| Revision as of 23:02, 19 December 2007 editMasem (talk | contribs)Administrators187,210 editsm →Articles on fictional elements lacking demonstration of notability← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 00:25, 27 September 2008 edit undoGarion96 (talk | contribs)Administrators52,253 edits last substantial edit months ago. remove tag so that page will not appear in Category:Misplaced Pages proposals | ||
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{{Notice|Please direct discussion of this proposed guideline to ]. Thank you}} | ||
| <!--{{Misplaced Pages subcat guideline|notability guideline|Fiction|]<br />]}}--> | |||
| {{nutshell|Topics within a fictional universe are ] if they have received substantial coverage in ] secondary sources. Non-notable information should be deleted only when other options have been exhausted.}} | |||
| {{nutshell|Articles dealing with a work of fiction should demonstrate real-world ] from ]. Such articles should be structured around the demonstrated notability for the topic, with an appropriate ] of ]; appropriate ] may be used for listing a series of non-notable characters or other elements of the work. Articles on fiction that fail to demonstrate notability should be improved to demonstrate notability, trimmed and/or merged into a larger article, or moved to a GFDL-compatible wiki.}} | |||
| {{for|the guidelines on presenting fiction from an out-of-universe perspective|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)}} | |||
| :''For articles about books and films, rather than characters and locations therein, please refer to the guidelines ] and ].'' | :''For articles about books and films, rather than characters and locations therein, please refer to the guidelines ] and ].'' | ||
| '''Misplaced Pages:Notability (fiction)''' covers the ] of characters, items, places, and other elements within a work of fiction. | '''Misplaced Pages:Notability (fiction)''' covers the ] of characters, items, places, and other elements (including individual episodes of serialized works such as television or comic book series) within a work of fiction. | ||
| {{IncGuide}} | {{IncGuide}} | ||
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| <blockquote>A topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in ] that are ] of the subject.</blockquote> | <blockquote>A topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in ] that are ] of the subject.</blockquote> | ||
| For articles about fictional concepts, ''] |
For articles about fictional concepts, '']'' can cover information such as sales figures, critical and popular reception, development, cultural impact, and merchandise; this information describes the real-world aspects of the concept, so it is ''real-world content''. ''Fictional content'' refers to descriptions of the work's plot, characters, location, objects, and other aspects of the fictional setting provided by the work of fiction. | ||
| Based on this reasoning and the above excerpts, fictional concepts can be presumed '''notable''' if they have ''received |
Based on this reasoning and the above excerpts, fictional concepts can be presumed '''notable''' if they have ''received significant real-world coverage in ] sources''. However, notability for individual topics on fiction should be judged on a case-by-case basis with considerations for Misplaced Pages's core policies of ], ] and ]. | ||
| This guideline describes how to provide real-world notability for fictional topics and appropriate depth of coverage of fictional information, and how to resolve issues for topics that fail to meet these guidelines. For information on how to structure and write articles on fictional works and topics, please refer to ]. | |||
| <!-- | |||
| The real world context of fictional topics should be the principle focus of the article. Articles written from an in-universe perspective, such as plot-summaries or character biographies & development are typically discouraged. Even when fictional elements have established notability, ] is strongly discouraged, as it can place ] on the in-universe details over the real-world aspects. While fictional topics should provide readers with an appropriate context of their fictional setting, it is important to ensure that the main focus of the article remain its real-world impact. | |||
| ==Reasoning behind this guideline== | |||
| Strictly speaking, the policy of ] and the guideline of ] already set a standard for what topics are suitable for inclusion within Misplaced Pages; this guideline does not attempt to strengthen or relax these core principles. However, as Misplaced Pages is not the same a traditional printed encyclopedia, Misplaced Pages has the capability of covering topics that would not be normally covered in a printed edition. This includes topics on many modern and popular fictional works which, prior and external to Misplaced Pages, have received voluminous coverage by Internet users through ] and the ]. While Misplaced Pages does not discourage topics on these works, editors must take care to distill such information into encyclopedic form as to provide a real-world understanding alongside abbreviated plot information to provide context for the real-world aspects. This ensures that topics of current popularity are reasonably presented according to their persisting significance. Without proper trimming and condensing of this information, incorporation of such extensive knowledge into Misplaced Pages may lead to ] which fails to meet Misplaced Pages's policies and other guidelines. | |||
