View source for Community:Discussions/Location Naming

This discussion is for the naming of pages for locations in GTA games.

Types of location include:
* Entire maps (which can consist of multiple states)
* States
* Cities
* Areas of a city
* Towns and villages

This discussion does NOT extend to specific things within a location, such as buildings, natural features, points of interest or businesses.

==Existing Conventions==
There are a range of conventions currently in use on the wiki, and yet others proposed or possible:

===Entire maps===
Entire maps tend to be named for the most significant location within it. They are generally named after the main city, even if technically the areas around it, those out at sea, or those featured only in missions, may not be within the city limits.

The map of [[San Andreas in GTA III Era]] takes the name of the state, as that covers all 3 cities, the countryside and other settlements. This is an unambiguous, obvious and correct name, even if it is the only map not named after a single city.

In contrast, [[Liberty City in GTA IV Era]] is named after the main city. Technically, the city and state of [[Alderney]] are completely outside Liberty City and [[Liberty City State]]. Popular convention and Rockstar themselves state that the game is set in 'Liberty City" so this is reflected in the name. In this situation, we mention the discrepancy and [[Alderney]] has its own page. Calling the map 'Liberty City' may not be 100% accurate, but it is completely understandable and the simplest method of referencing. 

The standard convention of adding "in GTA V" (for a single game) or "in GTA III Era" (for multiples) applies. Although San Andreas only appears in one game, it is named for the Era (not sure why).

===States & Cities===
In all instances, the city name is used alone, with the standard disambiguation convention used where necessary, adding "in GTA V" (for a single game) or "in GTA III Era" (for multiples) applies.

===Towns & Villages===
As far as I'm aware, none of these names have been reused, so no disambiguation is necessary, but the standard convention would apply.

===Areas===
Specific districts, sections, areas or neighbourhoods within a city are generally simply given their name alone. 

Where these names occur in multiple cities, such as [[Market]] or [[Downtown]], different conventions are used for disambiguation:

*[[Market, Los Santos]] uses a comma-separated distinction, based on the American practice of referring to cities with their states after, such as "Houston, Texas"
*[[Downtown Los Santos in GTA III Era|Downtown Los Santos]] is an example of pages where the city is added to be part of the area name. This is repeated for others such as [[Midtown Algonquin]]
*[[Vinewood in GTA III Era]] follows the normal convention of "X in Y", probably because Vinewood is more than just an area, it is also an industry

These multiple conventions are evident when looking through [[:Category:Areas]].

There is also no convention on what happens when the same city name is used in different eras. So far, the convention has been, instead of referring to "X in Los Santos in GTA III Era", referring entirely to sub-areas, such as [[:Category:Areas in Algonquin|Areas in Algonquin]].

Also notice that in the GTA III Era, the city name is the one added to the area ([[Market, Los Santos]]), whilst in the [[GTA IV Era]], the borough name is used instead ([[Chinatown, Algonquin]]).

With [[Grand Theft Auto V]] approaching, it's important we come to some definitive rules about which to use, to ensure everyone is on the same page and we can efficiently create, find, use and link to the relevant pages. 

==Discuss==
;Discuss this and make suggestions on the {{talk}}.