Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This page is part of the Manual of Style, and is considered a guideline for Wikipedia. The consensus of many editors formed the conventions described here, and Wikipedia articles should heed these guidelines. Before making any major changes to these guidelines, please use the discussion page to ensure that your changes reflect consensus. |
 |
This page in a nutshell: Instead of telling the reader that a subject is important, use facts to show the subject's importance. |
In Wikipedia articles, try to avoid peacock terms that merely show off the subject of the article without imparting real information. Such terms do not help establish the importance of an article. They should be especially avoided in the lead section. Let the facts speak for themselves. If the ice hockey player, canton, or species of beetle is worth the reader's time, it will come out in the facts. Insisting on its importance clutters the writing and adds nothing.
Contents |
[edit] Examples
Consider the following two examples. Which do you think is more interesting to read?
- William Peckenridge, 1st Duke of Omniumnshire (1602? - May 8, 1671) is considered, by some people, to be the most important man ever to carry that title.
- William Peckenridge, 1st Duke of Omniumshire (1602? - May 8, 1671) was personal counselor to King Charles I, royalist general in the English Civil War, a chemist, poet, and the director of the secret society known as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He expanded his family's possessions to include the proprietorship of the Province of New Hampshire and the hereditary Lord High Bailiffship of Guernsey and Sark.
The first example simply tells the reader that the Duke of Omnium was important. The second example shows the reader how he was important. Show, don't tell.
[edit] Phrases to watch for
|
|
|
[edit] You don't have to be the best to be notable
Even relatively unimportant subjects can still be notable, though perhaps for the wrong reasons: the discredited scientists, the vice presidents, the bankrupt companies, the backwater cities. Not everything is the best, the most important, or the most influential. There's something to be said for ugly ducklings, too.
A general guide of what is appropriate to include in Wikipedia is accessible at Wikipedia:Notability.
[edit] Don't hide the important facts
The opposite fallacy is to disparage the importance of a topic. Thus: "The Pacific Ocean is one of the largest oceans," "World War II was among the most important wars of the century." Peacock terms can be avoided when dealing with the third longest river in Rhode Island. But when it comes to the Amazon River, Wikipedia readers should be told just how big it really is. When a person or event is in fact important, the reader must be told that - tell them how important and why.
[edit] Inappropriate subjects
Conversely, if you are trying to dress up something that doesn't belong in Wikipedia— your band, your Web site, your company's product—think twice about it. Wikipedia is not an advertising medium or home page service. Wikipedians are experienced in recognizing inappropriate pages, and if an article is for personal promotion or blatant advertising, it will be speedily deleted or subjected to the articles for deletion or proposed deletion processes.
[edit] Tagging articles that have peacock terms
If you find an article making use of peacock terms, you can add the template {{peacock}} to the beginning of the article, an article section, or an article's talk page to call other editors' attention for this article.
