User:Erachima/draft

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This page in a nutshell: Provide readers with information on elements within fiction where this information is useful to understanding notable subjects in the real world.

Among the numerous subjects that Wikipedia covers, there are many articles on works of fiction. These works range from ancient mythological epics such as Beowulf and The Ramayana, to literary classics like Les Misérables, to recently published novels and ongoing television series like Harry Potter or The Simpsons. Information about fiction falls into two broad categories: facts about the work of fiction itself, such as its authorship, publication, critical reception, and influence —often termed out-of-universe information— and information about the plot and concepts that are described within the work, referred to as in-universe information.

This guideline addresses the inclusion of content about in-universe subjects within Wikipedia. For the notability guidelines on works of fiction themselves, rather than concepts within the works, see Wikipedia:Notability (books), Wikipedia:Notability (films), or the general notability guideline.

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[edit] Principles

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia of information about subjects notable within the real world, and is not a collection of plot summaries or an encyclopedia of fictional universes. However, since understanding an article on a work of fiction requires the reader know what the work is about, articles on works of fiction can and should include some information about the elements within the work. When considering how to include in universe information in an article, there are several key points that must be kept in mind:

All Wikipedia subjects must be notable.
Establishing the notability of the subject is the first step in writing any article. If you have not yet taken the time to assert the notability of the work of fiction you are writing about by including information about its real-world history and reception, then summarizing its plot will not help increase its quality.
All Wikipedia articles must be readably formatted.
The Articles about works of fiction should follow relevant portions of the Wikipedia:Manual of style, especially the style guide for fiction. Many WikiProjects also have their own stylistic guidelines.
All Wikipedia articles must be understandable to outsiders.
When writing, you should assume your readers have little or no personal experience with the article's subject. For instance, if a work of fiction prominently features invented terminology or words redefined for the purposes of its story, then these terms should be briefly defined in the main article on the work, even though "any fan would know them". Similarly, avoid using unnecessary jargon; the Martians in a sci-fi book may have a different word for water in their language, but the Wikipedia article on the book should probably still refer to it in English.
Coverage of in universe elements on Wikipedia must be accurate.
The accuracy of in universe information is generally easy to ensure, since it comes directly from the original work, which is a reliable source for this purpose. This information should be supplemented by out of universe sources when possible, however, and care still must be taken to avoid original research or synthesis to advance a position.
Coverage of in universe elements on Wikipedia should be succinct.
Information on an element of the plot or fictional universe should not be included simply because it is interesting, it should also be important. Things such as detailed retelling of combat sequences, "expanded universe" information that was revealed only in supplementary materials, or the personal history of background characters may be very interesting for fans of the work, but are generally unacceptable in articles because they do not significantly aid in understanding the work as a whole.

[edit] Articles on fictional concepts

There are two main cases in which an element in a fictional work will receive its own article, along with a third case in which these articles can be created out of necessity.

  1. The element is an independently notable subject.
    If reliable third party sources can be found that give significant coverage specifically to the element, the element is notable in its own right, even considered separately from the notability of the work it originated in, and deserves an article. This coverage could include such things as scholarly analysis of the element, evidence that it has had a major impact on later works of fiction, or that it has become a part of the mainstream culture separately from its source material.
  2. The element is notable as an aspect of a larger work.
    If significant out of universe information can be found about a specific element of a work of fiction, then this, combined with the notability of the work it is from, can make it deserving of an article even if it is not independently notable. Examples of significant info here would be details on the real-world development of the element, its critical reception, or similar related data.
  3. A separate page for the element is needed stylistically.
    If information about an element is necessary to understanding the work it comes from, and presentation as a separate article is significantly beneficial to the readability of the page due to size or other stylistic concerns, then splitting it off into its own sub-article is acceptable. This should ideally be a rare occurrence; editors should consider other options before creating an in universe article that is justified solely on stylistic grounds. (See #Alternatives to in universe sub-articles)

[edit] Examples

  • Count Dracula is a fictional character that has attained a worldwide cultural significance far beyond the original novel that he appeared in. Because Dracula is an independently notable subject, in universe information in his article is targeted towards helping readers understand the character, not just the book he is from, and a relatively large amount of in universe detail about his character is warranted.
  • There is significant out of universe information regarding the Characters of Final Fantasy VIII. Because the characters are notable primarily as an aspect of Final Fantasy VIII, the in universe content in their article is geared towards understanding their role in the overall game, and each individual character receives only a minor amount of in universe detail.
  • List of Gunslinger Girl characters was split out from its main article, Gunslinger Girl, because having it as a part of the main article was causing the characters section to "take over" the rest of the page. Because the characters are not a notable subject, the in universe information in the list should be geared wholly towards understanding the series, with each character receiving no more in universe detail than is required for an outside reader to have a basic understanding of the work. Ideally, out of universe information will eventually be found and added.

[edit] Alternatives to in universe sub-articles

The most basic option, but one it is easy to forget, is looking for out of universe information. If you can find any significant out of universe information at all on the sub-section you are wanting to split, it will greatly strengthen the case for giving it a separate page, and also make it more useful to readers. Even if you did search previously, it's worth trying again. New information surfaces on the internet all the time, and other editors may also have resources you do not. Try asking for assistance from other editors on the article talk page.

Sometimes, especially in the case of ongoing fiction, what may have seemed like a highly important piece of information when it first surfaced will later turn out not to be so important after all. In this case, the need to create a sub-article may be averted by simply re-evaluating how important the included in universe information is, and trimming out the more trivial stuff.

Rather than splitting off a page on a non-notable in universe element, you can consider reorganizing the pages. There are often better splits that could be made, which offer more opportunity for expansion and the inclusion of both in and out of universe information. For instance, rather than creating a list of locations article for a novel series, you could put a recurring locations section in the main series article, and then describe locations that appear only in specific books in the articles on those books. Similarly, a "Plot summary of X" article (in addition to being considered a violation of What Wikipedia is not) is nearly always redundant to a "List of X episodes" page, with the latter option having a much better potential for expansion with out of universe info.

[edit] See also