View source for Wiki143:Stand-alone lists

{{short description|Project  page}}
{{about||the overall list style guideline|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists|additional list-related material|Wikipedia:Lists}}
{{Subcat guideline|content guideline|Stand-alone lists|WP:SAL|WP:STAND|WP:STANDALONE}}
{{Nutshell|Stand-alone lists, like other articles, are subject to [[Wikipedia:Core content policies|Wikipedia's Core content policies]]. They should be used for [[#Appropriate topics for lists|appropriate topics]], and have clear [[#Selection criteria|selection criteria]]. A well-written [[#Lead|lead section]] is important, especially if there is little or no other non-list content.}}
{{Guideline list}}
'''Stand-alone lists''' (also referred to as '''list articles''') are [[Wikipedia:What is an article?|articles]] composed of one or more [[WP:EMBED|embedded lists]], or series of items formatted into a list. Many stand-alone lists identify their content's format in their titles, beginning with descriptors such as "'''List of'''" ([[List of sovereign states]]), "'''Timeline of'''" ([[Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic]]), or similar.  

In the interests of centralization of advice, this guideline page includes content guidelines, listed first; for style guidelines particular to stand-alone lists, see {{section link||Style}}; for naming conventions, see {{section link||Titles}}.

== Notability ==
{{excerpt|Wikipedia:Notability|Stand-alone lists|templates=-Shortcut}}

== List contents ==
===Content policies===
{{main article|Wikipedia:Core content policies}}
Being articles, stand-alone lists {{em|are}} subject to Wikipedia's [[WP:CORE|content policies]], such as [[WP:V|verifiability]], [[WP:NOR|no original research]], [[WP:NPOV|neutral point of view]], and [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not|what Wikipedia is not]], as well as the [[Wikipedia:Notability|notability]] guidelines.

===General formats of list articles===
{{anchor|General formatting|Types of lists|reason=Old section names.}}
There are a number of formats, both generalized and specialized, that are currently used on Wikipedia, for list articles.

* '''Alphabetized lists''', such as [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Mathematics/List of mathematics articles (0–9)]] and [[Index of economics articles]], as well as simple alphabetized lists without letter subheadings.
* '''Annotated lists''', such as [[List of business theorists]], and [[List of bicycle manufacturing companies]]. 
* '''Chronological lists''', such as [[Deaths in 2007]] and [[List of winners and shortlisted authors of the Booker Prize for Fiction]]. (Lists whose titles begin with "timeline of" are always chronological.)
* '''Sortable''' lists, which are formatted as [[Wikipedia:How to use tables|tables]], such as [[List of social networking services]] and [[List of cat breeds]].
* '''Subheading-structured lists''' (i.e., '''categorized''' or '''hierarchical lists'''), such as [[Lists of mathematics topics]] and [[Lists of philosophers]]. 

====Specialized list articles====
{{Shortcut|WP:TYPEOFLIST}}

* '''[[Wikipedia:Outlines|Outlines]]''', from the general ([[Outline of mathematics]]) to the somewhat specific ([[Outline of algebraic structures]]), are part of Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:Contents|Contents]] navigation system, and are indexed at [[Wikipedia:Contents/Outlines]]. A type of [[tree structure]], they are hierarchies of subjects organized as a structured list including headings, subheadings, and list items (usually bulleted, and preferably annotated). ''For more information, see [[outline (list)]], and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines|WikiProject Outlines]].''
* '''[[:Category:Wikipedia indexes|Indices]]''', alphabetized lists of articles on a given subject, are part of Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:Contents|Contents]] navigation system, and are listed at [[Wikipedia:Contents/Indices]]. Examples include [[Index of psychology articles]] and [[Index of Syria-related articles]]. ''For more information, see [[index (publishing)]], and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Indexes|WikiProject Indexes]].''
* '''[[Wikipedia:Timeline|Timelines]]''', using a [[Wikipedia:Timeline standards|standardized layout]] to present a chronological summary of a topic; examples include [[Timeline of architectural styles]] and [[Timeline of the universe]]. There is a special [[Wikipedia:Timeline syntax|MediaWiki timeline syntax]], but most Wikipedia timeline list articles do not presently use this recently<!--as of 2015--> introduced feature. ''For more information, see [[timeline]].''
* '''[[Order of battle]]''' &ndash;  a representation of armed force components that shows the hierarchical organization and [[command structure]]. 
* '''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists of works|Lists of works]]''' include [[bibliographies]] and [[discographies]]. Bibliographies are a list of relevant references for a subject area, including books, journal articles, and web articles; discographies are a listing of all recordings on which a musician or singer features, or may be compiled based on genre or record label.
* '''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Glossaries|Glossaries]]''', using one of several [[WP:Manual of Style/Glossaries#Glossary formatting styles|glossary formatting styles]], are usually alphabetized lists of terms with annotations defining them in an encyclopedic way; examples include [[Glossary of philosophy]] and [[Glossary of pinball terms]]. The format can also be used for some other purposes. Non-encyclopedic glossary material may be migrated to [[Wiktionary]] {{crossref|(see {{section link||Lists of words}} for more information)}}. ''For more information, see [[glossary]], and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Glossaries|WikiProject Glossaries]].''
*'''[[Wikipedia:Set index articles|Set index articles]]''' &ndash; document a set of items that share the same (or a similar) name. They are different from [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages in that they are full-fledged articles meant to document multiple subjects, while disambiguation pages are for navigation purposes only. Not all set index articles are lists.

