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Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. The amount of information on Wikipedia is practically unlimited, but Wikipedia does not aim to contain all knowledge. What to exclude is determined by an online community committed to building a high-quality encyclopedia. These exclusions are summarized as.

Wikipedia is not a paper encyclopedia

Wikipedia is not a paper encyclopedia, but a digital encyclopedia project. There is no practical limit to the number of topics Wikipedia can cover, or the total amount of content.

However, there is an important distinction between what be done, and what  be done, which is covered under. Consequently, this policy is not a free pass for inclusion: articles must abide by policies, particularly those covered in the five pillars.

Editors should limit individual articles to a reasonable size to keep them accessible (see Article size). Splitting long articles signals a natural growth of a topic (see Summary style). Print encyclopedias can cover most topics only in short, static articles, but Wikipedia can include more information, provide more external links, and update more quickly.

Encyclopedic content
Information should not be included solely because it is true or useful. An article should not be a complete presentation of all possible details, but a summary of accepted knowledge regarding its subject. Verifiable and sourced statements should be treated with appropriate weight. Although there are debates about the encyclopedic merits of several classes of entries, consensus is that the following are good examples of what Wikipedia is not. The examples under each section are not exhaustive.

Wikipedia is not a dictionary

Wikipedia is not a dictionary, or a usage or jargon guide. For a wiki that a dictionary, visit our sister project Wiktionary. Missing dictionary definitions should be contributed there. Wikipedia articles are not:

 * 1) Definitions. Articles should begin with a good definition or description, but articles that contain nothing more than a definition should be expanded with additional encyclopedic content. If they cannot be expanded, Wikipedia is not the place for them. In some cases, however, the definition of a word may be an encyclopedic subject, such as the definition of planet.
 * 2) Dictionary entries. Encyclopedia articles are about a person, or a group, a concept, a place, a thing, an event, etc. In some cases, a word or phrase itself may be an encyclopedic subject, such as Macedonia (terminology) or truthiness. Articles almost always focus on a single definition or usage of the title. Articles about the cultural or mathematical significance of individual numbers are also acceptable.
 * 3) Usage, slang, or idiom guides. Descriptive articles about languages, dialects, or types of slang (such as Klingon language, Cockney, or Leet) are desirable. Prescriptive guides for prospective speakers of such languages are not. See § Wikipedia is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal below. For a wiki that  a collection of textbooks, visit our sister project Wikibooks. Consider transwiki-ing such content there.

Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought

Wikipedia is not a place to publish your own thoughts and analyses or new information. Per the policy on original research, do not use Wikipedia for any of the following :

 * 1) Primary (original) research, such as proposing theories and solutions, communicating original ideas, offering novel definitions of terms, coining new words, etc. If you have completed primary research on a topic, your results should be published in other venues, such as peer-reviewed journals, other printed forms, open research, or respected online publications. Wikipedia can report your work after it is published and becomes part of accepted knowledge; however, citations of reliable sources are needed to demonstrate that such material is verifiable, and not merely the editor's opinion.
 * 2) Personal inventions. If you or a friend invented a drinking game, a new type of dance move, or even the word frindle, it is not notable enough to be given an article until multiple, independent, and reliable secondary sources report on it. And Wikipedia is  not for things made up one day.
 * 3) Personal essays  that state your feelings about a topic (rather than the opinions of experts). Although Wikipedia is supposed to compile human knowledge, it is not a vehicle to make personal opinions become part of such knowledge. In the unusual situation where the opinions of an individual are important enough to discuss, let other people write about them. (Personal essays on Wikipedia-related topics are welcome in your user namespace or on the Meta-wiki.)
 * 4) Discussion forums. Stay on the task of creating an encyclopedia. You can chat with people about Wikipedia-related topics on their user talk pages, and should resolve problems with articles on the relevant talk pages, but do not take discussion into articles. In addition, bear in mind that article talk pages exist solely to discuss how to improve articles; they are not for general discussion about the subject of the article, nor are they a help desk for obtaining instructions or technical assistance. Material unsuitable for talk pages may be subject to removal per the talk page guidelines. If you wish to ask a specific question on a topic, Wikipedia has a Reference desk; questions should be asked there rather than on talk pages. However, these should be used for questions of reasonable academic interest; Wikipedia does not serve as a technical help line or customer support for products or companies that have articles.

Wikipedia is not a soapbox or means of promotion

Wikipedia is not a soapbox, a battleground, or a vehicle for propaganda, advertising and showcasing. This applies to usernames, articles, drafts, categories, files, talk page discussions, templates, and user pages. Therefore, content hosted on Wikipedia is not for:

 * 1) Advocacy, propaganda, or recruitment of any kind: commercial, political, scientific, religious, national, sports-related, or otherwise. An article can report objectively about such things, as long as an attempt is made to describe the topic from a neutral point of view. You might wish to start a blog or visit a forum if you want to convince people of the merits of your opinions.
 * 2) Opinion pieces. Although some topics, particularly those concerning current affairs and politics, may stir passions and tempt people to "climb soapboxes", Wikipedia is not the medium for this. Articles must be balanced to put entries, especially for current events, in a reasonable perspective, and represent a neutral point of view. Furthermore, Wikipedia authors should strive to write articles that will not quickly become obsolete. Wikipedia's sister project Wikinews, however, has "opinion" pages allowing commentary on articles.
 * 3) Scandalmongering, promoting things "heard through the grapevine" or gossiping. Articles and content about living people are required to meet an especially high standard, as they may otherwise be libellous or infringe the subjects' right to privacy. Articles must not be written purely to attack the reputation of another person.
 * 4) Self-promotion. It can be tempting to write about yourself or projects in which you have a strong personal involvement. However, remember that the standards for encyclopedic articles apply to such pages just like any other. This includes the requirement to maintain a neutral point of view, which can be difficult when writing about yourself or about projects close to you. Creating overly abundant links and references to autobiographical sources, such as your résumé or curriculum vitae, is unacceptable. See Autobiography, Notability and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest.
 * 5) Advertising, marketing, publicity, or public relations. Information about companies and products must be written in an objective and unbiased style, free of puffery. All article topics must be verifiable with independent, third-party sources, so articles about very small garage bands or local companies are typically unacceptable. Wikipedia articles about a person, company, or organization are not an extension of their website, press releases, or other social media marketing efforts. External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they identify notable organizations which are the topic of the article. Wikipedia neither endorses organizations nor runs affiliate programs. See also Notability (organizations and companies) for guidelines on corporate notability. Those promoting causes or events, or issuing public service announcements, even if noncommercial, should use a forum other than Wikipedia to do so. Contributors must disclose any payments they receive for editing Wikipedia. See also Wikipedia:Conflict of interest § Paid editing.

Non-disruptive statements of opinion on internal Wikipedia policies and guidelines may be made on user pages and within the Wikipedia: namespace, as they are relevant to the current and future operation of the project. However, article talk pages should not be used by editors as platforms for their personal views on a subject (see Talk page guidelines).

