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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 WP:FICT

This page in a nutshell: Articles about elements within fictional works that do not demonstrate notability by the general notability guideline should meet the three-pronged test for notability.

Misplaced Pages:Notability (fiction) is a proposed subject specific notability guideline that defines the inclusion criteria for elements of fiction. It does not cover works of fiction as a whole, but elements of those works. For works of fiction, consult either the notability guidelines for books or films, or the general notability guideline, whichever is most applicable. The inclusion criteria for lists are described in Misplaced Pages's list guideline.

Notability guideline for fiction

If an element of fiction meets the general notability guideline, or if the element

1. has recieved significant coverage in secondary sources, and
2. is part of a work of fiction, which is of particular cultural or historical significance, and
3. is an episode or recurring character or (if its significance is verified in commentary from reliable sources) an other essential element, central to understanding the work it is part of, and
4. significant, real-world information about the element exists in reliable, non-promotional sources,

it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.

• "Elements of fiction" are individual components of serialized works, such as television episodes or comic book series, and elements within fictional worlds, such as characters or settings.
• "Particular cultural or historical significance" means that the work itself is required to have external sourcing beyond the basic threshold of the general notability guideline, which present clear claims for the artistic or cultural importance of the work.
• "Significant, real-world information" is information about creative influences, design processes, and critical, commercial, cultural impact, and the like.
• "Non-promotional sources" are sources which provide analytic, synthetic, interpretive, explanatory, and/or evaluative claims about the subject, which go beyond what is revealed in the plot of the fictional work.
• "Presumed" means that if these conditions are met, they establish a presumption, not a guarantee, of notability.

Further explanations

This section serves a purely explanatory purpose. If it contradicts the above, the above takes precedent.

Reading notes

• "The element is an episode or recurring character or (if its significance is verified in commentary from reliable sources) an other essential element, central to understanding the work it is part of" means, that every element has to be central to understanding the work and that the element, if it is not an episode or recurring character, has to be of significance verified in commentary from reliable sources.

Sources

All articles must meet Misplaced Pages's policy on verifiability, where every statement is backed by research from reliable sources. Nevertheless, a verifiable article is not necessarily notable by Misplaced Pages's standards and merely being verifiable does not automatically make something suitable for inclusion.

Reliability

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 Reliable sources noticeboard, or at specific WikiProjects.

Independence

The general notability guideline requires the use of sources that are independent of the subject. This guideline is less restrictive.

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—issues that are less likely to crop up with fictional subjects than biographies or company profiles. Some care, however, must be taken to ensure that the distribution of fictional articles avoids corporate promotion and adheres to a neutral point of view.

Elements of fiction may satisfy this guideline 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 self-published sources 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.

Although an article with no independent sources may meet the minimum threshold to avoid deletion, independent sourcing is necessary to create a quality article, including good and featured articles. Articles that resist good-faith efforts to improve them, 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 reliable sources and our policy on verifiability call for articles to "rely on reliable, third-party, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. "

Secondary sources

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 verify certain facts about the fictional work, and can contribute towards establishing an elements importance within the work of fiction; however, they offer no real-world perspectives, and thus are not enough to establish notability.

Original research 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 content policies, but an article written entirely from primary sources is a warning sign that the subject might not meet the requirements of this guideline.

Not establishing notability vs. actually being non-notable

An article that does not show, that this guideline's criteria are met, 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 four criteria. Remember that all Misplaced Pages articles are not a final draft, and an article can be notable if such sources exist even if they have not been added at present.

However, merely asserting that such sources exist is seldom persuasive, especially as time passes and actual proof does not surface. Notability requires evidence, and bald assertions of significance are insufficient.

See also

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Guidelines, examples and how-tos

• For examples of high quality fiction articles, see Good and Featured.
• Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)
• Misplaced Pages:How to write a plot summary
• Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (anime- and manga-related articles)
• Misplaced Pages:Television episodes
• Misplaced Pages:Writing better articles#Check your fiction
• Wikiproject Video Games "scope" guidance

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Essays, noticeboards and Wikiprojects

• Misplaced Pages:Fancruft
• Misplaced Pages:ITSCRUFT
• Fiction-related Noticeboard.
• WikiProject Films guidelines on plot summaries
• WikiProject Novels guidelines on plot summaries
• WikiProject Television guidelines on plot summaries
• WikiProject Soap Operas guidelines on character articles

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• Misplaced Pages proposals