Forum:CT Archive/Capitalization of Human

A discussion on Talk:Human, over whether "Human" should be capitalized or not, started in January but soon stagnated. Perhaps we should start it up again here?

Capitalization
There's been some question about whether we should capitalize "Human", just as we capitalize the names of all the other alien species, or if we should leave it uncapitalized as is standard in real-world articles. Here's a quick survey of the sources I had handy. It seems that "human" predominates, but "Human" is also common. &mdash; Silly Dan 01:43, 2 Jan 2006 (UTC)

"human"

 * The Abduction of Crying Dawn Singer
 * Alien Encounters
 * Cracken's Rebel Field Guide
 * Death in the Undercity
 * The Essential Guide to Alien Species
 * The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
 * Gamemaster Screen, Revised
 * Heroes and Rogues
 * The New Essential Chronology
 * Platt's Smugglers Guide
 * Pirates & Privateers
 * Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
 * Star Wars Encyclopedia
 * Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook - Special Edition
 * The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook
 * The Truce at Bakura
 * Wretched Hives of Scum and Villainy

"Human"

 * Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races
 * Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters
 * Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts
 * Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
 * Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens - Enemies and Allies
 * Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook
 * Platt's Starport Guide
 * Rebel Alliance Sourcebook
 * Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition
 * Ultimate Alien Anthology

Comments

 * I propose we find a compromise, like capitalizing when referring to species (eg. 'he found Twi'leks and Humans in the cantina') but non in almost everywhere else (eg. 'Han Solo was a human from Corellia'). But if the sources are inconsistent, it wouldn't hurt to capitalise it even it it "shouldn't" MoffRebus 01:51, 2 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree we should develop a consistent position, even if West End Games never came up with one. (What do the Wizards of the Coast books use?  Anyone know?)  &mdash; Silly Dan  01:54, 2 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * WOTC capitalizes Human, as far as I know, but the Databank doesn't. I'm for capitalization, as I see no reason why Humans should be treated differently than other species. - Sikon [ Talk ] 05:42, 2 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * Hmmm... Well, it seems very old and rpg sources are the only ones capitalizing it. It should be "human". It is also "human" in the NEC, and the NEC's our Bible, right? Nice job researching, Silly Dan! --Master Starkeiller 20:25, 2 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * Speak for yourself, my Bible is Fragments from the Rim. 8)  Perhaps someone could expand this list by checking more recent sources?  &mdash; Silly Dan  04:06, 3 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * Yeah, but Fragments from the Rim is more than a decade old and the NEC just came out. That's the main reason I trust it more. --Master Starkeiller 06:21, 3 Jan 2006 (UTC)

It's quite clear that Lucasfilm has not set a standard regarding capitalization, since there seems to be an even share of Humans and humans across all official sources. Looking to the sources won't be any help; we need to make our own decision for a Wookieepedia standard. I say "Humans", treating them just like any other sentient species. --Azizlight 11:23, 3 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * If it's not a matter of official policy and it is just between us, we should vote. --Master Starkeiller 13:26, 5 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * Come on people, let's vote. I'll decap Humans on sight while others will capitalize them. If people disagree and they can't find a solution through discussion (and I think there isn't much more to be said on this, there are two views, treatment like other species and official sources and both views have been expressed), they should vote. --Master Starkeiller 12:01, 8 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * Yeah, now that this article has been greatly expanded with inconsistent capitalization, we probably should vote. Here or on Manual of Style?  &mdash; Silly Dan  03:42, 15 Jan 2006 (UTC)
 * Human is only capitalised when it is at the begining of a sentence or in a title such as a class title (Human Ecology 101, Computational Humanities). When referring to human beings, it is not capitalised (For example, sociology is the science or study of the origin, history, and constitution of human society). 129.11.13.92 22:21, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
 * That's true enough, in your so-called "real" "world". 8)  If we do settle on anything in the MoS, we should keep "human" uncapitalized in out-of-universe articles. &mdash;Silly Dan (talk) 22:43, 8 March 2006 (UTC)