| Thus, this guideline does not alter any existing guideline, but serves to aid editors in writing, editing, and handling articles on fictional works and topics within those fictional works in order to generate high quality encyclopedic articles — ones that provide minimal but sufficient plot information to support the demonstration of the topic's real-world notability and can be understood by a reader otherwise unfamiliar with the fictional work. | |||
| ==Dealing with fiction== | |||
| ⚫ | Articles dealing with a work of fiction (a book, movie, television series, video game, or other medium) should be able to readily demonstrate notability by citing critical reception, sales figures, development, and other information from |
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| When Misplaced Pages was founded, part of the visionary statements made by ] and others associated with the work included the concept that because ], it can cover a much broader range of topics than traditional encyclopedias, particularly in the area of fictional works. As quoted from the ], "There is no reason why there shouldn't be a page for every Simpsons character, and even a table listing every episode, all neatly cross-linked and introduced by a shorter central page. Every episode name in the list could link to a separate page for each of those episodes, with links to reviews and trivia." However, as Misplaced Pages is a dynamic system driven by its user base and by the ], ] for what is considered appropriate topics and coverage within Misplaced Pages, and has led to the present versions of ] of Misplaced Pages, of which both the present version of ] and ] are based on. Articles that previously were appropriate under previous policies and guidelines may no longer meet current ones. However, editors should not be quick to simply delete these works; while they may not be appropriately notable per current policy, older articles likely have several merits such as detailed summary of the primary work that should not simply be deleted on sight. Instead, such articles should be given time to improve the content of such articles in order to provide a balance of plot summaries alongside demonstrated real-world notability, to merge into existing works, or to move without changes to other wikis to preserve the quality of editing that has been established in those works. '''Outright deletion of articles should be the absolute last resort when dealing with non-notable works.''' | |||
| ⚫ | To support the understanding of the work's notability, it is generally accepted to provide a ] of the work. For longer works or those in episodic or serial format, it may be necessary, as part of the plot summary, to provide additional " |
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| --> | |||
| ==Demonstrating notability for fictional topics== | |||
| ===Notable Topics=== | |||
| ⚫ | Articles dealing with a work of fiction (a book, movie, television series, video game, or other medium) should be able to readily demonstrate notability by citing critical reception, viewership or sales figures, history and development, and other information from reliable sources. Such sources can include creators' commentary and interviews regarding the work or topic, bearing in mind the restrictions if the work is ]. While data such as actors or voice actors, people involved with production, publication or airing dates, and length of work can be taken from reliable sources, such information does '''not''' demonstrate notability. | ||
| In some cases, such in-universe fictional elements may be able to assert their own notability as describe below. These notable topics may either transcend the context of the original fictional work, or may only be notable in the context of the work of fiction. In these cases, it is very reasonable and recommended per ] to create new articles for these aspects, along with the demonstration of notability. Examples of such articles include ], whose notability is demonstrated in works well beyond his original appearance, and ], where notability of the character within the body of fiction is well established. At times, grouping of fictional elements of a list may led to better discussion of the real-world aspects of the elements; ], while describing the major characters through in-universe style, contains notability aspects discussing the creation and popularity of the entire character cast. | |||
| ⚫ | To support the understanding of the work's notability, it is generally accepted to provide a ] of the work. For longer works or those in episodic or serial format, it may be necessary, as part of the plot summary, to provide additional "fictional" information on individual characters, the setting, or unique terms and concepts that only exist within the fictional universe. Normally, these fictional elements are described as part of the plot within the main article for the fictional work and do not need to demonstrate notability on their own. | ||
| Notability for such topics is based on Misplaced Pages's general ], which is based on Misplaced Pages's ]. For a fictional topic to be notable, the topic's real world facets must be presented through reliable secondary sources and, at times, through certain primary sources. Primary sources should only be used if they represent non-self-published commentary and remarks by the creators of the world on the topic's development or reception. Such primary sources include interviews with the creators or ] commentary on a movie or television show. Example of such articles include ] ] and ] which use both a combination of secondary and appropriate primary sources (commentaries and responses from the creators of the fiction) to demonstrate the real-world notability of these fictional elements. | |||
| ===Notable topics merit individual articles=== | |||
