Unidentified Wiki:Upcoming changes

Hello users! Some new changes will be made to the Wiki in the near future that consist of the details listed below. We would also like your feedback and suggestions for proposed changes that have not been confirmed. Please do so by clicking the link to our survey instead of editing this page to add your responses.

Confirmed changes

General

• All infoboxes for the unidentified, identified, and missing will be updated to reflect the new infobox design.
  • The UNSUB infobox will be changed following input from users on a proposed change below.
• The "theories" section will be removed from all articles. Confirmed theories (by law enforcement/credible sources) will be moved to the "case" or "investigation" sections.
  • Unidentified Wiki is not a forum, such as Websleuths or similar websites. Some theories added to pages are based entirely on unsourced speculation and opinions, which impair the website's credibility.
• Potential identities and exclusions will have their own section in an article.
  • If the list is extensive, a separate page (example: Unidentified Wiki:Possible identities for Walker County Jane Doe) may be needed. Very long lists, such as those from Virginia, will not be added. Encouragement to view the NamUs list (after account creation) will be mentioned.
• Featured cases that received the status before the guidelines and voting system will be temporarily be dropped as such until they are expanded and/or revised for their writing style.

Cause of death

• "Suspicious deaths" will eventually be removed as a category and from infobox use.
  • To maintain our credibility and remain on good terms with investigation agencies, we cannot imply unconfirmed details based on speculation and opinions by users and questionable sources.

Categories

• "No NCMEC reconstruction" will be eliminated as a category, as it suggests promotional and/or biased views.
• The "Aliases" category will be renamed "Alias users" for contextual reasons.
• "Victims of serial killers" will be adjusted to include only those who have been confirmed or suspected by police.
  • Sources may be required. A new category titled "Possible victims of serial killers" will include unconfirmed victims, and those possibly linked to a known offender or UNSUB will include the possible killer's name.
• "Missing people from [location]" will be revised to include articles only. A separate category for those missing from a location will be added.
  • This will be time consuming, but it will allow easier navigation to missing person articles.

Proposed changes

• Moving UNSUB cases to an entirely separate Wiki, based on the fewer entries and that identification is less-likely based on DNA/fingerprints/dental records if not previously collected.
• Moving missing person cases to an entirely separate Wiki.
  • Although we have an extensive amount of missing individuals, concerns have been mentioned in the past that they may not fit as smoothly with the topic of unidentified and identified individuals.
  • Resolved missing person cases where the individual was recovered deceased or alive without remaining unidentified end up being deleted, as their relevance to the project becomes obsolete.
• Featured case voting will be changed to a survey link for administrative review, with the results being published after a decision is made, based on user responses.

User-submitted proposals

User-submitted changes will be added to this section if suitable for consideration.