Wikipedia; the name says it all! It is one of the most viewed sites on the internet, and we are sure that all of the people with the internet on the planet have viewed Wikipedia at least once in their lives. It is the ultimate encyclopedia where all answers exist. Billions of people look into the website each year to find their requested answers and get all the information in one place.
Not just among the people of the globe but also Wikipedia has a strong recognition within Google itself; this is why it always gets shown among the top search results for your every search. So, Wikipedia is not just any site of information; it tops them all. Every famous person, business, place, concept, event, TV series, movie, fictional character, etc. can be found on Wikipedia, having its own pages.
So, have you ever wondered what makes them eligible for being on Wikipedia? Have you ever asked Google how do you qualify for a Wikipedia page? If yes, then here we have all your answers. To make things easier for you, we have gathered around all the information that you might need to have to understand the qualification standards of Wikipedia.
Take a look;
Understanding the Mechanism of Wikipedia
Whenever you start something new, what’s the first thing you do? Learn how to do that. Well, in a similar manner, before you get into learning how you qualify for a Wikipedia page, you need to learn how Wikipedia works. You need to understand the working of Wikipedia, and it will only help you ease things when you decide to make a page.
Wikipedia is a user-generated platform where anyone from anywhere in the world can write and edit articles. So, when you see a Wikipedia page, you can assume that this page has been edited by numerous people from across the world. Not just that, but to create a new page on Wikipedia, all you need is to have a verified Wikipedia account, and then you can work on the new article you want to add to Wikipedia. So it is pretty simple till here, right?
How Do You Qualify For A Wikipedia Page?
Now, let’s get to the next part. While anyone can create a page on Wikipedia, it is now to focus on whether anyone can have a page about themselves or not! And to understand that, you must know that there are a few Wikipedia policies and guidelines, or you might consider them as terms and conditions because without applying these, you might never get a Wikipedia page of yourself. So, let us tell you more about these rules;
When Does A Person Qualify To Have A Wikipedia Page?
For a person to be qualified to have a Wikipedia page, there is one ultimate criterion that needs to be fulfilled; The Notability Clause!
To understand that clause, simply ask yourself; have you ever been in the politics of a country, made an exceptional discovery, ruled a small country, been a significant part of a significant event, been in Hollywood, or been in a national or international sports game, been the owner of a multinational company, committed a serious crime, or owned a civilization? Well, if any of this is true for you, you might already have a Wikipedia page written about you! These are just a few specific things with one common clause; being notable!
1. Notability Policy
As per the notability policy of Wikipedia, a person that has notable online visibility or is worthy of notice by Wikipedia can be on the site. There must be enough online secondary resources about the person that there would be good enough information to cover on a Wikipedia page. Keep in mind that these resources must be independent of the person and also of each other.
Also, these sources must be reliable and secondary to prove the credibility of the subject, or else the title of the page might not be considered notable. You can use primary sources to add information to the content, but to prove the title’s notability, it has to be enough information on the secondary resources.
This is the primary notability criteria that set a person to be qualified to have a Wikipedia page, but it certainly does not confirm the inclusion and approval of the page because there are many other guidelines that need to be followed for a successful Wikipedia page creation. However, if you want to increase your chances at it; it is better to meet the additional notability criteria for a person on Wikipedia as well;
Wikipedia has added a few clauses to additional notability criteria for different persons. So, make sure to check them all and imply the one that suits you, and you will be one step closer to learning how do you qualify for a Wikipedia page;
2. Biography of Any Person
To qualify to have a Wikipedia biography page, an individual must be well-known and have recognition around the world. They must have won a significant award in their field of interest or at least have been nominated for such awards more than once! Or the person has abroad recognition because they made a history in their specific field. Lastly, the person’s name is listed in any country’s national biography dictionary.
3. Academia
People belonging to the field of academics, such as researchers, scholars, theorists, scientists, etc., who have made an influential discovery in their field of study or have their ideas listed on independent secondary online sources.
4. Creative Fields
This category includes people belonging to the creative industry, such as authors, journalists, photographers, architects, artists, filmmakers, etc. The additional criteria for such people are either they have notable recognition among their peers in the industry or they are well-known for coming up with a new concept or technique to work in their field. Additionally, if the person has collaborated to create a significant recognizable work in their industry, such as a book, a movie, etc. Lastly, the work done by the person is of significant importance and has been noted in the world as a monument.
