Editing Battlestar Wiki:Descriptive term

{{Policy|20 February 2007|shortcut=BW:TERM}}

Battlestar Wiki uses '''descriptive terms''' to give names to technologies and other subjects which haven't been given a [[canon|canonical]] name (that is, a name assigned officially through aired content from either the [[Re-imagined Series]] or [[Original Series]]).

Contributors are encouraged to use descriptive terms for important technologies, characters or events that have been sufficiently defined, but that are not ubiquitous or commonplace, such as "telephones." Contributors should create terms that match the function or the disposition or similar characteristic of the subject. 

Articles that describe ordinary, mundane topics on Battlestar Wiki (commonly nicknamed as ''"telephone articles"'' because of their obvious usage) are subject to [[Battlestar Wiki:Candidates for deletion|speedy deletion]].

Once a subject, character or item has an official term, the descriptive terms are retired and used as redirects.

The names of most battles, such as the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]], are descriptive terms as well unless the battle's name are named by a character in an episode (This practice was done more canonically through episode dialogue in the [[Original Series]], such as the "[[Battle of Molecay]]"). Normally battle articles for the Re-imagined Series are named by a celestial object in the vicinity or a specific target ([[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]], [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship]], et al.).

===Partial list of articles with descriptive terms, past and present===

*''[[Cult of Baltar]]''
::The group of mostly women who take in Baltar after his acquittal ([[Crossroads, Part II]]) and build a monotheistic cult around him ([[He That Believeth In Me]])
*''[[Basestar command]]''
::The consensus-based leadership of a [[Basestar (RDM)|baseship]], consisting of humanoid Cylons.
*''Caprica-Valerii, Caprica-Sharon, Caprica-Boomer, C-Sharon, C-Boomer''
::The descriptive names (Internet-generated or Battlestar Wiki-originated) for a [[Number Eight]] copy that "impersonates" [[Sharon Valerii]], known in Season 3 as [[Sharon Agathon]].
*''[[Colonial wireless alphabet]]''
::Descriptive term for Colonial pilot [[wireless]] communication process similar to the NATO alphabet.
*''[[Computers in the Re-imagined Series#Data discs|Data disc]]''
::Used to describe the hexagonal version of the CD-like computer discs of the Re-imagined Series.
*''[[Cylon data port]]''
::Descriptive term for the computer interfaces embedded in the arms of humanoid Cylons ("[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", "[[Exodus, Part I]]", "[[Torn]]")
*''[[The Destiny]]''
::An article that notes [[Kara Thrace]] and a pre-defined destiny as described by a [[Leoben Conoy]] in the episode "[[Flesh and Bone]]" and further defined in the episodes "[[The Eye of Jupiter]]", "[[Rapture]]", "[[Maelstrom]]" and "[[Crossroads, Part II]]".
*''[[Galactica type battlestar]]''
::The descriptive name given to the otherwise-unnamed class of original battlestars such as ''[[Galactica]]'' in the Re-imagined Series.
*''Galactica-Valerii, Galactica-Boomer, Galactica-Sharon, G-Sharon, G-Boomer''
::The descriptive names for the first [[Number Eight]] seen in the Miniseries, [[Sharon Valerii]]. Used to distinguish between the character now known as Sharon Agathon from the "original" Sharon and other Number Eights.
*''[[Holographic imager]]''
::The descriptive term for a three-dimensional photo viewer seen in an episode of the [[Original Series]].
*''Humanoid Cylon, "Humano-Cylon"''
::Current and former descriptive terms for humanoid Cylon constructs. The episode "[[Epiphanies]]" establishes "Cylon agent" as a canonical term, but [[humanoid Cylon]] is preferred on Battlestar Wiki to refer to such Cylons in general, with "Cylon agent" meaning infiltrators specifically.
*''Identification tags''
::The former descriptive term for Colonial ID tags. The logical and now canonical "[[Dog tags]]" is now used as of the episode, "[[Exodus, Part I]]".
*''Kinetic energy weapons, or [[KEW]]''
::Descriptive term for the projectile weapons (guns and the like) used in the Re-imagined Series.
*''[[The Music]]''
::An article that details the mysterious music heard by four members of the [[Final Five]] in the episode "[[Crossroads, Part II]]".
*''[[Presidential security service]]''
::Descriptive term for President [[Laura Roslin|Roslin's]] personal security, akin to the US Secret Service ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).
*''[[Resurrection tank]], Cylon rebirthing tank''
::Descriptive term for the pool where a humanoid Cylon is [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrected]] ([[Downloaded]])
*''[[Tattooed pilot]]''
::The descriptive name for a recurring unnamed extra (played by [[Leo Li Chiang]]) in the Re-imagined Series.
*''[[Virtual beings]]''
::The descriptive term for the curious alternate personalities of [[Caprica Six]] and [[Gaius Baltar]] that haunt each individual, respectively.
*''[[Virtual Leoben]]''
::An entity, consciousness of other manifestation that appeared to [[Kara Thrace]] in her state of unconsciousness that resembled the [[Leoben Conoy]] Cylon but never claimed to be, in fact, a Cylon ([[Maelstrom]]).
*''Virtual Baltar, Head-Baltar''
::The descriptive names for the virtual Gaius Baltar being that haunts [[Caprica-Six]].
*''Virtual Six, Baltar-Six, Chip-Six, Head-Six''
::The descriptive names for the virtual Number Six being that haunts [[Gaius Baltar]].

:''For a complete list of articles that utilize descriptive terms, see [[:Category:Descriptive terms]].''

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