Help:Stub

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What is a stub?

A stub is any article which is too short (or stubby) to provide encyclopedic coverage of the subject in an article. Stubs are recognized by the stub marker template at the bottom of an article, placed above the categories in the coding by typing {{Stub}}. When an editor places a stub marker on an article, they feel something more can be said to the article that they can do, or don't have the time to add.

To qualify as a stub an article must at least define the meaning of the article's title, usually three to ten sentences. Some of these articles can be filled with content from a simple web search, while others require information from a knowledgeable editor, or significant research. Articles which lack wikification or copy editing are generally not considered stubs, and small articles with little information may end up being nominated for deletion or be merged into another relevant article.

Are Stubs Bad?

It is generally felt a stub is good as it is one step closer to a full article than having no article at all. However, having hundreds of articles with little to no content isn't good either, so the goal isn't to make as many article titles as we can, but to have as many complete articles as we can, requiring the ratio of total articles versus stub articles should be kept low.

For more information, see Wikipedia's stub article, and to see all current stub articles which need editting, see the stubs or construction categories.