User:Ricken/SandboxPG/External links

AmtWiki articles may include external links to outside sources, for purpose of directing users to further information that is not suitable for inclusion in the article itself for reasons unrelated to accuracy. These links are not normally placed in the body of the article, and must conform to certain formatting restrictions.

It's not AmtWiki's purpose to include a comprehensive list of links related to a topic. When possible, consider adding the information from the external link to the body of the article, keeping in mind AmtWiki's policies against Plagiarism.

Link restrictions

Editors are restricted from adding links that violate others' copyrights. Linking to websites that display copyrighted works is acceptable as long as the website has licensed the work, or uses the work in a way compliant with fair use. Knowingly directing others to material that violates copyright might be considered contributory copyright infringement. Linking to a page that illegally distributes someone else's work casts a bad light on AmtWiki.

Editors may also not add links to pages that are listed on the AmtWiki blacklist. These links are removes automatically.

What to link

Before adding an external link, consider the following:

• Is the site content accessible to the reader?
• Is the site content proper in the context of the article (useful, tasteful, informative, factual, etc.)?
• Is the link functioning and likely to remain functional?

Each link should be considered on its own merits. As the number of external links in an article grows longer, assessment should become stricter. When in doubt about the appropriateness of adding new links, make a suggestion on the article's talkpage and discuss with other editors.

What can normally be linked

• Articles about any organization, person, website, or other entity should link to the subject's official site, if any.
• An article about a book, piece of media, or Amtgard ruleset should link to a legally distributed copy, if available.
• Sites that contain neutral and accurate material that is relevant to an understanding of the subject and cannot be integrated into the AmtWiki article due to copyright issues, amount of detail (such as interview transcripts, or online tutorials), or other reasons.

What should be avoided

• Any site that contains nonfactual information that is presented as factual information in a way that might mislead readers.
• Sites containing malware, malicious scripts, trojan exploits, or content that is illegal to access in the United States.
• Links mainly intended to promote a website, including online petitions.
• Sites that require payment or registration to view the relevant content, unless the site itself is the subject of the article.
• Sites that are inaccessible to a substantial number of users, such as sites that work only with a specific browser or in a specific country.
• Direct links to documents that require external applications or plugins (such as Flash or Java) to view the content
• Any search results pages, such as links to individual website searches, search engines, search aggregators, or RSS feeds.
• Sites that are only indirectly related to the article's subject.
• Lists of links to manufacturers, suppliers or customers.
• Sites that are not reliably functional and/or not likely to continue being functional. For example, links to temporary internet content, where the link is unlikely to remain operable for a useful amount of time.

How to link

These directions show how to create a link in the classic wikitext editor.

Link with no text (shows as [1]:

[http://example.com]

Link with text (shows as Example external link):

[http://example.com Example external link]

If there are no meaningful words that can be used for the link, a link with no text is preferred to using self-referential link text, such as "click here" or "this link". These types of self-references should be avoided.

Maintenance and review

Inappropriate, dead, or duplicative links may be deleted by any editor; if the reason for the deletion is not obvious, please explain on the article's talk page.

This guideline describes the most common reasons for including and excluding links. However, the fact that a given link is not actually prohibited by this guideline does not automatically mean that it must or should be linked. Every link provided must be justifiable in the opinion of the editors for an article. Disputed links should normally be excluded by default unless and until there is a consensus to include them.