This page has been created to provide editors and contributors to Dune Wiki with a defined set of guidelines as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in the wiki.
These guidelines are here to clarify the direction of this wiki, and avoid confusion or conflict for editors and contributors. They are a practical solution to an ideological topic. They are not designed to be perfect, but rather to be workable and allow readers and contributors with different opinions to share a common platform on which the Duniverse can be cataloged.
If the reader has any questions or uncertainty, they are encouraged to raise them on the Community Portal.
In the below summaries, it is acknowledged that Frank Herbert's descendants, including Brian Herbert, hold the rights of Frank's estate.
In a Nutshell
The working definition of canon for this wiki is basically: Dune novels recognized by all fans as genuine. The only Dune novels recognized by all fans are those written exclusively by Frank Herbert. Therefore only those novels are considered canon. Other works endorsed by Frank Herbert or by his estate are considered legitimate non-canon sources, which can be included in this wiki.
Acceptable Content
- Anything pertaining to the Dune Universe (Duniverse) written by Frank Herbert. This material is considered canon. Frank Herbert's six original Dune novels are canon sources.
- Anything pertaining to the Duniverse which was not written by Frank Herbert, but is officially endorsed by his estate. This material is considered non-canon however. The Dune novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the 1984 Dune movie, and the Sci-Fi Channel Dune Miniseries are all examples of this category.
- Anything pertaining to the Duniverse which was officially endorsed by Frank Herbert, regardless of whether it has been endorsed by his estate. However, this material is considered non-canon. The Dune Encyclopedia is an example of such material.
Any material or sources that are deemed acceptable but non-canon should, whenever possible, be marked as such. Some Dune fans do not support this content, and marking it as non-canon gives these fans an easy way to identify it as such, while letting other fans read about it unhindered.
The regular contributors of the Dune Wiki fully acknowledge that the wiki itself is a non-canon work.
Unacceptable Content
- Anything not directly relating to the Duniverse, even when written by Frank Herbert or his estate. Examples of this include non-Dune related novels written by Frank Herbert.
- Anything only partially relating to the Duniverse. An example of this would be a science fiction encyclopedia which has been endorsed by Frank Herbert's estate, but contains information on various other fictional universes as well as the Duniverse.
- Anything which totally relates to the Duniverse, but does not fall into one of the "acceptable" content categories (see above).
- Anything which is a modified version of an acceptable Dune source. An example would be a parody of Dune.