Wikipedia:Explain jargon
From Free net encyclopedia
Explain jargon when you use it (see jargon). Remember that the person reading your article might not be someone educated or versed in your field, and so might not understand the subject-specific terms from that field. Terms which could go without a definition in an academic paper or a textbook may require one in Wikipedia.
The Wiki format allows you to do this more easily than could be done on paper. You can simply make your jargon terms links to articles explaining them; you can then link to that same explanation from many places. Alternatively, you may introduce the jargon term the first time you use it; beware, though, that technical terms often have a very precise meaning and that short explanations of their meaning may introduce some inaccuracies.
Whenever you feel it is convenient to bundle all terms and their definitions within a list, do use the appropriate definition list markup: Instead of
*'''term''': definition
use
; term : definition
The aim is to hyperlink all jargon to explain it, and then explain all the jargon you use to explain that, until you've reached terms that ordinary educated people should understand.
See debate.