Network/Journal/Citation Strength Tiers Ratifies G2
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Entry 020

Citation strength tiers (ratifies G2)

Date
2026-05-08
Status
Decided
Authority
Creator

Decision

Citations carry a strength tier:

  1. Primary canon — the work itself, official creator statements, in-universe materials. Highest weight.
  2. Provider-imported — TMDB, IGDB, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. Trustworthy secondary.
  3. Fan-derived — Fandom and similar (license-permitting). Useful, contestable.
  4. User-asserted without source — lowest. May be valid for in-Franchise consensus but doesn't move citation strength.

Citation tier modifies v_for weight in the consensus formula when an op carries a tier-1 or tier-2 citation. Specific multipliers deferred for empirical tuning alongside G8.

Reasoning

G2 left citation strength as a vote modifier without specifying the model. This concretes it. Four tiers is enough resolution to distinguish the categories that actually matter (canonical vs. provider vs. fan vs. unsourced) without becoming a bureaucratic burden on submitters. The cleanest integration point with the consensus formula is as a per-op multiplier on v_for rather than restructuring v_total — preserves the existing math, adds expressive power.