Wikipedia:What an article should not include
This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
There are some things that rarely, if ever, should appear in the finished version of an article as it appears to readers. These are:
Instructions
How to read
This should be self-evident to a reader in the way an article is written. Pages should not be written so special instructions are needed to know how to read it. The
How to edit
No editing instructions should be included in the saved version. However,
Messages
Disclaimers
Articles should not have disclaimers in their text or templates found within their text. For example, if an article is about a medical condition, it should not have a disclaimer stating not to use it to help cure a medical condition.
Warning templates
Templates warning of a problem with the page (including those in horizontal boxes at the top of the page or sections, or providing phrases after words or sentences) are only intended to be temporary until the problem is fixed. While there is
Stubs
The purpose of a
Appearance
Whitespace
All Wikipedia pages fit into a rectangle on the screen. Certain conditions can cause a significant portion of that rectangular to be blank. This blank space is referred to as
Red links
A
Red linkage can be resolved by
Title
The word "and"
Each subject worthy of an article should have a single article. An article should not be about two similar but distinct subjects. For example, the cities of
Slash marks
In most namespaces, including talk pages of main namespace, slash marks (/) are used to make
It is customary not to use slashmarks and create subpages of articles in mainspace. Rather, it is acceptable to create
It is acceptable to use slash marks in a main namespace title if it is actually part of the title, such as
Wording
Subjective terminology
Wikipedia is intended to be a source of
Wrong: He is the best runner on the team.
Right: His speeds are ranked as the highest on the team.
Wrong: _____ was evil
Right: _____ participated in the murders of 200 people
"I...I...I..."
Articles are here to tell about the subject, not its author, or the author's view of the subject. Even in other namespaces, this is the case. "I" should only be found on
"________ is notable because ________"
If a subject has been granted an article, it is because it has been presumed to be notable and worthy of having an article. The text of the article should not have to explain why.
"This article will focus on. . ."
All Wikipedia articles are just that . . . articles. There is no need in the article to identify them as articles. The title and headings should be enough to say what they will focus on. If the text does not do that, it should be edited in a way in which it will.
Recentism
- "________ is currently ________"
- "Just the other day, _______. . ."
While Wikipedia is editable at any time by anyone, Wikipedia articles are intended to be permanent, are here for the future, and not only to reflect the present times.
The above examples sound very dated. They may make sense to someone who reads them immediately after the changes are saved. But as the days, weeks, months, and years go by, it would not sound accurate for older text to be written at a present point-of-view. Using phrases such as "As of (date)" or "In/On (date)" not only
An argument for