Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/27 February 2012/Wikipedia:Verifiability/Group 2

This page is to be used by work group two in the Wikipedia:Verifiability MedCab case. It will be used to create the VnT compromise draft, for presentation in a community-wide RfC. This draft will include "verifiability, not truth", and may or may not include "threshold". Though it will retain VnT, it should be significantly different from the status quo draft, and should address as many of the concerns found in step three as is practical. This will likely be by drafters explaining the meaning and/or implications of "verifiability, not truth" in whatever way they see fit.

Editors should:
 * Add their proposed wording to a new section.
 * Not sign their section with the standard four tildes.
 * Not comment on other sections. This will be done at the discussion page.
 * Not change the wording of drafts. They should add a new draft with the changed wording.

Draft 0
{| style="background:#d9d9d9"
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check cited sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies and guidelines also influence content, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the fundamental requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as perceived truth or personal experience, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check cited sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies and guidelines also influence content, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the fundamental requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as perceived truth or personal experience, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.

It must be possible to attribute all information in Wikipedia to reliable, published sources that are appropriate for the content in question. However, in practice it is only necessary to provide inline citations for quotations and for any information that has been challenged or that is likely to be challenged. Appropriate citations guarantee that the information is not original research, and allow readers and editors to check the source material for themselves. Any material that requires a citation but does not have one may be removed. Unsourced contentious material about living people must be removed immediately. For help on adding citations, see Citing sources. This policy applies to all material in the mainspace.

Verifiability, No original research and Neutral point of view are Wikipedia's core content policies. They work together to determine content, so editors should understand the key points of all three. Articles must also comply with the copyright policy.

Draft 1
{| style="background:#AADDFF"
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check cited sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies and guidelines also influence content, and particularly influence when verifiable but inaccurate material should not be included, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the fundamental requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as perceived truth or personal experience, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check cited sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies and guidelines also influence content, and particularly influence when verifiable but inaccurate material should not be included, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the fundamental requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as perceived truth or personal experience, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.

It must be possible to attribute all information in Wikipedia to reliable, published sources that are appropriate for the content in question. However, in practice it is only necessary to provide inline citations for quotations and for any information that has been challenged or that is likely to be challenged. Appropriate citations guarantee that the information is not original research, and allow readers and editors to check the source material for themselves. Any material that requires a citation but does not have one may be removed. Unsourced contentious material about living people must be removed immediately. For help on adding citations, see Citing sources. This policy applies to all material in the mainspace.

Verifiability, No original research and Neutral point of view are Wikipedia's core content policies. They work together to determine content, so editors should understand the key points of all three. Articles must also comply with the copyright policy.

Draft 2
{| style="background:#FFFF33"
 * Verifiability is one of Wikipedia's core Policy concepts. Our readers must be able to verify that the information presented in an article has been presented accurately.  We achieve this by citing reliable sources that directly support the information in an article.
 * Verifiability is one of Wikipedia's core Policy concepts. Our readers must be able to verify that the information presented in an article has been presented accurately.  We achieve this by citing reliable sources that directly support the information in an article.

All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable. Editors should not add unverifiable material, even if they are convinced that the material is true. In this context, the initial threshold for inclusion is Verifiability, not truth. However, Verifiability is not the only threshold for inclusion. There are other policies and guidelines that influence what information may be included in an article. The fact that information is verifiability does not guarantee its inclusion. Verifiability, No original research and Neutral point of view are Wikipedia's core policy concepts that affect content. They work together to determine content, so editors should understand the key points of all three.

Note that the policy requirement is for verifiability, not actual verification. It must be possible to attribute the information in a Wikipedia article to reliable, published sources that are appropriate for the content in question. However, in practice it is only necessary to provide inline citations for quotations and for any information that has been challenged or that is likely to be challenged (see below).

Draft 3
{| style="background:#FFD980"
 * Verifiability is one of Wikipedia's core Policy concepts. Our readers must be able to verify that the information presented in an article has been presented accurately.  We achieve this by citing reliable sources that directly support the information in an article.
 * Verifiability is one of Wikipedia's core Policy concepts. Our readers must be able to verify that the information presented in an article has been presented accurately.  We achieve this by citing reliable sources that directly support the information in an article.

All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable. Editors should not add unverifiable material, even if they are convinced that the material is true. In this context, a key requirement for inclusion is Verifiability, not truth. "Not truth" means that nothing (such as truth) is a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. Verifiability is not the only requirement for inclusion nor does it guarantee inclusion; other policies, guidelines and considerations apply. Verifiability, No original research and Neutral point of view are Wikipedia's core policy concepts that affect content.

Note that the policy requirement is for verifiability, not actual verification. It must be possible to attribute the information in a Wikipedia article to reliable, published sources that are appropriate for the content in question. However, in practice it is only necessary to provide inline citations for quotations and for any information that has been challenged or that is likely to be challenged (see below).