5. Belonging to a Crime
Wikipedia also allows pages for people belonging to a significant criminal activity, both victims and perpetrators. The victims who have been targeted for a powerful crime that is unusual and follows a different pattern of criminal behavior and creates a notable difference in the society. For perpetrators, if they have been involved in a crime where the victim is notable and recognizable such as a famous politician, industrialist, etc. Or the perpetrator has an unusual motivation or pattern for the crime. For example, a serial killer who kills a specific group of people with a special pattern.
Please note that the culprits who have not been proven guilty by the court of law do not pass these additional criteria.
6. Entertaining Industry
Did you find the category you belong to yet? Or do you belong to the entertainment side of the world that is, actors, comedians, models, celebrities, etc. The additional criteria for this group suggest that the person has played lead roles in multiple renowned films, TV series, performances, events, etc. Or they have made unique or prolific contributions to their field of entertainment.
7. Political Industry
When we are talking about people having Wikipedia pages, how can we not mention politicians and judges? But not all politicians and judges meet the additional criteria for Wikipedia. This criterion calls out for politicians who have held higher positions in national and international governments or have held positions in the office. Or the politicians who have been actively covered by the press.
8. Sports
The last category for additional criteria of the Wikipedia page is the people belonging to the sports industry. Any player of any sports who have been recognized in both national and international tournaments and have significant coverage in secondary online resources.
Keep in mind that these additional criteria are to increase your chances of getting your Wikipedia page approved and running in the long-term. You can still meet the primary notability criteria for Wikipedia and be eligible to create a Wikipedia page for yourself. So, to answer your question of when does a person qualify to have a Wikipedia page, the answer is when that person is able to meet the notability criteria of Wikipedia?
More Things to Know…
Wikipedia is a huge platform, so it is quite obvious that there would be a lot more things to learn about the platform just to learn the notability criteria. While the notability clause takes you closest to being qualified for creating a Wikipedia page, there are a few more things that you need to cover in order to succeed, such as following the right process to create your Wikipedia page;
1. Begin With Your Account
The first key to put in this lock is to create your own Wikipedia account. Please note that you need to have a Wikipedia account in order to perform any edits or write any article on the site. Simply go to the account creation tab and add in your details such as username, password, email, etc. Add a valid email because you will receive a link to verify the email address by Wikipedia.
A Tip for you here is to use a nickname to create your account because Wikipedia believes in transparency. So, whatever edit you make and whatever article you write, your name will be displayed on Wikipedia. So, it is better to use a nickname!
2. Look out for the Page Title
Now, since you have made your subject qualified for Wikipedia with notability, it is now time to look out for the availability of the title. It is highly important as Wikipedia does not allow one title to be used for two pages, so if there is already a Wikipedia page with your person’s name, you can’t have one. The simple way to check the availability is to find a red link.
When you search for the page title on the search bar, Wikipedia will show you a link below it. If it is a red link, then you are good to go, and your page title is available. However, if you get a blue link that means that you have to think of a new title because that title is taken!
3. Create Impeccable Content
Finally, the second most important thing to do after proving your notability is to make sure you create good content for the page. This content will be what your readers will be seeing, so you need to make sure to make it worth reading. However, you need to follow the core content policies of Wikipedia that state;
- No original research is allowed on Wikipedia. It has to be a proven fact. So, none of your opinions and theories can be a part of Wikipedia.
- All your articles must be written from a neutral point of view. If Wikipedia will find any biased statement in your content, it is most likely to be deleted.
- Lastly, the content you add must be verifiable through a reliable source on the internet.
4. Cite Your Sources
You are now very near to creating a Wikipedia page for yourself. Now it is time to add citations to your content. This is extremely important because Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that works on published information. So, if you have added any fact, statement, or definition, you must cite them all to make sure that your page gets approved.
5. Submit Your Page
Finally, it is time to submit your page and leave things to Wikipedia! Wait for the approval, and we hope that will all the guidelines followed; you will get that!
The Bottom Line
You might qualify to get a Wikipedia page for yourself, but it is recommended never to create a page for yourself on Wikipedia. It is always better to get a professional to do it because then you might have to suffer from the troubles of conflict of interest! Hire Wiki Specialist Inc. today, and we will help you with all your Wikipedia needs!
