Biography Portal
This page documents a workflow, system, feature, tool, or editorial practice used by The Sunil Abraham Project (TSAP). It describes how the project operates and is not itself a primary content article.
The Biography Portal documents The Sunil Abraham Project’s work on creating biographies of individuals whose lives and contributions are relevant to the project’s areas of interest. These may include people associated with open source software, open knowledge, open data, digital rights, internet governance, privacy, transparency, civic technology, public interest technology, and related fields.
This page records the scope of the biography initiative, biography levels, editorial guidelines, research standards, workflow, and other documentation related to the creation and maintenance of biography pages. It serves as the central reference point for the project’s biographical work.
Levels
The biography levels described below are intended to indicate the depth, maturity, and completeness of a biography. The word counts are approximate guidelines and may be revised as the project develops.
Note: The word counts given below are approximate guidelines and refer only to the main prose content of a biography. They do not include YAML front matter, templates, infoboxes, references, bibliographies, “See also” sections, external links, style sheets, scripts, or similar supporting material.
Level 0
A very brief biography, generally under 250 words. It provides only basic information about the person and does not give the reader a meaningful understanding of their life, work, or significance.
Level 0 biographies are normally intended for internal preparation and research purposes and should generally not be published.
Level 1
A basic biography of approximately 250 words or more. It should provide enough information for a reader to understand who the person is, what they have done, and why they are relevant to the project’s areas of interest.
Information should be accurate and supported by reliable sources.
Level 2
A substantial biography of approximately 500 words or more. It should cover the major aspects of the person’s life, work, and contributions and provide a reasonably complete overview of the subject.
Where possible, the biography should include information, context, or perspectives not commonly found in short public profiles.
Level 3
An in-depth biography of approximately 1,000 words or more. It should provide substantial detail about the person’s life, work, influence, and context.
Level 3 biographies are expected to incorporate original research where appropriate, including interviews, correspondence, archival material, photographs, or information obtained from the subject, family members, colleagues, collaborators, or other knowledgeable individuals.
Level 4
A comprehensive and authoritative biography. The aim of a Level 4 biography is to become the best independent biography of the subject available on the web.
Level 4 biographies are expected to be based on extensive research and may incorporate interviews, archival materials, photographs, timelines, bibliographies, related documents, and other supporting resources. A Level 4 biography may grow beyond a single article and develop into a broader biographical resource.
Level 5
Reserved for future development.
Methodology
The Sunil Abraham Project seeks to create accurate, well-sourced, and comprehensive biographies. Depending on the subject and the availability of information, biographies may be based on a combination of published sources, archival materials, direct communication with the subject, conversations with family members, colleagues, collaborators, or other knowledgeable individuals, and other primary and secondary sources.
Where possible, information is verified using multiple sources. The project may also collect photographs, documents, correspondence, oral histories, and other materials that help document the life and work of the subject.
The research process is intended to be flexible and adapted to the circumstances of each biography. Information may be gathered through email, messaging platforms, voice or video calls, in-person conversations, publicly available records, published works, and archival research.
The extent of research undertaken varies between biographies and may influence the level assigned to a biography.
Disclaimer
To be added
📄 This page was created on 6 June 2026. You can view its history on GitHub, preview the fileTip: Press Alt+Shift+G, or inspect the .