(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 two 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 and Dalek Empire audio dramas, television specials, pastiches, and parodies, the Peter Cushing Dalek movies, and other professionally produced spin-off material which may not be universally accepted as canonical by fans.
- 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 Behind-the-Scenes
- Includes episode and movie articles.
- Novels, short stories, audio dramas, computer games, and other professionally produced materials.
Articles about non-professionally produced materials, such as fan-fiction stories, fanzines, and fan videos, or subjects derived therefrom are not covered by the canon policy, as they are not widely known and may have too many continuity conflicts with more official materials. Rare exceptions, such as for the online short movie "Restoration of the Daleks," whose influence on "The Parting of the Ways" is fairly noticeable, may be made.
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., "The Pilot Episode" - "The Parting of the Ways," and beyond)
- Both Dalek movies starring Peter Cushing (i.e., "Dr. Who and the Daleks," "Daleks' Invasion Earth, 2150 AD")
- All Target novels not based on a broadcast television story (i.e., "The Nightmare Fair," "Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma")
- All Missing Adventures and New Adventures stories (i.e., "Timewyrm: Genesys," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice")
- All BBC Eighth Doctor, Ninth Doctor, and Past Doctor stories (i.e., "The Eight Doctors," "The Clockwise Man," "The Witch Hunters").
- All Telos novellas (i.e, "Frayed")
- All BBC radio dramas and online broadcasts (i.e., "The Paradise of Death," "Death Comes to Time")
- All audio dramas released by BBV, Big Finish, and Dalek Empire (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 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, 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.
What is not considered a Valid Resource, and why?
This section is still in flux, as the policy is still under debate.
- Novelizations 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 Adevnture stories.)
- Fan-made blueprints and specifications
- Fan fiction of any kind
- 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 Guide, 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, they should be listed on Tardis:Votes for deletion. They may be deleted two days after they have been listed. In this time, other users may defend the article's validity.
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.
Except in cases of vandalism, obscenity, and other nonsense, you should not edit the article and simply delete the text.