View source for Wiki143:Manual of Style/Trivia sections

{{Short description|Wikipedia project page}}
{{hatnote|"WP:TRIVIA" and "WP:TRIV" redirect here. You may be looking for the essay [[Wikipedia:Trivial mentions]].}}
{{hatnote|"WP:MISCELLANEOUS" and "WP:MISC" redirect here.  You may be looking for [[Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous)]], {{slink|Wikipedia:Overcategorization#Miscellaneous categories}}, or [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion]].}}
{{MoS guideline|MOS:MISC|MOS:MISCELLANY|MOS:MISCELLANEA|MOS:TRIV|MOS:TRIVIA|MOS:TRIVIA}}
{{nutshell|An article should not contain a list of miscellaneous information. It is better to present things in an organized way.}}
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'''Avoid collections of miscellaneous facts or examples,''' since [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information|Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information]]. Whether presented in list format or embedded in regular prose, these risk becoming '''trivia magnets''', which grow increasingly unwieldy as items are added. If such a collection already exists,<ref name="OldLists">In the early days of Wikipedia it was common for articles to include lists of miscellaneous information, often grouped into their own section. These sections were typically given names such as "Trivia", "Facts", "Miscellanea", or "Other information". For an example, see [[Special:PermanentLink/30855927#Trivia|the John Lennon trivia section]] from December 10, 2005. This practice has long been disapproved.</ref> it should be considered temporary, until editors can sort out what is worth keeping; in some cases, it may be appropriate to move the content from the article itself to its [[Wikipedia:TALKPAGE|talk page]] to allow this process to happen outside of [[Wikipedia:MAINSPACE|mainspace]]. Content supported by a [[WP:reliable source|reliable source]] and which falls within the [[WP:NOT|scope of Wikipedia]] could be integrated into a different section or article; non-encyclopedic content should simply be removed.

==Not all list sections are trivia sections==
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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'' collection of facts or examples. A list with a relatively narrow theme is not necessarily trivia. For example, [[1257 Samalas eruption]] contains a list of climate effects which that volcano eruption is believed to have had in different areas. In general, [[Wikipedia:PROSE|Wikipedia prefers prose]], though a list format is sometimes the best way to present certain types of information.

Any list of examples should have a solid connection to the article's subject. When there are numerous potential examples, it is usually best to avoid creating an open-ended formatted list, as this often leads to indiscriminate additions. If the examples cannot be meaningfully limited, but a few would help illustrate a point, select two or three key examples and present them within the article's running prose. If examples would not be helpful to illustrate a point, avoid giving any; for instance, the "[[Akira_(1988_film)#Akira_slide|Akira slide]]" has been reenacted many times, but this can be mentioned without listing any actual recreations of it.<ref name="AkiraSlide">As a demonstration, [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Akira_(1988_film)&oldid=1257151386#Akira_slide this old version] of the "''Akira'' slide" section in the [[Akira (1988 film)|''Akira'' (1988 film)]] article contained a very lengthy list of examples, whereas [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Akira_(1988_film)&oldid=1257152200#Akira_slide this later version] omits the list.</ref>

=="In popular culture" and "Cultural references" material==
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Cultural references about the article's subject should not be included merely because they exist. Cultural aspects of the subject should be included only if they are supported by reliable secondary or tertiary sources that discuss the subject's cultural impact in some depth. The mere appearance of the subject in a film, song, video game, television show, or the like is insufficient.

=== Example and discussion ===
If you want to add a fact to the [[banana]] article stating that bananas are used as weapons in the [[Worms (series)|''Worms'' video game series]], you should cite a reliable source focused on bananas—such as, to take a fictitious example, ''The Cultural Impact of the Banana'' by Joe Bananalover. This ensures relevance to the subject of the article.

