Wikipedia is not a dictionary edit
1. A brief introduction saying that this article is about Afro-American homosexuality. 2. A quick mention that 'down-low' has other meanings with links to the other meanings. 3. A section on the etymology of the phrase itself. 4. The main part of the article talking about AA homosexuality.Please note that I'm not trying to favour one definition over another. If you think other definitions are equally important I think they should also get articles (but seperate articles). Ashmoo (talk) 08:46, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
Example: This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Neptune (disambiguation).
Directions from Wikipedia policy edit
WP:NOTDIC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_not_a_dictionary
Wikipedia is not a dictionary or a slang, jargon or usage guide. The goal of this project is to create an encyclopedia. Our sibling project Wiktionary has the goal of creating a dictionary.
CORE ISSUE: Wikipedia articles should begin with a good definition and description of one topic, however, they should provide other types of information about that topic as well.
Wikipedia articles are not dictionary articles, are not whole dictionaries, and are not slang and usage guides.
Articles are about a person, or a people, a concept, a place, an event, a thing etc. that their title can denote. The article octopus is about the animal: its physiology, its use as food, its scientific classification, and so forth.
Sometimes, also, a Wikipedia article will be badly named. Its title will be an adjective or an adverb or an inflection of a verb that isn't a noun. Such articles are only dictionary articles if they can only discuss the word or phrase, rather than what the word or phrase denotes. If they discuss what the word or phrase denotes, then they should be renamed or merged to the title that adheres to our Wikipedia:Naming conventions. For example: "supermassive" is an adjective, and doesn't by itself denote an actual subject. Supermassive black hole is an actual subject.
Article Name edit
- Down_Low_(sexual_identity_and_lifestyle)
- Down_Low_(sexual_identity_and_community)
- Down_Low_(sexual_identity_and_culture)
- Down_Low_(sexual_lifestyle_and_community)
Article Intro edit
This article is about Down Low as a sexual behavior, preference, and culture in the context of African American men that identify as heterosexual, but have sex with men without disclosing this to their female sexual partners. For other uses, see
Examples of Good Intros edit
However, sometimes, a Wikipedia article (particularly stubs) will be badly written. Its introduction will say something such as "Dog is a term for an animal with the binomial name Canis lupus." or "Dog is a word that refers to a domesticated canine.". Such articles are not dictionary articles. They are badly written encyclopedia articles, that should be cleaned up in accordance with our Guide to writing better articles. Simply replace the cumbersome phrasings such as "is a term for", "is a word that means", "refers to", with the very simple "is": "A dog is an animal with the binomial name Canis lupus." "A dog is a domesticated canine."