Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 12:35, 24 September 2002

Misplaced Pages is an encyclopedia and as such, there are certain things Misplaced Pages can not also be. Pay close attention to #2 (Misplaced Pages is not a dictionary), #6 (Misplaced Pages is not a soapbox), #10 & 11 (Misplaced Pages is not a link repository), #12 (Misplaced Pages is not a library).

Here is a list of Things That Encyclopedia Articles Are Not:

1. Discussion forums, or Everything2 nodes. Please try to stay on task (the task here is to create encyclopedia articles). Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum or chat room (mind you, neither is Everything2, or at least it tries not to be--but because it tolerates that, that's what it has become). But you can chat with folks on their own pages, and you can resolve article problems on the relevant Talk: pages.
2. Dictionary definitions of common English words that, in the sense in question, name no subject that any respectable encyclopedist would ever think of making the topic of an encyclopedia article. Misplaced Pages is not a dictionary. (But an article can and should always begin with a good definition or a clear description of the topic, as in the case of biographies.)
3. Lists of such definitions. (But an article can certainly consist of a pointer to other pages, where a word is too general to have any one topic associated with it; see freedom and Columbus for examples.)
4. A usage guide. Misplaced Pages is not in the business of saying how idioms, etc., are used. (But, of course, it's often very, very important in the context of an encyclopedia article to say just how a word is used. E.g., the article on freedom will, if it doesn't already, have a long discussion about this.)
5. By a simple extension of the latter, a hacker/computer usage or other slang and idiom guide. We aren't teaching people how to talk like a hacker or a Cockney chimney-sweep; we're writing an encyclopedia. (But see jargon file; also, articles, even extremely in-depth articles, on hacker culture are very welcome, and insofar as guides to some particularly essential piece of hacker slang is necessary to understand those articles, of course articles on that slang would be great to have.)
6. Propaganda or advocacy of any kind. (But an article can of course report objectively on what advocates say, as long as an attempt is made to approach a neutral point of view. Go to Usenet if you want to convince people of the merits of your favorite views--and good luck.)
7. Neither encomia/fan pages, nor critical pans. Biographies and articles about art works are supposed to be encyclopedia articles. (But critical analysis of art is welcome, if grounded in direct observations.)
8. Personal essays, that state your idiosyncratic opinions about a topic. We're reporting on what is in the canon of human knowledge; unless you're unusual, your idiosyncratic opinions aren't part of this canon. (But you can put your essays on meta-Misplaced Pages.)
9. List repository of loosely associated topics such as; quotations, aphorisms or persons (But of course, there is nothing wrong with having lists if their entries are famous because they are associated with or significantly contributed to the list topic).
10. Mere collections of external links. (But of course there's nothing wrong with adding both lists of links and lists of on-line references you used in writing an article.)
11. Mere collections of internal links. (But of course, there's nothing wrong with pointer pages when a word is too general for any one topic to be associated with it; and of course, it's very important to make collections of relevant internal links, as this conveys useful information and helps navigation.)
12. Mere collections of public domain or other source material; such as entire books, original historical documents, letters, laws, proclamations and other source material that are only useful when presented with their original, un-modified wording. (But of course, there's nothing wrong with using public domain resources in order to add factual content and wording to an article -- such as the use of the 1911 encyclopedia)
13. A personal homepage and/or file storage area. Wikipedians have their own personal pages, but they are used for working on the encyclopedia. If you're looking to make a personal webpage unrelated to encyclopedia work, there are many free homepage providers on the Internet. If you upload files, please upload only files that pertain to encyclopedia articles; anything else will be deleted.
14. A news report. Misplaced Pages should not offer news reports on breaking stories. However, creating encyclopedia articles on topics currently in the news is an excellent idea. See current events for some examples. (However, the Wiki process lends itself to collaborative, up-to-the-minute construction of current events of historical significance, as long as these are written as encyclopedia articles.)
15. A genealogical or biographical dictionary. People whose biographies are included must have some sort of achievement: what qualifies as an achievement is of course open to wide debate. (Emily Bronte only wrote one novel, but it is notable.) However, merely being the son or daughter of a notable person is not sufficient: minor characters may of course be mentioned within the article for the major person.
16. A vehicle for advertising. We don't need articles on items that aren't of encyclopedic significance just because a contributor makes money off of them. However, commercial links are certainly OK if they can serve to identify major corporations associated with a topic, as in Finishing school.

We should continue to add to this list as we discover interesting new ways of not writing encyclopedia articles. :-)