more wikis
 

Wikia:Pages about living people

Wikia - creating communities

(Redirected from Pages about living people)
Summary: Consider writing biographies of living people conservatively, with due regard for the subject's privacy.

When writing about living persons, be careful to cite high-quality references — particularly about details of their personal life. Unsourced or poorly-sourced negative material about living persons should be removed immediately from the article. If you are writing a parody, be sure the page or site makes it clear to readers that the information is not meant to be factual.

Contents

[edit] Rationale

Sites editable by the general public can lead to complaints about false information. People are upset when they find inaccurate or distorted articles, and the successful resolution of such complaints is a touchy matter requiring ongoing communication.

Any article that uses a person's real name or online identity can show up prominently in internet searches, and may become a target of pranks or malice long after the original authors have moved on.

The problem may be compounded when the subject attempts to edit their own article to remove content they view as problematic. Since such people may not be regular editors of that wiki, they may be unaware of its policies, and are often accused of vandalism or revert-warring when they view their actions as warranted.

Accordingly, editors must take particular care with writing and editing pages about living people with these key areas in mind:

  • The article itself must be edited with a degree of sensitivity and adherence to the wiki's content policies;
  • If the subject edits the article, it is of vital importance to assume good faith;
  • If an anon IP address or a new account turns up to blank a page about a living person, or a section of it, it may well be the subject. Try not to act aggressively, but instead engage the person in dialogue, and check that the article in question does not contain any unsourced or poorly-sourced criticism. If it does, delete it.
  • If a person asks to have an article about themselves removed, in most cases Wikia encourages you follow their wishes rather than argue with them about it. If a matter is truly in the public interest, consider whether it can be moved to another page.

It is important that wikis develop consistent policies to prevent and remove abusive content or personal information.

[edit] Writing style

Biographies of living people should be written responsibly and conservatively. The article should document, in a non-partisan manner, what credible third-party sources have published about the subject and, what the subject may have published about themselves. The writing style should be neutral, factual, and understated, avoiding both the sympathetic, and the advocacy point-of-view.

[edit] Reliable sources

Any assertion about any person, which would if untrue be libelous, must be sourced.

Derogatory information available solely on partisan websites should not be used at all. Derogatory information available solely in obscure newspapers should be handled with caution. Newswire services however, like AP, UPI and Reuters, even though you are reading them through an obscure newspaper are considered reliable.

[edit] Role of the subject as a source

In some cases the subject may become involved in an article. They may edit it themselves or have a representative of theirs edit it. They may contact Wikians either through the wiki's discussion pages or via email. Or, they may provide information through press releases, a personal website or blog, or an autobiography.

When information supplied by the subject conflicts with unsourced statements in the article, the unsourced statements should be removed.

Information supplied by the subject about themselves may always be added to the article, though it may sometimes be appropriate to present it as an assertion rather than accepted fact.

[edit] Public figures

In the case of significant public figures, there will be a multitude of reliable, third-party published sources to take information from, and Wikia biographies should simply document what these sources say. If an allegation or incident is notable, relevant, and well-documented by reputable published sources, it belongs in the article — even if it's negative and the subject dislikes all mention of it.

Example: "John Doe had a messy divorce from Jane Doe" — is it notable and verifiable? If so, it belongs in the article. It not, leave it out.
Example: A politician is alleged to have had an affair. He denies it, but the New York Times publishes the allegations, and there is a public scandal. This is a public figure and there are multiple, credible third-party sources; the allegation belongs in the biography, if it is made clear it's an allegation and not established as fact, linking to the New York Times article as a source.

If writing about a negative incident, redemptive factors should not be overlooked. Strive for balance at all times.

[edit] Non-public figures

Wikia sites may also contains biographies of people who are not public figures. In such cases, editors should exercise restraint. Include information relevant to their notability, and also information that would be a standard part of a biography.

[edit] Privacy of birthdays

Exact birthdates for living people should be handled with caution. While many well-known living persons' exact birthdays are widely known and available to the public, the same is not always true for marginally notable people or non-public figures. With identity theft on the rise, it has become increasingly common for people to consider their exact date of birth to be private information. When in doubt about the notability of the person in question, or if the subject of a biography complains about the publication of his or her date of birth, err on the side of caution and simply list the year of birth rather than the exact date.

[edit] Steps to take

Any user may remove any unsourced or poorly sourced negative material in a page about a living person. It is useful to explain the reasons for removal in the edit summary or on the talk page so others do not confuse your action for vandalism.

Administrators encountering articles that are contentious, unsourced and negative in tone, may choose to delete the article when there is no appropriate version to revert to.

[edit] Malicious editing

Editors should be on the lookout for the malicious creation or editing of biographies or biographical information. If someone appears to be pushing a point of view, insist on reliable third-party published sources and a clear demonstration of relevance to the person's notability.

[edit] Opinions of critics, opponents, and detractors

The views of critics can be represented so long as the material is relevant to the subject's notability, is based on reputable sources.

[edit] Use of categories

Caution should be used in adding categories. Category names do not carry disclaimers or modifiers, so the case for the category must be made clear in the article text. The article must state the facts that result in the use of the category tag and these facts must be sourced.

[edit] Dealing with edits by the subject of the article

Unlike Wikipedia, which discourages people from writing articles about themselves, there is no overall Wikia policy against this. Individual wikis may choose their own policies, and these range from mirroring Wikipedia's approach to encouraging all users to add an article on themselves (in addition to their user page). Whichever policy is used, subjects of articles should always be welcome to edit those pages to correct inaccuracies or to remove inaccurate or unsourced material.

Anonymous edits that blank all or part of a biography of a living person should be evaluated carefully. When the individual involved is not especially notable, such edits usually are not vandalism but rather an effort by the subject of the article to remove biased or inaccurate material. Be careful to be sure who you are dealing with in such cases, and avoid the use of inflammatory edit summaries or vandalism-related talk page templates.

[edit] Contact us

If you are the subject of a page on Wikia and you have a concern about it, please contact us using the form at Special:Contact.

[edit] Relevant policies and guidelines on the English Wikipedia

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).
Retrieved from "http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Wikia:Pages_about_living_people"