Citing sources specific to ''Worms'', such as the games themselves as primary sources, or an article in [[PC Gamer|''PC Gamer'']] magazine, is not sufficient. While these may [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|verify the fact]], they do not demonstrate the cultural significance of bananas in a manner proportionate to their overall treatment in reliable sources about bananas. It is the fact's relevance to the topic of bananas that matters, not its significance within the ''Worms'' games. Wikipedia's [[WP:PROPORTION]] policy requires articles to reflect the significance of aspects of a subject as presented in the broader body of literature on that subject. Minor aspects that do not receive significant attention in those sources should not be covered at all.

Of course, sources such as ''PC Gamer'' or the ''Worms'' games themselves may well be appropriate for including the fact in the [[Worms (series)|''Worms'' (series)]] article, where they are directly relevant to that article's subject.

This sourcing requirement is a minimum threshold for inclusion of cultural references. Consensus at the article level can determine whether particular references which meet this criteria should be included.

=== How to avoid a cultural list becoming a trivia magnet  ===
Cultural references, such as for example all the film or TV adaptations of a true-life event, are sometimes grouped into a section labelled "In popular culture", "In the media", "Cultural references", "In fiction", etc. When not effectively curated, such a section can attract trivial references or otherwise expand in ways not compatible with Wikipedia policies such as [[WP:NOT|what Wikipedia is not]] and [[WP:WEIGHT|neutral point of view]]. The risk can be reduced by ensuring that the list has clear, restrictive, and relevant criteria for inclusion, and that trivial entries are regularly cleared out. Sometimes, converting a list into regular prose can also discourage the addition of non-encyclopedic trivia.

A good "Cultural references" section might, for example, set out a logically-presented overview (chronological and/or by medium) of the way in which the subject has been documented, featured, and portrayed in different media and genres, for various purposes and audiences.

=== What to do ===
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A well-crafted article or section on a topic’s cultural representation should be based on reliable sources that address the topic broadly. These sources may cover the entire topic (e.g. cats), its cultural representation (e.g. cats in fiction), or specific aspects (e.g. cats in 1960s Italian fiction). The primary aim should be to present an analysis of the topic's cultural representations as found in these sources. Editors must avoid introducing their own interpretations, as this would violate Wikipedia’s [[WP:No original research policy|no original research policy]].

A limited number of examples can be valuable for illustrating and reinforcing this analysis, but they should complement, not replace, broader discussion. If examples are included, they should be drawn from sources that discuss the primary topic rather than being selected arbitrarily. Their inclusion should reflect their prominence in relevant literature. For an example of good practice, see [[Mars in fiction]], a [[WP:Featured article|featured article]].

==Other policies apply==
Trivia sections found in places such as [[IMDb]] sometimes contain speculation, rumor, invented "facts", or even [[libel]]. However, Wikipedia articles must never contain such material. Sensational claims not supported by a high-quality source may be removed immediately, even if the section remains in place.

See also [[WP:No original research]] for why and how to avoid engaging in your own novel analysis of miscelleneous facts.  See [[WP:Verifiability]] and [[WP:Identifying reliable sources]] for referencing standards. See [[WP:Neutral point of view]] for principles to apply in balancing Wikipedia treatment of cultural references to the subject.

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
* [[Wikipedia:Handling trivia]]
* [[WP:IINFO]] – Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information (a Wikipedia policy)
* [[WP:"In popular culture" content]] (an [[Wikipedia:Essays|essay]])
* [[WP:CARGO]] – an essay about the difference between compiling cultural references and writing an encyclopaedic article
* [[:Category:Articles with trivia sections]]
* [[Template:In popular culture]]
* [[Template:Trivia]]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=insource%3A%2F%3D(%3D|%3D+)(Trivia)(+%3D|%3D)%3D%2F List of Wikipedia articles with trivia sections]
* [[Wikipedia:Fancruft]]
* [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not Fandom]]
* [[Wikipedia:Why is BFDI not on Wikipedia?]]
{{Handling miscellanea}}
{{Manual of Style}}

[[Category:Articles with trivia sections| ]]
[[Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (layout)]]