Talk:Star Destroyer/Legends

Should we begin to use the term 'star destroyer' instead of 'Star Destroyer'? Since more and more names are beginning to be reverted from capitalization? VT-16 15:49, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * To my knowledge, Star Destroyer is always capitalized in the source material, unlike the other things we've been decapitalizing. jSarek 16:26, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Star Destroyer not destroyer
Some sources--most especially the StarWars.com--cite that Star Destroyers are not destroyers, instead they are a type of crusier (i.e. why Han Solo called the Star Destroyers in A New Hope "cruisers"). It has been said that the term "Star Destroyer" was given to certain Imperial warships as a way of spreading authority through fear (the same idea as calling a planet-destroyer battle station a Death Star when it is clearly not a star). This would explain why the Venator-class was at first called "cruiser" but later came to be known as "Star Destroyer"; further, this would also explain why A New Hope and the official site call/classify Star Destroyers as "cruisers". This could also be taken to explain why such strange terms as Super Star Destroyer exist: a term for a battlecruiser or battleship/dreadnought. Again, the idea is intimidation, and the term "Star Destroyer" would obviously cause more fear than cruiser, battlecruiser, or even battleship. This would also go in line with Palpatine's tactics (as described by Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope). Basically, it is proposed the term "destroyer" and "Star Destroyer" are not one-and-the-same and, therefore, not interchangable.--SOCL 01:15, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * StarWars.com doesn't say that Star Destroyers aren't destroyers, it just calls them "cruisers" at times.  This really doesn't mean much, because StarWars.com's databank is known for using simplified names or nicknames for a lot of ships and vehicles.  "Cruiser" is also applied to civilian ships and small diplomatic corvettes there, just to show how meaningful it is.  Han calling ISDs "Imperial cruiser" also doesn't prove anything, he was excited at the time and could have just said something off the top of his head, or resorted to slang terms.  The idea that the term "Star Destroyer" isn't an actual type, but an intimidating nickname is fan speculation with no basis in official sources.  It has also never been stated that the Venator-class started out as cruisers, and were only later called Star Destroyers.  As for "Super Star Destroyer," Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars Trilogy clearly states that this is a mere slang term. JimRaynor55 08:54, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * This very site states that the Venator-class is also known as "Republic attack cruiser", so I'm not quite sure how else to respond to that.  Further, it may speculation, but it isn't quite as far-out as you make it seem.  Look, for instance, at the very example you showned concerning the "Super Star Destroyer", or, for that matter, the Viscount-class Star Defender in Vector Prime--there is, after all, now type of vessel known as a "defender", but this is a mere nickname given to this type of battlecruiser that stays in line with the New Republic's peaceful, defensive policies.  Granted, this does not say that the name "Star Destroyer" is a tool of intimidation, but it does establish a line of thinking along those same lines.--SOCL 17:32, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)