===Appropriate topics for lists===
{{Shortcut|WP:SALAT|WP:TOOBROAD}}

The potential for creating lists is infinite. The number of possible lists is limited only by our collective imagination. To keep the system of lists useful, we must limit the size and scope of lists. 

Lists that are too general or too broad in scope have little value, unless they are split into sections. For example, a list of brand names would be far too long to be of value. If you have an interest in listing brand names, try to limit the scope in some way (by product category, by country, by date, etc.). This is best done by sectioning the general page under categories. When entries in a category have grown enough to warrant a fresh list-article, they can be moved out to a new page, and be replaced by a <nowiki>See [[new list]]</nowiki> link. When all categories become links to lists, the page becomes a list repository or "[[#Lists of lists|List of lists]]" and the entries can be displayed as a bulleted list. 

Lists that are too specific are also a problem. The "list of one-eyed horse thieves from Montana" will be of little interest to anyone other than the creator of the list. A list should be defined so that a reasonable number of readers seek it out.

Some Wikipedians feel that some topics are unsuitable by dint of the nature of the topic. Following the policy spelled out in [[WP:NOT|What Wikipedia is not]], they feel that some topics are trivial, non-encyclopedic, or not related to human knowledge. If you create a list like the "list of shades of colors of apple sauce", be prepared to explain why you feel this list contributes to the state of human knowledge.

====Lists of people====
{{shortcut|WP:LISTPEOPLE|WP:PEOPLELIST}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:ALMAMATER|Wikipedia:Namechecking|WP:MEDCASE}}
Because the subject of many lists is broad, a person is typically included in a list of people only if both of the following requirements are met:

*The person meets the [[Wikipedia:Notability (people)|Wikipedia notability requirement]].
*The person's membership in the list's group is [[WP:Verifiability|established]] by [[WP:Reliable sources|reliable sources]].  
{{shortcut|WP:EXEMPT1E}}
There are some common exceptions to the typical notability requirement:
* If the person is [[WP:BLP1E|famous for a specific event]], the notability requirement need not be met. If a person in a list does not have a Wikipedia article about them, a citation (or link to another article) must be provided to: a) establish their membership in the list's group; and b) establish their notability on either [[WP:BLP1E|BLP1E]] or [[WP:BIO1E|BIO1E]].
* In a few cases, such as lists of people holding notable positions, the names of non-notable people may be included in a list that is largely made up of notable people, for the sake of completeness.

In other cases, editors choose even more stringent requirements, such as already having an article written (not just qualifying for one), or being notable specifically for reasons related to membership in this group.  This is commonly used to control the size of lists that could otherwise run to thousands of people, such as the [[List of American film actresses]].

For instance, articles about schools often include (or link to) a list of notable alumni/alumnae, but such lists are not intended to contain everyone who verifiably attended the school. (Wikipedia editors who would like to be identified as an alumnus/alumna should instead use the categories intended for this purpose, e.g. [[:Category:Wikipedians by alma mater]].)  On the other hand, a list within an article of past school presidents, headmasters or headmistresses can contain the names of all the people who held this post, not just those who are independently notable.

Special care must be taken when adding living persons to lists based on [[Lists of people by belief|religion]] or on [[list of gay, lesbian or bisexual people|sexual orientation]].   For further information, see Wikipedia's policy on [[WP:BLP|biographical information about living people]], in particular the [[WP:BLPCAT|category/list policy]] for living persons. There is an [[WP:Editnotice|editnotice]] available for lists of people: {{tl|Editnotice for lists of people}}.

