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This page is considered an official policy on Star Wars Fanon.
It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that everyone should follow. Except for minor edits, please make use of the discussion page to propose changes to this policy.

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This page is a Star Wars Fanon guide or help page.

It gives an in-depth explanation about its subject, such as a policy or Star Wars Fanon feature. Feel free to update the page as needed, but please use the discussion page to propose major changes.

The categorization tutorial is a detailed explanation about how to categorize articles on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, as based on the policies in the Manual of Style, as well as additional guidelines for categories that will be able to help users properly categorize their articles in accordance with the Manual of Style.

How to categorize[]

NonLegitCategories

An example of categories that are not legitimate without an in-universe category.

Adding a category into an article is quick and simple. To do so, add [[Category:CategoryName]] to the page, though of course you need to supply the name of a category found at Special:Categories. Please be aware that clean up categories or author categories such as "Articles that need to be fanonified" or "Articles by Darth tom" are not legitimate categories, nor are red link categories. Only pre-established in-universe categories (or out-of-universe categories for articles about fan fiction) and specially created categories to fit a certain fan series constitute legitimate categories. For the extensive list of legitimate categories not found below, please once again see Categories.

Articles must be correctly categorized upon the creation. If they are not, another user will categorize it upon seeing it on the Recent Changes list or on the Uncategorized pages list. The user will receive a notice on how to categorize their articles and they will be directed to this policy, though no bans will be handed out for failing to categorize an article.

Special notes[]

The following matters are addressed in this policy, but are frequent sources of confusion.

Categorization is not tagging[]

Many websites, such as Instagram, TikTok, and DeviantArt, allow and rely on "tagging" images or videos—adding as many relevant words or phrases, with varying degrees of specificity, to aid both internal searches for (hopefully) relevant images and external search engine optimization. Categorization is not tagging.

Categorization is focused on finding the correct and most specific categories for a page, not every conceivably relevant category. There is no numerical limit on categories for a single page, but every page must follow the categorization rules below. On DeviantArt, a user who uploads a painting of a male Jedi Knight could reasonably tag it "jedi", "jediknight", "malejedi", and "malejediknight" (and "painting"), but, as will be explained below, that practice is not correct or acceptable on SWFanon.

Nonexistent categories[]

Nonexistent categories are straightforward; they don't exist on this Wikia (simply typing words into the category space as you're posting or editing an article doesn't create a category). A full list of all SWFanon's many, many categories may be found here. Per the above, "[o]nly pre-established in-universe categories (or out-of-universe categories for articles about fan fiction) and specially created categories to fit a certain fan series constitute legitimate categories". In other words, you can create categories to fit your fan fiction (see, e.g., a creation of Sakaros's here), but otherwise, the only valid categories (aside from user-based categories, e.g. Articles by Sakaros) are pre-established ones for the Star Wars universe (usually, though not always, guided by Wookieepedia). It is extremely unlikely that a category SWFanon needs doesn't already exist; always check first, and make sure it doesn't exist under another name (e.g. Slicers is a category, and includes the concept of "Hackers", which is not). If a category doesn't exist and you think it is needed, ask yourself to how many characters it applies; there should never be a "category of one". If you think it is needed and it applies to at least a handful of characters and it's a broadly applicable category (not one unique to your creations), feel free to ask a member of the admin team for guidance.

Duplicative/redundant categories[]

When two categories apply to a character, and one is more specific than the other (that is to say, one is a sub-category of the other), add the more specific one and don't add the less specific. As a related policy, if multiple "parallel" categories apply (i.e. neither is a sub-category of the other), but one is chronologically later than and superseded the others, only the latest applies.

Since that's kind of abstract, here's a concrete example: take Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was a Jedi, and during his life, he was a Jedi Initiate, Jedi Padawan, Jedi Knight, and Jedi Master; he was also a Jedi Guardian and a Jedi Council member, among other things. You would not add "Jedi" because "Initiates", "Padawans", "Knights", and "Masters" are all sub-categories of Category:Jedi ranks, which is itself a sub-category of "Jedi". Those four ranks are parallel categories, but each came after and superseded the previous one (i.e. when he became a Padawan he stopped being an Initiate, when he became a Knight he stopped being a Padawan, etc.), so only "Jedi Masters" applies. "Jedi Guardians" and "Jedi Council members", however, can be added along with "Jedi Masters", because none of them are sub-categories of the others, and none of them superseded another. When it concerns fallen Jedi (or redeemed dark siders), the "later and superseding" policy also applies; Anakin Skywalker would get Redeemed Jedi (and Former Sith Lords), not Sith Lords.