| Articles with demonstrated notability should contain ] to establish enough information on the topic to understand its notability. For example, articles on fictional characters should not provide a complete biography or appearance list of the character, but instead should discuss the character's general growth in the fictional work or works. | |||
| Fictional elements, such as characters and locations, as well as for individual episodes or entries for serial works, may be able to assert their own notability, either transcending the context of the original fictional work (such as ]), or within the context of the work of fiction (], ]). In these cases, it is very reasonable and recommended per ] to create new articles for these aspects, along with the demonstration of notability appropriate for the topic. In some cases, notability of fictional topics is better demonstrated for a common group than in individual articles for each topic (], ], ]). | |||
| ===Summary style approach=== | ===Summary style approach for sub-articles=== | ||
| For articles on fictional works, even with concise discussion of fictional elements, the main article may become too ] (such as ]). In this case, it is appropriate to also use ] to create sub-articles to remove some details from the main article page. For fictional works, these sub-articles are typically lists of characters or other elements from the fictional universe that typically do not demonstrate notability on their own and rely on the notability of the main fictional work. Sub-articles about a singular topic should only be used when appropriate; in general, singular topics either have demonstrated their own notability, or can be merged into the main article or existing sub-articles. These articles exist to help provide minimal but sufficient background for a complete understanding of the main work of fiction or any other notable sub-topics that may extend from it while aiding in following Misplaced Pages's ]. | |||
| Editors are strongly urged to use consensus to determine the need to create such sub-articles as necessary; such articles should not be created until it is determined that the parent article is too long. | |||
| Further details on writing such sub-articles, and when such sub-articles should be created, can be found in ] section of ]. | |||
| <!-- Keep stuff here, will move later to WAF | |||
| Such non-notable sub-articles that list specific elements of a fictional work are appropriate for Misplaced Pages, but they should be written towards the following requirements: | Such non-notable sub-articles that list specific elements of a fictional work are appropriate for Misplaced Pages, but they should be written towards the following requirements: | ||
| * Creation of such sub-articles should be agreed to |
* Creation of such sub-articles should be agreed to by consensus of editors. If information can be trimmed, moved to Wikia or another wiki (see ] below), or removed, these steps should be undertaken first before the sub-article is created. | ||
| * They should be written in a manner that is appropriate for ] - they describe the work of fiction that they belong to and clearly indicate what aspect of the fictional universe the article covers. | * They should be written in a manner that is appropriate for ] - they describe the work of fiction that they belong to and clearly indicate what aspect of the fictional universe the article covers. The sub-article's length, content, and approach should be considered as if it were still part of the main article. | ||
| * They should ] of the topic or topics covered in the work - just because the sub-article is given more space to grow does not mean that ] are appropriate. |
* They should ] of the topic or topics covered in the work - just because the sub-article is given more space to grow does not mean that ] are appropriate. | ||
| * As with all other Misplaced Pages articles, these need to be ], must possess ], and must be written in a ]. | * As with all other Misplaced Pages articles, these need to be ], must possess ], and must be written in a ]. | ||
| * They should be written in a manner that, if notability or real-world consideration of those elements were available, that information could be easily added to the article. | * They should be written in a manner that, if notability or real-world consideration of those elements were available, that information could be easily added to the article. | ||
| * Editors of the article should continue to strive to make ] to locate notability/real-world information for the article's topic after the article's creation from appropriate reliable sources. | * Editors of the article should continue to strive to make ] to locate notability/real-world information for the article's topic after the article's creation from appropriate reliable sources. | ||
| ⚫ | Editors are cautioned to not immediately create such sub-articles that lack notability, even if such articles exist for a similar fictional work. Instead, editors should fully develop the main article on the fictional work first, locating sources of notability that apply both to the work and fictional elements of the work. Through this process, it may become evident that groups of fictional elements can demonstrate their own notability and can be split off into their own article. Once the full article on the fictional work is completed and notable aspects are possibly split off, only then should editors consider using summary style to split off fictional elements lacking demonstration of notability into sub-articles. This process will help prevent creating articles that will be heavily disputed due to lack of notability. | ||
