Rules:Notability

The Notability policy governs whether a topic warrants its own article on the D.Gray-man Wiki.

Reasons
This policy is based upon the importance, uniqueness, or independent viability of an article. The implementation of this policy is to prevent the wiki from becoming an indiscriminate collection of information, and this shall ensure the practical value and encyclopedic merit of the wiki.

Similarly related is the concept of relevancy, which applies to the content within articles. All information should be conceivably relevant to the average reader; trivial details - and other information outside of the main franchise - should be trimmed to keep articles focused and coherent.

The burden of proof (in regards to compliance with this policy) lies within the editor wishing to add an article or split an existing article, in order to prevent its merging with a preexisting article or prevent its deletion.

Criteria for Inclusion
Notability requirements must be satisfied by a topic meeting one or more of the following criteria:
 * 1) The topic is important to the ​D.Gray-man series: that is, it has significant plot or lore relevance, or is an important feature of the franchise
 * 2) The topic is unique or distinct to the ​D.Gray-man series​: a subject that is not especially important to the ​D.Gray-man  series​ may still be deserving of its own article, if it contains a unique or recognisable element to the D.Gray-man franchise
 * 3) The topic has inherent potential for article growth: this is regardless of existing length, so long as it maintains relevance independent of contingent topics, or is a recurring element across multiple mediums of the franchise

Splitting and Merging
The notability test is often a question of independent notability. If a topic is closely related to - or dependent upon - a broader topic, and cannot "stand on its own two feet", there is no need for it to have its own article.

When a topic is not independently viable, it may be merged into the next-most related article with a broader topic. Often, this means redirecting the article's title into the article with which it is being merged (referred to as the "parent" article). However, some topics are so non-notable that a redirect may not even be necessary.

When merging a non-notable article into a parent article, it is important to avoid:
 * Merging two topics that are categorically incongruent (e.g., merging a location article into a related character article; instead, the location article should be merged into a parent article that is within the same category).
 * Article stacking, i.e. simply pasting the non-notable article's contents into the parent article under its own section. Instead, content should be added in harmony with the existing content, and both topics should be covered with due weight throughout the article.

Conversely, some articles may cover multiple topics, but would benefit from having one or more of those topics covered on their own articles. If the topic in question satisfies the above criteria for inclusion, or can "stand on its own two feet", it may be split from its parent topic into a new article. When this occurs, it may be wise to briefly summarise the sub-topic on the original page in its own section, and then direct readers to the dedicated article.

Scope of the Wiki
The D.Gray-man Wiki aims to be a comprehensive resource for D.Gray-man fans, but it does not devote coverage to everything conceivably related to the D.Gray-man franchise. On the contrary, it primarily focuses on the canon and content of the franchise, with everything else required to supplement such a focus. This means we focus on content within the manga, anime, games, musical soundtracks, and anything that directly connects to the fictional world and consumable materials of the franchise itself

As such, we does not cover:
 * Real-world biographies:
 * This includes people involved with the creation of the series, such as voice actors and general anime staff, but excludes the author Katsura Hoshino, as a sufficiently comprehensive article dedicated to them would exceed her involvement with D.Gray-man
 * Cut content:
 * "Behind the Scenes" information:
 * This includes information related to franchises which feature D.Gray-man elements, but are not installments to the D.Gray-man series.
 * Content that cannot be verified by canonical material
 * Articles whose topics are not sufficiently notable

What the Wiki is Not
The stated goal our this wiki is to become a comprehensive resource for the D.Gray-man fandom, but - as such - it is possible to misconstrue the means to that end. The D.Gray-man is not:
 * A place for discussion concerning the manga or topics therein that are not relevant to the improvement of the wiki itself (e.g. theories, speculation, shipping debates, etc.)
 * These things may be discussed elsewhere, such as on a relevant subreddit or our wiki's Discuss section
 * An indiscriminate collection of information:
 * Content must have practical and encyclopedic value. Merely being true is not enough to be included on the wiki (see "Notability" above)
 * Spoiler-protected:
 * It should be a basic expectation that an encyclopedic site about a topic will have spoilers abound