User:Whiteknight/Textbooks

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Due to a severe shortage of time, I am no longer able to be an active member of the Wikibooks project. Please see my page for more details about my absense. I will continue to monitor my talk page for correspondence and will try to reply quickly when possible.

This guide is going to be a basic guide for what is and is not considered a "textbook" around here. for the complete policy about Wikibooks inclusion criteria, see Wikibooks:What is wikibooks.

Define "Books" and "Textbooks"

According to any standard dictionary definition, a "book" is a work of text that is printed on paper and bound together. Obviously, any "books" on Wikibooks don't fit this definition and aren't traditional books. However, we call our content "books" because they contain instructional material that is written with a specific reading order.

The only books that belong on Wikibooks are "textbooks", although the definition of that word needs to be expanded because Wikibooks is a non-traditional book publishing medium. Textbooks are instructional resources that are used to teach information to a specific target audience. Unlike traditional textbooks which are aimed at school students, a Wikibooks textbook can be used to teach all sorts of people including young children, school children, college students, working professionals, hobbyists, and other self-learners.

What about other books?

There are all sorts of books in this world, and unfortunately the majority of them do not belong on Wikibooks. Here are some examples of types of books that do not belong here:

Dictionary and Thesaurus

A dictionary and a thesaurus are books, but they are not instructional textbooks. If you are interested in writing a dictionary or a thesaurus, you should visit Wiktionary instead. A textbook is allowed to contain a glossary, however.

Encyclopedia

An encyclopedia is a book, but we don't allow encyclopedias on Wikibooks. If you are interested in writing encyclopedia articles, you should visit Wikipedia instead. A Macropedia is a small version of an encyclopedia, that contains a small collection of encyclopedia articles on a particular subject. In Wikibooks, we don't like Macropedias, but we can be tolerant of a book that acts like a macropedia for a while, until it is improved.

Literature

Literature written by famous authors is typically studied in a classroom environment, but these kinds of books are not instructional. Literature, such as original works by famous authors, is not allowed here on Wikibooks. However, because we allow instructional material, we do allow annotated texts: original source literature with the addition of instructional material and critical analysis. If you are interested in reading or uploading orginal works of literature, visit Wikisource.

Fiction

Wikibooks is not for fiction, because fiction is not instructional. In some cases, such as books for young children, instructional material can be presented as allegory or fable, in order to keep the material interesting.

Travel Guides

Travel is certainly interesting, although guides about travel are not instructional and do not belong on Wikibooks.

Videogame Manuals and Guides

Videogame guides are not instructional, and do not belong on Wikibooks. However, it is possible to write instructional books about videogames, such as books about designing and programming videogames, critical analyses of videogames, etc.