| Articles that fall into this category are nearly always "lists of", particularly of characters, items, and locations of the fictional universe. Very rarely should a singular item (one character for example) receive a similar treatment: either that element has demonstrated its own notability and thus has its own article, or otherwise it should be grouped with comparable elements of the fictional universe, or be described in the main article on the work of fiction. Splitting a singular fictional element into a separate sub-article does not follow from ]. | |||
| --> | |||
| ⚫ | ==Depth of coverage== | ||
| ⚫ | Editors are cautioned to not immediately create such sub-articles that lack notability, even if such articles exist for a similar fictional work. Instead, editors should fully develop the main article on the fictional work first, locating sources of notability that apply both to the work and fictional elements of the work. Through this process, it may become evident of fictional |
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| When writing articles on fictional elements of a fictional work, one must consider to what depth that coverage of the fictional works that these sub-articles should provide. Articles should be structured around the notable aspects of the work or topic, as outlined at ]. The provided fictional information for a fictional topic should be in ] with this. There is no exact ratio of fictional to real-world information; instead, this balance should be based on common sense and judged on a case-by-case basis for each article. Editors are encouraged to review ] and ] on fictional works to gauge this balance. | |||
| The depth of coverage should also be appropriate for the size or length of the work in addition to notable information. A singular work of fiction (such as a single movie, a book, or video game) should rarely require a sub-article to describe parts, covering these details in the main article. On the other hand, a book, TV, or video game series may benefit by having a few common fictional element lists that can help to provide suitable background and supplementary information for each work within the series. However, articles about individual elements (i.e. a specific character or location) or individual segments of serialized works (i.e. episodes of a television program or issues of a comic book) should establish individual notability as opposed to inherited notability. At times, better depth of coverage may be accomplished by combining notable and non-notable elements into a single topic, such as a character cast or a single season of a television show instead of individual elements. Various WikiProjects that deal with fiction have guidelines describing what depth of coverage should be provided for fictional information relative to the length of the original work. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| When writing articles on fictional elements of a fictional work when lacking demonstrated notability, one must consider to what depth that coverage of the fictional works that these sub-articles should provide. The sum of such articles for a fictional work should not be of ] with available real-world notability information that is available for the topic. The depth of coverage will also be a function of the length of the work. A singular work of fiction (such as a single movie, a book, or video game) should never require a sub-article to list non-notable fictional elements per ]. On the other hand, a book, TV, or video game series may benefit by having a few common fictional element lists that can help to provide suitable background and supplementary information for each work within the series. | |||
| If there is an imbalance of fictional information in an article, consider trimming the text or moving the fictional information to an appropriate GFDL-compatible wiki. | |||
| ==Articles on fictional elements with undue weight of in-universe information== | |||
| Articles on fictional elements, even with significantly demonstrated notability, should use ] that ] the real-world notability of the article. Plot information can be derived from primary sources, but ] by anyone sufficiently familiar with the work, ] and ]. As plot and additional in-universe content increases, meeting and maintaining all three requirements can be difficult, and thus, in line with ], articles on fictional works and elements should only briefly describe the work. | |||
| ==Dealing with non-notable fictional topics== | |||
| While there are no exact guidelines to how much plot information or to what depth of coverage should be given, some projects (such as ] and ] have adopted a "100 words for every 10 minutes" approach; this may or may not apply to other forms of media but can be used as a guideline to guide other writing. More examples can be found by examining articles on fictional works and elements at both ] and ]. | |||
| Articles on fictional topics that lack demonstrated notability should strive for improvement either by the addition of demonstrated notability, or through other editing actions such as trimming, merging, or moving the bulk of the content to another wiki. Please note that the lack of demonstrated notability is '''not''' a ], nor is there any ] to improve such articles, though ] improvements are expected as part of the ]. | |||
| In general, editors are suggested to review specific guidelines or approaches outlined in the appropriate ] for the topic at hand, such as ] or ]. <!-- Other concerns on dealing with fictional notability can be raised at the ]. (need to make this first ...)--> | |||
| If you encounter an fictional article that contains excessive in-universe content relative to the demonstrated notability, consider the following steps for improving it: | |||
| * Discuss your concerns on the article's talk page. Alternatively, tag the page with {{tl|in-universe}} template, but it also suggested to further discuss your concerns on the page. | |||
