Wikipedia:Summary of important policies and guidelines

This is an essay. 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 essay is an attempt to list Wikipedia policies and guidelines roughly in order of their significance. Although all Wikipedia policies are "significant", this list is based on the idea that from the fundamental principles of Wikipedia flow the most fundamental policies, and from these fundamental policies flow other policies and eventually guidelines. The foundational principles are best summed up by the Five pillars or Wikipedia, but Jimbo Wales' statement of principles, the Founding principles for Wikimedia projects, and Wikipedia's core content policies should also be taken into account when attempting to arrange policies my their fundamentality.