Wikipedia is not a mirror or a repository of links, images, or media files
Wikipedia is neither a mirror nor a repository of links, images, or media files. Wikipedia articles are not merely collections of:

 * 1) External links or Internet directories. There is nothing wrong with adding relevant, useful links to the external links section of an article; however, excessive lists can dwarf articles and detract from the purpose of Wikipedia. On articles about topics with many fansites, for example, including a link to one major fansite may be appropriate. See External links for some guidelines.
 * 2) Internal links, except for disambiguation pages when an article title is ambiguous, and for lists for browsing or to assist with article organization and navigation; for these, please follow relevant guidance at Manual of Style/Lists, Stand-alone lists.
 * 3) Public domain or other source material such as entire books or source code, original historical documents, letters, laws, proclamations, and other source material that are useful only when presented with their original, unmodified wording. Complete copies of primary sources may go into Wikisource, but not on Wikipedia. Public domain resources such as the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica may be used to add content to an article (see Plagiarism guideline: Public-domain sources for guidelines on doing so). See also Do not include the full text of lengthy primary sources and Wikisource's inclusion policy.
 * 4) Photographs or media files with no accompanying text. If you are interested in presenting a picture, please provide an encyclopedic context, or consider adding it to Wikimedia Commons. If a picture comes from a public domain source on a website, then consider adding it to Images with missing articles or Public domain image resources.

Wikipedia is not a blog, web hosting service, social networking service, or memorial site
Wikipedia is not a social networking service like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, nor a social-network game. It is not a place to host your own website, blog, wiki, résumé, or cloud. Wikipedia pages, including those in user space, are not:

 * 1) Personal web pages. Wikipedians have individual user pages, but they should be used primarily to present information relevant to work on the encyclopedia. Limited autobiographical information is allowed, but user pages do not serve as personal webpages, blogs, or repositories for large amounts of material irrelevant to collaborating on Wikipedia. If you want to post your résumé or make a personal webpage, please use one of the many free providers on the Internet or any hosting included with your Internet service provider. The focus of user pages should not be social networking or amusement, but rather providing a foundation for effective collaboration. Humorous pages that refer to Wikipedia in some way may be created in an appropriate namespace. Personal web pages are often speedily deleted under criterion U5. Wikipedia articles use formal English and are not written in Internet posting style.
 * 2) File storage areas. Please upload only files that are used (or could be used) in encyclopedia articles or project pages; anything else (e.g., personal photos) will be deleted. Ideally, freely licensed files should be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, where they can be linked from Wikipedia.
 * 3) Dating services. Wikipedia is not an appropriate place to pursue relationships or sexual encounters. User pages that move beyond broad expressions of sexual orientation are unacceptable.
 * 4) Memorials. Subjects of encyclopedia articles must satisfy Wikipedia's notability requirements. Wikipedia is not the place to memorialize deceased friends, relatives, acquaintances, or others who do not meet such requirements . (WP:RIP is excluded from this rule.)
 * 5) Content for projects unrelated to Wikipedia. Do not store material unrelated to Wikipedia, including in userspace. Please see WP:UPNOT for examples of what may not be included.

If you are interested in using the wiki technology for a collaborative effort on something else, even just a single page, many free and commercial sites provide wiki hosting. You can also install wiki software on your own server. See the installation guide at MediaWiki.org for information on doing this.

You do not own your userpage. It is a part of Wikipedia, and exists to make collaboration among Wikipedians easier, not for self-promotion.

Wikipedia is not a directory

Wikipedia encompasses many lists of links to articles within Wikipedia that are used for internal organization or to describe a notable subject. In that sense, Wikipedia functions as an index or directory of its own content. However, Wikipedia is not a directory of everything in the universe that exists or has existed. Please see Alternative outlets for alternatives. Wikipedia articles are not:
 * 1) Simple listings without contextual information showing encyclopedic merit. Listings such as the white or yellow pages should not be replicated. See WP:LISTCRITERIA for more information.
 * 2) Lists or repositories of loosely associated topics such as (but not limited to) quotations, aphorisms, or persons (real or fictional). If you want to enter lists of quotations, put them into our sister project Wikiquote. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having lists if their entries are relevant  they are associated with or significantly contribute to the list topic. Wikipedia also includes reference tables and tabular information for quick reference. Merged groups of small articles based on a core topic are permitted. (See Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists § Appropriate topics for lists for clarification.)
 * 3) Non-encyclopedic cross-categorizations, such as "people from ethnic / cultural / religious group X employed by organization Y" or "restaurants specializing in food type X in city Y". Cross-categories such as these are not considered a sufficient basis for creating an article, unless the intersection of those categories is in some way a culturally significant phenomenon. See also Overcategorization for this issue in categories.
 * 4) Genealogical entries. Family histories should be presented only where appropriate to support the reader's understanding of a notable topic.
 * 5) Electronic program guides. An article on a broadcaster should not list upcoming events, current promotions, current schedules, format clocks, etc., although mention of major events, promotions or historically significant program lists and schedules may be acceptable.
 * 6) A resource for conducting business. Neither articles nor their associated talk pages are for conducting the business of the topic of the article. Listings to be avoided include, but are not limited to: business alliances, clients, competitors, employees (except CEOs, supervisory directors and similar top functionaries), equipment, estates, offices, store locations, contact information, patent filings, products and services, sponsors, subdivisions and tourist attractions. An article should not include product pricing or availability information (which can vary widely with time and location) unless there is an independent source and encyclopedic significance for the mention, which may be indicated by mainstream media sources or books (not just product reviews) providing commentary on these details instead of just passing mention. Wikipedia is not a price comparison service to compare prices and availability of competing products or a single product from different vendors. Lists of creative works are permitted. Thus, for example, Wikipedia should not include a list of all books published by HarperCollins, but may include a bibliography of books written by HarperCollins author Veronica Roth.

Wikipedia is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal
Wikipedia is an encyclopedic reference, not an instruction manual, guidebook, or textbook. Wikipedia articles should not read like:
 * 1) Instruction manuals and cookbooks: while Wikipedia has descriptions of people, places and things, an article should not read like a "how-to" style owner's manual, cookbook, advice column (legal, medical or otherwise) or suggestion box. This includes tutorials, instruction manuals, game guides, and recipes. Describing to the reader how people or things use or do something is encyclopedic; instructing the reader in the imperative mood about how to use or do something is not. Wording can easily be modified to avoid advising the reader: Do not give aspirin ... ⇒ The WHO advises against the use of aspirin .... Such guides may be welcome at Wikibooks instead.
 * 2) Travel guides: an article on Paris should mention landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, but not the telephone numbers or street addresses of the "best" restaurants, nor the current price of a café au lait on the Champs-Élysées. Wikipedia is not the place to recreate content more suited to entries in hotel or culinary guides, travelogues, and the like. Notable locations may meet the inclusion criteria, but the resulting articles need not include every tourist attraction, restaurant, hotel or venue, etc. While travel guides for a city will often mention distant attractions, a Wikipedia article for a city should list only those that are actually in the city. If you do wish to help write a travel guide, your contributions would be more than welcome at our sister project, Wikivoyage.
 * 3) Game guides: an article about a game should briefly summarize the story and the main actions the player performs in the game. Avoid lists of gameplay concepts and items unless these are notable as discussed in secondary sources in their own right in gaming context (such as the BFG from the Doom series). A concise summary of gameplay details (specific point values, achievements, time-limits, levels, types of enemies, etc.) is appropriate if it is essential to understanding the game or its significance in the industry, but walk-throughs and detailed coverage are not. See also WP:WAF and WP:VGSCOPE. As of a 2021 decision to start allowing them, such guides may be welcome at Wikibooks instead.
 * 4) Internet guides: Wikipedia articles should not exist only to describe the nature, appearance or services a website offers, but should also describe the site in an encyclopedic manner, offering detail on a website's achievements, impact or historical significance, which can be kept significantly more up-to-date than most reference sources, since editors can incorporate new developments and facts as they are made known. See the Current events portal for examples.
 * 5) FAQs: Wikipedia articles should not list frequently asked questions (FAQs). Instead, format the information as neutral prose within the appropriate article(s).
 * 6) Textbooks and annotated texts: the purpose of Wikipedia is to summarize accepted knowledge, not to teach subject matter. Articles should not read like textbooks, with leading questions and systematic problem solutions as examples. These belong on our sister projects, such as Wikibooks, Wikisource, and Wikiversity. However, examples intended to inform rather than to instruct, may be appropriate for inclusion in Wikipedia articles.
 * 7) Scientific journals: a Wikipedia article should not be presented on the assumption that the reader is well-versed in the topic's field. Article titles should reflect common usage, not academic terminology, whenever possible. Introductory language in the lead (and sometimes the initial sections) of the article should be written in plain terms and concepts that can be understood by any literate reader of Wikipedia without any knowledge in the given field before advancing to more detailed explanations of the topic. While wikilinks should be provided for advanced terms and concepts in that field, articles should be written on the assumption that the reader will not or cannot follow these links, instead attempting to infer their meaning from the text. See Manual of Style/Linking. Publishing such scientific articles may be more appropriate for WikiJournal in Wikiversity.
 * 8) Case studies : many topics are based on the relationship of factor X to factor Y, resulting in one or more full articles. For example, this could refer to situation X in location Y, or version X of item Y. This is perfectly acceptable when the two variables put together represent some culturally significant phenomenon or some otherwise notable interest. Often, separate articles are needed for a subject within a range of different countries, due to substantial differences across international borders; articles such as "Slate industry in Wales" are fitting examples. Writing about "Oak trees in North Carolina" or "Blue trucks", however, would likely constitute a POV fork or original research, and would certainly not result in an encyclopedic article.