| * Be ] and trim the article to reduce the amount of in-universe detail. | |||
| * Commonly for fictional elements, there may be several articles that, if merged, would provided a better article with a more concise presentation of in-universe elements than in separate articles without losing the demonstration of notability, for example, a set of characters from the same fictional work, or a team or group within that work. In such cases, a ] of such articles should be proposed. | |||
| * If there is an existing external wiki for the fictional universe, consider moving the excessive plot details from the Misplaced Pages to the appropriate page on the external wiki prior to performing any of the above steps. | |||
| Barring such additional approaches, the followings are a list of suggested methods to help improve articles that lack demonstration of notability. | |||
| Pages with excessive plot information should '''never''' be put up for deletion unless their notability cannot be demonstrated, as described below. | |||
| ⚫ | * If, by ], you believe the article will never have a chance of demonstrating notability or cannot be merged elsewhere, place the article up for ]. An article about a character in a TV show that only appeared on-screen for a few seconds and is never referred to otherwise is very likely non-notable, however, by using the proposed deletion process, someone may be able provide the required notability. If you are unsure if this is the correct step for a given article, then do '''not''' perform this step. | ||
| ==Articles on fictional elements lacking demonstration of notability== | |||
| If you should come across an article on a fictional element that does not demonstrate notability or is not written in an appropriate summary style from its main work of fiction, the following steps should be taken in order to try to improve the article's notability. Please note that the lack of demonstrated notability is '''not''' a ], nor is there any ] to improve such articles.<ref>However, non-notable fictional element articles should not be left unchanged for long periods of time. Such articles, particularly those considered to be "]" do not directly harm Misplaced Pages, but their presence can encourage newer editors that may not be familiar with all policies and guidelines to write equivalent articles for similar elements in the same work of fiction, or a style style for a different work of fiction, using the existing non-notable articles ]. Editors are encouraged to ] to improve such articles if no changes or good-faith efforts are made in a reasonable time frame after an article's notability is brought into question.</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | * If, by ], you believe the article will never have a chance of demonstrating notability or cannot be merged elsewhere, place the article up for ]. An article about a character in a TV show that only appeared on-screen for a few seconds and is never referred to otherwise is very likely non-notable, however, by using the proposed deletion process, someone may be able provide the required notability. If you are unsure |
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| * If you can provide such information on real-world facets or notability, be ] and include it in the article. | * If you can provide such information on real-world facets or notability, be ] and include it in the article. | ||
| * Inform the editors of the article on the article's talk page of your concern about the lack of notability. This can also be done by tagging the article with the {{tl|notability}} tag on the article page, though it is recommended to discuss your concerns with the editors as well in this case. If many such articles within the same fictional universe exist in a similar state, attempt to find a project or task force page for that fictional work and let the editors there know your concerns. If possible, suggest routes for the editors for merging or moving the information should notability and real-world information be difficult to find. | * Inform the editors of the article on the article's talk page of your concern about the lack of notability. This can also be done by tagging the article with the {{tl|notability}} tag on the article page, though it is recommended to discuss your concerns with the editors as well in this case. If many such articles within the same fictional universe exist in a similar state, attempt to find a project or task force page for that fictional work and let the editors there know your concerns. If possible, suggest routes for the editors for merging or moving the information should notability and real-world information be difficult to find. | ||
| * Once informed or tagged, if no good faith efforts to seek out or include notability information are made within a reasonable editing timeframe ( |
* Once informed or tagged, if no good faith efforts to seek out or include notability information are made within a reasonable editing timeframe (typically no less than a month) determine what should be done with the article: | ||
| ** If the article can be grouped with an existing article or other articles on the same type of fictional elements, suggest a ] via discussion. This may require that information be trimmed from the article. If articles are merged, leave ] in their place to the appropriate page. | ** If the article can be grouped with an existing article or other articles on the same type of fictional elements, suggest a ] via discussion. This may require that information be trimmed from the article. If articles are merged, leave ] in their place to the appropriate page. | ||
| ** If an existing wiki |
