Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-09-08/Dispatches 1

A Featured topic (FT) is a collection of inter-related articles that are of high quality. The minimum quality of the component articles of a topic, and the definition of a topic, have become more stringent over time. As of August 2008, the requirements specify that a featured topic must contain at least three articles, all of which must have been rated as good articles, featured articles, or featured lists. Articles in the topic which are not eligible for good or featured class—either due to instability or limited subject matter—must pass an audit including a formal peer review. The topic must have a well-defined scope, cover its subject comprehensively, and include an introductory or summary article to the topic.

To attain FT status, an editor can nominate a set of articles at Featured topic candidates (FTC) where reviewers determine whether the set of articles meets the FT criteria. Unlike some Featured content processes, Featured topics has no official director; Arctic Gnome does the majority of promoting and closing topics, but any user can do so. Some topics grow over time; as new articles are created that are within the topic scope, they can be proposed for addition to the topic at FTC.

When a topic expands to include articles that are not of sufficient quality, or when existing articles lose their good or featured status, a Featured topic has a three-month grace period in which to bring the topic back into compliance with the Featured topic criteria. Topics which do not meet criteria due to a change in that criteria, rather than through a change in the topic, have a six-month grace period. If the topic is not successful in aligning with the criteria, the topic can then be nominated for removal. This removal process typically last two weeks.