Talk:Gidget

reformatting for cleanup purposes

Gidget is the first wikiquote page I ever created, and I think it's fair to say I didn't know what I was doing. I created the page because a WP editor had deleted the entire "quote" section in the WP article on Gidget, explaining that WP 'discourages" quotes. I noticed that numerous WP sites had links to WQ articles, so I thought I would create one for Gidget and link the two articles.

Initially I just copied the text of the "quote" section from an old version of the WP article (found under history) and pasted it into the box. I was perfectly happy with that version, but it quickly attracted a "cleanup" boilerplate. At first I thought the problem was refs, so I added some, but I eventualy realized that WQ wanted the article to conform to established templates.

There is no template for character articles. Since Gidget appears as a character in novels, films and television, I thought I would divide the article into seperate sections for different generes. So far it's just novels and television. Later I hope to add a section for Films. Maybe eventually a section for minor incarnations of Gidget, such as the short lived comic book series.

I started wth the novels, and that's as far as I've got. Since the template for literary works is designed for single works, e.g. a single novel, I created sub-sections for individual novels. The template calls for chapters and page numbers. I had no problem with the chapters, but except for the first novel, they have all gone out of print, and there is no reason to beleve that someone trying to look up a quote will have the same edition that I have--I've been reading them in used paperback editions and generally chose the cheapest one I could find online. For the first novel I used page numbers from the current edition because it is easy to find. For the sequals I mentioned when the quote was either the first or last sentence of a chapter. I don't think it would be useful to list the page numbers of whichever odd edition I might have, as it is unlikely that someone trying to use that info will have access to the same edition, but I'm open to arguments to the contrary; please post your thoughts on this page.

The refs I listed come from the printing history in the editions I own. Only the first two novels have any mention of hardcover editions in their histories, so I'm guessing that the others went straight to paperback; this was common practice in the 1960's with novels that were marketed primarily to teenagers and young adults. If you have better info, please edit it in, or post it here.

I feel that although it is more difficult to work with out of print material, it is very important to do so. A body of quotes form these novels can give Gidget enthusiasts a flavor of Gidget as she was in the novels; it's a very different flavor from Sandra Dee or Sally Field, and the first novel, while an important work is just the starting place. Gidget is a developing character thoughout the series of novels.

This is as far as I've got; I'll leave further posts when I've got more done.

As this page's creator I welcome all the help I can get; if you're a Gidget fan, please contribute. And please post here. We will do better work if we talk to each other.Shakespeare1564 20:46, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Thank You Kalki

Thank You Kalki for undoing the obvious vandalism of Block Me. If you can find it in your heart, I would appreciate any constructive criticism you might have for this article. I do understand ypu must be busy, but you seem to know WQ really well, and I don't. I would love it if you would post your own opinions on this discuss page; boilerplates have some use, but they only go so far.