Talk:Boards (characters)

Sign?

Doesn't the sign that teaches Mario how to use the Star Ball appear in Rolling Coaster Galaxy too? PiranhaBomb

Well, if you can confirm its appearance, then you can add the information into this article. 173.60.166.129 21:49, 7 January 2013 (EST)

Jill Board, two appearences?

There are two Jill boards in the Boneyard Galaxy, and it is possible she was the sign written in Boo-ish, her relating to Boos.

Billboard in SMRPG

Is it really said in Galaxy that Billboard is the one in SM64, like the page aays ? Never played the game, but I find that weird... 191.128.191.105 12:41, 31 July 2014 (EDT)

SM64 Bill Board?

The page says Bill Board is the same sign as in Super Mario 64, but is there any text in SM64, SM64DS, SMG, or SMG2 to prove this? Until someone can provide some proof, I'm putting up a citation needed. -- Too Bad! Waluigi Time! 22:16, 18 February 2015 (EST)

Boards in super mario galaxy 2

In Battle Belt galaxy, there is an unnamed board that tells mario that he needs to defeat all enemies on each planet to progress. shouldn't this board be included in the page too? 89.203.179.254

Talking signposts?

How exactly are they alive? All signposts talk to the player in the game but aren't alive. So how exactly are they sentient? 86.167.129.233 13:42, November 21, 2025 (EST)

Split Gil Board, Bill Board, Phil Board and Jil Board into four separated articles

This talk page proposal has already been settled. Please do not edit this section or its subsections. If you wish to discuss the article, please do so in a new section below the proposal.

split 11-0
This issue has been bothering me for a long time, and when I brought it, the responses weren't helpful at all.

Since the creation of this article back in 2008, this page has forcefully merged distinct characters from Super Mario Galaxy. These characters are not a group, they aren't classified as one, and they do not even appear together at any point in either game. Unlike the Kings from Super Mario Bros. 3 who have an extremely minor role but are officially recognized as a group. These characters are treated as distinct entities.

When I previously brought this up, some users commented things like, "but these characters are extremely minor," or "they are not that different from each other." Honestly, I was baffled. A character being minor or looking similar to others does not justify merging them into a single page. That is not how groups work, and it is definitely not how this wiki handles group articles. Someone also pointed out that keeping them merged on a single page is better for navigation, but is it really? Perhaps some old users don't agree simply because the article has been in this state for a very long time, but longevity doesn't justify this. There are plenty of examples of pages that remained unchanged for years, only to be updated and corrected recently.

I joined the wiki around 2023. Having played the games myself, I have always perceived these characters as individual entities rather than a group. I still remember how confused I was when I searched for Bill Board and it redirected me to this page. The organization of the page doesn't help either; it features separate entries for completely distinct characters, which is a contrast to how groups are structured.

Furthermore, the title of the page is not good. I have marked it as conjectural because it absolutely is. I do not recall this name ever being used in-game or in official guides. It might have been used generically, but that doesn't make it an official proper noun. In fact, the definitive proof that this name is completely conjectural can be found in the article's history on the very day it was created. The original 2008 text literally states: "In Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii, several sentient, talking signposts appear, collectively known as "Boards" (Although note that this name is non-canon and only used here for lack of a better name)."

This proves that the name "Boards" was applied to this page simply because a user decided to merge four separate characters into this group without any prior discussion.

Also. Each of these characters easily meets a criteria for an independent article: 1 They have distinct official names, also in other languages. 2 They have unique quotes and personalities. 3 Some of them even appear in the sequel.

By splitting them and giving each character its own page, we can be more specific and detailed regarding their history, roles, and locations where they appear.

As it stands, this merge has absolutely no justification. It was done arbitrarily without discussion, it looks unpolished, and it is completely unsupported by official sources. If we start merging individual characters just because they look similar or have minor roles, we might as well start merging the quadrillion independent Toad articles we have on this wiki.

To clarify, the mentions above are not intended as an attack but rather as references to a past discussion. Since there is no conflict here, I will not respond to anything related to it. Thanks.

Proposer: Sorbetti (talk)
Deadline: June 10, 2026, 23:59 (UTC) Closed early on June 3, 2026 23:59 (UTC)

Support

1. Sorbetti (talk) Per proposal.
2. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) - Different characters, different names, different personalities, only mildly comparable roles... I see no reason for them to be merged other than sign-bias. I think I've brought this one up elsewhere.
3. SolemnStormcloud (talk) Per proposal.
4. BubzieBobkat (talk) Per proposal.
5. Nel Board (talk) Per proposal.
6. Hewer (talk) This has always struck me as a really awkward merge. My take is that individual characters should be split by default, and merging them into a "group" article should only happen if they're so completely intertwined that splitting them would result in redundant articles with virtually identical information (e.g. Orbot & Cubot, MC Ballyhoo & Big Top). That isn't the case here, as these signs are all fully separate characters and don't share any of their appearances in the game with each other, and one even appears in a game that none of the others do (Galaxy 2).
7. Dive Rocket Launcher (talk) I seriously support separating such significant signs. Per proposal.
8. Rykboard (talk) Per all.
9. Ahemtoday (talk) Per proposal.
10. ThePowerPlayer (talk) Per proposal.
11. Mario (talk) Boards. Better off without the awkward identifier too.