** If an existing GFDL-compatible wiki for the fictional topic exists, suggest transwiki'ing the information. Again, articles that are moved should be replaced with redirection pages. | ||
| ** If both of the above options have been considered and determined to not be possible, only then consider recommending the article for ]. However, this should be considered as the final resort for any article that otherwise does not violate any other Misplaced Pages policies. It may be necessary to approach a larger group of editors (a parent |
** If both of the above options have been considered and determined to not be possible, only then consider recommending the article for ] where the merits of the article can be debated. However, this should be considered as the final resort for any article that otherwise does not violate any other Misplaced Pages policies. It may be necessary to approach a larger group of editors (a parent WikiProject or the like) to help obtain consensus prior to placing the article up for deletion. | ||
| Editors are cautioned from performing the above actions on several articles ''en masse''. A ] suggests that if an editor feels several related articles fail to meet notability requirements, they should open discussion first with the editors of such articles (typically at a WikiProject page) prior to initiating actions such as merging all articles to a single one or the like. | |||
| Remember that if an article is merged or moved to a different wiki, and later information to help demonstrate notability or real-world impact is located, the article can be recreated; as long as the article is not deleted, the article text as before the merge/move will still exist. | |||
| ==Relocating non-notable fictional material== | ==Relocating non-notable fictional material== | ||
| ], Misplaced Pages's sibling project, contains instructional and educational texts. These include annotated works of fiction (on the ]) for classroom or private study use. ], similarly, holds original public domain and GFDL source texts. See ]. One possible action to consider is to make use of all of the Wikimedia projects combined: to have an encyclopedia article about the work of fiction on Misplaced Pages giving a brief outline, a chapter-by-chapter annotation on Wikibooks, the full source text on Wikisource (if the work is in the public domain), and ] joining them all together into a whole. However, Wikibooks , so it is not an appropriate place to transwiki large quantities of |
], Misplaced Pages's sibling project, contains instructional and educational texts. These include annotated works of fiction (on the ]) for classroom or private study use. ], similarly, holds original public domain and GFDL source texts. See ]. One possible action to consider is to make use of all of the Wikimedia projects combined: to have an encyclopedia article about the work of fiction on Misplaced Pages giving a brief outline, a chapter-by-chapter annotation on Wikibooks, the full source text on Wikisource (if the work is in the public domain), and ] joining them all together into a whole. However, Wikibooks , so it is not an appropriate place to transwiki large quantities of fictional material. | ||
| Fictional material unsuited or too detailed for Misplaced Pages can be transwikied to the appropriate |
Fictional material unsuited or too detailed for Misplaced Pages can be transwikied to the appropriate GFDL-compatible wiki, such as and . Other sites, such as , may also accept material. Transwikied material should be edited to meet the guidelines of specific wikis; do not just copy and paste. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 00:25, 27 September 2008
 | Please direct discussion of this proposed guideline to WT:FICT. Thank you |
 | This page in a nutshell: Articles dealing with a work of fiction should demonstrate real-world notability from reliable sources. Such articles should be structured around the demonstrated notability for the topic, with an appropriate balance of fictional information; appropriate summary sub-articles may be used for listing a series of non-notable characters or other elements of the work. Articles on fiction that fail to demonstrate notability should be improved to demonstrate notability, trimmed and/or merged into a larger article, or moved to a GFDL-compatible wiki. |
- For articles about books and films, rather than characters and locations therein, please refer to the guidelines Misplaced Pages:Notability (books) and Misplaced Pages:Notability (films).
Misplaced Pages:Notability (fiction) covers the notability of characters, items, places, and other elements (including individual episodes of serialized works such as television or comic book series) within a work of fiction.
| Notability |
|---|
| General notability guideline |
| Subject-specific guidelines |
| See also |
Defining notability for fiction
This guideline is a detailed extension of two excerpts:
From Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not#PLOT:
Misplaced Pages articles on published works (such as fictional stories) should contain real-world context and sourced analysis, offering detail on a work's development, impact or historical significance, not solely a detailed summary of that work's plot. A brief plot summary may be appropriate as an aspect of a larger topic.
From Misplaced Pages:Notability:
A topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.
For articles about fictional concepts, reliable sources can cover information such as sales figures, critical and popular reception, development, cultural impact, and merchandise; this information describes the real-world aspects of the concept, so it is real-world content. Fictional content refers to descriptions of the work's plot, characters, location, objects, and other aspects of the fictional setting provided by the work of fiction.