Please document the list selection criteria on the talk page of the list.

Note that the guidance in this section is particularly applicable to people but applies to lists in general, not only lists of people.

====Lists of subtaxa====
Wikipedia articles on organisms, such as plants and animals (whether extant or extinct), can sometimes be dominated by long lists of subtaxa. When the article has not developed beyond [[Wikipedia:Stub|stub]] quality, there is little added value to split-off a list of taxa, nor is there much value to split-off a list if the number of taxa is relatively short, such as below 30 items. Although 30 items in a vertical row can already extend beyond what is visible on the screen without scrolling, the visual impact of an included list can be reduced by creating several columns. Another method to create the overview of the taxa involved is by including one or several [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Cladogram requests|cladograms]], provided phylogenetic sources are available. If the number of taxa is too large and would upset the balance of an article, it is best to create a new list that is linked to the main article. The elements of such a list should consist of all accepted taxa on the closest lower level (see the [[Taxonomy (biology)#Kingdoms and domains|figure on the right hand side]]) and all elements in the list should be linked to articles on those subtaxa, whether these exist (blue links) or not (red links). The links should be checked by following them to avoid linking to disambiguation pages or synonyms, particularly when dealing with lists of [[genera]].

====Lists of companies and organizations====
{{shortcut|WP:LISTCOMPANY|WP:LISTORG}}
A company or organization may be included in a list of companies or organizations whether or not it meets the [[Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)|Wikipedia notability requirement]], unless a given list specifically requires this. If the company or organization does not have an existing article in Wikipedia, a citation to an [[Wikipedia:Independent sources|independent, reliable source]] should be provided to establish its membership in the list's group.

====Lists of lists====
{{shortcut|WP:LoL|WP:LISTOFLISTS|WP:LISTSOFLISTS}}
Wikipedia has many articles that are primarily or entirely lists of other lists (see [[List of lists of lists]]).  On lists of lists, nonexistent lists should not be included. That is, all the links in a "lists of lists" should be active (blue, not red).

Lists of lists should also be available as alphabetical categories.  Put lists that have actual content in one of the [[WP:DIFFUSE|diffusing]] subcategories under [[:Category:Lists]], and {{em|also}} include it in [[:Category:Lists of lists]]. {{crossref|(See {{section link||Titles}} for naming conventions.)}}

:''See also [[Wikipedia:Lists of lists]] for an informal essay on content, purpose, naming etc. of lists of lists.''

====Lists of words====
{{anchor|Lists of terms|Glossaries}}{{shortcut|WP:LISTGLOSSARY}}
{{main article|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Glossaries}}
''Glossaries'' – alphabetical, topical lists of terms, rather than of notable entities – are encyclopedic when the entries they provide are primarily informative explorations of the listed terminology, pertaining to a [[WP:Notability|notable]] topic that already has its own main article on Wikipedia. A [[WP:Featured list|Featured]] example is [[Glossary of Texas A&M University terms]]. Stand-alone glossaries are categorized at [[:Category:Wikipedia glossaries]], as well as topically in article categories. Shorter ones are often better handled as [[WP:Manual of Style/Embedded lists|embedded lists]], though a [[WP:Redirect|redirect]] from a title like ''Glossary of {{var|X}}'' can be created to the section, and the redirect added to that category.  Such embedded glossaries may [[WP:Splitting|split]] later into in stand-alone glossaries. {{crossref|(See [[WP:Summary style]] for information on when to split sections into child articles.)}} There are multiple ways of [[WP:Manual of Style/Glossaries|formatting glossaries]]. {{Crossref|See {{section link||Titles}} for naming conventions.}}

Because [[WP:Wikipedia is not a dictionary|Wikipedia is not a dictionary]], many ideas for glossaries, in which entries would be little more than dictionary definitions ("dicdefs"), may be better suited to [[Wiktionary]]. Glossaries that do not meet Wikipedia's notability criteria or not-a-dictionary policy should be migrated to Wiktionary at [[:wikt:Category:English glossaries]].  Wiktionary also freely [[WP:Mirrors and forks|forks]] Wikipedia's encyclopedic glossaries for redevelopment to Wiktionary's purposes and standards, in its <samp>Appendix:</samp> namespace.

Some other, non-glossary lists of words can also yield an encyclopedic page, such as [[List of English words containing Q not followed by U]], the condition being that [[WP:Reliable sources|reliable secondary sources]] for the topic can be cited.

