Forum:SH:Merging The Rebellion and Alliance to Restore the Republic into one page

There is currently a disagreement between a couple of folks, myself included, about whether we should keep the page the rebellion or merge it into Alliance to Restore the Republic. For some historical context, the rebellion was created (originally under the name "Rebel network") after the airing of "Fire Across the Galaxy." The page was created for two reasons:


 * 1) First, it was created to reference the fact that we learned there was a wider rebellion beyond just Lothal and the actions of the Ghost crew, which we learned about in that episode. The thinking at the time was, we know that this isn't yet the Rebel Alliance and we need to be able to reference what the limited information we know so far, so this page would be fine in the interim.
 * 2) Second, it was created to represent the cell that we saw in that episode. By the time of the Season Two premiere, we learned that what we saw in that episode was Phoenix Squadron. We knew there were other cells beyond Phoenix Squadron, and we learned about those later (like the Massassi group), but the page was created to represent the Phoenix Squadron rebels who came to the rescue of the Ghost crew at Mustafar.

Since then, some on Wookieepedia have been taken with the opinion that "the rebellion"&mdash;which is to say, the coordinated efforts of rebel cells prior to "Secret Cargo," the Season Three episode that marked the formation of the Rebel Alliance&mdash;represents a distinct, pre-Alliance faction of its own. The thinking there, which I'm sure will be elaborated upon in this thread, is that because we have heard references to "Early rebel movement" and "Rebel Command" and "Rebel intelligence" before the formal foundation of the Rebel Alliance, then those represent distinct entities.

I disagree with this point of view and think it's very obvious that while "the rebellion" or phrases like "Early rebel movement" in canon sources do indeed represent the coordinated efforts of rebel cells like Phoenix Squadron and the Massassi group, it does not mean that it is a faction. In Wookieepedia article terms, "the rebellion" is basically the Prelude/Origins section of the Rebel Alliance page.

This line from one of the Visual Encyclopedias was quoted earlier today on a talk page debate about this:


 * The crew of the starship the Ghost begins challenging the Empire long before they learn about a larger rebel organization. While fighting back on the planet Lothal, their defiant deeds come to the attention of rebel leaders - who are uniting the patchwork cells into a more formal Rebel Alliance.

The other side of this debate believes that the use of the word "organization" means that "the rebellion" is a faction in its own right. On the contrary, I think it's clear that the keywords here are "who are uniting the patchwork cells into a more formal Rebel Alliance." It's saying that there isn't one united faction until the formation of the Rebel Alliance, and that what comes before that are the beginning days of coordinated efforts that lead to the Alliance.

I am, therefore, of the opinion that:


 * 1) The rebellion should be merged into Alliance to Restore the Republic. Anything about the early days of rebel cells that joined with the Alliance and coordinated efforts between them would go into a Prelude/Origins section. Anything after the events of "Secret Cargo" goes into the History proper, after the Origins.
 * 2) We merge pages that are reflective of the idea that the rebellion is its own entity. That includes Rebel Command and Rebel intelligence, which were early efforts for what became Alliance High Command and Alliance Intelligence but are not separate factions.
 * 3) We treat Phoenix Squadron, Massassi group, and other rebel cells (only those that are known to have become part of the Alliance) as their own factions until the formation of the Rebel Alliance, at which point they are considered sub-factions of the Alliance.

I think it's clear that "the rebellion" is not a separate faction. What are your thoughts? - Brandon Rhea (talk) 21:15, October 20, 2017 (UTC)