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Revision as of 02:59, 8 August 2009 editThe Transhumanist (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers302,803 edits revert - the statement is very unclear. What is a "lexical pattern"? Please make a proposal on the talk page, so we can discuss wording it so that a monkey like me can understand it.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 14:14, 21 November 2024 edit undoFgnievinski (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users66,973 edits →Categories, lists and navigation templates 
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{{short description|Project page}}
{{selfref|For the style guidelines, see: ] and ]; for the main topical outline, see: ]}}
{{subcat guideline|style guideline|Lists, stand-alone|WP:SAL|WP:STAND}} {{about||the overall list style guideline|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists|additional list-related material|Misplaced Pages:Lists}}
<!--{{style-guideline|WP:MOSSAL|WP:MOSLIST|WP:SAL}}--> {{Subcat guideline|content guideline|Stand-alone lists|WP:SAL|WP:STAND|WP:STANDALONE}}
{{Nutshell|Stand-alone lists, like other articles, are subject to ]. They should be used for ], and have clear ]. A well-written ] is important, especially if there is little or no other non-list content.}}
{{Guideline list}}
'''Stand-alone lists''' (also referred to as '''list articles''') are ] composed of one or more ], or series of items formatted into a list. Many stand-alone lists identify their content's format in their titles, beginning with descriptors such as "'''List of'''" (]), "'''Timeline of'''" (]), or similar.


In the interests of centralization of advice, this guideline page includes content guidelines, listed first; for style guidelines particular to stand-alone lists, see {{section link||Style}}; for naming conventions, see {{section link||Titles}}.
Stand-alone lists and "lists of links" are articles that primarily consist of a list or a group of lists, linking to articles or lists in a particular subject area, such as a timeline of events or people and places. The titles of these articles usually begin with "'''list of'''" or "'''timeline of'''". Stand-alone lists ''are'' Misplaced Pages articles; thus, they are equally subject to Misplaced Pages's content policies, such as ], ] and ].


==General formatting== == Notability ==
{{excerpt|Misplaced Pages:Notability|Stand-alone lists|templates=-Shortcut}}

== List contents ==
===Content policies===
{{main article|Misplaced Pages:Core content policies}}
Being articles, stand-alone lists {{em|are}} subject to Misplaced Pages's ], such as ], ], ], and ], as well as the ] guidelines.

===General formats of list articles===
{{anchor|General formatting|Types of lists|reason=Old section names.}}
There are a number of formats, both generalized and specialized, that are currently used on Misplaced Pages, for list articles. There are a number of formats, both generalized and specialized, that are currently used on Misplaced Pages, for list articles.


* '''Alphabetized lists''', such as ] and ], as well as simple alphabetized lists without letter subheadings.
==="List of" articles===
# '''Alphabetized lists or indexes''', such as ] or ], as well as simple, alphabetized lists, without letter subheadings. * '''Annotated lists''', such as ], and ].
# '''Annotated lists''', such as ] or ]. * '''Chronological lists''', such as ] and ]. (Lists whose titles begin with "timeline of" are always chronological.)
* '''Sortable''' lists, which are formatted as ], such as ].
# '''Subheading-structured lists''' (i.e., '''categorized''' or '''hierarchical lists'''), such as ], ], ], ] or ].
* '''Subheading-structured lists''' (i.e., '''categorized''' or '''hierarchical lists'''), such as ], ] and ].
# '''Chronological lists''', such as ] or ]. (Lists whose titles begin with "timeline of" are always chronological.)
# '''Sortable''' lists, which are formatted as ], such as ].


===Specialized "list of" articles=== ====Specialized list articles====
{{Shortcut|WP:TYPEOFLIST}}
# '''Timelines''', using the ], such as ] or ]. Most "timeline of" list articles do ''not'' use this specialized type of timeline syntax.
# '''Glossaries''', such as ] or ], where the annotations are definitions of the list's entries.


* ''']''', from the general (]) to the somewhat specific (]), are part of Misplaced Pages's ] navigation system, and are indexed at ]. A type of ], they are hierarchies of subjects organized as a structured list including headings, subheadings, and list items (usually bulleted, and preferably annotated). ''For more information, see ], and ].''
Usually, the best format to use in designing a list depends on how it will be used by the readers. If the list will be used primarily by those familiar with a subject, then a hierarchical list would be preferred; however, if it will be frequently used by those unfamiliar with the topic, then an alphabetical list may be more practical. Also, consider whether the list will be primarily used for navigational purposes or for developing Misplaced Pages content (]). Remember, there are a number of formats that can be used in writing a list, that are equally helpful.
* ''']''', alphabetized lists of articles on a given subject, are part of Misplaced Pages's ] navigation system, and are listed at ]. Examples include ] and ]. ''For more information, see ], and ].''
* ''']''', using a ] to present a chronological summary of a topic; examples include ] and ]. There is a special ], but most Misplaced Pages timeline list articles do not presently use this recently<!--as of 2015--> introduced feature. ''For more information, see ].''
* ''']''' &ndash; a representation of armed force components that shows the hierarchical organization and ].
* ''']''' include ] and ]. Bibliographies are a list of relevant references for a subject area, including books, journal articles, and web articles; discographies are a listing of all recordings on which a musician or singer features, or may be compiled based on genre or record label.
* ''']''', using one of several ], are usually alphabetized lists of terms with annotations defining them in an encyclopedic way; examples include ] and ]. The format can also be used for some other purposes. Non-encyclopedic glossary material may be migrated to ] {{crossref|(see {{section link||Lists of words}} for more information)}}. ''For more information, see ], and ].''
*''']''' &ndash; document a set of items that share the same (or a similar) name. They are different from ] pages in that they are full-fledged articles meant to document multiple subjects, while disambiguation pages are for navigation purposes only. Not all set index articles are lists.


