View source for Pikipedia:Canon policy

{{shortcut|P:CANON}}
This policy pertains to the [[canon]] information on the wiki, particularly its coverage scope. Because of the wild nature of video games and their content, a distinction must be settled so that non-canon information is not written as canon.

==Scope==
Pikipedia documents information regarding the ''Pikmin'' franchise, but unless otherwise specified, it is all canon. There are three rough "degrees" of canon:
* '''Pure canon''': The information is objectively true in the context of the ''Pikmin'' universe.
* '''Objectionable canon''': The information comes from a source quite close to the universe's canon, but it cannot be definitely considered canon. It does not contradict with any canon sources, so it is normally accepted as official.
* '''Non-canon''': The information is not true in the ''Pikmin'' universe. It is included on Pikipedia purely for trivial, complementary or completion purposes.

For the most part, Pikipedia takes interest in documenting the facts that happen in the games and other media, regardless of their canon. Nevertheless, this policy helps distinguish the canonical value of some elements in the series, for the purpose of giving the ''Pikmin'' universe a sense of definition, and to clearly distinguish content that should not be considered canon by readers interested in the universe's lore. For a list of what elements count as what, see the [[canon]] article.

==Marking==
===Pure canon===
Pure canon content must not be marked, and must be said as if it were something in real life, while still acknowledging the fact that it is a game.

{| style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto;" class="wikitable"
! style="width: 33%; color: #800;" | Bad
! style="width: 33%; color: #880;" | So-so
! style="width: 33%; color: #080;" | Good
|-
| Real world perspective
| In-universe perspective
| Mixed perspective
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | "[[Burgeoning Spiderwort]]s are fictional, virtual plants that debuted in the video game ''[[Pikmin 2]]''."
| style="text-align: center;" | "Burgeoning Spiderworts are plants discovered by [[Captain Olimar]] during his second trip to [[PNF-404]]."
| style="text-align: center;" | "Burgeoning Spiderworts are plants that debuted in ''Pikmin 2''."
|-
| It is obvious that the article won't be detailing any plants in real life, and that ''Pikmin 2'' is a game. Pikipedia is a wiki about a fictional franchise, so naturally, it should be expected for the content within to be fictional. Explaining that the subject is not real is almost condescending, and could add unnecessary [[wikipedia:Purple prose|purple prose]].
| Although this is true, it doesn't help the reader understand exactly when the plants debuted. The information is a part of the canon, but the readers are still humans in the real world, and it is more convenient to explain the information with that in mind.
| This example both explains the plants as if they were as canon as a real plant, while still implying that they're virtual. No extra words are needed, the text feels right from an in-universe perspective, and is still useful and comfortable to real world readers.
|}

===Objectionable canon===
Sections or articles that detail material with objectionable canon should start with <code><nowiki>{{nocanon|y}}</nowiki></code>. This creates the following box:
{{nocanon|y}}

===Non-canon===
Sections or articles about non-canon content should begin with <code><nowiki>{{nocanon}}</nowiki></code>. This code creates the following box:
{{nocanon}}

==Fan content==
Fan-created content is not canon and, for the most part, is not accepted on Pikipedia. In addition, fan-created theories are also non canon, but may provide an explanation over something that is. Some fan-made content can follow the known canon perfectly, but unless it is useful to complement canon information, it should not go on the wiki. For the purpose of gathering fan-made ideas and content, the [[fanon:|Pikmin Fanon]] wiki was created.

==Conflicts==
Because the ''Pikmin'' games are developed by {{w|Nintendo EAD}} in Japan, the Japanese [[Region|version]] of a game is technically more canon than the remaining versions. However, because Pikipedia is an English wiki, it considers the information on the American version more canon than the Japanese version. The European version comes second. For instance, it is more canonical that Captain Olimar recovered a [[Abstract Masterpiece|Snapple lid]] on the sixth sublevel of the [[Shower Room]] than it is to say that he recovered a [[Plentiful Tank|Breitsamer honey jar]]; that, in turn, is more canonical than saying he recovered an Ohayo milk cover.

{{policies}}
[[Category:Policies]]