a phrase that has passed into common usage (as the phrase "the face that launched a thousand ships" by itself is).


 * There are numerous obvious quotes of literary works noted on this site; Spock's quoting of Edgar Allan Poe and William Blake in is one example, and the use of quotes from Shakespeare throughout  (right down to the episode title). The entire Star Trek franchise is replete with references to classic literature, as this site correctly notes in many places.  These quotes are so obvious that I don't see the need to cite a producer or writer. SeanWillard 14:59, August 1, 2010 (UTC)

I don't doubt that you are correct that the words match, but to cite the line as a reference to that work, we need some evidence to that effect. We're an encyclopedia, that's what we do.--31dot 15:02, August 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * In this case, though, I think we can follow this policy. :) --From Andoria with Love 04:48, August 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks, Shran. I was trying to find a polite way to suggest that. :) SeanWillard 04:58, August 2, 2010 (UTC)

Why is this case different than all the other cases where we ask that a claim of a specific reference be cited? I thought we needed to cite our sources. I'm not being criticial- just asking.--31dot 08:31, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * In this case, we're dealing with a classic work, a unique quotation not present in other works, and a near word for word recitation. It would be like having half a page of Shakespeare and saying we couldn't attribute it to Shakespeare. --OuroborosCobra talk 08:40, August 2, 2010 (UTC)

Shakespeare is, well, Shakespeare. I had never heard of this work before in my life, which(although I realize that has nothing to do with its classic status) is why I would have found a citation helpful. I have, however, removed the incite from the passage.--31dot 09:05, August 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * The thing that spurred me to make the insertion in the first place was the curious fact that someone had seen fit to add the reference "towers of Ilium" and yet the article itself didn't mention this rather famous quotation (it's listed in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, for example). The fact that you hadn't heard of it points up one of the primary purposes of any encyclopedia, in my view&mdash;to educate people.  Whether anyone nowadays would recognize this quote or not, forty years ago it would have been quite well known to anyone with anything like a good education.  No insult intended; times and educational systems change.


 * Would a cite of either the page on Wikipedia (which, amusingly, mentions this episode) or the Bartlett's page help?  I realize they don't indicate Star Trek writers' or producers' intentions, but they do demonstrate the fame of the quote, and therefore the unlikelihood of it being coincidental.


 * SeanWillard 19:23, August 2, 2010 (UTC)

That sounds good to me, so people(including me :) ) can find out more about it. Probably one of those sites is sufficient- whichever one is best.--31dot 19:29, August 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * Done. Thanks for your feedback.  SeanWillard 19:45, August 2, 2010 (UTC)