===Appropriate topics for lists===
==Lead and selection criteria==
{{Shortcut|WP:LSC}} {{Shortcut|WP:SALAT}}
Lists should begin with a ] that presents unambiguous statements of membership criteria. Many lists on Misplaced Pages have been created without any membership criteria, and editors are left to guess about what or who should be included only from the name of the list; do not simply say "This is a list of X", but make sure the scope of the list is understandable. Even if it might seem obvious what qualifies for membership in a list, ''explicit is better than implicit.'' In cases where the membership criteria are subjective or likely to be disputed, list definitions should be based on ]. Non-obvious characteristics of the list, for instance regarding the list structure, should also be explained in the lead section.


The potential for creating lists is infinite. The number of possible lists is limited only by our collective imagination. To keep the system of lists useful, we must limit the size and scope of lists.
When deciding what to include on a list, ask yourself:
* If this person/thing/etc., wasn't an X, would it reduce their fame or significance?
* Would I expect to see this person or thing on a list of X?
* Is this person or thing a canonical example of some facet of X?


Lists that are too general or too broad in scope have little value, unless they are split into sections. For example, a list of brand names would be far too long to be of value. If you have an interest in listing brand names, try to limit the scope in some way (by product category, by country, by date, etc.). This is best done by sectioning the general page under categories. When entries in a category have grown enough to warrant a fresh list-article, they can be moved out to a new page, and be replaced by a <nowiki>See ]</nowiki> link. When all categories become links to lists, the page becomes a list repository or "]" and the entries can be displayed as a bulleted list.
Each entry on a list should have its own non-] article in English Misplaced Pages, but this is not required if the entry is ] a member of the listed group, and it is reasonable to expect an article could be forthcoming in the future. The one exception is for list articles that are created explicitly because the listed items do not warrant independent articles: an example of this is ]. Don't use a list as a "creation guide" containing a large number of ] unwritten articles; instead consider listing them in the appropriate section of ] or in the appropriate ].


Lists that are too specific are also a problem. The "list of one-eyed horse thieves from Montana" will be of little interest to anyone other than the creator of the list. A list should be defined so that a reasonable number of readers seek it out.
If a complete list is feasible in 32K and could be useful, go for a complete list. Otherwise, you will need to make sure section editing is enabled or you may want to build a selected list.


Some Wikipedians feel that some topics are unsuitable by dint of the nature of the topic. Following the policy spelled out in ], they feel that some topics are trivial, non-encyclopedic, or not related to human knowledge. If you create a list like the "list of shades of colors of apple sauce", be prepared to explain why you feel this list contributes to the state of human knowledge.
When the list includes a short introduction and a longer list, it may be advisible to include a "See also" section, that shows related lists and articles, after the introduction and before the list.


==Naming conventions== ====Lists of people====
{{shortcut|WP:LISTPEOPLE|WP:PEOPLELIST}}
{{Shortcut|WP:LISTNAME}}
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions}} {{see also|Misplaced Pages:ALMAMATER|Misplaced Pages:Namechecking|WP:MEDCASE}}
Because the subject of many lists is broad, a person is typically included in a list of people only if both of the following requirements are met:
The name or title of the list should simply be '''List of _ _''' (for example ]). Many lists are not intended to contain every possible member (e.g. ] obviously does not include all people from the island). Instead, inclusion on the list should be determined by the criteria above. Because of this, "notable" is assumed, and that word (or similar subjective words such as "famous," "noted," "prominent," etc.) should not be included in the title of a list article. Similarly, do not use a title like: ] nor ]. If (as is often the case), the list has multiple columns and so is in table form, the name or title '''List of _ _''' is still preferable to '''Table of _ _''' or '''Comparison of _ _'''.


*The person meets the ].
A list of lists of X could be at ] or ]: e.g., ], ].
*The person's membership in the list's group is ] by ].
{{shortcut|WP:EXEMPT1E}}
There are some common exceptions to the typical notability requirement:
* If the person is ], the notability requirement need not be met. If a person in a list does not have a Misplaced Pages article about them, a citation (or link to another article) must be provided to: a) establish their membership in the list's group; and b) establish their notability on either ] or ].
* In a few cases, such as lists of people holding notable positions, the names of non-notable people may be included in a list that is largely made up of notable people, for the sake of completeness.


In other cases, editors choose even more stringent requirements, such as already having an article written (not just qualifying for one), or being notable specifically for reasons related to membership in this group. This is commonly used to control the size of lists that could otherwise run to thousands of people, such as the ].
People are either ] or ], preferring '''List of _ people'''. USA folk are a special case; ] redirects to ] which contains, amongst other things, lists by US state. (Special treatment is necessary because ] is ambiguous.) Note, however, that lists of people organized by individual ''city'' should be at '''List of people from (city)''', rather than "List of (city) people".


For instance, articles about schools often include (or link to) a list of notable alumni/alumnae, but such lists are not intended to contain everyone who verifiably attended the school. (Misplaced Pages editors who would like to be identified as an alumnus/alumna should instead use the categories intended for this purpose, e.g. ].) On the other hand, a list within an article of past school presidents, headmasters or headmistresses can contain the names of all the people who held this post, not just those who are independently notable.
Poets listed by language are at, for example ] &ndash; ''see ]''.


Special care must be taken when adding living persons to lists based on ] or on ]. For further information, see Misplaced Pages's policy on ], in particular the ] for living persons. There is an ] available for lists of people: {{tl|Editnotice for lists of people}}.
Fictional creatures at ], etc., with real-life examples at ]. Note that the lead section of both lists states what they include.


Please document the list selection criteria on the talk page of the list.
For multi-page lists (aka "long lists"), see ].


Note that the guidance in this section is particularly applicable to people but applies to lists in general, not only lists of people.
] do not need to be titled with "list of" unless there is also a disambiguation page using that title. For example, ] is a list of cars named Dodge Charger, but does not need to be titled ]. However, since ] is a disambiguation page, the related set index article is at ].