===Selection criteria===
<!-- Wikipedia:Notability (people)#Lists of people links here -->
{{anchor|Inclusion criteria|reason=More common usage on WP; consider changing section name.}}{{shortcut|WP:LSC|WP:SELCRIT|WP:LISTCRIT|WP:LISTCRITERIA}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:Notability (people)#Lists of people|Wikipedia:Notability#Stand-alone lists|Template:List criteria}}
{{further information|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists#Adding individual items to a list}}

{{em|Selection criteria}} (also known as {{em|inclusion criteria}} or {{em|membership criteria}}) should be unambiguous, objective, and supported by [[WP:RS|reliable sources]]. [[WP:no original research|Avoid original]] or [[WP:IINFO|arbitrary]] criteria that would [[WP:SYNTH|synthesize]] a list that is not plainly [[WP:V|verifiable]] in reliable sources. In cases where the membership criteria are subjective or likely to be disputed, it is especially important that inclusion be based on reliable sources given with [[WP:CITE|inline citations]] for each item.

When establishing membership criteria for a list, ask yourself if any of the following are true:
* If this person/thing/etc. weren't X, would it reduce their fame or significance? 
* Would I expect to see this person or thing on a list of X?
* Is this person or thing a canonical example of some facet of X?

As [[WP:Wikipedia is an encyclopedia|Wikipedia is an encyclopedia]] and [[WP:NOT|not]] a directory, repository of links, or means of promotion, and should not contain indiscriminate lists, only certain types of lists should be exhaustive. Criteria for inclusion should factor in encyclopedic and topical [[WP:Relevance|relevance]], not just verifiable existence. For example, all known species within a taxonomic family are relevant enough to include in a list of them, but [[List of Norwegian musicians]] would not be encyclopedically useful if it indiscriminately included every garage band mentioned in a local Norwegian newspaper.  While [[WP:Notability|notability]] is often a criterion for inclusion in overview lists of a broad subject, it may be too stringent for narrower lists; one of the functions of many lists on Wikipedia is providing an avenue for the retention of encyclopedic information that does not warrant separate articles, so [[WP:Common sense|common sense]] is required in establishing criteria for a list. Avoid [[WP:Red link|red-linking]] list entries that are not likely to have their own article soon or ever.

====Common selection criteria====
{{shortcut|WP:CSC}}
Lists are commonly written to satisfy one of the following sets of objective criteria:  

# {{anchor|all notable}} ''Every entry meets the [[Wikipedia:Notability|notability criteria]]'' for its own [[WP:What is an article?|article]] in the English Wikipedia. [[Wikipedia:Red link|Red-linked entries]] are acceptable if the entry is [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|verifiably]] a member of the listed group and it is reasonable to expect an article could be forthcoming in the near future. Red-linked entries should be accompanied by citations sufficient to show that the entry is sufficiently notable for an article to be written on it (i.e., citations showing [[WP:SIGCOV|significant coverage in reliable sources independent of the subject]]). This standard prevents Wikipedia from becoming a collection of [[WP:IINFO|indiscriminate lists]]; prevents individual list articles from becoming targets for [[WP:SPAM|spam]] and [[WP:PROMO|promotion]]; and keeps individual lists to a size that is manageable for readers.
# {{anchor|all not notable}} ''Every entry in the list fails the notability criteria''. These lists are created explicitly because most or all of the listed items do not warrant independent articles: for example, [[List of Dilbert characters|List of ''Dilbert'' characters]] or [[List of paracetamol brand names]]. Before creating a stand-alone list, consider carefully whether such lists would be better placed within a "parent" article. (Note that this criterion is never used for living people.)
# {{anchor|complete and verifiable}} ''Short, complete lists of every item that is verifiably a member of the group''. These should only be created if a complete list is reasonably short (less than 32&nbsp;[[kilobyte|KB]]) and could be useful (e.g., for navigation) or interesting to readers. The inclusion of items must be supported by reliable sources. For example, [[Listed buildings in Rivington]]. If reliable sources indicate that a complete list would include the names of ten notable buildings and two non-notable buildings, then you are not required to omit the two non-notable buildings. However, if a complete list would include hundreds or thousands of entries, then you should use the notability standard to provide focus to the list. 

"Creation guide" lists—lists devoted to a large number of [[Wikipedia:Red link|redlinked]] (unwritten) articles, for the purpose of keeping track of which articles still need to be written—don't belong in the main namespace. Write these in your userspace, or in a [[WP:Wikiproject|Wikiproject]]'s space, or list the missing articles at [[Wikipedia:Requested articles]].

===Citing sources===
{{shortcut|WP:LISTVERIFY}}

Stand-alone lists are subject to Wikipedia's content policies and guidelines for articles, including [[WP:Verifiability|verifiability]] and [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|citing sources]].  This means statements should be [[WP:BURDEN|sourced where they appear]], and they must provide [[Wikipedia:Inline citations|inline citations]] if they contain any of the [[WP:MINREF|four kinds of material absolutely required to have citations]].

When an inline citation is not required by a sourcing policy and editors choose to name more sources than strictly required, then either [[Wikipedia:General references|general references]] or inline citations may be used.  It is generally presumed that [[Wikipedia:You don't need to cite that the sky is blue|obviously appropriate material]], such as the inclusion of [[apple]] in the [[list of fruits]], does not require an inline citation.
<!-- CONTENT GUIDELINE ENDS HERE -->

==Style==
{{about|section=y|stand-alone list style|embedded list style|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists#Embedded lists}}
{{MoS guideline|section=yMOS:SAL}}
{{style}}
This section presents some particular style and layout considerations specifically for stand-alone lists, {{em|in addition to}} the general [[WP:Manual of Style/Lists]], which pertains to all lists on Wikipedia.

===Lead===
{{main article|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section}}
{{shortcut|WP:SALLEAD}}
A stand-alone list should begin with a [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section|lead section]] that summarizes its content, provides any necessary background information, gives encyclopedic context, links to other relevant articles, and makes direct statements about [[#Selection criteria|the criteria by which members of the list were selected]], unless inclusion criteria are unambiguously clear from the article title. This introductory material is especially important for lists that feature little or no other non-list prose in their [[WP:BODY|article body]]. Even when the selection criteria might seem obvious to some, an explicit standard is often helpful to both readers, to understand the scope, and other editors, to reduce the tendency to include trivial or off-topic entries. The lead section can also be used to explain the structure of embedded lists in the article body when no better location suggests itself.

===Chronological ordering===
{{shortcut|WP:SALORDER}}
Chronological lists, including all timelines and lists of works, should be in earliest-to-latest chronological order. Special cases which specifically require frequent daily additions, such as [[Deaths in {{CURRENTYEAR}}]], may use reverse chronological order for temporary convenience, although these articles should revert to non-reverse order when the article has stabilized, as is the case with [[Deaths in 2003]].

===Categorization===
List articles should be categorized under one of the [[WP:DIFFUSE|diffusing]] subcategories under [[:Category:Lists]].

===Alternatives to lists (categories and navigation templates)===
{{main article|Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates}}
As useful as lists are, certain lists may get out of date quickly; for these types of subjects, a category may be a more appropriate method of organization. See [[Wikipedia:Categorization]] and [[Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates]] for more information on the appropriate times to use lists versus categories.

====Taxonomic links====
For many genera there may be a considerable number of species. For the smaller genera a [[Wikipedia:taxobox|taxobox]] may suffice but for the more speciose genera such as ''[[Anopheles]]'' it is probably better to move these into their own page. The bulk of the page will be taken up by the list. Such lists do qualify as encyclopedic: for many of these genera there are specialized monographs to assist in the identification of these species.

===Bulleted and numbered lists===
* Do not use lists if a passage is read easily as plain paragraphs.
* Use proper wikimarkup- or template-based list code ''(see [[WP:Manual of Style/Lists]] and [[Help:List]])''.
* Do not leave blank lines between items in a bulleted or numbered list unless there is a reason to do so, since this causes the wiki software to interpret each item as beginning a new list.
* Use numbers rather than bullets only if:
** a need to refer to the elements by number may arise;
** the sequence of the items is critical; or
** the numbering has some independent meaning, for example in a listing of musical tracks.
* Use the same grammatical form for all elements in a list, and do not mix sentences and sentence fragments as elements.
** When the elements are complete sentences, each one is formatted with sentence case (i.e., the initial letter is capitalized) and a final period.
** When the elements are sentence fragments, the list is typically introduced by a lead fragment ending with a colon. When these elements are titles of works, they retain the original capitalization of the titles.  Other elements are formatted consistently in either sentence case or lower case.  Each element should end with a semicolon, with a period instead for the last element. Alternatively (especially when the elements are short), no final punctuation is used at all.

==Titles<span id="Naming conventions"></span>==
{{main|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (lists)}}
{{for|multi-page lists (a.k.a. "long lists")|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (lists)#Long (split) list naming recommendations}}
{{Subcat guideline|section=y|naming convention|lists, stand alone|WP:LISTNAME|WP:NCLIST|WP:NCSAL}}
{{Bad summary|section|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (lists)#Long (split) list naming recommendations}}
{{naming conventions}}
A common practice is to entitle list articles as '''List of''' ___ (for example ''List of {{var|Xs}}'').  If (as is often the case), the list has multiple columns and so is in layout table form, the name or title ''List of {{var|Xs}}'' is still preferable to ''Table of {{var|Xs}}'' or ''Comparison of {{var|Xs}}'' (though the latter may be appropriate for articles that are actual tables of data comparing numerous features, e.g. [[Comparison of Linux distributions]]).  

A ''list of lists'' of {{var|X}} could be at either ''Lists of {{var|X}}'' or at ''List of {{var|X}}'': e.g., [[Lists of books]], [[List of sovereign states]]; the plural form is more prevalent.

The title is not expected to contain a complete description of the [[#Lead and selection criteria|list's subject]].  Many lists are not intended to contain every possible member, but this does not need to be explained in the title itself.  For example, the correct choice is [[List of people from the Isle of Wight]], not ''List of people who were born on or strongly associated with the Isle of Wight and about whom Wikipedia has an article''.  Instead, the detailed criteria for inclusion should be described in the lead, and a reasonably concise title should be chosen for the list.  Best practice is to avoid words like ''[[WP:N|notable]]'', ''famous'', ''noted'', ''prominent,'' etc. in the title of a list article. Similarly, avoid titles like ''List of all {{var|Xs}}''. 

* '''People''':  People by nationality are either [[List of Finns]] or [[Lists of French people]], preferring '''''List of ___ people'''''. United States folk are a special case:  [[List of United States people]] redirects to [[Lists of Americans]] which contains, amongst other things, lists by US state. (Special treatment is necessary because [[American]] is ambiguous.) Note, however, that lists of people organized by individual ''city'' should be at '''''List of people from {{var|[city]}}''''', rather than ''List of {{var|[city]}} people''.  In all relevant lists, ''people'' is far preferred to alternatives such as ''persons'' or ''individuals''. 
* '''Language''':  Poets and authors listed by language are at, for example [[List of German-language poets]] {{crossref|(see [[List of poets]] for the list-of-lists of them)}}.
* '''Fiction and real life''':  [[List of fictional dogs]] is a list of fictional creatures, whereas [[List of individual dogs]] is a list with real-life examples. Note that the lead section of each list explains what criterion or criteria that list's entries meet.

[[WP:SETINDEX|Set index articles]] do not need to be titled with ''list of'' unless there is also another article or a disambiguation page using that title.  For example, [[Dodge Charger]] is a list of cars named Dodge Charger, but does not need to be titled ''List of cars named Dodge Charger''.  However, since [[Signal Mountain]] is a disambiguation page, the related set index article is at [[List of peaks named Signal Mountain]].

Three other special lists types have their own naming patterns. Glossaries are usually titled ''Glossary of {{var|X}}'' or ''Glossary of {{var|X}} terms'', though if they contain substantial non-list prose about the nature or history of terminology relating to the topic, as well as a glossary list, a title such as ''{{var|X}} terminology'' may be more appropriate.  Timelines are named in the form ''Timeline of {{var|X}}'' or ''Graphical timeline of {{var|X}}''.  Outlines are named ''Outline of {{var|X}}'' or ''Outline of {{var|X}}s''.

==Lists and the "Related changes" link==
A very useful Wikipedia feature is to use the [[Help:Related changes|"Related changes" link]] when on a list page. This will show you all the changes made to the links contained in the list. If the page has a link to itself, this feature will also show you the changes made to the list itself.

==See also==
* [[Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates]]
* [[Wikipedia:Featured lists]]
* [[Wikipedia:Handling trivia]]
* [[Wikipedia:Listcruft]]
* [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists]]
** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Embedded lists]]
** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Glossaries]]
** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists of works]]
** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Road junction lists]]
* [[Wikipedia:Set index articles]]
* [[Wikipedia:Timeline standards]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists]]
* [[Help:List]]
* [[Help:Table]]
* [[Portal:Contents/Outlines]]
* [[Wikipedia:Comparison Articles and Original Research]]


{{List navbox}}
{{Manual of Style}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lists, Stand-alone}}
[[Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (lists)|Stand-alone]]
<!-- These categories are provided by the sectional guideline templates already:
[[Category:Wikipedia content guidelines]]
[[Category:Wikipedia notability guidelines]]
-->