Wikipedia:Historical archive/Policy/Notability/Non-notability

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.

"Notability criteria" can be more practically and efficiently met by referring to existing official guidelines or policy. Editors are encouraged to assess articles on grounds of verifiability, original research, neutrality, and What wikipedia is not instead of resorting to vague words such as "notability". This concept does not override either the five pillars or any other existing policy; it simply encourages editors to use policy rather than the abstract concept of notability.

Definitions of "notable"

According to a dictionary, "notable" can refer to one of two general concepts:

"Notable" can mean "worthy of note". A "note" is a written record, so notable means "worthy of written records".
"Notable can refer to the concept of being important, significant, famous, unique, etc.

Of these two definitions, only the first is in line with Wikipedia policy and practice.

Misconceptions - Non-notability is not...

Non-notability is often assumed to be equivalent or related to one or more of the deficiencies listed in the following subsections. These are not allowed on Wikipedia for their own individual reasons, under specific policies or guidelines. When deciding an article's worthiness for Wikipedia, be sure the article is judged against these specific criteria, not against notability per se.

Non-verifiability

All information on Wikipedia must be written from an accessible and reliable source. While non-verifiable information is often not notable either (such as what I have in my pocket), in many cases non-notable information is verifiable. For example, Qubit Field Theory is a little known quantum theory but is certainly verifiable. Something is verifiable only if it can be substantiated from reliable sources that can be verified by wikipedians. It is not sufficient for an article to be simply theoretically verifiable. If the only source about something is its promoter and their press releases, it is not verifiable. Look for multiple non-trivial mentions in independent academic or mainstream publications: the article must be verifiable from reliable secondary sources.

"It isn't the lack of fame that makes the page objectionable, it's the lack of verifiability."
– Jimbo Wales [1] ("writing only as another user, not as The Jimbo")

Non-neutrality

Neutrality is non-negotiable. By extension we must not give undue weight to minor points of view. We must therefore be able to verify that a subject is covered neutrally. The section on undue weight notes however that minor points of view can be given as much attention as major points of view, in articles specifically devoted to those minor points of view.

An article may not include information that arbitrarily favors one side or another. However, point of view in non-notable articles (as in notable articles) is most often written by an editor who has knowledge or interest in the subject, and who may contribute intended or unintended bias. This is a fixable problem, and biased non-notable articles can just as easily be corrected as biased notable articles, provided that the subject has been covered widely enough that there is informed discussion available for reference.

Non-encyclopedic

In a paper encyclopedia, non-notable topics are not included for practical purposes. Wikipedia, however, is a very different model not confined by this limitation. As the word "encyclopedia" is defined by dictionaries, notability is not a requirement; The Star Trek Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia, for instance. See also an essay section which argues against the claim that "Minor issues are not encyclopedic".

Original research

Non-notable articles may consist of large amounts of original research. However, this is definitely not always the case. Non-notable subjects are subject to the same scrutiny of original research as notable pages are. Wikipedia is not the place to premiere this research, notable or not.