====Lists of subtaxa====
==Chronological ordering==
Misplaced Pages articles on organisms, such as plants and animals (whether extant or extinct), can sometimes be dominated by long lists of subtaxa. When the article has not developed beyond ] quality, there is little added value to split-off a list of taxa, nor is there much value to split-off a list if the number of taxa is relatively short, such as below 30 items. Although 30 items in a vertical row can already extend beyond what is visible on the screen without scrolling, the visual impact of an included list can be reduced by creating several columns. Another method to create the overview of the taxa involved is by including one or several ], provided phylogenetic sources are available. If the number of taxa is too large and would upset the balance of an article, it is best to create a new list that is linked to the main article. The elements of such a list should consist of all accepted taxa on the closest lower level (see the ]) and all elements in the list should be linked to articles on those subtaxa, whether these exist (blue links) or not (red links). The links should be checked by following them to avoid linking to disambiguation pages or synonyms, particularly when dealing with lists of ].
Chronological lists, including all timelines and lists of works, should be in earliest-to-latest chronological order. Special cases which specifically require frequent daily additions, such as ], may use reverse chronological order for temporary convenience, although these articles should revert to non-reverse order when the article has stabilized, such as ].


====Lists of companies and organizations====
==Appropriate topics for lists==
{{shortcut|WP:SALAT}} {{shortcut|WP:LISTCOMPANY|WP:LISTORG}}
A company or organization may be included in a list of companies or organizations whether or not it meets the ], unless a given list specifically requires this. If the company or organization does not have an existing article in Misplaced Pages, a citation to an ] should be provided to establish its membership in the list's group.
The potential for creating lists is infinite. The number of possible lists is limited only by our collective imagination. To keep the system of lists useful, we must limit the number of lists.


====Lists of lists====
Lists that are too general or too broad in scope have little value, unless they are split into categories. For example a list of brand names would be far too long to be of value. If you have an interest in listing brand names, try to limit the scope in some way (by product category, by country, by date, etc.). This is best done by sectioning the general page under categories. When entries in a category have grown enough to warrant a fresh list-article, they can be moved out to a new page, and be replaced by a <nowiki>See ]</nowiki> link. When all categories become links to lists, the page becomes a list repository or "]" and the entries can be displayed as a bulleted list. For reference see ], which is made up of specific categorical lists.
{{shortcut|WP:LoL|WP:LISTOFLISTS|WP:LISTSOFLISTS}}
Misplaced Pages has many articles that are primarily or entirely lists of other lists (see ]). On lists of lists, nonexistent lists should not be included. That is, all the links in a "lists of lists" should be active (blue, not red).


Lists of lists should also be available as alphabetical categories. Put lists that have actual content in one of the ] subcategories under ], and {{em|also}} include it in ]. {{crossref|(See {{section link||Titles}} for naming conventions.)}}
Lists that are too specific are also a problem. The "list of one-eyed horse thieves from Montana" will be of little interest to anyone (except the person making the list).


:''See also ] for an informal essay on content, purpose, naming etc. of lists of lists.''
Some Wikipedians feel that some topics are unsuitable by virtue of the nature of the topic. Following the policy spelled out in ], they feel that some topics are trivial, non-encyclopedic, or not related to human knowledge. If you create a list like the "list of shades of colors of apple sauce", be prepared to explain why you feel this list contributes to the state of human knowledge.


===Lists of people=== ====Lists of words====
{{anchor|Lists of terms|Glossaries}}{{shortcut|WP:LISTGLOSSARY}}
Selected lists of people should be selected for importance/notability ''in that category'' and should have Misplaced Pages articles (or the reasonable expectation of an article in the future). For example, ] doesn't include every individual with a Misplaced Pages article who happens to be an atheist, because not all of them are notable for their atheism. However, it might well include ]. See also ].
{{main article|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Glossaries}}
''Glossaries'' – alphabetical, topical lists of terms, rather than of notable entities – are encyclopedic when the entries they provide are primarily informative explorations of the listed terminology, pertaining to a ] topic that already has its own main article on Misplaced Pages. A ] example is ]. Stand-alone glossaries are categorized at ], as well as topically in article categories. Shorter ones are often better handled as ], though a ] from a title like ''Glossary of {{var|X}}'' can be created to the section, and the redirect added to that category. Such embedded glossaries may ] later into in stand-alone glossaries. {{crossref|(See ] for information on when to split sections into child articles.)}} There are multiple ways of ]. {{Crossref|See {{section link||Titles}} for naming conventions.}}


Because ], many ideas for glossaries, in which entries would be little more than dictionary definitions ("dicdefs"), may be better suited to ]. Glossaries that do not meet Misplaced Pages's notability criteria or not-a-dictionary policy should be migrated to Wiktionary at ]. Wiktionary also freely ] Misplaced Pages's encyclopedic glossaries for redevelopment to Wiktionary's purposes and standards, in its <samp>Appendix:</samp> namespace.
An exception is nationality/ethnicity. ] would include persons who are famous in any category and who belong to Elbonia. The criteria for identifying as an Elbonian may not depend on the official citizenship laws of that country - the person could be related to the place by birth, domicile, parents, or by his or her personal admission, consider himself or herself an Elbonian at heart.


Some other, non-glossary lists of words can also yield an encyclopedic page, such as ], the condition being that ] for the topic can be cited.
Lists of people must follow Misplaced Pages's policy on ]. For example, care must be taken when adding people to the ], and must be ].


===Lists of lists=== ===Selection criteria===
<!-- Misplaced Pages:Notability (people)#Lists of people links here -->
Misplaced Pages has many lists of lists articles. On lists of lists, nonexistent lists should not be included. That is, all the links in a "lists of lists" should be active (blue, not red).
{{anchor|Inclusion criteria|reason=More common usage on WP; consider changing section name.}}{{shortcut|WP:LSC|WP:SELCRIT|WP:LISTCRIT|WP:LISTCRITERIA}}
{{see also|Misplaced Pages:Notability (people)#Lists of people|Misplaced Pages:Notability#Stand-alone lists|Template:List criteria}}
{{further information|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists#Adding individual items to a list}}


{{em|Selection criteria}} (also known as {{em|inclusion criteria}} or {{em|membership criteria}}) should be unambiguous, objective, and supported by ]. ] or ] criteria that would ] a list that is not plainly ] in reliable sources. In cases where the membership criteria are subjective or likely to be disputed, it is especially important that inclusion be based on reliable sources given with ] for each item.
Lists of lists should also be available as alphabetical categories. Put lists that have actual content in one of the subcategories under ].


