PBC:Notability: Difference between revisions

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Notability is a property of a {{em|subject}} and not of a PBC article. If the subject has not been covered outside of PBC, [[PBC:OVERCOME|no amount of improvements]] to the PBC content will suddenly make the subject notable. Conversely, if the source material exists, even very poor writing and referencing within a PBC article will not decrease the subject's notability.
 
== <span id="TEMP" ></span>Notability is not temporary ==
{{Shortcut|PBC:NTEMP|PBC:NOTTEMPORARY|PBC:15MOF<!-- other variations that come here, but they don't all need to be shown in the list: [[PBC:15MIN]] [[PBC:NOTABILITYISNOTTEMPORARY]] -->}}
{{anchor|TEMP|is not temporary}}Notability is not temporary; once a topic has been the subject of "significant coverage" in accordance with the general notability guideline, it does not need to have ongoing coverage.
 
While notability itself is not temporary, from time to time a reassessment of the evidence of notability or suitability of existing articles may be requested by any user via a [[PBC:AFD|deletion discussion]], or new evidence may arise for articles previously deemed unsuitable. Thus, an article may be proposed for deletion months or even years after its creation, or recreated whenever new evidence supports its existence as a standalone article.
 
{{anchor|SUSTAINED}}
 
== Whether to create standalone pages ==
{{Shortcut|PBC:PAGEDECIDE|PBC:NOPAGE}}
{{Further|PBC:Summary style|PBC:Content forking|PBC:Article size|PBC:Merging}}
When creating new content about a notable topic, editors should consider how best to help readers understand it. Sometimes, understanding is best achieved by presenting the material on a dedicated standalone page, but it is not required that we do so. There are other times when it is better to cover notable topics, that clearly should be included in PBC, as part of a larger page about a broader topic, with more context. A decision to cover a notable topic only as part of a broader page does not in any way disparage the importance of the topic. Editorial judgment goes into each decision about whether or not to create a separate page, but the decision should always be based upon specific considerations about how to make the topic understandable, and not merely upon personal [[PBC:ILIKEIT|likes]] or [[PBC:IDONTLIKEIT|dislikes]]. PBC is a [[PBC:NOTPAPER|digital encyclopedia]], and so the amount of content and details should not be limited by concerns about space availability.
* '''Does other information provide needed context?''' Sometimes, a notable topic can be covered better as part of a larger article, where there can be more complete context that would be lost on a separate page. Other times, standalone pages are well justified. One should particularly consider [[PBC:DUE|due and undue weight]].
* '''Do related topics provide needed context?''' Sometimes, several related topics, each of them similarly notable, can be collected into a single page, where the relationships between them can be better appreciated than if they were each a separate page. Other times, when many similar notable topics exist, it is impractical to collect them into a single page, because the resulting article would be too unwieldy. In that case, a viable option is creating a new list or category for the broader topic and linking to the individual articles from it.
* '''What sourcing is available now?''' Sometimes, when a subject is notable, but it is unlikely that there ever will be a lot to write about it, editors should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of creating a [[PBC:PERMASTUB|permanent stub]]. On the other hand, an article may be a stub even though many sources exist, but simply have not been included yet. Such a short page is better expanded than merged into a larger page. Sometimes, when information about a future event is scarce, coverage may instead be better suited to a larger encompassing article (see also [[PBC:CRYSTAL]]). Other times, a future event may clearly be suitable for a standalone page before it happens. However, before creating such an article, make sure that the likelihood of the future event to happen is reasonably assured.