Board Thread:Suggestions/@comment-5486221-20190106041706/@comment-31397036-20190106072511

Well, since I was doing the changes, why couldn't any one of the admins, any one, have messaged me about it to discuss it with me? Maybe talk to me about the pros and cons too and then take the final decision/vote count within the admins alone but at least talk to me?

Granted. I should have ideally made a suggestion post for this but I didn't really want to wait 7 days (considering I don't come online every so often, due to, well, life). I figured that if the changes I make are productive the admins should be happy enough with it. I hope the admins did notice the, , , , templates and were happy with them. My intention is just to make the articles in the wiki more productively useful.

Now about my views on the subject, as well as my particular intentions in making those edits, which, as I have stated, the admins should have at least once asked me about, before making up their own minds. And because a suggestion post becomes much more meaningful if provided with a list of pros and cons for the voter to have a fuller picture, here's my take: 1. REASON FOR THE DIVISIONS BY SEASON: The Reboot is 120 episodes long. For a really recurring character/alien, that's a huge list. See Heatblast or Four Arms. That's just a really long list of names. For someone who doesn't remember by heart all the episodes (and that's the average visitor of the wiki), such a list offers less insight. By comparison, AF has 46 episodes, UA has 52, OS has 49. (OV had 80, though). You see, each series of the Classic (at least first 3) is more comparable to just a season of the Reboot. Not just by number of episodes but also by story reasons -- watch and its active list. Which brings me to my second point.

2. THEMATIC VARIATIONS ACROSS SEASONS / PUTTING THINGS IN CONTEXT While there is no change in art style, but there are a number of thematic variations that make the seasons distinct. Most important being the Omnitrix upgrades. Season 1 has a set of aliens which normal powers. Season 2 is distinctly different with OE aliens. I doubt anyone will disagree that S1 and S2 are about as different as AF and UA. His watch has upgraded, and now he has Omni-Enhanced aliens. When a visitor to the Wiki/Fandom reads an article about Steam Smythe, he will get an idea about which kind of aliens he faced/challenges he met in an episode by knowing which season the episode is in. Such distinction was not existent in the Classic Continuity's series' seasons. You can pick up any episode in OS without this difference being felt. Sure, episodes in OV had arcs, like Incursean Invasion and Galactic Monsters, but that doesn't make the episodes as distinct as S1 and S2 are distinct. In fact, Seasons in UA and OV were haphazardly aired (as admitted by Dwayne and Derrick) and Seasons in OS and AF were more of "these episodes came before hiatus, these came after" than really different things. Sure, there are differences in story arcs, but its not as significant as in Reboot. The point I am making here: Division on basis of Seasons is important and needed and should be used only for Reboot, not for Classic

Another thematic variation is the travels. S1 and S2 are about the (seemingly never-ending) road trip in the U.S. But in S3, Team Tennyson uses the Omni-Copter to literally travel round the world (Europe, North Pole etc.) This is a clear departure from the narrative. Its much more like how Ben's road trip in OS differed from his secret adventures in and around Bellwood in AF to his life with fame and fandom in UA to his job as a Plumber and presence of Undertown in OV.

3. VILLAIN ARCS Most of the Reboot doesn't follow a strict series of events. Swap episodes within a Season (except for Season Ending Events - Omni-Tricked, Innervasion) and it wouldn't even matter. That also lead to the 'should we follow US or UK Episode order' conundrum. Ultimately we realised that it didn't matter. But the key word is 'within the season'. If we just provide a list of (say) 80/120 episodes Heatblast has appeared in, it wouldn't be very helpful other than knowing which episode he was in. Rather if we divide it by series, that list is now more meaningful. It will also help someone know instantly - oh, so King Koil debuted in Season 2, not Season 1, for example. Or that Kevin debuts in Season 3. When you think of Khyber, you think OV. When you think of Highbreed, AF clicks in your mind. When you think of Diagon, its UA that you remember. Similarly, Fulmini reminds you of Season 2, and Kevin and Forever Knight will of Season 3. That's why, for the reboot, which season an episode is in, is a far more important point, than it was for classic, even close to being equivalent to which series a classic episode was in (other than art style differences). That's why I feel it should be mentioned in the Appearances section. Can you name the season number of Incursean Invasion in OV without looking up? See, its not as important.

Now for the cons: Its not symmetric. Seasons for Reboot to be mentioned but not for Classic? Want double or nothing? Prefer symmetry over functionality? Your call.

At least till there is no second series in the Reboot (and I doubt there will be one considering how badly they want Ben to remain 10 and his alien count to remain 10 too, and they don't want to repeat the mistakes of AF, UA or OV (retcons, new art styles)), I guess trading Series for Seasons for the Reboot is just fine. I wouldn't be surprised if S3 does well, they might even have an S4. Imagine 160 episodes. Then you would come back saying we want to divide it, the list is getting too long and division/categorisation will make it neater.