THC Science

For a proposed change to the external links policy, see Wikipedia:External links/temp

Wikipedia is not a web directory, however, adding a certain number of external links is of valuable service to our readers. No page should consist solely of a collection of external links. Wikipedia always prefers internal links, even to non-existent articles, over external links. See also m:When should I link externally.

What to link to

In Wikipedia, it is possible to link to external websites. Such links are referred to as "external links". Many articles have a small section containing a few external links. There are a few things which should be considered when adding an external link.

Is it accessible?
Is it proper? (useful, tasteful, etc?)
Is it entered correctly?

In general, external links should be accessible by the widest audience possible. That is, try to avoid sites requiring payment, registration, or extra applications (Flash, Java, etc.) to see the relevant content, at least if there is a simpler site available. If the best/only site does have such requirements, it is best to include a note to that effect. For people with a slow connection, also mention the size if that is large. Examples: "(requires Java)", "(1 MB PDF file)", "(requires registration)". The same applies to any sites with ads that spawn new windows.

What should be linked to

Official sites should be added to the page of any organization, person, or other entity that has an official site.
Sites that have been cited or used as references in the creation of a text. Intellectual honesty requires that any site actually used as a reference be cited. To fail to do so is plagiarism.
If a book or other text that is the subject of an article exists somewhere on the Internet it should be linked to.
On articles with multiple Points of View, a link to sites dedicated to each, with a detailed explanation of each link. The number of links dedicated to one POV should not overwhelm the number dedicated to any other. One should attempt to add comments to these links informing the reader of what their POV is.
High content pages that contain neutral and accurate material not already in the article. Ideally this content should be integrated into the Wikipedia article at which point the link would remain as a reference.

Maybe OK to add

For albums, movies, books: one or two links to professional reviews which express some sort of general sentiment. For films, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic offer collections of reviews.
Web directories: When deemed appropriate by those contributing to an article on Wikipedia, a link to one web directory listing can be added, with preference to open directories (if two are comparable and only one is open). If deemed unnecessary, or if no good directory listing exists, one should not be included.
Fan sites: On articles about topics with many fansites, including a link to one major fansite is appropriate, marking the link as such. In extreme cases, a link to a web directory of fansites can replace this link.

What should not be linked to

Wikipedia disapproves strongly of links that are added for advertising purposes. Adding links to one's own page is strongly discouraged. The mass adding of links to any website is also strongly discouraged, and any such operation should be raised at the Village Pump or other such page and approved by the community before going ahead. Persistently linking to one's own site is considered Vandalism and can result in sanctions. See also External link spamming.
Standards are just as high, or even higher, for material linked to externally as it is for content added internally. Pages that are factually inaccurate or which contain unverified original research should not be linked to.
Links to a site which is selling products, unless it applies via a "do" above.

How two link

External links section

There are two basic formats for external links. The most common is to add a list of external links at the end of an article. Put here, in list form, any web sites that you have used or recommend for readers of the article. Describe it if possible. The standard format for these is to have a top level header named "External links" followed by a bullet list of links.

If you link to another website, you should give your reader a good summary of the site's contents, and the reasons why this specific website is relevant to the article in question. If you cite an online article, try to provide as much meaningful citation information as possible. If an article has a large number of external links they can be divided into groups.

Citations

The second format is for sentences or paragraphs that require specific references. This form of link can be placed in the body of an article and the end of the relevant sentence or paragraph. These links have no description other than an automatically generated number.