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For practical purposes this discussion is of minor relevance (although it is interesting to keep its main points in mind). Simply because - and let us be quite clear about this - it is '''not''' the mission of the ''Lexicanum'' (or any other encylopaedia) to make sense of and try to align conflicting data. The ''Lexicanum'' explicitly limits itself to ''documenting'' (sometimes with appropriate explanations on the context of certain problems) the available lore. No more, no less.
Therefore as a rule of thumb all material ever published in whatever form by [[Games Workshop]], its subsidiaries and license holders is considered an acceptable source. The only requirement being that any [[Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Editors|Editor]] must be able to prove the existence and content of any cited source he/ she uses. Obviously the following lists are non-exhaustive and there might sometimes be grey areas that can and should be discussed with [[Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Administrators|Administrators]] and/or [[Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Bureaucrats|Bureaucrats]] with a view on their status.
==Examples of accepted sources==
*so-called "alternative" timelines
*fictional events as described by different protagonists from their "own" points of view
*often non-distinction between (fictional) "facts" and "legends/ mythology/ rumours" etc.
*[[Games Workshop]] authors (past and present) sometimes making statements in a private capacity that are then picked up by some readers as "official"
*and many other potential sources for confusion and contradictions
This (non-exhaustive) list of potential sources of problems should make it quite clear why it is impossible to reconcile all material ever published by [[Games Workshop]] (and subsidiaries and license holders, further on simply and collectively referred to as "Games Workshop") into one stringent and logical continuity. Add to that the inevitable tendency of readers/ "fans" to consciously or unconsciously add their own spin, interpretation, extrapolation or sometimes plain made-up elements and the problem that most users of the internet do not bother to actually check if something is a verifiable fact or simply a rumour or even lie sold as fact and the mess is complete.
[[Games Workshop]] itself has not been very forthcoming with any helpful statements on this conundrum. But then again why would they? As a company they certainly have no interest to limit themselves by a too strict corset of which parts of their own intellectual property they will use at any given moment - or not. And even if they do not use certain elements at a given time, who is to say said elements might not come in handy at some point in the future? So from a commercial point of view this is a very logical approach even if it is one that can vex readers.
