Wikipedia:Update/1/Content policy changes, 2013

4th Quarter 2013





3rd Quarter 2013



  • Wikipedia:Verifiability
    • In WP:V#Access to sources, removed: "Other people should in principle be able to check that material in a Wikipedia article has been published by a reliable source.", but retained and rewrote similar wording.


2nd Quarter 2013




  • Wikipedia:Verifiability
    • Extensive changes to WP:V#Wikipedia and sources that mirror or use it
    • In WP:V#Access to sources, added: [This implies nothing about ease of access to sources: some online sources may require payment, while some print sources may only be available in university libraries,] "or in off-line sources. Nontheless, [sic] difficult to obtain reliable sources may still serve as sources for articles, and should not be rejected solely on the basis that it is difficult or costly to obtain them."
    • In WP:V# Quoting non-English sources, added: "In articles, the original text is usually included with the translated text when translated by Wikipedians, and the translating editor is usually not cited."
1st Quarter 2013


  • Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons
    • In the introduction, changed: "Contentious material about living persons (or recently deceased)" to "Contentious material about living persons (or in some cases, recently deceased)"
    • Renamed WP:BLP#Due weight to WP:BLP#Balance, and removed: "As noted in Wikipedia:Neutral Point of View footnote: "Article sections devoted solely to criticism, and pro-and-con sections within articles, are two commonly cited examples. There are varying views on whether and to what extent such structures are appropriate; see guidance on thread mode, criticism, pro-and-con lists, and the criticism template"."
    • In WP:BLP#Recently dead or probably dead, changed: " However, material about dead people that has implications for their living relatives and friends, particularly in the case of recent deaths, or notable suicides, is covered by this policy. Contentious or questionable material that affects living people or about the recently dead should be treated in the same way as material about living people. Anyone born within the last 115 years is covered by this policy unless a reliable source has confirmed their death." to: "Generally, this policy does not apply to material concerning people who are confirmed dead by reliable sources. The only exception would be for people who have recently died, in which case the policy can extend for an indeterminate period beyond the date of death - six months, one year, two years at the outside. Such extensions would apply particularly to contentious or questionable material about the dead that has implications for their living relatives and friends, such as in the case of a possible suicide or a particularly gruesome crime."


  • Wikipedia:Neutral point of view
    • In WP:NPOV#Religion, added a hidden comment: "the use here of the word //critical// is referenced by the article itself, in the succeeding paragraph". Added: [Several words that have very specific meanings ...] "(as in the prior paragraph) critical."




  • Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not
    • In WP:NOT#Wikipedia is not a directory, changed: "An article about a product should include a history of its development and major improvements; creating a list of all changes to software or hardware between each minor version violates other precepts of this policy." to: "An article about a product may include a prose history of its development and major improvements. Tables or lists of changes should be avoided; instead, significant changes should be merged into – and contextualised in – the product's history. Note that, in addition to being unencyclopedic, lists of changes and releases are also unsuitable for inclusion in Wikipedia articles as they're usually drawn – often verbatim – from primary sources."
    • In WP:NOT#Wikipedia is not censored, changed: "Florida" [where Wikipedia's main servers are hosted] to: "Virginia"