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Revision as of 23:58, 4 January 2009 editEl Sandifer (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,527 edits →Primary sources are insufficient for notability← Previous edit Latest revision as of 22:58, 15 December 2023 edit undoJJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs)Bots, Administrators3,671,278 editsm Moving Category:Misplaced Pages essays (arts) to Category:Misplaced Pages essays about media per Misplaced Pages:Categories for discussion/Log/2023 December 4#Category:Misplaced Pages essays (arts) 
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{{Redirect|WP:FICTION|the style guideline|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction}}
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<!-- {{Misplaced Pages subcat guideline|notability guideline|Fiction|]<br />]}} --> {{Notability essay|WP:FICT|WP:FICTION|WP:NFICT}}
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{{nutshell
{{Nutshell|Fictional elements are expected to follow the same ] guidelines as any other topic.}}
|Some fictional elements may not meet the ] but may still be covered in a standalone article. Those elements must be part of a significant and notable work of fiction, be important to covering that work in an encyclopedic fashion, and must have sufficient ] to allow for an article to be written in a ].}}
{{For|information about writing articles on fiction|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)}}
{{For|the previous version of this page|Misplaced Pages:Notability (fiction)/2008 proposal}}
{{For|specific examples where you may be able to help|Misplaced Pages:Fiction/Noticeboard}}
{{IncGuide}} {{IncGuide}}


There is no special guideline for the '''notability of fictional elements''' (such as characters and episodes) on Misplaced Pages. See other relevant ] in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Misplaced Pages. In particular, editors should review:
'''Misplaced Pages:Notability (fiction)''' is a '''proposed''' guideline that defines the inclusion criteria for elements of ], including individual and serialized works (such as television episodes or comic book series), as well the elements wholly within the fictionalized world (such as characters or settings). Works of fiction distributed through the media of books and film are also (but not exclusively) the subject of separate notability guidelines for ] and ] respectively. Inclusion criteria for lists are dealt with at ].
* The ]
* The policy on ]
* The manual of style for ]


For starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.
In all cases, if a subject relating to a work or element of fiction meets the requirement of the ], it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article. Elements of a notable work of fiction are presumed to be notable if they meet a simple test. The work should be important or significant, the fictional element itself should be important to an encyclopedic understanding of the work, and verifiable information must exist about the subject apart from a plot summary. When assessing a topic's notability, Wikipedians should remember that this and all notability guidelines judge a subject on the basis of currently available sources, not sources present in the article itself, which is not a ].


==History and rationale==
==Three-pronged test for notability==
Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Misplaced Pages. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.
Per the ], a topic is presumed notable for a standalone article if it is the subject of non-trivial coverage by reliable and independent sources. Some articles on fictional subjects, however, may not meet the general notability guideline. For these articles, a fictional element of a ''notable work'' should meet three conditions:
*'''Importance of the fictional work''': Fictional universes that are considered more culturally or historically significant are more likely to have coverage in reliable sources, and may go into greater depth than a short-form critical review of the work. If those sources present clear claims for the artistic or cultural importance of the fictional work beyond bare notability, it is a good sign that some individual elements of the work may be notable.
*'''Importance within the fictional work''': Important and/or central elements of a fictional work such as non-cameo characters or episodes are more likely to warrant articles than peripheral characters and ancillary merchandise do. Assessing the importance involves researching commentary from ] on the topic.The work itself can also indicate importance to some extent, but avoid ] or comparisons, and focus on indisputable facts (e.g. "the character appears in every episode") to prove importance, rather than personal opinion. Questions to ask in determining this balance are: ''"How does a reader's understanding suffer if this fictional element is not described at all?" "...if it is merely summarized in the main article?" "...if it is merely summarized in a list?"'' Some elements require relatively detailed information in order to explain the work's overall plot and impact, thus becoming vital to understand the overall complex work; explaining a complex plot, however, is not the same as providing exhaustive detail.
*'''Real-world coverage''': A particular fictional subject is much more likely to be covered in a separate article if ] is provided instead of only in-universe information. Sometimes this real-world perspective can be established through the use of sources with a connection to the creators of the fictional work, such as developer commentary. Real-world coverage means that the article has content about the development of the subject; its influences; its design; and critical, commercial, or cultural impact. Merely listing the notable works where the fictional element appears, their respective release dates, and the names of the production staff is not sufficient. A ] will have more real-world information than in-universe, as real world information is the primary goal of Misplaced Pages. An article with a verifiable real-world perspective that establishes real-world ] will rarely be deleted.


==Improving articles==
A subject that meets all three of the above criteria may qualify for a standalone article. An article is ], and a subject can still be notable based on the reasonable belief that adequate evidence of notability exists. But there must be a reasonable belief that evidence exists for all ''three'' criteria.
Information that may help provide the real-world discussion necessary for an encyclopedia article about a fictional topic includes reception, analysis, significance, development, legacy and influence, and relationships with or comparisons to other media. Dedicated sections are good, though sometimes in less developed articles, such information is contained in the lead but not the body.


