Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Edgarde (talk | contribs) at 04:38, 22 July 2007 (→Definition: I take it back. We're "dictionary type definitions" (sentence subject) are usually very wrong.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The following is a proposed Misplaced Pages policy, guideline, or process. The proposal may still be in development, under discussion, or in the process of gathering consensus for adoption.

Shortcut ]

This page in a nutshell: Material in an article should be directly relevant to its subject.

This guideline pertains to the relevance of content within articles. For guidelines regarding the relevance of articles or subjects as a whole, see Misplaced Pages:Notability. For guidance on the relevance of links to outside websites, see Misplaced Pages:External links. For guidance on certain types of content in general, see Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not.

Keep articles focused

Although there is little limit to Misplaced Pages's size, the depth of Misplaced Pages's coverage must be balanced against the readability of its articles. An article that is dense with information only tenuously connected to the subject does little to inform the reader about the subject.

Misplaced Pages articles should be written in summary style, providing an overview of their subject. This overview may touch upon several related topics or subtopics, but any details not directly relevant to the primary topic should be moved into other articles, linking to them if appropriate. If coverage of a subtopic grows to the point where it overshadows the main subject (or digresses too far from it), it may be appropriate to split it out into its own article.

The subject of an article

The subject of an article should match the article's title. An article titled Internet should be about the global computer network, not about networking, software, or computers in general. When several concepts share the same name, such as "jet", disambiguation pages or templates should be used. The lead paragraph(s) of an article should further specify the subject through a concise description.

Establishing relevance

Ordinarily, material is relevant if it is simply "about the subject of the article". However, even when information is verifiable and specific to an article's subject, it may still fail to offer a broader understanding of the subject.

When adding material to an article, consider the following questions:

• Does it help clarify what the article is about?
• Is it a distinguishing trait?
• What impact has this had on the subject of the article?

Try to phrase the material in a way that answers one of these questions. If needed, provide additional context; even some highly-relevant information can seem irrelevant when it is not clear how it has affected the subject. This is especially true when disparate facts are grouped together, such as in "Trivia" lists, which should be avoided.

Definition

Facts that are needed to provide a fundamental description of the subject are always relevant. These facts explain what the subject is, what it does (or did), and what it is notable for. Such facts should be placed in the lead paragraphs, or in the first lines of the section to which they are most relevant.

Misplaced Pages is not a dictionary, so dictionary-style definitions including etymologies or alternative meanings for the subject title are usually not appropriate, and should be moved to Wiktionary. In rare exceptions, the subject of the article will be the word itself, such as Cf. or Fuck. Otherwise, Misplaced Pages articles are about the subject of the article title, not a parsing of the word or phrase used.

Distinguishing traits

Some traits are not necessarily part of a basic description of the subject, but serve to distinguish it from other, similar subjects. These traits should be unusual for that type of subject, along the lines of "first", "most common", "one of the few", or similar distinctive claims.

Impact

Impact can take many forms — including, but not limited to:

• Causing the subject to come to public attention (i.e., increasing its notability).
• Changing the subject's form or history (in particular, any of its fundamental or distinguishing traits).
• Changing how the public perceives the subject.

The effect that a fact has had on the subject should be evident in the article.

Connections between subjects

In many cases, a fact that connects two subjects may be important to one of the subjects, but not the other. This is commonly the case with creative works that make use of other subjects: while the original subject often has importance to the referring work, only very famous references will register an impact on the original subject. Incidental connections between subjects — with no demonstrable impact on either — do not need to be documented anywhere on Misplaced Pages.

Sometimes, when an article contains a large section listing connections between its subject and others, an editor may choose to split that section off into a new article. The acceptance of such articles on Misplaced Pages is uncertain; see Misplaced Pages:"In popular culture" articles.

Relevance of biographical details

Biographical subjects warrant special attention. Some people are famous due to their connection to notable events, without having any fame beyond the event. As such, they are not public figures, and details of their personal lives may be relevant to them as individuals, but not to what has made them of encyclopedic interest. The amount of reliable coverage of personal details an individual has received is a good indication of what Misplaced Pages should include on that individual. Misplaced Pages:Biographies of living persons specifies additional limitations that should be followed when writing about living indviduals.

See also

• Misplaced Pages:Handling trivia
• Misplaced Pages:Only make links that are relevant to the context
• Misplaced Pages:Coatrack

• Misplaced Pages proposals
• Misplaced Pages content guidelines