Wikipedia is not a crystal ball
Wikipedia is not a collection of unverifiable speculation, rumors, or presumptions. Wikipedia does not predict the future. All articles about anticipated events must be verifiable, and the subject matter must be of sufficiently wide interest that it would merit an article if the event had already occurred. It is appropriate to report discussion and arguments about the prospects for success of future proposals and projects or whether some development will occur, if discussion is properly referenced. It is not appropriate for editors to insert their own opinions or analyses. Predictions, speculation, forecasts and theories stated by reliable, expert sources or recognized entities in a field may be included, though editors should be aware of creating undue bias to any specific point-of-view. In forward-looking articles about unreleased products, such as films and games, take special care to avoid advertising and unverified claims (for films, see WP:NFF). In particular:

 * 1) Individual scheduled or expected future events should be included only if the event is notable and almost certain to take place. Dates are not definite until the event actually takes place, as even otherwise-notable events can be cancelled or postponed at the last minute by a major incident. If preparation for the event is not already in progress, speculation about it must be well documented. Examples of appropriate topics include the  U.S. presidential election and  Summer Olympics. By comparison, the  U.S. presidential election and  Summer Olympics are not appropriate article topics if nothing can be said about them that is verifiable and not original research. Avoid predicted sports team line-ups, which are inherently unverifiable and speculative. A schedule of future events may be appropriate if it can be verified. As an exception, even highly speculative articles about events that may or may not occur far in the future might be appropriate, where coverage in reliable sources is sufficient. For example, the ultimate fate of the universe is an acceptable topic.
 * 2) Individual items from a predetermined list or a systematic pattern of names, pre-assigned to future events or discoveries, are not suitable article topics, if only generic information is known about the item. Lists of tropical cyclone names is encyclopedic; "" is not, even though it is virtually certain that such a storm will occur. Similarly, articles about words formed on a predictable numeric system (such as "septenquinquagintillion") are not encyclopedic unless they are defined on good authority, or genuinely in use. Certain scientific extrapolations are considered to be encyclopedic, such as chemical elements documented before isolation in the laboratory, provided that scientists have made significant non-trivial predictions of their properties.
 * 3) Articles that present original research in the form of extrapolation, speculation, and "future history" are inappropriate. Although scientific and cultural norms continually evolve, we must wait for this evolution to happen, rather than try to predict it. Of course, we do and should have articles about notable artistic works, essays, or credible research that embody predictions. An article on weapons in Star Trek is appropriate; an article on "Weapons to be used in World War III" is not.
 * 4) Although currently accepted scientific paradigms may later be rejected, and hypotheses previously held to be controversial or incorrect sometimes become accepted by the scientific community, it is not the place of Wikipedia to venture such projections.
 * 5) Wikipedia is not a collection of product announcements and rumors. Although Wikipedia includes up-to-date knowledge about newly revealed products, short articles that consist of only product announcement information and rumors are not appropriate. Until such time that more encyclopedic knowledge about the product can be verified, product announcements should be merged to a larger topic (such as an article about the creator(s), a series of products, or a previous product) if applicable.

Wikipedia is not a newspaper

Editors are encouraged to include current and up-to-date information within its coverage, and to develop stand-alone articles on significant current events. However, not all verifiable events are suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia. Ensure that Wikipedia articles are not:

 * 1) Original reporting. Wikipedia should not offer first-hand news reports on breaking stories. Wikipedia does not constitute a primary source. However, our sister projects Wikisource and Wikinews do exactly that, and are intended to be primary sources. Wikipedia does have many encyclopedia articles on topics of historical significance that are currently in the news, and can be updated with recently verified information.
 * 2) News reports. Wikipedia considers the enduring notability of persons and events. While news coverage can be useful source material for encyclopedic topics, most newsworthy events do not qualify for inclusion and Wikipedia is not written in news style. For example, routine news coverage of announcements, events, sports, or celebrities, while sometimes useful, is not by itself a sufficient basis for inclusion of the subject of that coverage (see WP:ROUTINE for more on this with regard to routine events). Also, while including information on recent developments is sometimes appropriate, breaking news should not be emphasized or otherwise treated differently from other information. Timely news subjects not suitable for Wikipedia may be suitable for our sister project Wikinews.
 * 3) Who's who. Even when an event is notable, individuals involved in it may not be. Unless news coverage of an individual goes beyond the context of a single event, our coverage of that individual should be limited to the article about that event, in proportion to their importance to the overall topic. (See Biographies of living persons for more details.)
 * 4) Celebrity gossip and diary. Even when an individual is notable, not all events they are involved in are. For example, news reporting about celebrities and sports figures can be very frequent and cover a lot of trivia, but using all these sources would lead to overly detailed articles that look like a diary. Not every facet of a celebrity's life, personal details, matches played, or goals scored warrants inclusion in the biography of that person, only those for which they have notability or for which our readers are reasonably likely to have an interest.

Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information
To provide encyclopedic value, data should be put in context with explanations referenced to independent sources. As explained in above, merely being true, or even verifiable, does not automatically make something suitable for inclusion in the encyclopedia. Wikipedia articles should not be:

 * 1) Summary-only descriptions of works. Wikipedia treats creative works (including, for example, works of art or fiction, video games, documentaries, research books or papers, and religious texts) in an encyclopedic manner, discussing the development, design, reception, significance, and influence of works in addition to concise summaries of those works. For more information regarding summaries, see.
 * 2) Lyrics databases. An article about a song should provide information about authorship, date of publication, social impact, and so on. Quotations from a song should be kept to a reasonable length relative to the rest of the article, and used to facilitate discussion, or to illustrate the style; the full text can be put on Wikisource and linked from the article. Most song lyrics published after  are protected by copyright; any quotation of them must be kept to a minimum, and used for direct commentary or to illustrate some aspect of style. Never link to the lyrics of copyrighted songs unless the linked-to site clearly has the right to distribute the work. See Do not include the full text of lengthy primary sources for full discussion.
 * 3) Excessive listings of unexplained statistics. Statistics that lack context or explanation can reduce readability and may be confusing; accordingly, statistics should be placed in tables to enhance readability, and articles with statistics should include explanatory text providing context. Where statistics are so lengthy as to impede the readability of the article, the statistics can be split into a separate article and summarized in the main article. (e.g., statistics from the main article 2012 United States presidential election were moved to a related article Nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election). Wikipedia:Notability § Stand-alone lists offers more guidance on what kind of lists are acceptable, and Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists § Selection criteria offers guidance on what entries should be included.
 * 4) Exhaustive logs of software updates. Use reliable third-party (not self-published or official) sources in articles dealing with software updates to describe the versions listed or discussed in the article. Common sense must be applied regarding the level of detail to include. A list of every version/beta/patch is inappropriate. Consider a summary of development instead.

Wikipedia is not censored
Wikipedia may contain content that some readers consider objectionable or offensive—even exceedingly so. Attempting to ensure that articles and images will be acceptable to all readers, or will adhere to general social or religious norms, is incompatible with the purposes of an encyclopedia.

Content will be removed if it is judged to violate Wikipedia's policies (especially those on biographies of living persons and using a neutral point of view) or the law of the United States (where Wikipedia is hosted). However, because most edits are displayed immediately, inappropriate material may be visible to readers, for a time, before being detected and removed.

Some articles may include images, text, or links which are relevant to the topic but that some people find objectionable. Discussion of potentially objectionable content should usually focus not on its potential offensiveness but on whether it is an appropriate image, text, or link. Beyond that, "being objectionable" is generally not sufficient grounds for the removal of content. The Offensive material guideline can help assess appropriate actions to take in the case of content that may be considered offensive.

Some organizations' rules or traditions call for secrecy with regard to certain information about them. Such restrictions do not apply to Wikipedia, because Wikipedia is not a member of those organizations; thus, Wikipedia will not remove such information from articles if it is otherwise encyclopedic. The University is not engaged in making ideas safe for students. It is engaged in making students safe for ideas. Thus it permits the freest expression of views before students, trusting to their good sense in passing judgment on these views.

Community
The above policies are about Wikipedia's content. The following relate to Wikipedia's governance and processes.

Wikipedia is not an anarchy or a forum for free speech

Wikipedia is free and open, but restricts both freedom and openness where they interfere with creating an encyclopedia. Accordingly, Wikipedia is not an unregulated forum for free speech. The fact that Wikipedia is an open, self-governing project does not mean that any part of its purpose is to explore the viability of anarchist communities. Our purpose is to build an encyclopedia, not to test the limits of anarchism.

Wikipedia is not a democracy
Wikipedia is or any other political system. Its primary (though not exclusive) means of decision making and conflict resolution is editing and discussion leading to consensus— voting. (Voting is used for certain matters such as electing the Arbitration Committee.) Straw polls are sometimes used to test for consensus, but polls or surveys can impede, rather than foster, discussion and should be used with caution.

Off-site petitions and votes have no weight in the formation of consensus on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy
While Wikipedia has many elements of a bureaucracy, it is not governed by statute: it is not a quasi-judicial body, and rules are not the purpose of the community. Although some rules may be enforced, the written rules themselves do not set accepted practice. Rather, they document already-existing community consensus regarding what should be accepted and what should be rejected.

While Wikipedia's written policies and guidelines should be taken seriously, they can be misused. Do not follow an overly strict interpretation of the letter  of policies without considering their principles. If the rules truly prevent you from improving the encyclopedia, ignore them. Disagreements are resolved through consensus-based discussion, not by tightly sticking to rules and procedures. Furthermore, policies and guidelines themselves may be changed to reflect evolving consensus.

A procedural error made in a proposal or request is not grounds for rejecting that proposal or request.

A procedural, coding, or grammatical error in a new contribution is not grounds for reverting it, unless the error cannot easily be fixed.

Wikipedia is not a laboratory
Research about Wikipedia's content, processes, and the people involved can provide valuable insights and understanding that benefit public knowledge, scholarship, and the Wikipedia community, but Wikipedia is not a public laboratory. Research that analyzes articles, talk pages, or other content on Wikipedia is not typically controversial, since all of Wikipedia is open and freely usable. However, research projects that are disruptive to the community or which negatively affect articles—even temporarily—are not allowed and can result in loss of editing privileges. Before starting a potentially controversial project, researchers should open discussion at the Village pump to ensure it will not interfere with Wikipedia's mission. Regardless of the type of project, researchers are advised to be as transparent as possible on their user pages, disclosing information such as institutional connections and intentions.

Some editors explicitly request not to be subjects in research and experiments. Please respect the wish of editors to opt out of research.

Wikipedia is not a battleground
Wikipedia is not a place to hold grudges, import personal conflicts, carry on ideological battles, or nurture prejudice, hatred, or fear. Making personal battles out of Wikipedia discussions goes directly against our policies and goals. In addition to avoiding battles in discussions, do not try to advance your position in disagreements by making unilateral changes to policies. Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point.

Every user is expected to interact with others civilly, calmly, and in a spirit of cooperation. Do not insult, harass, or intimidate those with whom you have a disagreement. Rather, approach the matter intelligently and engage in polite discussion. If another user behaves in an uncivil, uncooperative, or insulting manner, or even tries to harass or intimidate you, this does not give you an excuse to respond in kind. Address only the factual points brought forward, ignoring the inappropriate comments, or disregard that user entirely. If necessary, point out gently that you think the comments might be considered uncivil, and make it clear that you want to move on and focus on the content issue. If a conflict continues to bother you, take advantage of Wikipedia's dispute resolution process. There are always users willing to mediate and arbitrate disputes between others.

In large disputes, resist the urge to turn Wikipedia into a battleground between factions. Assume good faith that every editor and group is here to improve Wikipedia—especially if they hold a point of view with which you disagree. Work with whomever you like, but do not organize a faction that disrupts (or aims to disrupt) Wikipedia's fundamental decision-making process, which is based on building a consensus. Editors in large disputes should work in good faith to find broad principles of agreement between different viewpoints.

Do not use Wikipedia to make legal or other threats against Wikipedia, its editors, or the Wikimedia Foundation—other means already exist to communicate legal problems. Threats are not tolerated and may result in a ban.

Wikipedia is not compulsory
Wikipedia is a volunteer community and does not require Wikipedians to give any more time and effort than they wish. Focus on improving the encyclopedia itself, rather than demanding more from other Wikipedians. Editors are free to take a break or leave Wikipedia at any time.

And finally…
Wikipedia is not a lot of other things as well. We cannot anticipate every bad idea that someone might have. Almost everything on this page is here because somebody came up with a bad idea that had not been anticipated. (See WP:BEANS—it is, in fact, strongly discouraged to anticipate them.) In general, "that is a terrible idea" is always sufficient grounds to avoid doing something when there is a good reason that the idea is terrible.

When you wonder what to do
When you wonder what should or should not be in an article, ask yourself what a reader would expect to find under the same heading in an encyclopedia.

