Wikipedia:Too much detail: Difference between revisions
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Poor advice - details may not be removed without consensus to do so |
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{{redirect|WP:TOOMUCH|the "Don't help too much" essay|Wikipedia:Don't help too much}} |
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{{Supplement|pages=procedural policy regarding policies and guidelines|WP: |
{{Supplement|pages=procedural policy regarding policies and guidelines|WP:TMI|WP:TOOMUCH|WP:EXCESSDETAIL|WP:BLOATED|WP:UNFOCUSED}} |
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{{nutshell|Be careful not to bloat articles with excessive detail}} |
{{nutshell|Be careful not to bloat articles with excessive detail.}} |
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When seeing a |
When seeing a section or subsection within an article, editors often try to expand them, especially if such sections or subsections are short. However, there are times when people add one or more of the following to such articles: |
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*Excessive detail |
*Excessive detail |
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*Trivial content |
*Trivial content |
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Before inserting |
Before inserting new material, consider its significance. Is this something the topic is widely known for? What is its connection to the topic's notability? Any [[What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information|indiscriminate detail]] should be removed. Readers might lose interest when a portion of an article goes into too much detail on one specific aspect. Other times, readers might question how so much detail on something is important to the topic. Wikipedia is not supposed to be a collection of every single fact about a subject. |
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==Balance== |
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When a section has too much content and becomes bloated, it is common for other editors to place the {{tl|Overly detailed}} or {{tl|Very long}} tags within an article. In such instance, delete details that can be reasonably removed. |
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Advocates of adding a lot of details may argue that all of these details are reliably sourced. Even though the details may be reliably sourced, one must not lose sight of the need for balance. In an article about a famous actor, every detail about her wedding ceremony (who attended, the type of ring, etc.) may be excessive detail, as the article is supposed to focus on her achievements as an actor. On the other hand, if there is an entire article about this wedding ceremony, the detail may be appropriate there. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[Wikipedia:Article size]] |
*[[Wikipedia:Article size]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Fancruft]] |
*[[Wikipedia:Fancruft]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Fart]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Germane]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Listcruft]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Proseline]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Scope]] |
*[[Wikipedia:Scope]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:Too long; didn't read]] |
*[[Wikipedia:Too long; didn't read]] |
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*[[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not]] |
*[[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not]] |
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*{{tl|Overly detailed}} |
*{{tl|Overly detailed}} |
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*{{tl|Summarize}} |
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*{{tl|Very long}} |
*{{tl|Very long}} |
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[[Category:Wikipedia essays about editing]] |
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[[Category:Wikipedia essays about style]] |
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Latest revision as of 03:02, 10 August 2023
 | This is an explanatory essay about the procedural policy regarding policies and guidelines. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Be careful not to bloat articles with excessive detail. |
When seeing a section or subsection within an article, editors often try to expand them, especially if such sections or subsections are short. However, there are times when people add one or more of the following to such articles:
- Excessive detail
- Irrelevant content that is better placed in a different article
- Trivial content
Before inserting new material, consider its significance. Is this something the topic is widely known for? What is its connection to the topic's notability? Any indiscriminate detail should be removed. Readers might lose interest when a portion of an article goes into too much detail on one specific aspect. Other times, readers might question how so much detail on something is important to the topic. Wikipedia is not supposed to be a collection of every single fact about a subject.
Balance
[edit]Advocates of adding a lot of details may argue that all of these details are reliably sourced. Even though the details may be reliably sourced, one must not lose sight of the need for balance. In an article about a famous actor, every detail about her wedding ceremony (who attended, the type of ring, etc.) may be excessive detail, as the article is supposed to focus on her achievements as an actor. On the other hand, if there is an entire article about this wedding ceremony, the detail may be appropriate there.