Based on this reasoning and the above excerpts, fictional concepts can be presumed notable if they have received significant real-world coverage in reliable sources. However, notability for individual topics on fiction should be judged on a case-by-case basis with considerations for Misplaced Pages's core policies of verifibility, no original research and neutral point of view.
This guideline describes how to provide real-world notability for fictional topics and appropriate depth of coverage of fictional information, and how to resolve issues for topics that fail to meet these guidelines. For information on how to structure and write articles on fictional works and topics, please refer to Manual of Style (Writing about fiction).
Demonstrating notability for fictional topics
Articles dealing with a work of fiction (a book, movie, television series, video game, or other medium) should be able to readily demonstrate notability by citing critical reception, viewership or sales figures, history and development, and other information from reliable sources. Such sources can include creators' commentary and interviews regarding the work or topic, bearing in mind the restrictions if the work is self-published. While data such as actors or voice actors, people involved with production, publication or airing dates, and length of work can be taken from reliable sources, such information does not demonstrate notability.
To support the understanding of the work's notability, it is generally accepted to provide a concise plot summary of the work. For longer works or those in episodic or serial format, it may be necessary, as part of the plot summary, to provide additional "fictional" information on individual characters, the setting, or unique terms and concepts that only exist within the fictional universe. Normally, these fictional elements are described as part of the plot within the main article for the fictional work and do not need to demonstrate notability on their own.
Notable topics merit individual articles
Fictional elements, such as characters and locations, as well as for individual episodes or entries for serial works, may be able to assert their own notability, either transcending the context of the original fictional work (such as Superman), or within the context of the work of fiction (Troy McClure, Spoo). In these cases, it is very reasonable and recommended per summary style to create new articles for these aspects, along with the demonstration of notability appropriate for the topic. In some cases, notability of fictional topics is better demonstrated for a common group than in individual articles for each topic (Characters of Final Fantasy VIII, Characters of Carnivàle, Smallville (season 1)).
Summary style approach for sub-articles
For articles on fictional works, even with concise discussion of fictional elements, the main article may become too long (such as The Lord of the Rings). In this case, it is appropriate to also use summary style to create sub-articles to remove some details from the main article page. For fictional works, these sub-articles are typically lists of characters or other elements from the fictional universe that typically do not demonstrate notability on their own and rely on the notability of the main fictional work. Sub-articles about a singular topic should only be used when appropriate; in general, singular topics either have demonstrated their own notability, or can be merged into the main article or existing sub-articles. These articles exist to help provide minimal but sufficient background for a complete understanding of the main work of fiction or any other notable sub-topics that may extend from it while aiding in following Misplaced Pages's manual of style.
Editors are strongly urged to use consensus to determine the need to create such sub-articles as necessary; such articles should not be created until it is determined that the parent article is too long.
Further details on writing such sub-articles, and when such sub-articles should be created, can be found in Summary style approach section of Manual of Style (Writing about Fiction).
Depth of coverage
When writing articles on fictional elements of a fictional work, one must consider to what depth that coverage of the fictional works that these sub-articles should provide. Articles should be structured around the notable aspects of the work or topic, as outlined at Manual of Style (Writing about fiction). The provided fictional information for a fictional topic should be in balance with this. There is no exact ratio of fictional to real-world information; instead, this balance should be based on common sense and judged on a case-by-case basis for each article. Editors are encouraged to review Featured and Good Articles on fictional works to gauge this balance.
The depth of coverage should also be appropriate for the size or length of the work in addition to notable information. A singular work of fiction (such as a single movie, a book, or video game) should rarely require a sub-article to describe parts, covering these details in the main article. On the other hand, a book, TV, or video game series may benefit by having a few common fictional element lists that can help to provide suitable background and supplementary information for each work within the series. However, articles about individual elements (i.e. a specific character or location) or individual segments of serialized works (i.e. episodes of a television program or issues of a comic book) should establish individual notability as opposed to inherited notability. At times, better depth of coverage may be accomplished by combining notable and non-notable elements into a single topic, such as a character cast or a single season of a television show instead of individual elements. Various WikiProjects that deal with fiction have guidelines describing what depth of coverage should be provided for fictional information relative to the length of the original work.
