General Forum

So I see people naming sets Magic the Gathering and Magic The Gathering.  Magic The Gathering being more correct since it is Magic: The Gathering but Magic the Gathering being what the category and vast majority are named as (as well as the brand).

Should we get the category fixed to Magic The Gathering and then either fix one by one (ugh) or if a backend database change can be made to fix all of them at once?

I never use the colon when typing in a search for Magic sets...I even rarely use "The Gathering"!

It does sound like a massive undertaking, however...it's your call!

Ya I would avoid the colon but the capital The seems worthwhile for accuracy.

In title case, "the" is not capitalized.

This is about the branding used by the product.  The product/brand is officially "Magic: The Gathering" but most people refer to as "Magic The Gathering" so while Magic the Gathering makes sense as a title does not honor the brand.

I mean I don't really care either way other than being consistent throughout TCDB.  Probabably easier to fix all the ones that are Magic The Gathering but which one is really the incorrect way.

In title case, "the" is not capitalized, as C2Cigars pointed out; however, the first word following a colon would be capitalized if it's part of a title, becasue it's the first word of the subtitle. Any future appearances of the would not be capitalized in title case. (The rationale is that all important words—such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives—are capitalized, regardless of length. Prepositions and articles are not considered important, so they're not capitalized; however, you're allowed to capitalize prepositions that are five letters or longer. As a professional copy editor, I only know the rules; I don't make 'em.)

Here's a great example from cinema to illustrate:

• Correct (title case): The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 
• Correct (initial case): The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring 
• Correct (sentence case): The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring 

So, Magic: The Gathering is technically correct because The Gathering is the subtitle, and the first word is always capitalized. Magic: the Gathering is not correct. Magic: The gathering is correct in sentence case only, but that style is not popular in the U.S. and is almost never used.

Here's a lengthy side note about the: It's only to be capitalized in titles per the examples I described above. In title case, you don't capitalize the in a name unless it's the first word of a sentence:

• Correct: "The Beatles are my favorite band."
• Correct: "I never cared for the Beatles, but I love the Who."
• Correct: "My favorite album by the Beatles is, believe it or not, The Beatles." [The Beatles is the actual title of an album.]
• Correct: "My favorite album by the Beatles is actually Meet the Beatles." [Meet the Beatles is the actual title of an album.]
• Incorrect: "My least favorite album by the Beatles is actually the one just called the Beatles." [The first word in a title is always capitalized.]
• Incorrect: "I hate The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but I love The Who." [This mistake is incredibly common but is still a mistake.]

Back to the cards: I don't collect these, but my recommendation would be to keep the colon in the listings. Will the TCDb system require the colon in order to search for such a title? 

I appreciate the detailed explanation of proper titling but I do go back to the fact this is branding.  You wouldn't correct SkyBox to Skybox.

"Magic: The Gathering" is the most accurate brand name.  It has a colon as it was originally supposed to change subnames with theme changes (ex: Magic: Ice Age).  Magic the Gathering still seems the most wrong to me if you are honoring the brand.

I share your concern on how the colon could affect searching.

Seems like a big waste of time that in the end makes no real difference with either option. A lot of work for no pay off.

The payoff is having all the listings accurate; something this site strives for. It may be trival to some (not saying it is to you), but for those who specialize in Magic it's a big deal. It also aids in this site's credibility for accurate information and resources. Many members here work hard to make sure the information is as perfect as it can be; the flow of IRs speak to that.

Havok211 wrote:

Seems like a big waste of time that in the end makes no real difference with either option. A lot of work for no pay off.

I wouldn't correct SkyBox to Skybox, because those are called "intercaps," and they're generally recognized as being okay, at least from a stylistic point of view. 

Magic: The Gathering is definitely the way to go, for the reason that you gave...even if it will be a bit of a time investment. In addition to having it presented correctly, it will also guide future submitters (and those who check their work) with what the proper format should be for similar titles, thereby reducing uncorrected errors in the future.