When establishing membership criteria for a list, ask yourself if any of the following are true:
==Categories, lists and navigation templates==
* If this person/thing/etc. weren't X, would it reduce their fame or significance?
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Categories, lists, and navigation templates}}
* Would I expect to see this person or thing on a list of X?
* Is this person or thing a canonical example of some facet of X?

As ] and ] a directory, repository of links, or means of promotion, and should not contain indiscriminate lists, only certain types of lists should be exhaustive. Criteria for inclusion should factor in encyclopedic and topical ], not just verifiable existence. For example, all known species within a taxonomic family are relevant enough to include in a list of them, but ] would not be encyclopedically useful if it indiscriminately included every garage band mentioned in a local Norwegian newspaper. While ] is often a criterion for inclusion in overview lists of a broad subject, it may be too stringent for narrower lists; one of the functions of many lists on Misplaced Pages is providing an avenue for the retention of encyclopedic information that does not warrant separate articles, so ] is required in establishing criteria for a list. Avoid ] list entries that are not likely to have their own article soon or ever.

====Common selection criteria====
{{shortcut|WP:CSC}}
Lists are commonly written to satisfy one of the following sets of objective criteria:

# {{anchor|all notable}} ''Every entry meets the ]'' for its own ] in the English Misplaced Pages. ] are acceptable if the entry is ] a member of the listed group and it is reasonable to expect an article could be forthcoming in the near future. Red-linked entries should be accompanied by citations sufficient to show that the entry is sufficiently notable for an article to be written on it (i.e., citations showing ]). This standard prevents Misplaced Pages from becoming a collection of ]; prevents individual list articles from becoming targets for ] and ]; and keeps individual lists to a size that is manageable for readers.
# {{anchor|all not notable}} ''Every entry in the list fails the notability criteria''. These lists are created explicitly because most or all of the listed items do not warrant independent articles: for example, ] or ]. Before creating a stand-alone list, consider carefully whether such lists would be better placed within a "parent" article. (Note that this criterion is never used for living people.)
# {{anchor|complete and verifiable}} ''Short, complete lists of every item that is verifiably a member of the group''. These should only be created if a complete list is reasonably short (less than 32&nbsp;]) and could be useful (e.g., for navigation) or interesting to readers. The inclusion of items must be supported by reliable sources. For example, ]. If reliable sources indicate that a complete list would include the names of ten notable buildings and two non-notable buildings, then you are not required to omit the two non-notable buildings. However, if a complete list would include hundreds or thousands of entries, then you should use the notability standard to provide focus to the list.

"Creation guide" lists—lists devoted to a large number of ] (unwritten) articles, for the purpose of keeping track of which articles still need to be written—don't belong in the main namespace. Write these in your userspace, or in a ]'s space, or list the missing articles at ].

===Citing sources===
{{shortcut|WP:LISTVERIFY}}

Stand-alone lists are subject to Misplaced Pages's content policies and guidelines for articles, including ] and ]. This means statements should be ], and they must provide ] if they contain any of the ].

When an inline citation is not required by a sourcing policy and editors choose to name more sources than strictly required, then either ] or inline citations may be used. It is generally presumed that ], such as the inclusion of ] in the ], does not require an inline citation.
<!-- CONTENT GUIDELINE ENDS HERE -->

==Style==
{{about|section=y|stand-alone list style|embedded list style|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists#Embedded lists}}
{{MoS guideline|section=yMOS:SAL}}
{{style}}
This section presents some particular style and layout considerations specifically for stand-alone lists, {{em|in addition to}} the general ], which pertains to all lists on Misplaced Pages.

===Lead===
{{main article|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lead section}}
{{shortcut|WP:SALLEAD}}
A stand-alone list should begin with a ] that summarizes its content, provides any necessary background information, gives encyclopedic context, links to other relevant articles, and makes direct statements about ], unless inclusion criteria are unambiguously clear from the article title. This introductory material is especially important for lists that feature little or no other non-list prose in their ]. Even when the selection criteria might seem obvious to some, an explicit standard is often helpful to both readers, to understand the scope, and other editors, to reduce the tendency to include trivial or off-topic entries. The lead section can also be used to explain the structure of embedded lists in the article body when no better location suggests itself.

===Chronological ordering===
{{shortcut|WP:SALORDER}}
Chronological lists, including all timelines and lists of works, should be in earliest-to-latest chronological order. Special cases which specifically require frequent daily additions, such as ], may use reverse chronological order for temporary convenience, although these articles should revert to non-reverse order when the article has stabilized, as is the case with ].

===Categorization===
List articles should be categorized under one of the ] subcategories under ].

===Alternatives to lists (categories and navigation templates)===
{{main article|Misplaced Pages:Categories, lists, and navigation templates}}
As useful as lists are, certain lists may get out of date quickly; for these types of subjects, a category may be a more appropriate method of organization. See ] and ] for more information on the appropriate times to use lists versus categories. As useful as lists are, certain lists may get out of date quickly; for these types of subjects, a category may be a more appropriate method of organization. See ] and ] for more information on the appropriate times to use lists versus categories.


===Taxonomic links=== ====Taxonomic links====
For many genera there may be a considerable number of species. For the smaller genera a ] may suffice but for the more specious including genera such as '']'' it is probable better to move these into their own page. The bulk of the page will be taken up by the list. Such lists do qualify as encyclopedic: for many of these genera there are specialized monographs to assist in the identification of these species. For many genera there may be a considerable number of species. For the smaller genera a ] may suffice but for the more speciose genera such as '']'' it is probably better to move these into their own page. The bulk of the page will be taken up by the list. Such lists do qualify as encyclopedic: for many of these genera there are specialized monographs to assist in the identification of these species.