If there is an imbalance of fictional information in an article, consider trimming the text or moving the fictional information to an appropriate GFDL-compatible wiki.
Dealing with non-notable fictional topics
Articles on fictional topics that lack demonstrated notability should strive for improvement either by the addition of demonstrated notability, or through other editing actions such as trimming, merging, or moving the bulk of the content to another wiki. Please note that the lack of demonstrated notability is not a criteria for speedy deletion, nor is there any deadline to improve such articles, though good faith improvements are expected as part of the editing process.
In general, editors are suggested to review specific guidelines or approaches outlined in the appropriate WikiProject for the topic at hand, such as Wikiproject Television or WikiProject Films.
Barring such additional approaches, the followings are a list of suggested methods to help improve articles that lack demonstration of notability.
- If, by good faith, you believe the article will never have a chance of demonstrating notability or cannot be merged elsewhere, place the article up for proposed deletion. An article about a character in a TV show that only appeared on-screen for a few seconds and is never referred to otherwise is very likely non-notable, however, by using the proposed deletion process, someone may be able provide the required notability. If you are unsure if this is the correct step for a given article, then do not perform this step.
- If you can provide such information on real-world facets or notability, be bold and include it in the article.
- Inform the editors of the article on the article's talk page of your concern about the lack of notability. This can also be done by tagging the article with the {{notability}} tag on the article page, though it is recommended to discuss your concerns with the editors as well in this case. If many such articles within the same fictional universe exist in a similar state, attempt to find a project or task force page for that fictional work and let the editors there know your concerns. If possible, suggest routes for the editors for merging or moving the information should notability and real-world information be difficult to find.
- Once informed or tagged, if no good faith efforts to seek out or include notability information are made within a reasonable editing timeframe (typically no less than a month) determine what should be done with the article:
- If the article can be grouped with an existing article or other articles on the same type of fictional elements, suggest a merge via discussion. This may require that information be trimmed from the article. If articles are merged, leave redirection pages in their place to the appropriate page.
- If an existing GFDL-compatible wiki for the fictional topic exists, suggest transwiki'ing the information. Again, articles that are moved should be replaced with redirection pages.
- If both of the above options have been considered and determined to not be possible, only then consider recommending the article for deletion where the merits of the article can be debated. However, this should be considered as the final resort for any article that otherwise does not violate any other Misplaced Pages policies. It may be necessary to approach a larger group of editors (a parent WikiProject or the like) to help obtain consensus prior to placing the article up for deletion.
Editors are cautioned from performing the above actions on several articles en masse. A recent ArbCom case suggests that if an editor feels several related articles fail to meet notability requirements, they should open discussion first with the editors of such articles (typically at a WikiProject page) prior to initiating actions such as merging all articles to a single one or the like.
Relocating non-notable fictional material
Wikibooks, Misplaced Pages's sibling project, contains instructional and educational texts. These include annotated works of fiction (on the Wikibooks:annotated texts bookshelf) for classroom or private study use. Wikisource, similarly, holds original public domain and GFDL source texts. See Wikisource:Wikisource and Wikibooks. One possible action to consider is to make use of all of the Wikimedia projects combined: to have an encyclopedia article about the work of fiction on Misplaced Pages giving a brief outline, a chapter-by-chapter annotation on Wikibooks, the full source text on Wikisource (if the work is in the public domain), and interwiki links joining them all together into a whole. However, Wikibooks opposes books on fiction, so it is not an appropriate place to transwiki large quantities of fictional material.
Fictional material unsuited or too detailed for Misplaced Pages can be transwikied to the appropriate GFDL-compatible wiki, such as Final Fantasy Wikia and Wookieepedia. Other sites, such as Gaming Wiki, may also accept material. Transwikied material should be edited to meet the guidelines of specific wikis; do not just copy and paste.
See also
- For examples of high quality fiction articles, see the articles that have been rated as Good and Featured.
- Misplaced Pages:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction
- Misplaced Pages:Television episodes
- Misplaced Pages:Fancruft
- WikiProject Novels guidelines on plot summaries
- WikiProject Films guidelines on plot summaries
- WikiProject Soap Operas guidelines on character articles