Draft 4
{| style="background:#FDDEDB" Editors should endeavour to verify material included, even if they are convinced of its truth. This prerequisite to inclusion has historically been refered to as "Verifiability, not truth". This means simply that truth is not a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. Verifiability on its own can not guarantee inclusion; other policies, guidelines and considerations also apply. In practice, it is considered sufficient to provide citations in support of any quotations and of any other information that has been (or is likely to be) challenged. This is further explained below.
 * This core content policy calls for the verifiability of all information presented in Wikipedia articles. Readers must be able to verify that the content presented accurately reflects reliable sources. We support this ability by citing those reliable sources.
 * This core content policy calls for the verifiability of all information presented in Wikipedia articles. Readers must be able to verify that the content presented accurately reflects reliable sources. We support this ability by citing those reliable sources.

Draft 5
{| style="background:#DCFFA0"
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check reliable sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies, guidelines, and considerations also influence content, and particularly influence when verifiable but inaccurate material should not be included, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the key requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as perceived truth or personal experience, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check reliable sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies, guidelines, and considerations also influence content, and particularly influence when verifiable but inaccurate material should not be included, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the key requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as perceived truth or personal experience, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.

It must be possible to attribute all information in Wikipedia to reliable, published sources that are appropriate for the content in question. However, in practice it is only necessary to provide inline citations for quotations and for any information that has been challenged or that is likely to be challenged. Appropriate citations guarantee that the information is not original research, and allow readers and editors to check the source material for themselves. Any material that requires a citation but does not have one may be removed. Unsourced contentious material about living people must be removed immediately. For help on adding citations, see Citing sources. This policy applies to all material in the mainspace.

Verifiability, No original research and Neutral point of view are Wikipedia's core content policies. They work together to determine content, so editors should understand the key points of all three. Articles must also comply with the copyright policy.

Draft 6
{| style="background:#e0e09f"
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check cited sources that directly support the material in an article. Verifiability is a constraint for inclusion in Wikipedia, and material in mainspace must be verifiable.  Perceived truth and personal experience are not substitutes.  No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is verifiable.
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check cited sources that directly support the material in an article. Verifiability is a constraint for inclusion in Wikipedia, and material in mainspace must be verifiable.  Perceived truth and personal experience are not substitutes.  No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is verifiable.

Core content policies
Verifiability (WP:V), No original research (WP:NOR), and Neutral point of view (WP:NPOV) are Wikipedia's core content policies. They work together to determine content, so editors should understand the key points of all three. Note that WP:DUE within WP:NPOV is used to determine the due weight to be assigned to any given source. Articles must also comply with the Copyright policy.

Verifiability, not truth
"The threshold for inclusion is verifiability, not truth", is a long-standing description of the verifiability constraint, and is further described in the essay, WP:Verifiability, not truth.

Draft 7
{| style="background:#99FFCC"
 * I was asked to do a draft of one which I think best merges the best of all of these. Such is done already, Draft 5 by Tryptofish circa 4/1/12. So "mine" is that one. North8000 (talk) 21:25, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I was asked to do a draft of one which I think best merges the best of all of these. Such is done already, Draft 5 by Tryptofish circa 4/1/12. So "mine" is that one. North8000 (talk) 21:25, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

Draft 8
{| style="background:#FF99FF" The other sentences in the lede will not change.
 * The proposal is in two parts...
 * 1) change the opening paragraph:
 * 1) change the opening paragraph:
 * 2) Insert a new section as the first section after the lede, following the index box, as follows:

Draft 9
{| style="background:#ccb695"
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check reliable sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies, guidelines, and considerations also influence content, and particularly influence when verifiable but inaccurate material should not be included, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the key requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as your personal experience or what you know to be true, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.
 * Verifiability on Wikipedia is the reader's ability to check reliable sources that directly support the information in an article. All information in Wikipedia must be verifiable, but because other policies, guidelines, and considerations also influence content, and particularly influence when verifiable but inaccurate material should not be included, verifiability by itself does not guarantee inclusion. Verifiability, not truth, is one of the key requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia—nothing, such as your personal experience or what you know to be true, can be a substitute for meeting the verifiability requirement. No matter how convinced you are that something is true, do not add it to an article unless it is also verifiable.

It must be possible to attribute all information in Wikipedia to reliable, published sources that are appropriate for the content in question. However, in practice it is only necessary to provide inline citations for quotations and for any information that has been challenged or that is likely to be challenged. Appropriate citations guarantee that the information is not original research, and allow readers and editors to check the source material for themselves. Any material that requires a citation but does not have one may be removed. Unsourced contentious material about living people must be removed immediately. For help on adding citations, see Citing sources. This policy applies to all material in the mainspace.

Verifiability, No original research and Neutral point of view are Wikipedia's core content policies. They work together to determine content, so editors should understand the key points of all three. Articles must also comply with the copyright policy.

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