Help talk:Editing

Reference Markup

The <ref> and <reference/> tags don't work. This is seen in the examples on this page. MarsVoyager (talk) 15:18, 15 January 2018 (EST)

Yes, we're aware of this. Fortunately, we don't really use the reference tag here. --Funkychinaman (talk) 15:48, 15 January 2018 (EST)

Yeah, if I recall I actually deleted the ref template to emphasise that people shouldn't use inline citations because that isn't how IMFDB functions. I mean bear in mind that this is copy-pasted from Wookiepedia, hence all the references to Star Wars. Evil Tim (talk) 16:08, 15 January 2018 (EST)

Reference tags seems to work in Wookieepedia[1]. Reference: [1] Wookieepedia Help Editing, retrieved 2018-01-15. --MarsVoyager (talk) 18:14, 15 January 2018 (EST)

I think it is a good idea to avoid manual reference lists, like this: [1].--MarsVoyager (talk) 18:14, 15 January 2018 (EST)

References

[1] (return) Bad reference list example--MarsVoyager (talk) 18:14, 15 January 2018 (EST)

We don't want those either. Like I said, we don't use inline citations, so we don't need reference tags. Haven't you noticed there isn't a single article on IMFDB that has a references list? Evil Tim (talk) 18:18, 15 January 2018 (EST)

Ok, understood. I have found some statements that could be supported by a source, e.g. the first sentence on For_a_Few_Dollars_More, but I'll leave it. --MarsVoyager (talk) 18:40, 15 January 2018 (EST)

You're probably familiar with how Wikipedia does this, so to explain the difference: Wikipedia (and other places that use the same model) seeks to be a tertiary source, so each statement they make is supported by, ideally, an authoritative secondary source writing about the subject of the article. IMFDB seeks to be a secondary source, so we rely on our own authority by assembling a knowledgeable group of editors: we're as likely to end up arguing with other sources as we are to agree with them. One of Wikipedia's maxims is "verifiability, not truth:" we're the opposite.

As a result, discussion of sources for any contentious information is done on the talk page between individual editors: if you believe any information you're adding is unusual or likely to be challenged, you can put a link to a source in your edit summary. Evil Tim (talk) 04:49, 16 January 2018 (EST)