When you wonder whether the rules given above are being violated, consider:
 * 1) Modifying the content of an article (normal editing).
 * 2) Turning the page into a redirect, preserving the page history.
 * 3)  Nominating the page for deletion if it meets grounds for such action under the Deletion policy. To develop an understanding of what kinds of contributions are in danger of being deleted, you have to regularly follow discussions there.
 * 4) Changing the rules on this page after a consensus has been reached following appropriate discussion with other Wikipedians via the talk page. When adding new options, please be as clear as possible and provide counter-examples of similar, but permitted, subjects.

Articles for deletion/Common outcomes is not an official policy, but can be referred to as a record of what has and has not been considered encyclopedic in the past.

title: Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not


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Sailor Moon (character)

Usagi Tsukino (月野 うさぎ), better known as Sailor Moon (セーラームーン), is a Japanese superheroine and the protagonist of the Sailor Moon franchise created by Naoko Takeuchi. She is introduced in chapter No. 1 of the manga, "Usagi – Sailor Moon" (originally published in Japan's Nakayoshi magazine on December 28, 1991), as a carefree Japanese schoolgirl who can transform into the magical "Guardian of Love and Justice", Sailor Moon.

Usagi initially meets Luna, a magical talking black cat who is searching for the Moon Princess. Luna reveals that Usagi is destined to save Earth from the forces of evil and gives her a brooch to transform into Sailor Moon. She asks Usagi to locate the other reincarnated Sailor Guardians, find the princess and protect the "Silver Crystal", an item of immense power. After locating her comrades, Usagi later discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, Princess Serenity (プリンセス・セレニティ) and that her former lover, Prince Endymion of Earth has also been reincarnated in the present as the mysterious hero, Tuxedo Mask. As Usagi matures, she becomes a powerful warrior and protects her adopted home planet, Earth, from villains who wish to harm it. Usagi is depicted as usually carefree and cheerful, but with immature tendencies that show themselves when things do not go her way.

Usagi appears in every episode, film, video game, and television special of the anime adaptations, Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal; as well as the live action adaptation, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, with her trademark twin buns with twin pigtails. She also cameos in the sister series Codename: Sailor V. She has been the subject of parodies and has appeared in special events. Usagi's critical reception has been largely positive and she is recognized as one of the most important and popular female superheroes of all time, and a cultural symbol of Japan.

Conception and creation
Usagi and Sailor Moon series evolved from Naoko Takeuchi's earlier one-shot series called Codename: Sailor V. In Takeuchi's first proposal for the Sailor Moon series, each of the five heroines had a unique outfit. It was eventually decided that they would instead wear uniforms based on a single theme, whose design was closest to Sailor Moon's original costume concept. Sailor Moon's original had some small differences, including color changes, an exposed midriff, and ribbons around the gloves and boots. She also had a mask, which did appear in a few chapters of the manga before being discarded. These aspects of Sailor Moon's costume are shown in multiple pieces of early artwork, along with a gun and cloak, which were also parts of the original concept.

Takeuchi based Usagi's signature hairstyle on a "good luck charm" she had during her studies as a university student. Takeuchi would put her hair up in odango before difficult classes or exams. Sailor Moon has pink hair in the initial sketches, but by the intermediate stages of development, Takeuchi planned to have the character's hair be blonde in civilian form and change to silver when she transformed. Her editor, Fumio Osano, told her that silver hair would be too plain for cover art. Despite this, stylistic use of differently colored hair does sometimes appear in later artwork, and the concept of the heroines' hair changing color when transformed is used in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

Of all the Sailor Guardians, Usagi's personality is closest to Takeuchi's own personality at the time Sailor Moon was created.

The kanji of Usagi's surname translate as "moon" (月) and "field" (野). Her given name is in hiragana usagi (うさぎ) and so its meaning is not inherent, but the word (兎) means "rabbit" and this is used as a pun frequently throughout the series, including her hairstyle and possessions. Her name is structured as a pun, as the syllable "no" indicates a possessive, so her name can also be understood as "Rabbit of the Moon". This derives from a Chinese folktale, popular in Japan, about the rabbit which is said to be visible in the Moon's face, much like the Western Man in the Moon. The Mixx/Tokyopop English-language manga – along with other localisations – gives her the nickname "Bunny" to partially preserve this pun. "Usagi" is not a common given name in Japan.

Characterization
Usagi is first introduced as living the life of a normal teenage schoolgirl in 20th century Tokyo. Although well-meaning, she is an underachieving, accident-prone crybaby. One day, Usagi encounters a mysterious cat with a crescent moon on its forehead, who later reveals herself to be Luna, a mentor archetype who introduces Usagi to her new heroic role. Luna gives Usagi a magical brooch and explains how to use it to transform into Sailor Moon, the Guardian of Love and Justice; she tells Usagi that she is a Sailor Guardian who must fight for peace and find her reincarnated comrades, the Sailor Guardians, to locate and protect their charge, the Moon Princess and the mysterious and powerful Silver Crystal, from the forces of evil. Usagi is a reluctant heroine at first, but grows more confident and mature over time. She eventually discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, Princess Serenity, from the ancient civilization known as Silver Millennium, and the bearer of the Silver Crystal. She also learns that her lover from her past life, Prince Endymion of Earth, has been reincarnated in the present as well as the hero Tuxedo Mask, and seeks to reunite with him. As Sailor Moon, she sets out with her comrades to fight the villains from her past life and to protect the Earth using the legendary Silver Crystal. This provides most of the conflict, romance, and drama in both the manga and the anime.

As a civilian, Usagi lives in Azabu Jūban with her mother, Ikuko Tsukino; her father, Kenji Tsukino; and her brother, Shingo Tsukino. These names reflect those of Naoko Takeuchi's real-life family members. Usagi and her fellow Guardians have diverse backgrounds, and balance their responsibilities as superheroes with their current lives.

Though Tuxedo Mask's identity is initially hidden from her, his civilian identity is eventually revealed to be Mamoru Chiba, who is later revealed to also be the reincarnation of Princess Serenity's star-crossed lover, Prince Endymion. Finally reunited in the present, Usagi and he become romantically involved. Mamoru and Usagi's relationship is a significant part of Usagi's personal life, as well as the series as a whole. Mamoru and Usagi date for a long time in the series and the love they share helps her through many challenges. In various adaptations of the series, the two eventually marry, and major plot lines involve discovering that she will become a "Sovereign of the Earth", known as Neo-Queen Serenity, by the 30th century, and give birth to her future daughter, Chibiusa. It is hinted that Usagi is bisexual. This may be true because when Usagi meets pretty girls, her heart races and she blushes. Also when Haruka kissed Usagi on the lips, she really loved it and even showed a romantic attraction towards both Rei and Makoto.

Usagi is a glutton, particularly for sweet foods and they easily distract her; the manga lists one of her favorite foods as cake. She also loves playing video games and reading manga. Her favorite subject is listed as home economics. She is said to dislike carrots, and is a poor student in both English and mathematics. She is afraid of dentists, ghosts, and thunder and lightning, and her greatest dream is to someday be a bride. She later becomes a member of the Manga Drawing Club at her school, She stands 150cm tall,  though her height relative to other characters varies from different design models used in various adaptations.

In the manga and anime, Mamoru refers to her as odango (a kind of rice dumpling), based on her distinctive hairstyle. At first, this is always accompanied with the suffix atama, meaning "head", but this is gradually dropped. Usagi hates the name at first, but it develops into a sign of affection as they become close. Later in the series, Haruka and Seiya, other important figures in her life, adopt the name as well. Since the term does not always have foreign language equivalents, this moniker is altered in various ways across its many foreign translations and adaptations.

