What counts as Shared Universe?

A few examples on Shared Universe are just implied and/or based on things that might not carry much weight. Like "character X from [work] had a cameo in [other work]". Even if it's a work by an entirely different studio. One example under "Multi-Type" mentions that The Doctor and Rose made a pointless cameo in a Buffy comic. The first example in the Live-Action TV section sounds more like speculation than anything else. There doesn't seem to be anything to actually establish that those shows are actually in the same continuity. The film example discussing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra says that the Joe movie is in continuity with The Mummy films simply because of something a cast member said, not actually in the movie. It's not even Word of God. Plus, the actual Rise of Cobra article specifically mentioned that the film itself couldn't establish any connection due to The Mummy being owned by a different studio.

And does it even count if the examples are all part of one Multiverse? As in, a bunch of separate universes. The first few examples in the "Multi-Type" section seem to be mainly about that instead of works taking place in a single shared universe.

I don't think this needs any TRS since it doesn't look like major misuse. But some of the examples suggest that even two shows that share a crowd-filler actor would count. Or that if work A has a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo of character from work B, then A and B must share the same universe, despite how the events in either work have no effect on one another. (see that Buffy + Doctor Who example) A few examples need to be removed, and I'd like to know exactly which ones.

edited 19th Mar '12 12:20:42 AM by ThatHuman

I think a big part of the problem is that people don't necessarily agree on what counts as a Shared Universe.

I asked about that GI Joe Therise Of Cobra example on another board,[1] and the example is really just editors taking a jokey reference seriously. Same is probably true with that Doctor Who + Buffy one. There needs to be a cleanup of people taking jokey references from one show to another as if they demonstrate any sort of relation.

edited 19th Mar '12 5:17:19 PM by ThatHuman

I imagine being made by the same studio, and even the same writer, and having enough connections for it to work.

The description says that it's about different writers whose works share a universe. Like Marvel with their Earth-616. Also, something needs to be done about those examples where people take jokey references way too seriously.