Crossover Wiki:Series

A series is a collection of fictional works that share various elements, such as characters, settings, plot, etc. For a series to be eligible for links with other series on Crossover Wiki, it must also be copyrighted, as that means that crossovers must have permission to be considered official, and it must also have some sort of story or narrative within its works.

Even if a series' fictional elements are simplistic or basic, it is still considered to be a series as long as it has some sort of story. Series that only consist of one work are still considered to be a series as well. Characters that do not have their own fictional work may be considered a mascot instead of a series.

Ineligible series
Nonfictional works are not considered to be series. Examples include documentaries, software, and abstract works.

Series in the public domain or use a free license are not eligible for being considered on Crossover Wiki. However, series that were previously copyrighted before entering the public domain may still have links during the time period when they were copyrighted. Adaptations of public domain works that are copyrighted are considered separate from the original public domain work.

Compilations are not series, as they are just multiple works released together. This means that works that are part of a compilation are considered separately from each other. However, if the compilation itself contains some sort of "hub" universe with fictional elements, like characters, it can be considered a series.

Works in a series
The works that a series consists of must be official. Any unofficial works, such as fanmade or unlicensed works, are not considered to be part of a series.

If a series in the public domain was previously copyrighted, then only the official works released when it was copyrighted are considered to be part of the series. Note that copyrighted adaptations of a public domain work would then be considered to be separate series.

The works must also share a similar focus. Generally, this focus is an element that defines the identity of a series, such as the series' plot or characters.

Usually, the works in a series share a similar title, but this is not a requirement. If a work with a different title from the rest of the series shares the focus of the series, as described above, it can still be considered part of the series. Likewise, a work with a similar title, but has a significantly different focus from the rest of the series, may be considered to be not part of the series.

Title of a series
The title of a series is usually the shared part of each official English title of its works. However, this is not always the case, as it is possible for a series to consist of works with completely different titles. Generally, the title used should be what best represents the series. If there is an official title for the series, it should also be considered.

For series consisting of only a single work, if that work's title has a subtitle, the title of the series may omit the subtitle and just use the main title.

The series' title is usually based on the English titles, though if there is no official English title for any of its works, the title in the original language of the series should be used. This may also apply in cases where the series has significantly limited official English releases, since the English title would then be considered to be much less associated with the series. However, if the official English title is a direct translation of the original language title, then the English title would still be used, since it would have the same meaning as the original title.

If the title of a series may be confused with the title of another series or some other work, the title should include a disambiguator in parenthesis after the actual title. The disambiguator should be something that the series is generally recognized for, usually the series' owner or main form of media.

Spin-offs
If a work uses similar elements of a series, but has a different focus, it may be considered to be a spin-off of that series. Spin-offs can be of any link type.

Format of a series article
Since the title of a fictional series should be italicized,  would be placed in the article to make the title display as italicized. However, if the title of a series is a brand due to its main form of media being commercials, the title should not be italicized. Also, if the title has a disambiguator in it, the disambiguator should not be italicized, so  should be used instead.

Series articles always start with an infobox, using Template:Infobox series. Here's an example:



Unlike the article title, the title in the infobox should not include the disambiguator. If the title should not be italicized, use  in the template.

The logo used in the infobox is the official logo of the series. More recent versions of the logo are preferred. If the series has multiple different titles with different logos, usually the title in the original language or the title in English, then both logos can be included in the infobox through the parameters,  ,  , and. An example is shown below:



The owner used in the infobox should be the current owner(s) of the series.

The main form of media is the media that the series is usually associated with. Generally, this would be the media used by the main works of the series or the first work of the series.

Only type 1 parent series and type 1 spin-offs should be listed in the infobox.

If there are multiple items for,  ,  , and/or  , use commas if it's three or less; use a bulleted list if it's four or more (  needs to be placed before the list for it to work properly).

After the infobox, the series should be briefly summarized. Explain what the series is about, especially what its focus is, and what kind of works are part of the series.

Links to other series
This section mainly consists of the table of links. Any notes to explain anything that might be unclear about the links should be placed before the table.

The table is created using the following code:

Link type

The table end is only needed if there's anything after the table other than categories.
 * }

The parameter for the direction can be set to,  ,  ,  ,  , or.


 * is used for links that take place in works that are part of the series of the article.
 * is used for links that take place in works that are part of the series being linked to.
 * is used if links with the series fulfill both  and.
 * is used for non-directional links. These are either indirect links or links that take place in works that are part of both series.
 * is used for spin-off links where the series of the article is the spin-off.
 * is used for spin-off links where the series being linked to is the spin-off.

The direction used only considers the links with the highest type. For example, if there are type 1 links and type 2 links with the other series, the direction only takes the type 1 links into consideration. After that, the priority for each direction is:  or   >   >   >   or.

The parameter for the link type can be set to,  ,  ,  , or. The highest link type takes priority, which is 1 > 1.5 > 2 > 2.5 > 3. Also note that any unreleased link is treated as being lower priority than any released link.

The date of a link is the release date of its public release, in UTC if applicable. Note that this includes releases restricted to certain countries and early access releases. Upcoming releases with completely unknown release dates should be labelled as "TBA". Cancelled releases with completely unknown potential release dates should be labelled as "Unknown". The date used for the row goes by link type priority, then what is chronologically earlier. The default order of the table should be based on these dates. Links with dates labelled as "Unknown" should be ordered after all other links.

The description is a brief description of the links with the other series. The order of links being described goes by link type, then chronologically. The work that each link takes place in and the work or series that the elements come from should be mentioned. Indirect links should be preceded by "Indirect link:" and be placed after all the other links (this doesn't apply if the row is linking to an indirect link instead of a series or mascot). If there are many type 2 or lower links while there are also type 1 links, those lower type links can be summarized as "Both series have various references to each other." Spin-off links usually only need "The A series is a spin-off of the B series.", though significant links, such as works that are part of both series, can still be mentioned. If there are four or more links being described, a bulleted list should be used.

If there is a link with a mascot or indirect link instead of a series, add  or   so that the row indicates this.

If there is an unreleased link, add  so that the row indicates this.

If the series being linked to should not be italicized fully because of it having a disambiguator or it's a brand, add  to change that text.

If the detailed information of the link is split between multiple articles (this would happen if there are multiple summary links and no direct links), add  to link to them separately.

Categories
All series articles are categorized into owner categories and media categories. Spin-off series are also categorized into the spin-offs category of their type. For example, a series could be categorized into Disney series, Video game series, and Type 1 spin-offs.

The owner categories used should be the current owner(s) of the series. Companies that own a series through owning another company would not be used as a category, instead the owned company category would be a subcategory of the parent company category.

The media categories used should be the main form(s) of media of the series. The main form of media is the media that the series is usually associated with. Generally, this would be the media used by the main works of the series or the first work of the series.