===Bulleted and numbered lists===
* Do not use lists if a passage is read easily as plain paragraphs.
* Use proper wikimarkup- or template-based list code ''(see ] and ])''.
* Do not leave blank lines between items in a bulleted or numbered list unless there is a reason to do so, since this causes the wiki software to interpret each item as beginning a new list.
* Use numbers rather than bullets only if:
** a need to refer to the elements by number may arise;
** the sequence of the items is critical; or
** the numbering has some independent meaning, for example in a listing of musical tracks.
* Use the same grammatical form for all elements in a list, and do not mix sentences and sentence fragments as elements.
** When the elements are complete sentences, each one is formatted with sentence case (i.e., the initial letter is capitalized) and a final period.
** When the elements are sentence fragments, the list is typically introduced by a lead fragment ending with a colon. When these elements are titles of works, they retain the original capitalization of the titles. Other elements are formatted consistently in either sentence case or lower case. Each element should end with a semicolon, with a period instead for the last element. Alternatively (especially when the elements are short), no final punctuation is used at all.

==Titles<span id="Naming conventions"></span>==
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (lists)}}
{{for|multi-page lists (a.k.a. "long lists")|Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (lists)#Long (split) list naming recommendations}}
{{Subcat guideline|section=y|naming convention|lists, stand alone|WP:LISTNAME|WP:NCLIST|WP:NCSAL}}
{{Bad summary|section|Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (lists)#Long (split) list naming recommendations}}
{{naming conventions}}
A common practice is to entitle list articles as '''List of''' ___ (for example ''List of {{var|Xs}}''). If (as is often the case), the list has multiple columns and so is in layout table form, the name or title ''List of {{var|Xs}}'' is still preferable to ''Table of {{var|Xs}}'' or ''Comparison of {{var|Xs}}'' (though the latter may be appropriate for articles that are actual tables of data comparing numerous features, e.g. ]).

A ''list of lists'' of {{var|X}} could be at either ''Lists of {{var|X}}'' or at ''List of {{var|X}}'': e.g., ], ]; the plural form is more prevalent.

The title is not expected to contain a complete description of the ]. Many lists are not intended to contain every possible member, but this does not need to be explained in the title itself. For example, the correct choice is ], not ''List of people who were born on or strongly associated with the Isle of Wight and about whom Misplaced Pages has an article''. Instead, the detailed criteria for inclusion should be described in the lead, and a reasonably concise title should be chosen for the list. Best practice is to avoid words like '']'', ''famous'', ''noted'', ''prominent,'' etc. in the title of a list article. Similarly, avoid titles like ''List of all {{var|Xs}}''.

* '''People''': People by nationality are either ] or ], preferring '''''List of ___ people'''''. United States folk are a special case: ] redirects to ] which contains, amongst other things, lists by US state. (Special treatment is necessary because ] is ambiguous.) Note, however, that lists of people organized by individual ''city'' should be at '''''List of people from {{var|}}''''', rather than ''List of {{var|}} people''. In all relevant lists, ''people'' is far preferred to alternatives such as ''persons'' or ''individuals''.
* '''Language''': Poets and authors listed by language are at, for example ] {{crossref|(see ] for the list-of-lists of them)}}.
* '''Fiction and real life''': ] is a list of fictional creatures, whereas ] is a list with real-life examples. Note that the lead section of each list explains what criterion or criteria that list's entries meet.

] do not need to be titled with ''list of'' unless there is also another article or a disambiguation page using that title. For example, ] is a list of cars named Dodge Charger, but does not need to be titled ''List of cars named Dodge Charger''. However, since ] is a disambiguation page, the related set index article is at ].

Three other special lists types have their own naming patterns. Glossaries are usually titled ''Glossary of {{var|X}}'' or ''Glossary of {{var|X}} terms'', though if they contain substantial non-list prose about the nature or history of terminology relating to the topic, as well as a glossary list, a title such as ''{{var|X}} terminology'' may be more appropriate. Timelines are named in the form ''Timeline of {{var|X}}'' or ''Graphical timeline of {{var|X}}''. Outlines are named ''Outline of {{var|X}}'' or ''Outline of {{var|X}}s''.


==Lists and the "Related changes" link== ==Lists and the "Related changes" link==
A very useful Misplaced Pages feature is to use the "Related changes" link when on a list page. This will show you all the changes made to the links contained in the list. If the page has a link to itself, this feature will also show you the changes made to the list itself. A very useful Misplaced Pages feature is to use the ] when on a list page. This will show you all the changes made to the links contained in the list. If the page has a link to itself, this feature will also show you the changes made to the list itself.


==See also== ==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
** ]
** ]
** ]
** ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]




{{List navbox}} {{List navbox}}
{{Manual of Style}}


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Latest revision as of 14:14, 21 November 2024

Project page For the overall list style guideline, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists. For additional list-related material, see Misplaced Pages:Lists.
Blue tickThis page documents an English Misplaced Pages content guideline.
Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.		Shortcuts
This page in a nutshell: Stand-alone lists, like other articles, are subject to Misplaced Pages's Core content policies. They should be used for appropriate topics, and have clear selection criteria. A well-written lead section is important, especially if there is little or no other non-list content.
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Stand-alone lists (also referred to as list articles) are articles composed of one or more embedded lists, or series of items formatted into a list. Many stand-alone lists identify their content's format in their titles, beginning with descriptors such as "List of" (List of sovereign states), "Timeline of" (Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic), or similar.

In the interests of centralization of advice, this guideline page includes content guidelines, listed first; for style guidelines particular to stand-alone lists, see § Style; for naming conventions, see § Titles.

Notability

This section is an excerpt from Misplaced Pages:Notability § Stand-alone lists.

Notability guidelines also apply to the creation of stand-alone lists and tables. Notability of lists (whether titled as "List of Xs" or "Xs") is based on the group. One accepted reason why a list topic is considered notable is if it has been discussed as a group or set by independent reliable sources, per the above guidelines; and other guidelines on appropriate stand-alone lists. The entirety of the list does not need to be documented in sources for notability, only that the grouping or set in general has been. Because the group or set is notable, the individual entries in the list do not need to be independently notable, although editors may, at their discretion, choose to limit large lists by only including entries for independently notable items or those with Misplaced Pages articles.

