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Revision as of 18:17, 30 January 2009 editProtonk (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers24,727 edits restoring my change to the lede. Please don't revert this. The previous version, where the paragraph began "in all cases..." was very unclear.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 22:58, 15 December 2023 edit undoJJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs)Bots, Administrators3,683,557 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}}
{{proposed|WP:FICT}}
__NOINDEX__
<!-- {{Misplaced Pages subcat guideline|notability guideline|Fiction|]<br />]}} -->
{{Notability essay|WP:FICT|WP:FICTION|WP:NFICT}}
{{nutshell
{{pp-move-indef}}
| For an element of a fictional work to qualify for a stand-alone article, it must be an ''important aspect'' of an ''important fictional work'', with ''significant ]''. | Facts about development and reception can be ] in ] such as author commentary, as well as other ]. | Alternatively, any element of a fictional work that meets the ] is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article. }}
{{Nutshell|Fictional elements are expected to follow the same ] guidelines as any other topic.}}
{{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 of 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 as elements within the fictionalized world (such as characters or settings). Works of fiction distributed via books and film are also (but not exclusively) the subject of separate notability guidelines for ] and ] respectively.<!--sentence needs considerable restructuring; linking the guidelines within the sentence in that manner is pretty awkward.--> The inclusion criteria for lists are described in ].
* 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.
An element of a fictional work is presumed to be notable if it meets a three pronged test '''or''' if it meets the ]. The work the element appears in must be of some significance, the element itself must be central to the work, and real world information must exist about that element. 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.


==History and rationale==
When assessing a topic's notability, Wikipedians should remember that notability guidelines judge a subject on the basis of available sources, not sources present in the article itself. It is general consensus on Misplaced Pages that articles should not be split and split again into ever more minutiae of detail treatment, with each split normally lowering the level of significant real-world coverage contained in an article. What this means for elements of fiction is that, while a book or television episode may be the subject of significant real-world coverage, it is not normally advisable to have a separate article on every fictional character, episode, or scene that appears in a work of fiction, such that the coverage contains only trivial detail or information about the plot.
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==
== Three-pronged test for notability ==
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.
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. Articles covering elements within a fictional work are generally retained if their coverage meets these three conditions:
* '''Importance of the fictional work''': To justify articles on individual elements, a work of fiction must be of particular cultural or historical significance. This requires significant external sourcing for the work itself, well beyond the basic threshold of the ]. Those sources should present clear claims for the artistic or cultural importance of the fictional work.<!--examples? perhaps a link to one of the other pages that discusses writing about fiction?-->
* '''Role within the fictional work''': The subject should be an episode or recurring character that is central to understanding the fictional work. Other essential elements of the work are appropriate too, but only if their significance is ] in commentary from ]. ], and ] are insufficient.
* '''Real-world coverage''': ], ] must exist on the subject, beyond what is revealed in the plot of the fictional work. Examples of real world content include: creative influences, design processes, and critical, commercial, or cultural impact. 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. Merely listing the notable works where the fictional element appears, their respective release dates, and the names of the production staff is not sufficient. An article with a verifiable real-world perspective that establishes real-world ] will rarely be deleted.


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.
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.


==Relevant guidelines and policies==
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 parent article or list 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; for example, a topic may meet all three prongs above, but may be decided by consensus to be better covered in the article on the work of fiction itself instead of a separate article if there is limited information available.
===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:
== Sources and notability ==
* ]
* ]
* ]


===What Misplaced Pages is not===
All articles must meet Misplaced Pages's policy on ], where every statement is backed by research from ]. Nevertheless, 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.
{{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.


=== Reliability === ===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==
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 ].
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==
=== Independence ===
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.
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 ]. Some care, however, must be taken to ensure that the distribution of fictional articles avoids ] and adheres to a ].


==Previous proposals==
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 ] such as author or developer commentary which provide significant real-world content about the subject that goes beyond what is revealed in the plot of the fictional work.
* ], 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==
Although an article with no independent sources may meet the minimum threshold to avoid deletion, independent sourcing is necessary to reach good article status. Articles that resist good-faith efforts to improve them to good article status, including the search for independent sources, are often merged into other articles. Effort should be made to find appropriate reliable, independent sources. Remember that both our guideline on ] and our policy on ] call for articles to "rely on reliable, third-party, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. "
*]
*]
*]


]
=== Secondary sources ===
]

{{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, because 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.

] 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.

== Articles that don't meet the inclusion criteria==

An article that does not meet these criteria at present will sometimes still be notable. In evaluating whether an article satisfies this guideline, one should consider not only the present state of the article, but also the likelihood that sources exist to satisfy all three criteria. Remember that all Misplaced Pages articles are ], and an article can be notable if such sources exist even if they have not been added at present. Merely asserting that such sources exist is seldom persuasive, especially as time passes and actual ] does not surface. An article that features significant real-world coverage will rarely be deleted.

== See also ==

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

{{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines}}

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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: