[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia is not a dictionary (was: Re: Old Wikipedia backups discovered)

[Anthony]

On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 4:49 PM, Stephanie Daugherty
<sdaugherty at gmail.com> wrote:
> Reading it this way, and keeping in mind that our guidelines are just that,
> guidelines, that means that "not a dictionary" is it's own EXCLUSION test,
> aside from the INCLUSION test of notability. The same would go for any other
> exclusion test. Interpreting it as a guideline rather than a hard and fast
> rule, that means that "not a dictionary" stands on it's own. When it
> applies, the article probably doesn't belong here regardless of it's
> notability, but there may be the need to make exceptions.

I think that's roughly the way the guidelines is interpreted by most,
though with a special de facto exception for offensive terms (I think
the way it works is that no one wants to write an encyclopedia article
about the concept behind the offensive term, so the article becomes
one about the word, and not the concept).