Talk:Bob & Doug McKenzie

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[edit] And vs. &

So, this page was originally called Bob and Doug McKenzie and wikipedia uses the same name (Bob and Doug McKenzie). The page was recently renamed based on this album cover. Other media also use the ampersand, but at least on wikipedia, it's not clear when to use what. (Also, this page itself is also inconsistent.) So, on this wiki, what should be the appropriate name, "Bob and Doug" or "Bob & Doug"? (I was tempted to call this section "And and &".) --Stux 02:19, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

It seems like a couple factors are in play:

• The ampersand is for their "brand", if that makes sense — it's seen on both album covers, the movie poster, the name of the cartoon, and the name of the TV special. Sort of like "Wallace & Gromit".
• Wikipedia uses "and" for the main article and List of Bob and Doug McKenzie appearances on SCTV. It's just discussing the two characters - recall the sketch was called "Great White North", never anything based on their names. In this manner it's no different than saying "Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas" or "Sid and Marty Krofft".
• Wikipedia's manual of style discourages use of ampersand in titles and headers (our manual of style has no such specification) apart from when it's "a legitimate part of the style of a proper noun [or] the title of a work".

I would argue since this article is about "two guys, one named Bob and one named Doug" and not "the fictional series Bob & Doug" it should keep the "and" written out. Additionally I think avoiding ampersands in links comes across as more encyclopedic in prose — "This is a reference to when Bob and Doug McKenzie drank beer" reads better than "This is a reference to when Bob & Doug McKenzie drank beer". -- Bleu Ninja 05:16, 11 January 2023 (UTC)