Bear in mind that content in such information should be referenced to ], independent sources.
This test does not supersede Misplaced Pages's content and inclusion policies such as those on ] and ]. Editors may consider whether the fictional subject could be treated as a section or part of a larger topic instead of a standalone article, but notability guidelines do ]. No part of this guideline is meant to preempt the editorial decision of content selection and presentation.


If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to ] and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of ] can also take the form of ] the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.
==Sources and notability==


==Relevant guidelines and policies==
All articles must meet Misplaced Pages's policy on ], where every statement is backed by research from ]. However, a verifiable article is not necessarily notable by Misplaced Pages's standards and merely being verifiable does ]; the ] requires the use of reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject. For fictional subjects, terms such as ''reliability'' and ''independence'' have specialized meanings.
===Notability guidelines===
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Notability}}
The ] is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.


There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:
===Reliability===
* ]
* ]
* ]


===What Misplaced Pages is not===
A notable fictional element will have real-world information about its development or reception. Reception, reviews, and criticism must be verified in reliable sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. News organizations and scholarly journals usually ensure reliability through peer review. However, a source may still be considered reliable without these strict content controls. Wikipedians can determine whether a source meets our guideline on reliable sources through consensus. These discussions usually take place at the ], or at specific ].
{{main|Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not}}
Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly ]. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.


===Independence=== ===Manual of style===
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)}}
Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review ] and ] to understand the general approach and content of these articles.


==Lists of fictional elements==
Coverage of fiction often benefits from relying on sources that do not meet the strictest standards of independence. Because control over intellectual property is often jealously guarded, much of the background information about fictional subject may come from copyright holders. The idea of an "independent source" was developed to deal with press releases, corporate websites, and self promotion&mdash;issues that are less likely to crop up with fictional subjects than ] or ]. However, some care must be taken to ensure that the distribution of fictional articles avoids ] and adheres to a ].
Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) ''may'' be grouped into an appropriate list article. Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at ] and at ].


==Consult Wikiprojects==
As a result, elements of the three-prong test may be satisfied through the use of non-promotional sources that may or may not be independent from the content creators. These are independent in the sense that they make analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, and/or evaluative claims about the subject. These may include interviews, production blogs, writings (even self-published ones) by creators, officially licensed "behind the scenes" guidebooks, etc.
Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


A ] was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.
===Secondary sources are necessary for notability===
{{Further|]}}
A topic about which there are no significant secondary sources cannot pass this guideline. Primary sources, such as the fictional work itself, can be used to ] certain facts about the fictional work, and can contribute towards the second prong of the three-prong test. However, since they offer no real-world perspectives, they cannot provide any information on the first or third prongs, and thus are not enough to establish notability.


==Previous proposals==
] and original analysis of primary sources (for example, by speculating about what a scene might imply, or by making detailed comparisons between scenes) should be avoided. Plot summary may be used to a limited extent as described by our ], but an article written entirely from primary sources is a warning sign that the subject might not meet the three-pronged test above.
* ], the original attempted rewrite from c. 2007-2009
* ], a previous failed proposal from 2007
* ], a previous proposal abandoned in 2008
* ], a previous failed proposal, in 2011 recategorized as an essay


==See also== ==See also==
*]
{{MultiCol}}
*]
;Guidelines, examples and how-tos
*]
* For examples of high quality fiction articles, see ] and ].
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
{{ColBreak}}
;Essays, noticeboards and Wikiprojects
* ]
* ].
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
{{EndMultiCol}}


]
==Footnotes==
]
{{reflist}}

]
{{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines}}
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 22:58, 15 December 2023

"WP:FICTION" redirects here. For the style guideline, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction. Essay on editing Misplaced Pages
This is an essay on notability.
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Misplaced Pages contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Misplaced Pages's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.		Shortcuts
This page in a nutshell: Fictional elements are expected to follow the same notability guidelines as any other topic.
Notability
General notability guideline
Subject-specific guidelines
See also

There is no special guideline for the notability of fictional elements (such as characters and episodes) on Misplaced Pages. See other relevant policies and guidelines in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Misplaced Pages. In particular, editors should review:

For starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.

History and rationale

Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Misplaced Pages. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.

Improving articles

Information that may help provide the real-world discussion necessary for an encyclopedia article about a fictional topic includes reception, analysis, significance, development, legacy and influence, and relationships with or comparisons to other media. Dedicated sections are good, though sometimes in less developed articles, such information is contained in the lead but not the body.

Bear in mind that content in such information should be referenced to reliable, independent sources.

If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to WP:BEFORE and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of WP:PRESERVE can also take the form of redirecting the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.

Relevant guidelines and policies

Notability guidelines

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Notability

The Misplaced Pages's general notability guideline is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.

There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:

What Misplaced Pages is not

Main page: Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not

Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly Misplaced Pages is not simply plot summaries. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.

Manual of style

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)

Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review Writing About Fiction and Misplaced Pages:Writing better articles#Check your fiction to understand the general approach and content of these articles.

Lists of fictional elements

Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) may be grouped into an appropriate list article. Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at the general notability guideline and at Stand-alone Lists and Topics.

Consult Wikiprojects

Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:

A Misplaced Pages:Fiction/Noticeboard was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.

Previous proposals

See also

Categories: