UniWiki:Manual of Style/Trivia sections: Difference between revisions

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In this guideline, the term "trivia section" refers to a section's ''content'', not its name. A trivia section is one that contains a ''disorganized'' and ''"unselective"'' list. However, a ''selectively'' populated list with a relatively narrow theme is not necessarily trivia, and can be the best way to present some types of information.

~~=="In popular culture" and "Cultural references" material==~~

~~{{shortcut|MOS:POPCULT|MOS:CULTURALREFS}}~~

A large number of articles contain a section on media references to, and other popular culture coverage or portrayal of, the subject of the Wikipedia article in which the section is written. Such sections are most often titled "In popular culture", though some more encyclopedic alternatives are in increasing use, e.g. "Cultural references". This material is not {{em|categorically}} trivial. Media coverage of a topic is generally encyclopedic information, helps establish the topic's [[WP:Notability|notability]], and helps readers understand the subject's influence on the public (and often vice versa). Unfortunately, these sections are frequently just lists of appearances and mentions, many of them unencyclopedically trivial: this was parodied in [https://xkcd.com/446/ a 2008 xkcd cartoon], which depicted a Wikipedia article for [[wood]] containing pop culture references such as ''"In the Buffyverse, Buffy often slays Vampires using stakes made of wood."''. Such sections can be flagged for cleanup with the {{tl|In popular culture}} template.

Short cultural references sections should usually be entirely reworked into the main flow of the article. If a separate section for this material is maintained, the poorest approach is a list, which will attract the addition of trivia. It is preferable to develop a normal article section with well-written paragraphs that give a logically presented overview (often chronological and/or by medium) of how the subject has been documented, featured, and portrayed in different media and genres, for various purposes and audiences.

Other guidance: See [[WP:No original research]] for why and how to avoid engaging in your own novel analysis of this coverage. See [[WP:Verifiability]] and [[WP:Identifying reliable sources]] for referencing standards; the more notable the topic is, and the more notable the topic's treatment in the media has been, the more likely there are already reliable sources that discuss that treatment and, for a modern biographical or organizational subject, their reactions to it. See [[WP:Neutral point of view]] for principles to apply in balancing Wikipedia treatment of cultural references to the subject. Wikipedia has no policies or guidelines addressing the content of pop-culture sections specifically, though an [[WP:Essay|essay]], [[WP:"In popular culture" content]], provides some views on how to approach such material.

==See also==

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 In this guideline, the term "trivia section" refers to a section's ''content'', not its name. A trivia section is one that contains a ''disorganized'' and ''"unselective"'' list. However, a ''selectively'' populated list with a relatively narrow theme is not necessarily trivia, and can be the best way to present some types of information.
-=="In popular culture" and "Cultural references" material==
-{{shortcut|MOS:POPCULT|MOS:CULTURALREFS}}
-A large number of articles contain a section on media references to, and other popular culture coverage or portrayal of, the subject of the Wikipedia article in which the section is written. Such sections are most often titled "In popular culture", though some more encyclopedic alternatives are in increasing use, e.g. "Cultural references". This material is not {{em|categorically}} trivial. Media coverage of a topic is generally encyclopedic information, helps establish the topic's [[WP:Notability|notability]], and helps readers understand the subject's influence on the public (and often vice versa).  Unfortunately, these sections are frequently just lists of appearances and mentions, many of them unencyclopedically trivial: this was parodied in [https://xkcd.com/446/ a 2008 xkcd cartoon], which depicted a Wikipedia article for [[wood]] containing pop culture references such as ''"In the Buffyverse, Buffy often slays Vampires using stakes made of wood."''. Such sections can be flagged for cleanup with the {{tl|In popular culture}} template.
-Short cultural references sections should usually be entirely reworked into the main flow of the article.  If a separate section for this material is maintained, the poorest approach is a list, which will attract the addition of trivia. It is preferable to develop a normal article section with well-written paragraphs that give a logically presented overview (often chronological and/or by medium) of how the subject has been documented, featured, and portrayed in different media and genres, for various purposes and audiences.
-Other guidance: See [[WP:No original research]] for why and how to avoid engaging in your own novel analysis of this coverage.  See [[WP:Verifiability]] and [[WP:Identifying reliable sources]] for referencing standards; the more notable the topic is, and the more notable the topic's treatment in the media has been, the more likely there are already reliable sources that discuss that treatment and, for a modern biographical or organizational subject, their reactions to it.  See [[WP:Neutral point of view]] for principles to apply in balancing Wikipedia treatment of cultural references to the subject.  Wikipedia has no policies or guidelines addressing the content of pop-culture sections specifically, though an [[WP:Essay|essay]], [[WP:"In popular culture" content]], provides some views on how to approach such material.
 ==See also==