User:DGG/Notability 2012

The End of Notability

 * I. The end (purpose) of notability
 * II. The end (finish) of notability

The end purpose of notability

 * to give users the confidence that we are an encyclopedia,
 * by being similar to familiar encyclopedias,
 * with respect to not  including the culturally trivial subjects
 * and by not including promotionalism or directory information
 * (assuming that articles on non-notable subjects are overwhelmingly likely to be promotion)

The formal definitions (WP:N)
Article topics must be notable, or "worthy of notice".' Determining notability does not necessarily depend on things like fame, importance, or popularity

A topic is presumed to merit an article if it meets the general notability guideline below, and is not excluded under "What Wikipedia is not"

The General Notability Guideline WP:GNG
'''If a topic has received
 * significant coverage
 * in reliable sources that are
 * independent of the subject,

it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria.'''

"Significant coverage" means that sources address the subject directly in detail ...more than a trivial mention

"Reliable" means sources need editorial integrity to allow verifiable evaluation of notability, per the WP:reliable source guideline. Sources may encompass published works in all forms and media, in any language. Availability of secondary sources covering the subject is a good test for notability. "Independent of the subject" excludes works produced by those affiliated with the subject or its creator. For example, self-publicity, advertising, self-published material by the subject, the subject's website, autobiographies, and press releases are not independent.

"Presumed" means that significant coverage in reliable sources establishes a presumption, not a guarantee, that a subject is suitable for inclusion. Editors may reach a consensus that although a topic meets this criterion, it is not appropriate for a stand-alone article. For example, it may violate What Wikipedia is not, for example, Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information.

Special Notability Gidelines
A topic is also presumed notable if it meets a subject-specific guideline: 
 * Academics
 * Astronomical objects
 * Books
 * Events
 * Films
 * Music
 * Numbers
 * Organizations & companies
 * People
 * Sports and athletes

The Real Guideline
SOMETHING IS NOTABLE IF WE WANT TO INCLUDE IT

Why

 * imprecision of the guidelines
 * inconsistency of the guidelines
 * unreality of the guidelines
 * variable significance of the sourcing requirement
 * topics with a superabundance of sources
 * topics with insufficient conventional sources

Wikipedia inclusion
Make decisions not on the basis of whether something is worth an article, but on what extent the coverage of something should have, from the spectrum of a mention in a list, a sentence, a paragraph, a sub-article, a full article, a group of related articles.

Wikpedia Two
Wikipedia Two (Wikipedia Supplement)
 * for local, more detailed, and less consequential things;
 * for people or institutions having just a mention in Wikipedia having fuller coverage in WikipediaTwo.
 * satisfy the inclusionists, permitting coverage of a wide range of disputable subjects,
 * satisfy the deletionists, keeping those disputable articles out of the main Wikipedia.

Different from Wikipedia
Not requiring notability

Different from Wikia
Keeping our key values
 * Verifiability
 * No Original Research
 * NPOV

Different from Local Wikis
Not just "local" people, places, & things.