User:TipsyElephant/sandbox/200WORDS

Providing two reliable sources that each contain 200 words about the subject is the minimum level of coverage required to demonstrate a subject's notability.

In nearly all instances, three reliable sources that each contain 300 words about the subject is enough to satisfy the expectations of what is considered significant coverage.

Why 200
Some editors believe that a single source containing 100 words is enough to demonstrate the notability of a subject. While it's true that the definition of what constitutes a trivial mention is intentionally vague and subject to interpretation, the notability guidelines state that multiple sources are generally expected. The reason why we have notability guidelines is so that we can actually write a whole article about the subject. Having 100 words of coverage is an incredibly low bar for establishing notability and is an insufficient amount of content for writing an encyclopedia article.

This rule generally weeds out listicles. Sources that list multiple related things are not inherently bad or trivial, however, they rarely provide much encyclopedic information and commonly do little more than lift, almost word-for-word, a short description of the subject from their website or a press release. That being said, there are examples of listicles containing longer and more in depth entries for each subject on their list.

Exceptions
The three main exceptions to this rule are companies, people, and news. Companies require a more stringent interpretation of what is considered in depth coverage and may require four or five sources. In the case of a person, there is the concern that they may have only received coverage for one event. Similarly, events are not encylcopedic simply because they are in the news. In these cases, one must demonstrate that the coverage is sustained over a period of time. For instance, coverage over the course of several months or years.

This rule is specifically for determining whether a subject passes the general notability guidelines. In some instances a subject may pass a subject-specific notability guideline that is more flexible than the general guidelines.