Double categories[]

A double category is a category with multiple independent descriptors. With a handful of narrow exceptions, double categories are forbidden.

To follow an example above, both Category:Males and Category:Jedi Knights are categories, but [[Category:Male Jedi Knights]] is not and should not be. Common attempted abuses include sex-based double categories for anything imaginable (e.g. "Category:Male Jedi Knights", "Category:Female Twi'leks", "Category:Male bounty hunters") and combinations of species and planets ("Category:Rodians from Tatooine") or species and occupations ("Category:Trandoshan Sith Lords").

The few exceptions generally revolve around combinations of rank and affiliation (e.g. Category:Republic Navy admirals), era (e.g. Category:Pre-Ruusan Jedi Knights or Category:Battles of the New Sith Wars), or astral body and location (e.g. Category:Unknown Regions moons). As with nonexistent categories, do not simply guess SWFanon is missing some obvious combination and create it yourself; ask an Admin first.

Fanon categories[]

Characters[]

Jedi[]

Many articles on Star Wars Fanon revolve around characters who were a member of the Jedi Order. At one point in the history of Star Wars Fanon, categories would have been used for every rank that character attained during his or her time in the Jedi Order. For example, if a character’s storyline described their journey from their days as a Jedi Padawan to their days as a Jedi Master, that would have meant at least three separate categories: Jedi Padawan, Jedi Knight and Jedi Master. However, that is not the most efficient way, nor is it the most desirable way. Therefore, the author should only use the Category:Jedi Masters in the article.

For example, Nathaniel Kenobi attained the rank of Jedi Master during his life. Therefore, that would be the only "Jedi" category in the article, even if the article details his time as a Jedi Padawan and a Jedi Knight. Category:Jedi also should not be in the article, as the Jedi Master category is a sub-category of Jedi. Category:Jedi is only to be used if the rank of the Jedi in question is unknown. The list of all of the basic Jedi categories is as follows:

During the thousands of years that the Jedi Order operated, many Jedi turned to the dark side of the Force for a variety of different reasons. If your character was once a Jedi but turned to the dark side, please use Category:Fallen Jedi. If your character fell to the dark side but was later redeemed, use Category:Redeemed Jedi rather than Category:Fallen Jedi.

Sith[]

Many articles on Star Wars Fanon also revolve around characters who were members of the Sith Empire and/or Order of the Sith Lords. Categorizing articles with characters who were members of the Sith works the same as categorizing articles with characters who were members of the Jedi Order. Even if the article describes the character’s time while holding all ranks that Sith can hold, only the character’s final rank is to be categorized. For example, Darth Abeonis held many ranks within the Sith, making it to the rank of Dark Lord of the Sith. He also was the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire. Therefore, the two categories he uses for his Sith ranks should be Category:Dark Lords of the Sith and Category:Dark Lords of the Decreton Empire. Any rank that is not a basic Sith rank in the Star Wars canon universe, i.e. created by the author of the article, may have a category created by the author. The list of all basic Sith categories is as follows:

During the thousands of years that the Sith Empire operated, many Sith either returned to the light side of the Force or simply decided to leave the empire. If this is the case with one of your characters, then do not use a Sith rank category. Instead, please use Category:Former Sith Lords.

Other[]

Vehicles and starships[]

Unlike characters, categorizing vehicles can be rather difficult. Vehicles must be categorized based upon what type of vehicle they are. For example, the Hapan Dragon Speeder should be categorized under Category:Speeders. In the case when a vehicle fits into more than one category, both should be used. For example, if the subject of the article is a tank and a droid, the article should be categorized under Category:Droids and Category:Tanks.

The categorization of starships can be much more complex. Because there are many different kinds of starships, it is hard to form a coherent categorization system. In the case of The Soiyo, the vessel is not only a starship but it is the flagship of Darth Abeonis's fleet. It is also a Star Destroyer variant. Therefore, it should be categorized under Category:Flagships and Category:Star Destroyer variants.

Organizations and locations[]

In the case of major organizations or governments, categorization is simple. If the article in question is a government, it should be categorized under Category:Governments (or an appropriate subcategory, such as Category:Empires, if applicable). Another widely used organization category is Category:Religious orders.

Most locations can be put into smaller categories. For example, a building such as the Jedi Temple would be put into Category:Jedi academies. A building, such as a business building or company building, could be put into Category:Buildings. Bigger locations, such as planets and moons, would go into Category:Planets and Category:Moons, respectively. However, make sure to properly use sub-categories. For example, if the planet is located in the Mid Rim, it should be placed under Category:Mid Rim planets.