There is no present consensus for how to assess the notability of more complex and cross-categorization lists (such as "Lists of X of Y") or what other criteria may justify the notability of stand-alone lists, although non-encyclopedic cross-categorizations are touched upon in Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not § Misplaced Pages is not a directory. Lists that fulfill recognized informational, navigation, or development purposes often are kept regardless of any demonstrated notability. Editors are still urged to demonstrate list notability via the grouping itself before creating stand-alone lists.

List contents

Content policies

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Core content policies

Being articles, stand-alone lists are subject to Misplaced Pages's content policies, such as verifiability, no original research, neutral point of view, and what Misplaced Pages is not, as well as the notability guidelines.

General formats of list articles

There are a number of formats, both generalized and specialized, that are currently used on Misplaced Pages, for list articles.

Specialized list articles

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Appropriate topics for lists

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The potential for creating lists is infinite. The number of possible lists is limited only by our collective imagination. To keep the system of lists useful, we must limit the size and scope of lists.

Lists that are too general or too broad in scope have little value, unless they are split into sections. For example, a list of brand names would be far too long to be of value. If you have an interest in listing brand names, try to limit the scope in some way (by product category, by country, by date, etc.). This is best done by sectioning the general page under categories. When entries in a category have grown enough to warrant a fresh list-article, they can be moved out to a new page, and be replaced by a See ] link. When all categories become links to lists, the page becomes a list repository or "List of lists" and the entries can be displayed as a bulleted list.

Lists that are too specific are also a problem. The "list of one-eyed horse thieves from Montana" will be of little interest to anyone other than the creator of the list. A list should be defined so that a reasonable number of readers seek it out.

Some Wikipedians feel that some topics are unsuitable by dint of the nature of the topic. Following the policy spelled out in What Misplaced Pages is not, they feel that some topics are trivial, non-encyclopedic, or not related to human knowledge. If you create a list like the "list of shades of colors of apple sauce", be prepared to explain why you feel this list contributes to the state of human knowledge.

Lists of people

Shortcuts See also: Misplaced Pages:ALMAMATER, Misplaced Pages:Namechecking, and WP:MEDCASE

Because the subject of many lists is broad, a person is typically included in a list of people only if both of the following requirements are met:

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There are some common exceptions to the typical notability requirement:

  • If the person is famous for a specific event, the notability requirement need not be met. If a person in a list does not have a Misplaced Pages article about them, a citation (or link to another article) must be provided to: a) establish their membership in the list's group; and b) establish their notability on either BLP1E or BIO1E.
  • In a few cases, such as lists of people holding notable positions, the names of non-notable people may be included in a list that is largely made up of notable people, for the sake of completeness.

In other cases, editors choose even more stringent requirements, such as already having an article written (not just qualifying for one), or being notable specifically for reasons related to membership in this group. This is commonly used to control the size of lists that could otherwise run to thousands of people, such as the List of American film actresses.

For instance, articles about schools often include (or link to) a list of notable alumni/alumnae, but such lists are not intended to contain everyone who verifiably attended the school. (Misplaced Pages editors who would like to be identified as an alumnus/alumna should instead use the categories intended for this purpose, e.g. Category:Wikipedians by alma mater.) On the other hand, a list within an article of past school presidents, headmasters or headmistresses can contain the names of all the people who held this post, not just those who are independently notable.

Special care must be taken when adding living persons to lists based on religion or on sexual orientation. For further information, see Misplaced Pages's policy on biographical information about living people, in particular the category/list policy for living persons. There is an editnotice available for lists of people: {{Editnotice for lists of people}}.

Please document the list selection criteria on the talk page of the list.

Note that the guidance in this section is particularly applicable to people but applies to lists in general, not only lists of people.

Lists of subtaxa

Misplaced Pages articles on organisms, such as plants and animals (whether extant or extinct), can sometimes be dominated by long lists of subtaxa. When the article has not developed beyond stub quality, there is little added value to split-off a list of taxa, nor is there much value to split-off a list if the number of taxa is relatively short, such as below 30 items. Although 30 items in a vertical row can already extend beyond what is visible on the screen without scrolling, the visual impact of an included list can be reduced by creating several columns. Another method to create the overview of the taxa involved is by including one or several cladograms, provided phylogenetic sources are available. If the number of taxa is too large and would upset the balance of an article, it is best to create a new list that is linked to the main article. The elements of such a list should consist of all accepted taxa on the closest lower level (see the figure on the right hand side) and all elements in the list should be linked to articles on those subtaxa, whether these exist (blue links) or not (red links). The links should be checked by following them to avoid linking to disambiguation pages or synonyms, particularly when dealing with lists of genera.

Lists of companies and organizations

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A company or organization may be included in a list of companies or organizations whether or not it meets the Misplaced Pages notability requirement, unless a given list specifically requires this. If the company or organization does not have an existing article in Misplaced Pages, a citation to an independent, reliable source should be provided to establish its membership in the list's group.

Lists of lists

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Misplaced Pages has many articles that are primarily or entirely lists of other lists (see List of lists of lists). On lists of lists, nonexistent lists should not be included. That is, all the links in a "lists of lists" should be active (blue, not red).

Lists of lists should also be available as alphabetical categories. Put lists that have actual content in one of the diffusing subcategories under Category:Lists, and also include it in Category:Lists of lists. (See § Titles for naming conventions.)

See also Misplaced Pages:Lists of lists for an informal essay on content, purpose, naming etc. of lists of lists.

Lists of words

Shortcut Main page: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Glossaries

Glossaries – alphabetical, topical lists of terms, rather than of notable entities – are encyclopedic when the entries they provide are primarily informative explorations of the listed terminology, pertaining to a notable topic that already has its own main article on Misplaced Pages. A Featured example is Glossary of Texas A&M University terms. Stand-alone glossaries are categorized at Category:Misplaced Pages glossaries, as well as topically in article categories. Shorter ones are often better handled as embedded lists, though a redirect from a title like Glossary of X can be created to the section, and the redirect added to that category. Such embedded glossaries may split later into in stand-alone glossaries. (See WP:Summary style for information on when to split sections into child articles.) There are multiple ways of formatting glossaries. See § Titles for naming conventions.