Variations
Usagi's character is different between versions of the series. In the manga, she starts out as a crybaby, but quickly matures and embraces the responsibilities of her role. Regardless of her maturity as a heroine, the manga often portrays Usagi as lazy or unmotivated in applying herself in her civilian life, such as making fun of her tendency to use phonetic writing instead of more formal script or consistently receiving low academic marks.

The original anime often portrays Usagi as being more childish. She frequently engages in petty squabbles with her friends, usually with Rei, and Chibiusa to the point of developing a friendly rivalry with them or sometimes her little brother Shingo with whom Usagi doesn't shown getting along and shared a sibling rivalry with. Though she is likewise depicted as deeply caring of those around her, and even of her enemies. Repeated themes in the series depict Usagi feeling sympathy for villains she encounters, and working to help redeem them. Her clumsiness and other slovenly aspects are often highlighted for comedy purposes, both as a civilian and while fighting her enemies. Characters often comment on the unlikeliness of someone with as many graceless qualities like Usagi being a fierce warrior like Sailor Moon, but her lack of grace is simultaneously described as charming to those around her. Usagi's gregarious personality is often emphasized as bringing people together, including her friends and allies.

In the live-action series, Usagi differs slightly from her manga and anime counterparts. She is more outgoing and extroverted, and makes friends very easily. This immediately puts her personality in conflict with the other Sailor Guardians, each of whom is solitary to some degree. She rarely uses formal speech with those of her age (though she does with adults), and refers to everyone as "given name-chan" (which is very informal and a way of expressing closeness). She teases Ami when Ami continues calling her "Tsukino-san" (a formal way of speaking to classmates), saying that it is like they are not friends. Every time a new Sailor Guardian appears, Usagi immediately tries to befriend them, even though almost all of them resist. However, Usagi eventually makes the other Sailor Guardians realize that they are stronger together than alone. Usagi also has a habit of forcing her interests on her new friends. This is prominent in her relationship with Rei, where Usagi repeatedly tries to get Rei to sing.

Aspects and forms

Being a character with a long lifetime (spanning the ancient Silver Millennium era and 30th century), as well as multiple incarnations, special powers and transformations, Usagi has various aliases such as Princess Serenity, Sailor Moon, Princess Sailor Moon, Super Sailor Moon, Eternal Sailor Moon, and Neo-Queen Serenity. In all of her incarnations (barring disguises), Usagi is always depicted with her hair up in twin buns with twin pigtails.

Sailor Moon
The series often refers to Usagi's Sailor Guardian identity, Sailor Moon, as the "Guardian of Love and Justice", and once as the "Guardian of Mystery". Throughout most of the series, Sailor Moon wears a white and blue sailor fuku uniform; white and reddishpink gloves and boots; and crescentmoon earrings. She also wears red hairpieces and white barrettes resembling feathers, both of which can be used for minor attacks. Her personality is no different from when she is a civilian. Though Usagi has some certain abilities as a civilian by way of her true identity as Sailor Moon, she must transform into Sailor Moon to access the vast array of powers available to her.

The names for Sailor Moon's attacks center around mythology of the Moon, love, healing, and light. She eventually becomes the most powerful Sailor Guardian in the galaxy, but her capacity for caring for others is shown to be more powerful still. As the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, Sailor Moon also wields the immensely powerful Silver Crystal. The origin of the Silver Crystal is inconsistently depicted in the series, described as a family heirloom early on, and later described as a fundamental part of Sailor Moon as a Sailor Guardian. The Silver Crystal is coveted by many of the series' villains for its limitless abilities, and Sailor Moon often uses it throughout the series to defeat the most difficult of villains, typically at the cost of her own vitality.

Sailor Moon's appearance and title change at key points when she grows stronger or gains additional powers. The first major change takes place during the third story arc – act 30 of the manga and episode 111 of the original anime – when she obtains the Holy Grail, an item of vast power, and transforms into the more powerful Super Sailor Moon. In this form, her costume becomes more ornate and her powers are increased. At first she is unable to maintain this form without using the Grail, but she later gains the ability to assume this form permanently. This happens when the mysterious being Pegasus grants both her and Sailor Chibi Moon new transformation brooches – in arc 34 of the manga and in episode 130 of the original anime.

Sailor Moon receives her third and final form at the end of the fourth story arc, as the combined power of the other Sailor Guardians allows her to transform into Eternal Sailor Moon, whom is described in the series as the closest in power to her future self, Neo-Queen Serenity. Her uniform is radically altered, including more ornate details and the addition of two pairs of angelic wings on her back which replace her back bow. In the manga, this final form coincides with the Silver Crystal evolving into the Silver Moon Crystal.

Princess Serenity

Princess Serenity (プリンセス・セレニティ) is a past incarnation of Sailor Moon that lived in the Moon Kingdom during the age of Silver Millennium. She was the daughter of Queen Serenity, who ruled Silver Millennium and watched over the Earth. Princess Serenity's guardians and closest friends were Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus, who were princesses of their own respective planets that sometimes lived on the Moon. On one of her visits to Earth, she met and fell in love with Endymion, the crown prince of Earth.

During the attack that caused the Moon Kingdom's downfall, Prince Endymion died protecting Serenity. In the manga, she then commits suicide out of grief, while in the original anime, Queen Metalia killed them both. Queen Serenity was able to seal away the evil that had created the attack, but everyone involved was killed. Before her own death, the Queen used the Silver Crystal to give her daughter (and others) another chance at life by reincarnating them in the future, hoping that Endymion and Serenity would be able to find happiness together in their new lives. In the live-action series, it is Princess Serenity herself who destroys the Moon Kingdom with her uncontrolled uses of the Silver Crystal when Endymion was killed during the war between them in the past.

Usagi occasionally takes the form of Princess Serenity during the series, often at climactic moments when more strength is needed than Sailor Moon can usually access. Usagi discovers her identity as a princess in act 9 of the manga, episode 34 of the original anime, and act 25 of the live action series. At climactic moments, Serenity sometimes gains a pair of functioning angelic wings, such as the final episodes of SuperS and Sailor Stars. In the manga, Takeuchi depicts Usagi with white, yellow, and even pink hair, but Princess Serenity is almost always depicted with white hair. In the original anime, Princess Serenity is blond. In the live-action series, Serenity has black hair and brown eyes, just like Usagi, and she wears her hair straight down rather than in pigtails.

While other adaptations of Sailor Moon depict Princess Serenity as gentle and similar to Usagi, the live-action series depicts Princess Serenity as colder and more severe. When she is reawakened and possesses Usagi, her singleminded infatuation with reuniting with Endymion causes her to callously disregard the safety of the other guardians and remorselessly strike down her enemies, not even caring if the Earth is destroyed.

Princess Sailor Moon

Princess Sailor Moon is a powerful combination of Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity that only exists in the live-action series. She is introduced when Usagi is possessed by the spirit of Princess Serenity.

Princess Sailor Moon is not the same person as Usagi and they have completely different personalities. Princess Sailor Moon shows no remorse for the fate of the Four Kings of Heaven and she refers to Mamoru as "Endymion" rather than his civilian name. She is always angry, and has no misgivings about causing death or destruction. In one act, Usagi's friend Naru accidentally gets too close to Princess Sailor Moon and has to be hospitalized as a result.

