Wikipedia:Flexibility is essential, even in applying notability standards
 | This is an essay on notability. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: No standard is unbending—not even Wikipedia's notability standards. At the end of the day, the question is whether an edit provides a net improvement to the encyclopedia, not what precise verbiage a guideline uses. |
"If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it."
— WP:IGNORE, official policy of the English Wikipedia
First principles
We should set one thing straight from the very beginning: Wikipedia has rules. It has policies. And it has guidelines.