Wikipedia:WikiProject Magic
Welcome to the Magic WikiProject on the English Wikipedia! The Project was set up with the aim of significantly improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to magic as a performance art. If you would like to join us, please feel free to add your name to the list of project members. But perhaps the most important thing is to look around the current articles and contribute wherever you can.
The project generally considers any article related to magic as a performance art to be within its scope. A more detailed description of the scope, and our primary focus areas within it, may be found in the sections on project structure.
The term structure is used here to mean the overall organisation of the project, the categorisation of articles, and the internal structure of articles. The project began with a very loose structure but, in order to reduce confusion, efforts are being made to be more rigorous about this aspect of the project. Full detail can be found in the "Structure" section below.
The sections on structure and Magic methods/Exposure constitute guidelines. These have been established following discussion among editors and are derived from general Wikipedia policies and guidelines. It is important that they are followed.
The structure of the project is reflected in a structured set of categories that fall under the main heading - Category:Magic (illusion). Among other things, these categories will be an attempt to reflect generally accepted branches of magic.
The internal structure of any particular article will depend upon the type of article.
These are articles that give a broad overview of the whole subject area. They help to define the project. They include:
These are articles that have relevance to themes in a significant number of other articles within the project but which are more specialist in nature than the main articles. Current examples and future possibilities include:
Hopefully a self explanatory heading. Articles within this section of the project should have regard to Wikipedia's general guidelines on biographical articles WP:BLP and to the guidance for WikiProject Biography. The following additional guidelines apply:
These should be placed in Category:Magic tricks and may also be categorised into one of the branches of magic - ( see below), although this is not essential. In rare cases a trick might be relevant to more than one branch.
The following are guidelines on the structure of an article about a trick:
All articles within this section should be put in the main category - Category:Magic publications, whether or not they are also placed in sub-categories.
Articles on notable magic shows. These should be placed in Category:Television_magic_shows
Branches of magic are included as sub-categories within Category:Magic (illusion). (However not all sub-categories of Category:Magic (illusion) are branches of magic).
The part of the project that relates to magicians is a child of WikiProject Biography
Currently there are no descendant projects.
The publication of magic methods has proved controversial and so it is especially important that any attempt to do so should adhere strictly to the established policies and guidelines that are Wikipedia's foundation. The following aspects must be considered:
If information about a method is quoted from another freely available source then it becomes more difficult for magicians to argue that Wikipedia is the point at which exposure is occurring. Proper citation of sources should also help to defend Wikipedia against any action for breach of confidentiality. In addition, some unsourced information on methods that has crept into Wikipedia appears speculative and inaccurate, which undermines the quality of the Magic Project generally and contravenes WP:NOR
It is therefore especially vital to adhere to WP:Attribution.
Because the concept of intellectual property often forms part of arguments about exposure of methods and because magicians have occasionally resorted to the courts in an attempt to suppress publication of methods it is important that attention is paid to relevant areas of law. The Wikipedia policy on Copyright problems deals with part of this but there might also be additional issues to do with information that is covered by laws on confidentiality (eg. this might be because it is covered by a Non-disclosure agreement but could also be because, in some jurisdictions, there are laws that automatically give certain information a confidential quality).
Note: This section does not pre-empt proper legal advice, which Wikipedia already has provisions for. Neither is it intended to be taken as an argument in favour of prior restraint. It is merely intended as cautionary advice. Before adding material concerning methods, contributors should take reasonable steps to confirm the material is not covered by copyright or confidentiality. There might be debate about what constitutes "reasonable steps", but to some extent the solution again resides with application of WP:Attribution.
If a method is added to an article but no reference is provided the following from WP:Attribution will apply:
Given the sections above about controversial material and original research this can be applied immediately and overrides the practice of tagging information as unsourced and then waiting for a period to see whether citations are subsequently provided. A request for sources for a method should be placed on the talk page. Only when a full citation can be provided can the method be added to the article.
The code {{WikiProject Magic}} is positioned at the top of the talk page for each article within the project. It produces a box that looks like this...
![]() | Magic Unassessed | ||||||
|
The code {{Magicbox}} is placed at the bottom of each article. It produces a box that looks like this...
{{Magicbox}}
The code {{Magic-spoiler}} is used to create a warning message ahead of any content that might explain information that some people might regard as secret or as likely to spoil the enjoyment of a trick if it were known to audience members. It produces a heading that looks like this...
{{Magic-spoiler}}
The code {{magic-stub}} is used to indicate stub articles within the project. It produces a footnote that looks like this...