Fan work categories[]

There are a number of categories available for use in fan works, but there are certain instances where some categories are not allowed unless they meet a specific set of requirements. These categories are Category:Novels, Category:Novellas, and Category:Short stories.

Novels[]

Category:Novels may only be used on the main article of a novel if the work's narrative prose has been completed on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. A narrative must have a minimum of 40,000 words to be considered a novel and be placed in the novel category. Plot summaries and other sections on the article do not count towards the 40,000 words. Only the actual narrative counts.

If the novel is in progress, parts of the narrative have been posted on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, and the author intends to have it reach at least 40,000 words, they must place it into Category:Novels in progress. If the novel has not yet been posted onto the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, it must be placed into Category:Future novels.

Novellas[]

Category:Novellas may only be used on the main article of a novella if the work’s narrative prose has been completed on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. A narrative must be between 7,500 and 39,999 words to be considered a novella and be placed in the novella category. Plot summaries and other sections on the article do not count towards the 7,500 to 39,999 words. Only the actual narrative counts.

If the novella is in progress, parts of the narrative have been posted on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, and the author intends to have it be between 7,500 and 39,999 words, they must place it into Category:Novellas in progress. If the novel has not yet been posted onto the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, it must be placed into Category:Future novellas.

Short stories[]

Category:Short stories may only be used on the main article of a novel if the work’s narrative prose has been completed on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. A narrative must have a minimum of 1,000 words and be no longer than 7,499 words to be considered a short story and be placed in the short story category. Plot summaries and other sections on the article do not count towards the 1,000 to 7,499 words. Only the actual narrative counts.

If the short story is in progress, parts of the narrative have been posted on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, and the author intends to have it be between 1,000 to 7,499 words, they must place it into Category:Short stories in progress. If the novel has not yet been posted onto the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, it must be placed into Category:Future short stories.

Fanwork segments[]

Individual chapters or segments for novels, narratives or short stories must be placed into Category:Fanwork segments unless the novel has its own chapter category, such as Category:Chapters of The Chosen One. The corresponding category, however, must be placed into the fanwork segments category. This applies to all types of narratives covered in the previous three sections.

Further explanation[]

The word counts used in this part of the policy are from the Nebula Awards, an award given each year for the best science fiction or fantasy fiction published in the United States. Because these numbers only count towards narrative fiction, they do not apply to comics, photonovels, essential guides, or other mediums. It also only applies to narratives posted on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. Therefore, if work is posted off-site, it would be placed into Category:Fan fiction. Only works posted on Star Wars Fanon in text or through .PDF files may be placed into the novel, narrative, or short stories categories. If you have written a main article for a novel, novella, or short story but do not intend to actually write it, it must be placed into Category:Fan fiction. Finally, if an author does not know how long a future or ongoing work will be in regards to a word count, the article should be placed in Category:Future books until the word count is determined.

If a user or administrator sees that a category has been incorrectly placed onto an article, they will take the appropriate steps to either change the category or request that the user change it themselves. Continued reversion or the ignoring of requests more than once will result in administrative action per the discretion of the administrator involved.

"Images by" categories[]

Categories for images labeled as "Images by" with the name of a user, such as Category:Images by Brandon Rhea, may only contain images created by or significantly modified by the user. Cropping, resizing and rotating, along with other minor edits, do not count as significant modifications to an image. Images that were not created or significantly modified by the user are not permitted to be in "Images by" categories under any circumstances whatsoever.

User-based categories[]

Per a majority vote in September 2008, users are only allowed to create one proper user-based category, that being "Articles by <insert name here>". Subcategories such as "Characters by <insert name here>", "Governments by <insert name here>", "Weapons by <insert name here>" or anything else like that will no longer be allowed. Subcategories that are currently active will have their articles moved to make way for the deletion of the subcategory. When a user is creating their "Articles by <insert name here>" category, they may use their real name.

This rule does not apply to "Templates by <insert name here>" or "Images by <insert name here>", but rather only main space/article categories. "Templates by <insert name here>" is for templates, the template namespace, and "Images by <insert name here>" is for images, in the file namespace. This only applies to article based user categories, such as Articles by, Characters by, etc. in the article (or "main") namespace. Users are also allowed categories to organize novels, such as Category:Chapters of The Chosen One, for example, since those are not documenting their articles. Users are also allowed a single master category to contain all their fanwork segments, such as Category:Fanwork segments by <insert name here>, which will be categorized under Category:Fanwork segments.

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