During a confrontation with her current self as Princess Sailor Moon, Serenity tells Usagi that she would have no qualms about destroying the Earth if Endymion were taken from her again. Usagi pleads with Serenity not to overuse her powers, but Serenity refuses. Afraid that she will eventually destroy the world, Usagi tries to suppress her powers. Usagi's internal conflict forces her to undergo endurance training to keep her powers and Princess Serenity persona at bay. Usagi initially succeeds by avoiding negative thoughts. However, when she is forced to kill a possessed Mamoru, Serenity overcomes Usagi's resistance and transforms into Princess Sailor Moon. Serenity even summons her own minions to fight the other Sailor Guardians to prevent them from stopping her. Princess Sailor Moon successfully destroys the world once again, but Serenity eventually realizes the extent to which she is responsible for this and uses the Silver Crystal to undo the harm she has done.

Princess Sailor Moon has a sword that can deflect enemy attacks or unleash devastating projectiles. The sword also doubles as a harp with invisible strings that Princess Sailor Moon plays while mourning her lost prince. The harp's main power is the ability to heal people and the land. Other than healing powers, the exact effect of playing the harp is unclear, but it often causes her Silver Crystal to feed the power of Queen Metaria, accelerating the devastation of the planet.

As with other characters unique to the live-action series, Takeuchi designed Princess Sailor Moon's outfit. Her sailor outfit is considerably more elaborate than Sailor Moon's, and included a crown, pearls on her gloves, and lace on her skirt.

Neo-Queen Serenity
During the second story arc, it is revealed that Usagi, as Serenity, will eventually become the queen regnant of a new Silver Millennium called Crystal Tokyo, in the 30th century. She is first seen in this future form in act 16 of the manga and episode 68 of the original anime. Usagi learns that she will be given the title "Sovereign of Earth", and Mamoru will become King Endymion alongside her. It is stated in the anime that she becomes Neo-Queen Serenity after warding off a second Ice age, though the specifics of this are never discussed.

This incarnation is shown to be more mature than the present day Usagi, though she is still childish in some ways. For example, in episode 104, Chibiusa gives the Sailor Guardians a letter from the future in which the Queen asks them to train her, but the letter is simplistic and contains almost no kanji. In episode 146, Diana says that the King and Queen would sometimes play sick to get out of things. Letters she sends through the Door of Space-Time to Chibiusa are sometimes signed with a drawing of herself (and sometimes King Endymion) instead of a name.

In the manga, Neo-Queen Serenity tells the present-day Sailor Guardians that after she became queen, she lost her power as a Sailor Guardian. In the second arc of the anime she does not transform (into Sailor Moon) even when the others do. However, she is seen showing great powers in a flashback when the King Endymion of the future describes the great feats of Neo-Queen Serenity during the time she brought about peace. Diana likewise describes Eternal Sailor Moon as the one second in power only to Neo-Queen Serenity. She also demonstrates abilities that allow her to rejuvenate the destroyed city of Crystal Tokyo, grant the Sailor Guardians upgraded powers, and provide her past self with an upgraded transformation brooch and weapon, the Spiral Heart Moon Rod.

Neo-Queen Serenity wears an altered version of the dress she wore as a princess. The shoulder pieces are omitted and a large, wing-shaped bow replaces the smaller one of the princess outfit. In the manga, Neo-Queen Serenity's dress is similar to her past form's outfit. She also wears a crown and new earrings. The crescent moon is always visible on her forehead, just as it is with her princess form. Her face and facial expressions are drawn to look more mature than the 20th century Usagi, but her iconic hairstyle is retained.

This form is the one that Chibiusa considers as truly being her mother, while she sees the Usagi of the past as a sister figure.

Sailor Chibi Chibi and Sailor Cosmos
The plot of various adaptations of Sailor Moon contains several examples of asynchrony, including appearances of Sailor Moon from different time periods. In the manga, Chibi-Chibi is a young girl who arrives in the present from the future who turns out to be a future form of Sailor Moon, named Sailor Cosmos, in disguise. She comes back to the present to aid Eternal Sailor Moon in her fight against Sailor Galaxia. Adopting the form of Chibi Chibi, she appears as a little girl with dark pink hair, heart-shaped hair buns, with curly pigtails. Her Sailor Guardian form as Sailor Chibi Chibi uses a white and blue fuku with knee high boots and multicolored trim. Revealed as Sailor Cosmos, she is depicted with flowing white hair in heart-shaped hair buns and pigtails, a winged staff, a simplified white sailor fuku and miniskirt with multicolored ribbons, high heel shoes, gold details, and a flowing, white cape.

Abilities
In most adaptations, Usagi can transform into a Sailor Guardian by wearing a special device (usually a brooch or compact) and shouting a special command that activates the device. Her original transformation command is "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" (ムーンプリズムパワー、メイクアップ!). She gains a new basic transformation sequence for each of the five major story arcs. Later in the series, Sailor Moon is able to transform into more powerful forms through the use of items like the Holy Grail or through the combined powers of the other Sailor Guardians.

Most of the anime adaptations' transformation sequences involve the use of shiny red or pink ribbons that fly out of her brooch and form her uniform. Feathers and wings also figure prominently in some sequences, particularly the transformation into Eternal Sailor Moon.

As the protagonist, Usagi has the most special powers of any character in the series. She often uses magical objects for her attacks, such as her tiara or various rods and wands. In the anime, following her attacks' themes of the Moon or love, her attacks are often depicted as firing crescent moon-shaped or heart-shaped energy projectiles at her enemies. While her attacks in the manga tend to simply destroy her enemies, the original anime frequently depicts her attacks as purifying her enemies, restoring possessed victims or objects to their original states of being.

Her physical attacks, usually one-offs and not always successful, include the occasional use of her hair pins as projectile weapons. One of her techniques is the comedic "Ultrasonic Wave" (超音波), which involves using the red shields on her hair buns to amplify her loud crying.

Silver Crystal
The Legendary Silver Crystal (「幻の銀水晶」) is a magical crystal that only the members of the Moon Kingdom royal lineage can use. The search for the crystal and subsequent attempts to acquire it form the basis of major conflict throughout the entire series.

The Silver Crystal possesses tremendous power, capable of reviving an entire world from ruin and extending the natural lifespan of all people under its protection. Sailor Galaxia describes its regenerative power as unlimited. In the anime, however, the strain of using such power often costs the user her life. The anime shows this happening first when Queen Serenity uses it in the past, again when Sailor Moon defeats Queen Metalia, and again in the Sailor Moon R: The Movie. Other depictions show using the crystal to be taxing, rather than fatal. In the manga, no such claim is made about using the Silver Crystal. In both the manga and anime, the Silver Crystal is described as following the heart of its wielder, to the point of either becoming too powerful in the midst of Usagi's confusion, or as inert as a glass bead with her indecision. In the anime, the Silver Crystal was placed on Sailor Moon's Moon Stick to increase her "Moon Healing Escalation" attack. However, Queen Beryl stated that Sailor Moon could not unlock the full potential of the Silver Crystal because she had not awakened as a "full-fledged princess" yet.

All adaptations portray the Silver Crystal as possibly the single most powerful artifact in the universe, able to focus the energy of its wielder to perform magnificent feats. However, several artifacts rival it in strength, including the Black Crystal of the Death Phantom, and Sailor Galaxia's Sapphire Crystal. Saphir describes the Silver Crystal as a fearsome item, working across time and space. In the manga, the Silver Crystal is described as so powerful that the present and future versions of it coming into contact with each other could destroy everything.