![]() |
WikiProject: Magic ( or discuss this box) |
[[Category:WikiProject Performing arts|Magic]]
Wikipedia:WikiProject Magic
Welcome to the Magic WikiProject on the English Wikipedia! The Project was set up with the aim of significantly improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to magic as a performance art. If you would like to join us, please feel free to add your name to the list of project members. But perhaps the most important thing is to look around the current articles and contribute wherever you can.
The project generally considers any article related to magic as a performance art to be within its scope. A more detailed description of the scope, and our primary focus areas within it, may be found in the sections on project structure.
The term structure is used here to mean the overall organisation of the project, the categorisation of articles, and the internal structure of articles. The project began with a very loose structure but, in order to reduce confusion, efforts are being made to be more rigorous about this aspect of the project. Full detail can be found in the "Structure" section below.
The sections on structure and Magic methods/Exposure constitute guidelines. These have been established following discussion among editors and are derived from general Wikipedia policies and guidelines. It is important that they are followed.
The structure of the project is reflected in a structured set of categories that fall under the main heading - Category:Magic (illusion). Among other things, these categories will be an attempt to reflect generally accepted branches of magic.
The internal structure of any particular article will depend upon the type of article.
These are articles that give a broad overview of the whole subject area. They help to define the project. They include:
These are articles that have relevance to themes in a significant number of other articles within the project but which are more specialist in nature than the main articles. Current examples and future possibilities include:
Hopefully a self explanatory heading. Articles within this section of the project should have regard to Wikipedia's general guidelines on biographical articles WP:BLP and to the guidance for WikiProject Biography. The following additional guidelines apply:
These should be placed in Category:Magic tricks and may also be categorised into one of the branches of magic - ( see below), although this is not essential. In rare cases a trick might be relevant to more than one branch.
The following are guidelines on the structure of an article about a trick:
All articles within this section should be put in the main category - Category:Magic publications, whether or not they are also placed in sub-categories.
Articles on notable magic shows. These should be placed in Category:Television_magic_shows
Branches of magic are included as sub-categories within Category:Magic (illusion). (However not all sub-categories of Category:Magic (illusion) are branches of magic).
The part of the project that relates to magicians is a child of WikiProject Biography
Currently there are no descendant projects.
The publication of magic methods has proved controversial and so it is especially important that any attempt to do so should adhere strictly to the established policies and guidelines that are Wikipedia's foundation. The following aspects must be considered:
If information about a method is quoted from another freely available source then it becomes more difficult for magicians to argue that Wikipedia is the point at which exposure is occurring. Proper citation of sources should also help to defend Wikipedia against any action for breach of confidentiality. In addition, some unsourced information on methods that has crept into Wikipedia appears speculative and inaccurate, which undermines the quality of the Magic Project generally and contravenes WP:NOR
It is therefore especially vital to adhere to WP:Attribution.
Because the concept of intellectual property often forms part of arguments about exposure of methods and because magicians have occasionally resorted to the courts in an attempt to suppress publication of methods it is important that attention is paid to relevant areas of law. The Wikipedia policy on Copyright problems deals with part of this but there might also be additional issues to do with information that is covered by laws on confidentiality (eg. this might be because it is covered by a Non-disclosure agreement but could also be because, in some jurisdictions, there are laws that automatically give certain information a confidential quality).
Note: This section does not pre-empt proper legal advice, which Wikipedia already has provisions for. Neither is it intended to be taken as an argument in favour of prior restraint. It is merely intended as cautionary advice. Before adding material concerning methods, contributors should take reasonable steps to confirm the material is not covered by copyright or confidentiality. There might be debate about what constitutes "reasonable steps", but to some extent the solution again resides with application of WP:Attribution.
If a method is added to an article but no reference is provided the following from WP:Attribution will apply:
Given the sections above about controversial material and original research this can be applied immediately and overrides the practice of tagging information as unsourced and then waiting for a period to see whether citations are subsequently provided. A request for sources for a method should be placed on the talk page. Only when a full citation can be provided can the method be added to the article.
The code {{WikiProject Magic}} is positioned at the top of the talk page for each article within the project. It produces a box that looks like this...
![]() | Magic Unassessed | ||||||
|
The code {{Magicbox}} is placed at the bottom of each article. It produces a box that looks like this...
{{Magicbox}}
The code {{Magic-spoiler}} is used to create a warning message ahead of any content that might explain information that some people might regard as secret or as likely to spoil the enjoyment of a trick if it were known to audience members. It produces a heading that looks like this...
{{Magic-spoiler}}
The code {{magic-stub}} is used to indicate stub articles within the project. It produces a footnote that looks like this...
![]() |
WikiProject: Magic ( or discuss this box) |
[[Category:WikiProject Performing arts|Magic]]