Help:Citing sources: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 02:51, 7 March 2025

In order to ensure statements made on this wiki can be verified, and to ensure end users can find information themselves in official products, citations are a must when creating and editing articles.

You can insert ref tags into articles by using various citation templates. When citing books, there should be a child page of the {{ Cite book}} template. For example: {{ Cite book/knw}} to cite Kingdoms & Warfare. Book citations require a page parameter be added, like so: {{Cite book/fm | 205}} or even {{Cite book/snf | 118, 125}}. Requiring pages means users can find the exact portion of a source book that is relevant to their query.

In order to cite other sources, there are similar structured citation templates setup. For example {{cite web/dsjuly2024}} will add a ref tag citing the Draw Steel, July 2024 Patreon Playtest Packet.

When citing online messages, for instance from the MCDM Community Discord, the message and required context should be added to the Archive first. This is so that the information (and context) can be viewed without needing to join a closed ecosystem, and will persist should the original source location be made inaccessible. For instance, if a Discord channel gets deleted. An accompanying citation template page should be created for each Archive page, which allows people to cite them similar to the book and web citations. Like so: {{Template:Cite_archive/MCDM_Discord/2024-08-17/On_Kalas_Mithral}}

Adding to the Archive

Create the Archive Page

First create a new page in the Archive section that will contain a copy of the original message you are citing (and context if needed). This is so people can see the full message without needing to use discord itself, as it's not open to the wide web.

The url should be: https://timescape.wiki/view/Archive:MCDM_Discord/YYYY-MM/Article_name_here replacing the year and month with when the discord message was sent. The article name should briefly summarize the contents/subject matter in a few words.

Use the {{Archivebox}} template to create an infobox containing the relevant info.

title: should match page title
date: discord message sent date, yyyy-mm-dd
source: discord message url
page: a link to the archive page you're creating, piped to "Go to entry".
- Example: [[Archive:MCDM Discord/2024-08/Dwarven capitals|Go to entry]]

Then add in a {{Quote}} template with the discord message quote, sign with the sender name.

Example Archive Page: https://timescape.wiki/view/Archive:MCDM_Discord/2024-08/Dwarven_capitals

Create Template Page

next you can follow the "Cite this" link in the infobox of the Archive page you created, and it will take you to the Citation page you'll need to create.

Use the {{Cite archive}}` template and fill in the necessary info.

author: discord message author
date: discord message sent date
title: A piped link to the Archive page
- Example: [[Archive:MCDM Discord/2024-08/Dwarven capitals|Dwarven capitals]]
work: MCDM Discord
publisher: Discord

At the bottom add the page to the Archive Citation Templates category. Example: <noinclude>[[Category:Archive citation templates|Dwarven capitals]]</noinclude>

Example Citation Template Page: https://timescape.wiki/view/Template:Cite_archive/MCDM_Discord/2024-08-28/Dwarven_capitals

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 In order to ensure statements made on this wiki can be verified, and to ensure end users can find information themselves in official products, citations are a must when creating and editing articles.
-You can insert ref tags into articles by using various citation templates. When citing books, there should be a child page of the {{tl | Cite book}} template. For example: {{tl | Cite book/knw}} to cite Kingdoms & Warfare. Book citations require a page parameter be added, like so: <nowiki>{{Cite book/fm | 205}}</nowiki> or even <nowiki>{{Cite book/snf | 118, 125}}</nowiki>. Requiring pages means users can find the exact portion of a source book that is relevant to their query.
+You can insert ref tags into articles by using various [[:Category:Citation_templates|citation templates]]. When citing books, there should be a child page of the {{tl | Cite book}} template. For example: {{tl | Cite book/knw}} to cite Kingdoms & Warfare. Book citations require a page parameter be added, like so: <nowiki>{{Cite book/fm | 205}}</nowiki> or even <nowiki>{{Cite book/snf | 118, 125}}</nowiki>. Requiring pages means users can find the exact portion of a source book that is relevant to their query.
 In order to cite other sources, there are similar structured citation templates setup. For example <nowiki>{{cite web/dsjuly2024}}</nowiki> will add a ref tag citing the Draw Steel, July 2024 Patreon Playtest Packet.
-When citing online messages, for instance from the MCDM Community Discord, the message and required context should be added to the Archive first. See: [[Archive:MCDM_Discord/2024-08/On_Kalas_Mithral]] for an example. An [[Template:Cite_archive/MCDM_Discord/2024-08-17/On_Kalas_Mithral|accompanying citation template page]] should be created for each archived item, which allows people to cite them similar to the book and web citations. Like so: <nowiki>{{Template:Cite_archive/MCDM_Discord/2024-08-17/On_Kalas_Mithral}}</nowiki>
+When citing online messages, for instance from the MCDM Community Discord, the message and required context should be added to the Archive first. This is so that the information (and context) can be viewed without needing to join a closed ecosystem, and will persist should the original source location be made inaccessible. For instance, if a Discord channel gets deleted. An accompanying citation template page should be created for each Archive page, which allows people to cite them similar to the book and web citations. Like so: <nowiki>{{Template:Cite_archive/MCDM_Discord/2024-08-17/On_Kalas_Mithral}}</nowiki>
+== Adding to the Archive ==
+=== Create the Archive Page ===
+First create a new page in the Archive section that will contain a copy of the original message you are citing (and context if needed). This is so people can see the full message without needing to use discord itself, as it's not open to the wide web.
+The url should be:
+<nowiki>https://timescape.wiki/view/Archive:MCDM_Discord/YYYY-MM/Article_name_here</nowiki> replacing the year and month with when the discord message was sent. The article name should briefly summarize the contents/subject matter in a few words.
+Use the {{tl|Archivebox}} template to create an infobox containing the relevant info.
+* title: should match page title
+* date: discord message sent date, yyyy-mm-dd
+* source: discord message url
+* page: a link to the archive page you're creating, piped to "Go to entry".
+** Example: <nowiki>[[Archive:MCDM Discord/2024-08/Dwarven capitals|Go to entry]]</nowiki>
+Then add in a {{tl|Quote}} template with the discord message quote, sign with the sender name.
+Example Archive Page: https://timescape.wiki/view/Archive:MCDM_Discord/2024-08/Dwarven_capitals
+=== Create Template Page===
+next you can follow the "Cite this" link in the infobox of the Archive page you created, and it will take you to the Citation page you'll need to create.
+Use the {{tl|Cite archive}}` template and fill in the necessary info.
+* author: discord message author
+* date: discord message sent date
+* title: A piped link to the Archive page
+** Example: <nowiki>[[Archive:MCDM Discord/2024-08/Dwarven capitals|Dwarven capitals]]</nowiki>
+* work: MCDM Discord
+* publisher: Discord
+At the bottom add the page to the Archive Citation Templates category. Example: <nowiki><noinclude>[[Category:Archive citation templates|Dwarven capitals]]</noinclude></nowiki>
+Example Citation Template Page: https://timescape.wiki/view/Template:Cite_archive/MCDM_Discord/2024-08-28/Dwarven_capitals
+=== Common Citation Categories: ===
+* [[:Category:Sourcebook_citation_templates]]
+* [[:Category:Patreon_citation_templates]]
+* [[:Category:Archive_citation_templates]]
+* [[:Category:Youtube_citation_templates]]