Because Misplaced Pages is not a dictionary, many ideas for glossaries, in which entries would be little more than dictionary definitions ("dicdefs"), may be better suited to Wiktionary. Glossaries that do not meet Misplaced Pages's notability criteria or not-a-dictionary policy should be migrated to Wiktionary at wikt:Category:English glossaries. Wiktionary also freely forks Misplaced Pages's encyclopedic glossaries for redevelopment to Wiktionary's purposes and standards, in its Appendix: namespace.

Some other, non-glossary lists of words can also yield an encyclopedic page, such as List of English words containing Q not followed by U, the condition being that reliable secondary sources for the topic can be cited.

Selection criteria

Shortcuts See also: Misplaced Pages:Notability (people) § Lists of people, Misplaced Pages:Notability § Stand-alone lists, and Template:List criteria Further information: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists § Adding individual items to a list

Selection criteria (also known as inclusion criteria or membership criteria) should be unambiguous, objective, and supported by reliable sources. Avoid original or arbitrary criteria that would synthesize a list that is not plainly verifiable in reliable sources. In cases where the membership criteria are subjective or likely to be disputed, it is especially important that inclusion be based on reliable sources given with inline citations for each item.

When establishing membership criteria for a list, ask yourself if any of the following are true:

  • If this person/thing/etc. weren't X, would it reduce their fame or significance?
  • Would I expect to see this person or thing on a list of X?
  • Is this person or thing a canonical example of some facet of X?

As Misplaced Pages is an encyclopedia and not a directory, repository of links, or means of promotion, and should not contain indiscriminate lists, only certain types of lists should be exhaustive. Criteria for inclusion should factor in encyclopedic and topical relevance, not just verifiable existence. For example, all known species within a taxonomic family are relevant enough to include in a list of them, but List of Norwegian musicians would not be encyclopedically useful if it indiscriminately included every garage band mentioned in a local Norwegian newspaper. While notability is often a criterion for inclusion in overview lists of a broad subject, it may be too stringent for narrower lists; one of the functions of many lists on Misplaced Pages is providing an avenue for the retention of encyclopedic information that does not warrant separate articles, so common sense is required in establishing criteria for a list. Avoid red-linking list entries that are not likely to have their own article soon or ever.

Common selection criteria

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Lists are commonly written to satisfy one of the following sets of objective criteria:

  1. Every entry meets the notability criteria for its own article in the English Misplaced Pages. Red-linked entries are acceptable if the entry is verifiably a member of the listed group and it is reasonable to expect an article could be forthcoming in the near future. Red-linked entries should be accompanied by citations sufficient to show that the entry is sufficiently notable for an article to be written on it (i.e., citations showing significant coverage in reliable sources independent of the subject). This standard prevents Misplaced Pages from becoming a collection of indiscriminate lists; prevents individual list articles from becoming targets for spam and promotion; and keeps individual lists to a size that is manageable for readers.
  2. Every entry in the list fails the notability criteria. These lists are created explicitly because most or all of the listed items do not warrant independent articles: for example, List of Dilbert characters or List of paracetamol brand names. Before creating a stand-alone list, consider carefully whether such lists would be better placed within a "parent" article. (Note that this criterion is never used for living people.)
  3. Short, complete lists of every item that is verifiably a member of the group. These should only be created if a complete list is reasonably short (less than 32 KB) and could be useful (e.g., for navigation) or interesting to readers. The inclusion of items must be supported by reliable sources. For example, Listed buildings in Rivington. If reliable sources indicate that a complete list would include the names of ten notable buildings and two non-notable buildings, then you are not required to omit the two non-notable buildings. However, if a complete list would include hundreds or thousands of entries, then you should use the notability standard to provide focus to the list.

"Creation guide" lists—lists devoted to a large number of redlinked (unwritten) articles, for the purpose of keeping track of which articles still need to be written—don't belong in the main namespace. Write these in your userspace, or in a Wikiproject's space, or list the missing articles at Misplaced Pages:Requested articles.

Citing sources

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Stand-alone lists are subject to Misplaced Pages's content policies and guidelines for articles, including verifiability and citing sources. This means statements should be sourced where they appear, and they must provide inline citations if they contain any of the four kinds of material absolutely required to have citations.

When an inline citation is not required by a sourcing policy and editors choose to name more sources than strictly required, then either general references or inline citations may be used. It is generally presumed that obviously appropriate material, such as the inclusion of apple in the list of fruits, does not require an inline citation.

Style

This section is about stand-alone list style. For embedded list style, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists § Embedded lists.
This guideline section is a part of the English Misplaced Pages's Manual of Style.
It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this section should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.
Manual of Style (MoS)

Content
Formatting
Images
Layout
Lists
By topic area
Legal
Arts
Music
History
Regional
Religion
Science
Sports
Related guidelines

This section presents some particular style and layout considerations specifically for stand-alone lists, in addition to the general WP:Manual of Style/Lists, which pertains to all lists on Misplaced Pages.

Lead

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lead section Shortcut

A stand-alone list should begin with a lead section that summarizes its content, provides any necessary background information, gives encyclopedic context, links to other relevant articles, and makes direct statements about the criteria by which members of the list were selected, unless inclusion criteria are unambiguously clear from the article title. This introductory material is especially important for lists that feature little or no other non-list prose in their article body. Even when the selection criteria might seem obvious to some, an explicit standard is often helpful to both readers, to understand the scope, and other editors, to reduce the tendency to include trivial or off-topic entries. The lead section can also be used to explain the structure of embedded lists in the article body when no better location suggests itself.

Chronological ordering

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Chronological lists, including all timelines and lists of works, should be in earliest-to-latest chronological order. Special cases which specifically require frequent daily additions, such as Deaths in 2025, may use reverse chronological order for temporary convenience, although these articles should revert to non-reverse order when the article has stabilized, as is the case with Deaths in 2003.

