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.

There are four types of articles:

• The Doctor Who Universe

• 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:

• The Television Series - Any subject mentioned in or derived from an episode of either the original or new television series.
• "The Expanded Universe" - Any subject mentioned in or derived from the original (i.e., not based on a broadcasted television story) Target novels, Missing and New Adventure novels, BBC novels, Telos novellas and other prose works, BBC radio dramas, Big Finish audio dramas, television specials, pastiches, and parodies and other professionally produced spin-off material which may not be universally accepted as canonical by fans.
• Other Universes - Stories which are not necessarily part of 'canon' but based on Doctor Who stories such as ; the Peter Cushing Dalek movies and parodies such as The Curse of the Fatal Death.

• Behind-the-Scenes articles

• Includes episode and movie articles.
• Novels, short stories, audio dramas, computer games, and other professionally produced materials.

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

Note: A resource is considered to be anything that can be referenced when writing/editing an article.

What is considered a Valid Resource?

This section is still in flux, as the policy is still under debate.

• All television stories, (i.e., "An Unearthly Child" - "Journey's End," and beyond)
• 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 and Virgin New Adventures stories (i.e., "Timewyrm: Genesys," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice")
• All BBC Eighth Doctor, Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor and Past Doctor stories (i.e., "The Eight Doctors," "The Clockwise Man,", "The Stone Rose", "The Witch Hunters").
• All Telos novellas (i.e, "Frayed")
• All BBC radio dramas and webcasts (i.e., "The Paradise of Death," "Death Comes to Time", "Real Time")
• All audio dramas released by BBV and Big Finish (including Dalek Empire, Cyberman (audio series), Gallifrey (audio series) etc) (i.e., "Republica," "Storm Warning," "Invasion of the Daleks")
• All comic strips appearing in the BBC Radio Times and Doctor Who Magazine.
• All Abslom Daak, Bernice Summerfield, Kaldor City, Faction Paradox, Time Hunter, and Miranda stories.
• All spin-offs, like "Torchwood" and "The Sarah Jane Adventures".

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").

A History of the Universe, I, Who, About Time, and 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 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, as these often contain characters, dates, events, and settings not shown in the original television versions.
• Roleplaying games (FASA), as these sometimes contain histories and other information which conflicts with the television and prose stories. (Although some material from the FASA game were later incorporated into the Missing and New Adventure stories.)
• Fan-made blueprints and specifications
• Fan fiction of any kind (this includes fanon)
• Websites, unless information is clearly stated as sourced from a valid reference. (The Doctor Who Reference Guide meets this criteria, and so is considered valid.)

Items on which policy is unclear

• The relevance of The Doctor Who Technical Manual, 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 {{proposed deletion}} 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 talk page, and the article should be edited as appropriate. (See also 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.