I agree with four. I've asked for some other opinions so we can have a definitive answer one way or the other, if that's alright with you both.

No for main character we leave it at 7 because that is a proper compromise since it is three more then you want and three less then I want. 

Ahh...... Where do I begin?

I like the idea of quotes being used. Seven quotes? We do need that many? No matter how many quotes are used. We should make sure the page is visually appealing for editors, non-editors and casual readers.

7 for the main characters (guts, caska, isidro, griffith, puck) and 4 max for everyone else. 

On the subject of the manga episodes, that is a terrible idea. That's over 350 quotes you will have to add. I realize to some of our more hardworking admins, that may only be a challenge, but you're going to run into problems with episodes that simply don't have anything that can be quoted while being taken seriously. Doubt me? You will sooner or later run into a manga episode or two or three or nine that simply has no material and very little spoken dialogue at all. Mangas of this length do that. A better idea would be to simply remove them from all episode pages, and maybe add them to volume pages. Volumes will have much more material to work with and are much less in number. If you still think this isn't a troublesome task, remember that you won't reuse quotes for different pages--or at least, I hope you won't, because that's repetitive and unprofessional. As quotes are universally dialogue spoken by characters, it makes little sense to me to remove them from character pages but add them to episode pages. I do like the quote-per-section idea, though.

I don't have any big deal on the removal of quotes sections, but I included that bit because I want to say this piece: quotes must have impact, and even if they can be interpreted as powerful, it isn't enough, because they must be audience-recognizable or they become less effective as character details. This is why most quotes on wikis are borderline iconic or at the very least are given focus within their media. This links into the above, and will make manga episodes harder to edit; also, it's why you usually find quotes sections on wikis with very long-running material, like ours, because characters have had time to accumulate a few impactful words.

Specifically, I was asked to comment here regarding quote number, which I believe was four versus seven. Given what I just said, less is more, so I cast my vote for four.

OnePieceNation wrote:

No for main character we leave it at 7 because that is a proper compromise since it is three more then you want and three less then I want.

Wiki material edits very rarely (and shouldn't) work by compromise, and even if they did, "compromise" =/= making allowances to please a particular dissenter. Compromise doesn't work that way. If you are outvoted, you've been outvoted and that's that. Let's have no more digging in of heels, please.

No it is 10 vs 4 only for the main characters. I am however suggesting a compromise of 7 for the main characters. 

Thank you for your input! I think the majority is now clear. I, Eck, and Silence have all explicitly voted for 4 quotes for all characters. Besty has expressed that he feels 7 is too much. By majority vote, I feel this matter is settled. Unless another user wishes to chip in, we can finish this bit off.

Yep. Ganishka's World Tree transformation episode springs to mind immediately. I didn't consider adding them to the volume pages. That's a good idea - the only problem with that is that none of the volumes have summary sections yet. It's better than adding 300~ quotes, but if something like that were to be done we'd need the summary sections filled in as well. Or, I could just put a quote at the top and leave it blank until i've taken care of everything else, but that would look a bit silly and I wouldn't want to do that. Maybe we can look at adding quotes to volume articles at a later date and hold off adding them to the episode pages?

I was a little confused by this. Most of the introductory quotes that Eck has added to the character articles are not iconic or even given focus, but they do a great job at summarising a character's personality/beliefs and that is why they are there - to "introduce" the reader to a character. Really, the only characters I can think of with an iconic introductory quote is Godo - which interestingly isn't the Dark Horse translation - Slan, Casca and Griffith. Puck's has significance in that it's how he introduces himself to Guts, but it is not iconic. The quote in Griffith's abilities section supports what is in the section and fits in well, but the quote itself isn't iconic either. Skull Knight's and Zodd's quotes are not particularly "iconic" (because they haven't been adapted into anime format, where most of the casual viewers lie) but they are good introductory quotes. Would you suggest we change some of them?

My main concern with limiting the quotes used to "iconic" ones (if that's what you're suggesting, I apologise if not) is that it limits us severely when it comes to characters like Isidro. I can't think of anything iconic this little twerp has said - and I mean that in an affectionate way. I can't even think of anything he's said that's been a major focus other than him telling Guts he's lost Casca and his talk with Morgan, neither of which work for an introductory quote. He's a major character, too.

Same goes for any characters introduced after what has been adapted into anime - the manga fanbase is smaller than those only exposed to Berserk through the anime adaptations. The most wildly iconic quotes that the "audience" recognises are ones that have seen an anime adaptation, save for very few exceptions like Godo's speech.

I'd rather we choose what best "summarises" a character for the intro quote, what best supports the contents of the personality and ability sections for those sections, and the most significant story wise quote for their history section. Of course it's better to choose iconic quotes for all of them, but I disagree that the quote must be audience recognisable. I didn't recognise Griffith's intro quote until I looked it up and I think it's great and introduces him well.

I don't mean to limit you strictly to quotes that get meme status, etc. Ehh, lemme start over and paint a picture: one of those quote sections a lot of wikis have, go on and on and on. And sure, the character may say a lot of things, but you surely know the feeling of spotting one or two on there that just have very little relevance overall.

"Iconic" isn't really the right word choice, it's more that I mentioned many wikis use them because they tend to have more relevance. There must be recognizable impact or significance--Puck's is a good example without being iconic. One of Isidro's would likely be either something from when he gets along with Morgan and decides to stop being such a Leeroy Jenkins, or otherwise when he steps up against Bonebeard.

Though, speaking of, I dread the idea of searching for quotes from Bonebeard. I can think of two things the dude has said, one being kids respecting their elders and the other being an endless stream of tentacle bullshit.

I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You're an experienced editor, I think I can trust your judgement not to slap irrelevant sentences on the pages.

Ah. Then we're on the same page, then. Of course the quotes have to be relevant to the section and have something of significance. That hopefully won't be an issue.

Bonebeard is... certainly something in the Dark Horse translation. They pirated up his lines because... ???? I doubt he'd have anything interesting to say even in a more faithful translation, though. *sigh*

So, to be clear about the conclusions of the discussion:

- The quotes sections from character articles have been removed.

- A maximum of four quotes per character page - one introductory quote, and one quote per personality, abilities, and history section - has been decided on by majority vote and added to the character page template. Not every character has to have four quotes. The quotes must be relevant to the contents of the section. They must also not be taken from fan translations.

- Instead of adding a quote to the summary section of every episode page, a quote could possibly be added to the summary section of each volume page. Because none of the volume pages at this point in time have filled in summary sections, there is no point in discussing the specifics of this right now. We can pick this up at a later date - perhaps next year. As of now, no action will be taken by me to add quotes to either the episode or volume pages. I'll instead focus my attention on getting the guidebook info in the character infoboxes.