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:Example cruft - Knowledge

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Examples help readers advance their understanding of a concept by typifying it. One (or at most a few) examples about the subject matter under discussion should suffice. Before adding a further example to an article, pause to ask yourself whether doing so would help readers unravel additional facets
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Encyclopedia articles are a summary of accepted knowledge on a given subject. Making an appropriate summary involves describing theories and observations that come from mainstream scholarship and news. Naturally, every theory can be demonstrated using examples or counter-examples. However, this tends
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to make articles less readable and reliable because mentioning too many examples, or exploring an individual example in an excessive level of detail, takes the article farther away from its original point.
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Any theory or phenomenon lacking a reliable source directly supporting it may be removed. But avoid removing theories attributed to a reliable sources without discussing it first.
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If the number of examples in an article become too many, consider pruning them, or creating a separate list at the bottom of the article. Where the list of examples as a whole has
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of the article subject, or if it would only be adding details specific to that example, without advancing the readers' understanding of the central theme.
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A theory that appears in many reliable sources should never be removed, even if that theory is not 100% true. The standard for inclusion is
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It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Knowledge contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
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on the subject. It is always preferable to describe an alternative explanation from a reliable source, rather than
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Writing an encyclopedic entry about a subject will involve generalizations. Avoid the temptation to engage in
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by trying to invalidate a theory you disagree with, look for criticism of that theory from
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Balancing coverage of a phenomenon with intelligent criticism is a part of creating a
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This is too many gnomes for an article about the popular garden decoration to cover.
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by finding every example of a phenomenon, or every exception to a phenomenon.
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cultural significance, consider creating a separate article.
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Knowledge is not an indiscriminate collection of information
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about a subject. Treat each perspective on a topic with
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User:Uncle G/Cargo cult encyclopaedia article writing
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Index

essay
Knowledge's policies or guidelines
thoroughly vetted by the community
Shortcuts
WP:GENERALIZE
WP:EXAMPLES
WP:EXCEPTION
WP:EXAMPLEFARM
original research

verifiable
Knowledge:Verifiability, not truth
original research
reliable sources
synthesizing
neutral encyclopedia
fringe theory or opinion piece
proportional weight
Knowledge:Systemic bias
Knowledge:Overlistification
Knowledge:Writing better articles
User:Uncle G/Cargo cult encyclopaedia article writing
WP:SPAMBAIT
WP:TRIVIA
WP:SYNTHESIS
WP:WEIGHT
Knowledge:Manual of Style (lists)
Knowledge:Fringe theories
Template:Example farm
Template:Example cruft editnotice

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