Wikipedia:Content forks

This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.

Shortcut WP:CFORK

This page in a nutshell: Most types of content forks are acceptable. The two types that are not are POV forks, in which articles are split up so that one can advocate a different stance on the subject, and pages of the same type on the same subject (also known as "redundant content forks").

A content fork is a piece of content (such as an inter-wiki object, a page, or a page section) that has the same scope as another piece of content that predated it, essentially covering the same topic. A content fork is acceptable or unacceptable depending on its type. Content forking is the act of creating a content fork. Transclusions are not content forks, because they do not diverge from the originals (usually templates).

As articles grow, editors are encouraged to create summary-style spin-offs or new, linked articles for related material, to make articles clearer and easier to manage.

While content forks that are different page types covering the same subject are acceptable, they should not contradict each other—contradictions should be corrected or removed.

When a content fork occurs by the creation of a pair of pages of the same type (such as two articles, or two templates, or two outlines) on the same subject, it results in two different versions of the same thing, which is unacceptable. The new page in such a pair is called a "redundant content fork". Content fork articles created unintentionally result in redundant or conflicting articles and are to be avoided, as the goal of a single source of truth is preferable in most circumstances. Therefore, it is important for an editor to check, before creating a new article on a particular subject, that there isn't already an article covering that subject.

A point of view (POV) fork is a content fork deliberately created to avoid a neutral point of view (including undue weight), often to avoid or highlight negative or positive viewpoints or facts. All POV forks are undesirable on Wikipedia, as they avoid consensus building, which violates one of our most important policies.