Canon describes works that are considered more important or more "real" than others, i.e. "official" works, in terms of works of fiction or fictional universes.
Tiers of Canon
- Main article: Contents Guide
There are several tiers of canon, running from most important to least. This means that if there are conflicts or contradictions in the information from different sources, the higher canon source will be considered the correct one, although the conflict can, of course, be mentioned in the notes or references of an article. Whenever there are conflicts or contradictions in the information from the same tier of canon, the most recent piece of information takes precedence.
- 1. Salem: the TV series itself is the primary source of information.
- 2. Authors' statements: Any additional information from Adam Simon and Braga. Writer's Wrap is a perfect source for explanations and insights.
- 3. Deleted scenes: Scenes from Salem that were discarded, extended scenes, original drafts of scripts, etc. Currently, these are not included in DVDs.
- 4. Officially-licensed sources: Information released on the official social networks (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) including promotional descriptions and taglines.
- 5. Trusted news sources: Well known or respected news sources such as newspapers, magazines, and their websites reporting information from the series.
Fanon contents
Fan fiction is almost never regarded as canonical.
An example of fanon contents on The Salem Wiki is the names of the powers. Since most of the supernatural abilities have not been acknowledged, named nor categorized, powers will be named in accordance to mimic established powers, i.e., Dead Raising is similar to Dream Walking). Sci-Fi names will not be taken into account due to their acronicity.
Wherever an article has a non-canon name, it is indicated by a notice on top of the page itself, that says the following: "Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is conjectural."
Personal interpretations of a fictional universe (aka "headcanon") accepted by an individual fan but not necessarily found within or supported by the official canon. They DON'T belong in articles and should be limited to Discussion threads.
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