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Memory Alpha  AboutPolicies and guidelines → Featured article policies
Memory Alpha
This page describes one of Memory Alpha's policies and guidelines.
Please read through the policy below to familiarize yourself with our common practices and rules.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or complaints, please post them on the talk page.

Featured articles are considered to be examples of Memory Alpha's best work and are showcased on main page and in the portals. They are especially well-written, informative, and comprehensive articles that cover all available information on a subject. As such, it is crucial that the following policies and guidelines concerning featured articles be observed – as they are intended to maintain adequate standards of quality for the list.

Nominations[]

If you know of an article you think meets the featured article criteria, you can nominate it on the featured article nominations page.

Discussing nominations[]

  • Any registered user that has been in existence for at least two weeks or with at least twenty significant contributions can participate in nominations.
  • An archivist may start more than one nomination, provided that the overall number of concurrent nominations doesn't exceed two.
  • Starting a nomination is considered a vote in support of the article.
  • At least one additional vote is required.
  • Be sure that you are familiar with the entire article before you form an opinion and vote.
  • If you approve of an article, write '''Support''' followed by your reasons.
  • If you have any objections, write '''Oppose''' followed by your reasons.
  • If you want to comment without supporting or opposing, you may do so.
  • To withdraw a vote, strike it out (with <s>...</s>) rather than removing it.
  • As always, sign your comments (~~~~). This is important to keep track of voting.

Nominations and/or objections that do not meet and/or directly address the featured article criteria may be removed by administrators without prior notice. In such an event, the archivist in question will then be contacted with a reason why their post was removed.

Resolving nominations[]

A nomination can generally be resolved if it has been inactive for fourteen days, meaning that there were no new votes or work done to resolve objections in that time, or if there is no indication of a resolution after six weeks. The following results are possible:

  • If there was unanimous support for the article or all objections are resolved, the nomination is successful and the current revision of the article becomes the featured one. This should be done by adding the {{featured}} template to the bottom of the article.
  • If there are unresolved objections or less than two votes, the article is considered in dispute, and the nomination is unsuccessful.
  • Nominations with five or more unanimous votes, either in support or objecting to the article, can be resolved after fourteen days, though the fifth vote must have been cast at least 24 hours before the nomination is resolved.

Any objections to the article's blurb are independent of the article itself, though a successful nomination can not end until 24 hours after all objections to the blurb are resolved. When a nomination discussion is resolved, it should be placed at the top of that article's talk page; with a link placed in the nomination archive.

Renominating an article[]

If a nomination has been unsuccessful for whatever reason, the article may be suggested again after a waiting period of four weeks from the date of the initial rejection. This time should be used to address any unresolved objections that were made during the initial nomination process.

Reviews[]

Featured articles can, and should, be brought up for review from time to time to ensure that they are still an example of Memory Alpha's best work. It is expected that these articles will have undergone revisions over time to keep them up to date, and it's important to make sure that these revisions have maintained the quality expected of a featured article.

Any featured article more than six months old can be listed on the featured article reviews page. If you feel the current revision of a feature article is just as good, or better, than the featured revision, it should be added to the "uphold" section on the discussion page. If you feel that an article currently listed as a featured article needs to be removed from the feature article list, for example because it has been significantly changed for the worst, it should be listed on the discussion page in the "remove" section. Either way, be sure to state the reason(s) why you think the article should be reviewed; then add the {{far}} template to the top of the article in question while leaving an edit summary informing other members that it was listed for review.

Review discussions[]

  • Any registered user that has been in existence for at least two weeks and with at least twenty significant contributions can participate in review discussions.
  • An archivist may start more than one review, provided that the overall number of concurrent reviews doesn't exceed five.
  • Starting a review is considered a vote in support for the suggested course of action.
  • At least one additional vote is required.
  • Be sure that you are familiar with the entire article before you form an opinion and vote.
  • If you approve of the suggested action, write '''Support''' followed by your reasons.
  • If you have any objections, write '''Oppose''' followed by your reasons.
  • The rationale for supporting or objecting to the suggested action should be directly related to one or more of the featured article criteria. Rationale purely based on personal preference is considered invalid.
  • If you wish to request more time to make minor changes or read the article, write '''Hold''' followed by your reasons and how long you think you would need. Generally, holds should only be for a few days at most.
  • If you want to comment without supporting or opposing, you may do so.
  • To withdraw a vote, strike it out (with <s>...</s>) rather than removing it.
  • As always, sign your comments (~~~~). This is important to keep track of voting.

Frivolous reviews, for example ones that have nothing to do with the featured article criteria, may be removed by administrators without notice.

Resolving reviews[]

The following results are possible:

  • If support to uphold the article's featured status during the review is unanimous, or all objections are resolved, the current revision of the article becomes the featured revision after fourteen days. This should be done by updating the featured revision ID and date in the {{featured}} template at the bottom of the article.
  • If the majority of votes cast are for removal after fourteen days, the article will be removed from the featured article list.
  • Reviews with five or more unanimous votes, either to uphold or remove the article, can be resolved after seven days, though the fifth vote must have been cast at least 24 hours before the review is resolved.
  • Reviews that do not have unanimous support to uphold the article, a majority to remove it from the feature article list, or two votes after fourteen days of inactivity are considered deadlocked, and the original revision will remain the featured one.

Any objections to the main page blurb are independent of the article, though a review to uphold a featured article can not end until 24 hours after all objections to the blurb are resolved. When a review is resolved, it should be placed with the nomination discussion on the article's talk page, and a link should be placed in the archive.

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