View source for Tardis:Canon policy

''(Important: This is currently only a draft policy. Please feel free to expand upon this article, and also to discuss the issue on [[Tardis talk:Canon policy]].)''

The goal of the TARDIS Index File is to be a reliable, concise guide to all readers.  Towards this end, it is necessary for us to restrict to some extent the type of information we accept.

==Types of article==
There are four types of articles:
* [[Doctor Who Universe]] articles
:* Any subject mentioned in or derived from a television story, prose story, radio or audio drama This type is further divided into two sub-types:
::* ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Torchwood]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' and ''[[K-9 & Company]]'' - Subjects seen or mentioned in these series. 
::* Spin-offs - Any subject seen or mentioned in prose (novels, novellas and short stories), audio and comic books, officially sanctioned by the [[BBC]] and/or license holders. 
::*Other Universes - Stories which are not necessarily part of 'canon' but derived from the [[Doctor Who Universe]], i.e. ''[[Dr. Who and the Daleks]]'' and parodies such as ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death]]'', authorized, but not very well-integrated into canon.

* Real World
:* Information on stories set in the [[Doctor Who Universe]].
:* Information on the creators and actors who have taken part in the making of the stories.
:* Related topics. 

The policy of the TARDIS Index File with regards to acceptable resources for use in articles is as follows:

==What is considered a Valid Resource?==
''This section is still in flux, as the policy is still under debate.''
*All [[List of Doctor Who television stories|Doctor Who television stories]].
*Spin-offs such as ''[[Torchwood]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' and ''[[K-9 & Company]]''.
*All other [[Doctor Who spin-offs]] such as those produced by [[BBV Productions]] and [[Reeltime Pictures]] (i.e ''[[P.R.O.B.E.]]'', ''[[Auton Trilogy]]'' and ''[[Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans]]'', ''[[Downtime]]'')
*All [[Target Books]] novels ''not'' based on a broadcast television story (i.e., ''[[The Nightmare Fair]]'', ''[[Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma]]'')   
*All [[Virgin Missing Adventures]], [[Virgin New Adventures]] and [[Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures]] stories (i.e., ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys]]'',  ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]'', ''[[Beige Planet Mars]]'') 
*All [[BBC Books]] [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures|Eighth Doctor]], [[BBC New Series Adventures#Ninth Doctor|Ninth Doctor]], [[BBC New Series Adventures#Tenth Doctor|Tenth Doctor]] and [[BBC Past Doctor Adventures|Past Doctor]] novels (i.e., ''[[The Eight Doctors]]'', ''[[The Clockwise Man]]'', ''[[The Stone Rose]]'', ''[[The Witch Hunters]]'').
*All [[Telos Publishing]] novellas (i.e, ''[[Frayed]]'', ''[[Rip Tide]]'', ''[[Fallen Gods]]'')
*All [[BBC Radio Dramas]] and webcasts (i.e., ''[[The Paradise of Death]]'', ''[[Death Comes to Time]]'', ''[[Real Time (webcast)|Real Time]]'')
*All audio dramas released by [[BBV]], [[Big Finish]] and [[Magic Bullet Productions]] (including [[Dalek Empire (Big Finish)|Dalek Empire]], [[Cyberman (audio series)]], [[Gallifrey (audio series)]] etc) (i.e., ''[[Republica]]'', ''[[Storm Warning]]'', ''[[Invasion of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Coming to Dust]]'')
*All comic strips appearing in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'', ''[[Doctor Who: Battles in Time]]'', ''[[TV Countdown]]'', ''[[TV Comic]]'', ''[[TV Action]]'', ''[[Radio Times]]'' and ''[[Torchwood Magazine]]''.
*All [[Abslom Daak]], [[Bernice Summerfield]], [[Kaldor City]], [[Faction Paradox]], [[Time Hunter]], and [[Miranda (comic book)|Miranda]] stories.
*All short fiction and comic strips published in [[Doctor Who Annual]]s (including Doctor Who Yearbooks), [[Doctor Who Storybook]]s, [[Dalek Annual]]s, Torchwood Yearbooks and the [[K-9 Annual]].

===Secondary Resources===
These sources are as also valid resources, however should not be the ''only'' resource of an article.

*All television specials, video releases, documentaries, pastiches, and parodies of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', provided they are ''identified'' and ''treated'' as such in their relevant articles (i.e., ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'', ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death]]'', ''[[Lust in Space]]'', ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'', ''[[Osirian Gothic]]'').

''[[AHistory]]'', ''[[I, Who]]'', ''[[About Time]]'', and [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who.htm The Doctor Who Reference Guide] are primary sources, and as such should not be repeated verbatim in articles. They may be referenced in part, although contributors should be aware that some speculation exists within them which may not be considered valid.

*Both [[:Category:Theatrical movies|Dalek movies]] starring [[Peter Cushing]] (i.e., "[[Dr. Who and the Daleks]]," "[[Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD]]") These are valid provided they are dealt with in article specific articles relating to movies and characters developed in the universe established in the movies.

==What is not considered a Valid Resource, and why?==
''This section is still in flux, as the policy is still under debate.''
*Novelisations of broadcast television stories by [[Target Books]] and other sources as these often contain characters, dates, events, and settings not shown in the original television versions.
*Material from [[Wikipedia:FASA|FASA]]'s ''[[Doctor Who Roleplaying Game]]'', as these sometimes contain histories and other information which conflicts with the television and prose stories. (Some material from the FASA game was, however, incorporated into [[Virgin Publishing]]'s [[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing]] and [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] series.)
*Merchandise - Several items of merchandise are often given names that never appear in dialogue or are never seen on screen and have often been produced for marketing purposes. 
*Fan-made blueprints and specifications 
*Fan fiction of any kind (this includes [[Wikipedia:Fanon_(fiction)#Nature_of_fictional_canons|fanon]]).
*Websites, unless information is clearly stated as sourced from a valid reference.

==Items on which policy is unclear==
*The relevance of ''[[The Doctor Who Technical Manual]]'', the in-universe history presented in part of ''[[The Terrestrial Index]]'',  ''[[The Doctor Who Monster Book]]'' and similar items and their suitability for use in creating and contributing to articles in the TARDIS Index File is unclear at this time, and up for discussion. 
*Background information from the production staff ([[Sydney Newman]], [[Verity Lambert]], [[John Nathan-Turner]], [[Russell T Davies]], etc) should either be included under the relevant background section (where available), or added to the article's Talk page where its validity can be assessed for inclusion.

==Deleting Invalid Articles==
If you believe an article contains nothing but non-canon information, or is sourced solely from non-valid resources, then the article should be noted with a <nowiki>{{proposed deletion}}</nowiki> template/banner, which will alert others to the article's invalidity and allow others to defend it.

If an article is concerning a canon subject but contains information from a non-valid resource, the issue should be debated on the article's individual [[Tardis:talk page|talk page]], and the article should be edited as appropriate. (See also [[Tardis:Templates#Cleanup Tags|Templates - Cleanup Tags]] for more information)

Except in cases of vandalism, obscenity, and other nonsense, you should ''not'' edit the article and simply delete the text.

[[Category:TARDIS_Index_File_Wiki]]