Because Chibiusa comes from the future – having eventually inherited the Silver Crystal from Usagi – two versions of it exist in the series. After the first and second story arcs, the owners of the crystals keep them in their respective transformation brooches and only remove them in times of urgent need. The crystal is depicted in a variety of forms: round, in the initial anime appearance, and a rounded tear drop in the manga. It later takes a heart shape while stored in her brooch in the anime, and also appears in a petaled flower shape in various adaptations, including when it evolves into the Silver Moon Crystal form.

As her Sailor Crystal, the Silver Crystal also gives Sailor Moon the ability to be reborn again and again. So long as a Sailor Guardian's Sailor Crystal remains, their physical forms can be regenerated across numerous incarnations.

As Sailor Cosmos
Sailor Cosmos is described in the manga as a distant future incarnation of Sailor Moon. Her powers are vast, able to transport people across time and space, construct strong protective barriers, and repel villains like Sailor Galaxia, while restoring destroyed environments. Sailor Cosmos comments that Eternal Sailor Moon's actions in the final battle using the combined power of all Sailor Crystals throughout the galaxy is the Cosmos Crystal's true power, called "Lambda Power", which is able to restore all things to their original forms. Figuratively, Sailor Cosmos describes her past self, Eternal Sailor Moon, as the true embodiment of Sailor Cosmos for her final act of courage, as opposed to herself, who fled her own timeline after losing faith in her unceasing battle against Chaos.

Portrayals in media
In the Japanese version of every Sailor Moon anime series and subsequent related media, Usagi has been voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi. For this role, Mitsuishi used a higher voice than her natural one. During recording sessions of the early episodes, Mitsuishi had to mentally prepare herself to play Usagi. While Mitsuishi was away during production of episodes 44–50, Kae Araki (who would later voice Usagi's own future daughter, Chibiusa) voiced Usagi as a stand-in. Mitsuishi would later reprise her role in Sailor Moon Crystal, the only actress from the original cast to do so.

In DIC Entertainment's English dub of Sailor Moon (produced in association with Optimum Productions), Sailor Moon was voiced by Tracey Moore for the first 14 episodes (edited down to 11) after which Terri Hawkes took over as the voice for the remaining episodes of the DiC produced dub, as well as Pioneer's dub for the three films, though Moore would return to voice the character in two more episodes later on in the first season. Linda Ballantyne was the voice of Sailor Moon in Cloverway's dub of episodes 83–159 of Sailor Moon (produced in association with Optimum Productions). When Ballantyne first recorded the series, Ballantyne attempted to emulate Hawkes, but soon found it difficult to perform. She wanted the character to "have a lot more fun and just be a goofy teenager." Ballantyne cited her performance as "just more flighty.... Until of course the world needed to be saved." American singer Jennifer Cihi provided the English vocals for the character's songs in the first English adaptation.

Stephanie Sheh provides the voice in Viz Media's dub of the entire original Sailor Moon series (produced in association with Studiopolis), and also Sailor Moon Crystal.

In the stage musicals, Usagi was portrayed by Anza Ohyama, Fumina Hara, Miyuki Kanbe (who played the character with a "cute and high voice"), Marina Kuroki,, Hotaru Nomoto, Sayuri Inoue, Mizuki Yamashita, Shiori Kubo, Kanae Yumemiya, Natsuki Koga, Tomomi Kasai, Nagi Inoue and Satsuki Sugawara.

In the SuperS Musicals, Sanae Kimura, who played Sailor Uranus, provided the voice of Neo-Queen Serenity during Over the Moon, a duet between Sailor Moon and Neo-Queen Serenity. A third, unknown person, was on stage in Serenity's costume while both Sailor Moon and Uranus were onstage. Uncredited body doubles are common in the musicals to allow the character to appear to transform instantly.

In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Usagi was portrayed by Miyuu Sawai.

Differences in English and other languages
Like other foreign language adaptations, the first North American adaptation of the Sailor Moon anime by DiC and Cloverway took several liberties with the series, changing various aspects and localizing content to fit North American audiences. Among these were renaming Usagi as "Serena", and subsequently referring to Princess Serenity as "Princess Serena." The Sailor Guardians were referred to as "Sailor Scouts" and Sailor Moon's transformations were altered to omit the "Make Up!" phrase. The names of her attacks were also changed. For example, "Moon Tiara Action" was changed to "Moon Tiara Magic", "Moon Healing Escalation" was changed to "Moon Healing Activation" or "Cosmic Moon Power", and "Moon Princess Halation" was changed to "Moon Princess Elimination." In the later seasons, most attacks were maintained according to their original Japanese names and her family name was retained as "Tsukino."

The initial English manga release by Mixx/Tokyopop were made to coincide with the first anime adaptation, so many character names and spellings were kept between the two. However, Usagi's name was changed to "Bunny" to match more closely with her Japanese name's meaning.

Antonia Levi wrote that the two different initial English versions lost some of the meaning behind her name, with the TV version losing the rabbit meaning and the Mixx/Tokyopop name losing the moon meaning.

The initial French, German, and Italian dubs renamed Usagi with rabbit puns. The Cantonese version used the name "Yuet-yeh Toei" (using the characters, ), which Levi stated kept the meaning of the moon and rabbit themes, but "unquestionably changed the heroine's nationality".

Reception and legacy
Sheila Rose Browning describes Sailor Moon as "one of the most popular and well-known manga characters in Japan". Usagi influenced the hairstyle and personality of Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion, and of Gruier Serenity's anime version from Bodacious Space Pirates. Sailor Moon was ranked 9th on IGN's "Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time", being the highest-ranking female character in the list. During the 2020 Olympics, Sailor Moon was selected as one of nine internationally recognized anime and manga characters to serve as Tokyo's mascot ambassadors. Rebecca Silverman, writing about the 2011 re-release of the Sailor Moon manga, felt that Usagi's initial hesitancy about whether she is good enough to be Sailor Moon added authenticity to her claim of being an "ordinary girl". Silverman states that along with the characters in Itazura na Kiss and Marmalade Boy, Usagi gave rise to an "unintelligent heroine" character type, but feels that even in the first volume, Usagi's determination sets her apart.

The character has been often observed to be bisexual, citing her attraction to both her fellow Guardians and men she comes to love and hate, including the likes of Seiya Kou and Haruka Tenoh.

In popular culture
Comedian Samantha Bee portrayed Sailor Moon in a live-action production at the Canadian National Exhibition.

The Shopkins episode, "Look Within", features a reference to Sailor Moon's original transformation scene with Lippy Lips (shown to transform into her 'Wild Style'.)

At the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble, Sasha Banks entered in an outfit inspired by Sailor Moon.

Internet memes
A social media challenge on Twitter called the #sailormoonredraw gained popularity in May 2020. Artists use a still frame of Sailor Moon taken during the episode "A Bright Shooting Star! Saturn, and the Messiah" from the third season of the original Sailor Moon television series, Sailor Moon S, and redraw it in different styles or have another fictional character take her place. A similar phenomenon occurred back in April 2014 six years prior, in the form a humorous online comic with scenes the series premiere of the original television series, "The Crybaby Usagi's Magnificent Transformation!", set right after Sailor Moon's first battle with the Youma Morga and Tuxedo Mask's first intervention which originated from Tumblr.

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title: Sailor Moon (character)