This is the root page for all Citizendium content policy pages. Generally, we may write about whatever we like in the Citizendium. There are, however, a few constraints on the choice of article topic:
- Encyclopedia topics. Topics should be plausible as encyclopedia article topics. This excludes topics expressing personal opinions or highly complicated topics that reflect original research. Citizendium also usually discourages the creation of articles about people known only for committing acts of violence, including mass shooters; see this Content Forum debate. Exceptions might be accepted with the Editor in Chief's consent. No advertisements or promotions are allowed for any commerce or business.
- No public relations. You may not use this wiki to publicize clients or companies for their commercial benefit. If you are closely involved with someone or have a business relationship with them, it would be a conflict of interest to try to write about them objectively.
- Articles about living persons. We do not accept all articles about living persons. To get an article here, the person must be notable by having created major works of art, having published major works of literature with a publishing firm, have served as an elected government official or something of similar historic importance, and (with exceptions for extremely recognizable figures such as Osama bin Laden) should not be a criminal known mainly for violent actions, nor any kind of enemy combatant in a war. Being director or head of an advocacy organization is not enough to get an article here during one's lifetime. Nor is being a military general, or CEO of a corporation, unless there is another compelling reason that they are likely to be remembered 25 years in the future. There must also be, in the first sentence, a statement of exactly why this person is notable (and please, avoid long lists of every possible life role, such as those Wikipedia likes to open with, by including only the main reason(s) the living person is known for). Also, when creating an article about a living person, the creator should state the year in which things about this person occurred and should not write in present tense. Here is an example of a BAD sentence using present tense: "Jed S. Rakoff (1943-) is a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York." And here it is transformed into an acceptable sentence avoiding present tense: "Jed S. Rakoff (1943-) began serving as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in January of 1996 and was still serving as of July 2024." Avoid invading the privacy of living persons; omit their exact birth date (year is okay), personal family members etc., unless this information is directly relevant to their noteworthiness. There usually should be a disambiguation phrase in the article name, such as "John Doe (cricket player, 1980's)"; see article naming conventions. The policy about living persons took effect in 2024; there are many older articles created before this policy was made, and those are subject to future review and possible deletion by editorial staff.
- Articles about advocacy organizations in the U.S..Most advocacy organizations in the U.S. will not warrant an encyclopedia article. All of them already have their own websites, and including an article about them here provides essentially free publicity. Exceptions can be made once an advocacy organization has existed for decades and made major notable accomplishment that are widely known, like for example the American Civil Liberties Union or the National Rifle Association.
- Articles about perpetrators of conspiracy theories. Coverage of contemporary conspiracy theories is handled well in the press. The pushers of such theories have not earned a place in history, and normally, we won't be giving them the credence of an encyclopedia article. Past big hoaxes that remain of historical interest might be included, though.
- Articles about weapons systems which are still in use somewhere in the world. Citizendium is not a catalog for the specifications of military weaponry, bombs, or any kind of thing whose sole purpose is to kill human beings. Descriptions of weaponry so obsolete that it is no longer used might be okay.
- Stubs and Definitions. Citizendium is an encyclopedia and not a dictionary, and we normally do not use definitions or stub articles to define terms. If this wiki lacks an article about a topic, feel free to footnote the topic with a pointer out to another site that defines the word, or leave a red link. In particular, unlinked stubs and definitions that languish awhile with nothing pointing at them will be subject to deletion.
- Warning on articles about history. History is a matter for interpretation. Whenever possible, claims made about histories of wars, people, places or things should include reputable sources. We do not require sources on most things in Citizendium--they are more for reader convenience--but old history articles (or portions of them) that are not adequately sourced may be deleted by the editorial staff.
- Redundancy and Disambiguation If one topic is quite similar to another--for example, is just a variant on the name--then the less common topic name should in many cases be redirected to the more common topic name. Thus, for example Great War redirects to World War I. When starting articles using a person's name, it is normally preferable to disambiguate the title (i.e., not just "Eugene Daub", but rather Eugene Daub (sculptor).
Unlike in Wikipedia--and with the exception of articles about contemporary persons (living or recently deceased), we do not exclude topics solely on the ground that their topics do not strike contributors as being significant or important. We recognize that what may be completely trivial to one person might in fact be quite important to another.
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