Categorization

List articles should be categorized under one of the diffusing subcategories under Category:Lists.

Alternatives to lists (categories and navigation templates)

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Categories, lists, and navigation templates

As useful as lists are, certain lists may get out of date quickly; for these types of subjects, a category may be a more appropriate method of organization. See Misplaced Pages:Categorization and Misplaced Pages:Categories, lists, and navigation templates for more information on the appropriate times to use lists versus categories.

Taxonomic links

For many genera there may be a considerable number of species. For the smaller genera a taxobox may suffice but for the more speciose genera such as Anopheles it is probably better to move these into their own page. The bulk of the page will be taken up by the list. Such lists do qualify as encyclopedic: for many of these genera there are specialized monographs to assist in the identification of these species.

Bulleted and numbered lists

  • Do not use lists if a passage is read easily as plain paragraphs.
  • Use proper wikimarkup- or template-based list code (see WP:Manual of Style/Lists and Help:List).
  • Do not leave blank lines between items in a bulleted or numbered list unless there is a reason to do so, since this causes the wiki software to interpret each item as beginning a new list.
  • Use numbers rather than bullets only if:
    • a need to refer to the elements by number may arise;
    • the sequence of the items is critical; or
    • the numbering has some independent meaning, for example in a listing of musical tracks.
  • Use the same grammatical form for all elements in a list, and do not mix sentences and sentence fragments as elements.
    • When the elements are complete sentences, each one is formatted with sentence case (i.e., the initial letter is capitalized) and a final period.
    • When the elements are sentence fragments, the list is typically introduced by a lead fragment ending with a colon. When these elements are titles of works, they retain the original capitalization of the titles. Other elements are formatted consistently in either sentence case or lower case. Each element should end with a semicolon, with a period instead for the last element. Alternatively (especially when the elements are short), no final punctuation is used at all.

Titles

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (lists) For multi-page lists (a.k.a. "long lists"), see Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (lists) § Long (split) list naming recommendations.
Blue tickThis guideline section documents an English Misplaced Pages naming convention.
Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this section should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.		Shortcuts
This section may need to summarize its corresponding main article in better quality. Please help out to edit this article and make improvements to the summary. (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Article titles
All naming conventions
Nature
  • Arts
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Books
  • Broadcasting
  • Comics
  • Films
  • Manuscripts
  • Music
  • Operas
  • Television
  • Video games
  • Visual arts
    		•
    People
    • Science
    • Technology
    • Transport
  • Astronomy
  • Chemistry
  • Medicine
  • Programming languages
  • Aircraft
  • Ships
    		•
    • Government
    • Politics
    • Law
  • Government and legislation
  • Legal
  • Political parties
    		•
    Organizations
    • Numbers
    • Dates
  • Numbers and dates
    		•
    • Places
    • Events
  • Places
  • Events
    		•
    • Lists
    • Categories
  • Categories
  • Lists
  • Long lists
  • Stub sorting
    		•
    Language/country-specific
    Formatting

    A common practice is to entitle list articles as List of ___ (for example List of Xs). If (as is often the case), the list has multiple columns and so is in layout table form, the name or title List of Xs is still preferable to Table of Xs or Comparison of Xs (though the latter may be appropriate for articles that are actual tables of data comparing numerous features, e.g. Comparison of Linux distributions).

    A list of lists of X could be at either Lists of X or at List of X: e.g., Lists of books, List of sovereign states; the plural form is more prevalent.

    The title is not expected to contain a complete description of the list's subject. Many lists are not intended to contain every possible member, but this does not need to be explained in the title itself. For example, the correct choice is List of people from the Isle of Wight, not List of people who were born on or strongly associated with the Isle of Wight and about whom Misplaced Pages has an article. Instead, the detailed criteria for inclusion should be described in the lead, and a reasonably concise title should be chosen for the list. Best practice is to avoid words like notable, famous, noted, prominent, etc. in the title of a list article. Similarly, avoid titles like List of all Xs.

    • People: People by nationality are either List of Finns or Lists of French people, preferring List of ___ people. United States folk are a special case: List of United States people redirects to Lists of Americans which contains, amongst other things, lists by US state. (Special treatment is necessary because American is ambiguous.) Note, however, that lists of people organized by individual city should be at List of people from , rather than List of people. In all relevant lists, people is far preferred to alternatives such as persons or individuals.
    • Language: Poets and authors listed by language are at, for example List of German-language poets (see List of poets for the list-of-lists of them).
    • Fiction and real life: List of fictional dogs is a list of fictional creatures, whereas List of individual dogs is a list with real-life examples. Note that the lead section of each list explains what criterion or criteria that list's entries meet.

    Set index articles do not need to be titled with list of unless there is also another article or a disambiguation page using that title. For example, Dodge Charger is a list of cars named Dodge Charger, but does not need to be titled List of cars named Dodge Charger. However, since Signal Mountain is a disambiguation page, the related set index article is at List of peaks named Signal Mountain.

    Three other special lists types have their own naming patterns. Glossaries are usually titled Glossary of X or Glossary of X terms, though if they contain substantial non-list prose about the nature or history of terminology relating to the topic, as well as a glossary list, a title such as X terminology may be more appropriate. Timelines are named in the form Timeline of X or Graphical timeline of X. Outlines are named Outline of X or Outline of Xs.

    Lists and the "Related changes" link

    A very useful Misplaced Pages feature is to use the "Related changes" link when on a list page. This will show you all the changes made to the links contained in the list. If the page has a link to itself, this feature will also show you the changes made to the list itself.

    See also


    Lists in Misplaced Pages
    Style
    Content
    Rationale
    Existing lists
    Templates
    Assistance
    Manual of Style
    Content
    Formatting
    Images
    Layout
    Lists
    By topic area
    Legal
    Arts
    Music
    History
    Regional
    Religion
    Science
    Sports
    Related guidelines
    Search
    Categories: