Tamil Wiki:Wiki guidelines-Jeyamohan (Translated)

இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: Tamil Wiki:அறிவுறுத்தல்கள் ‎

This is an encyclopedia. It is not merely a database (like Wikipedia) that just provides information. This encyclopedia has editors, and thus, it has opinions and ratings. All such 'opinions' are provided and reviewed by the board of editors.

An encyclopedia contains several thousand entries. Composing an entry on this encyclopedia must not require days of research and note-taking. It is neither useful nor practical. Those who have the data ready at hand, or able to retrieve the data from the internet, can write the entry. What is needed in the entry are the fundamentally essential data and the most general ideas. There is no need to create fresh research. All the necessary texts needed for the encyclopedia area available in the internet archives today as e-books. We only need the basic information from them. There is no need for lengthy research. Rather the wiki contributors should get to writing and completing the entries.

Critical Evaluation

The encyclopedia should only provide fundamental, general information that is generally accepted by all people. Simultaneously, it should represent a particular aesthetic perspective.

• If a particular opinion is being expressed in an encyclopedia entry, it should not just be the opinion of thart respective writer of that entry. It should prescribe to that general aesthetic perspective in a positive way. Thus it should not contain any debatable opinions and quotes.
• The encyclopedia should not express harsh criticism. No encyclopedia does that. But it should offer an evaluation of the topical personality's place and value. That is the basis on which the encyclopedia chooses to write about certain personalities, and avoid others. It places certain personalities higher on the scale. This 'proportionality' is important.
• The rationale of that choice should be evident through the words expressed in the 'literary place/evaluation of contribution'
• That evaluation should not be written in a negative way. For example, a sentence like 'He was just a writer for the commercial market' should not be written. Instead, a more positive expression like 'He wrote books for the general readership' should be used.

First paragraph

The first paragraph should succintly convey who the subject is and what they are known for, to an average reader who does not know anything about the subject

• It should be led by a single line introduction to the personality and his area of work. It should have a brief sketch on their importance and their contribution
• That is, a reader should be able to just read that introduction and leave the article with a sense of understanding. Or they should be able to continue reading that article. 'Who are they, what did they do, why are they important' are the three aspects that should be present in the first paragraph

The first line should be whatever that can be conveyed in a single line about the subject. That is, it is the 'final definition'.

For example, in an article about Bharathiar, the line 'He was born in Ettayapuram' cannot be the first line. The line 'He was the pioneer of modern poetry movement in Tamil' can be the first line.

• It can be followed by other secondary definitions about the subject. Eg., 'He was one of the pioneers of modern Tamil prose style. Was an important participant in the Indian freedoms struggle. Was the foremost pioneer that created the language and tradition in Tamil journalism; 'Wrote lyrical songs for the new age', 'Social reformer', 'Fought for girl's education and aginst casteism'. All such facets of the personality can be listed.
• The first paragaraph does not need any data, other than the Date of birth. If there is a single biggest achievement (eg. 'the writer of the first Tamil novel') then it can be included.
• The entirety of the post below should be structured as substantiation and facts that support the first paragraph.
• The first paragraph should not contain quotes about the subject by other personalities. (eg.,'...said S Ramakrishnan about the <subject>')
• The first paragraph should be about the subject. It should not contain references to or be defined by other personalities and their relationship to the subject. (eg., 'was a friend of Gandhi')

The language style of the encyclopedia

*Standards*

• We must not correct or refine anything in this encyclopedia. If a subject writes their name in a particular way, we will adhere to the same spelling.
• In Tamil Wikipedia, there is a widespread trend to 'Tamilicise' the names and initials. We will not do that here. This is a site which is being created as an alternate to those groups.
• Similarly, we must not use old obsolete words and usage.

*Guidelines*

• First person words like 'We, Us' should not be used Words like 'can be said' are examples of vague approximate nature, they should be avoided
• 'Currently, at this time' are examples of contemporaneous usage. This encyclopedia is a permanent record, it should not contain such contemporaneous usage
• For the same reason, age should not be mentioned in a contemporarenous sense. Date of birth is preferred
• Pronouns like 'He/She, his/hers' should be avoided. As much as possible, the subject's name or the book's name should be explicitly mentioned. Especially if it occurs as the first word of any paragraph.
• Exaggerations and cliches like 'blazed a trail, achieved greatness' are not allowed.
• There should be no sentence that does not convey a specific information and is merely mentioned in a polite formal sense. Examples like 'He was a patriot. She was a hardworker'
• Exaggerated claims -'The best of Tamil literature', 'Without equal'- are not allowed.
• Harsh criticism should be avoided. 'She wrote third rate commercial literature', 'His works were just page turners' are unnecessary. Rather, we should try to classify. The same sentences can be framed as 'He wrote works for enjoyment of general readers'. Encyclopedia should not have a negative quality.
• Old archaic words and usage should be avoided.

Images

• Generally images should be of close-up and clear view of subject
• Images should be of low-resolution. The encyclopedia serves as a pointer to images found elsewhere online and offline. This encyclopedia is not meant to be a repository of high-quality images
• Images should be cropped to prominently show faces. It is not necessary to show surroundings and context.
• Always use images with landscape (horizontal) orientation. The portrait (vertical) oriented pictures do not get formatted properly. It is preferable to have square photos.

Quotes, Awards, Titles, Praise

• Titles and honorifics should not be included in the Wiki entries
• The mentioned awards should be from organizations that have some level of notability. The entry need not mention every award and title, that too received from minor organizations
• Mere praise words ('Was praised for his skills', 'He was known as a', 'He was famous for') should be avoided.
• Mentioned quotes and critical evaluations should have been offered by important critics and notable personalities of the field. Their evaluation should have been considered important in the field