Wikipedia:WikiProject Scouting/Links
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 | This guideline is now included in Wikipedia:WikiProject Scouting/MOS. |
Overview[edit]
Links included in the See also and External links sections should be integrated into the body of the article whenever possible and used as a reference. Links that are already used in the body of the article should not be replicated in See also and External links.
These links are often used as a quick and easy way to add to an article. Often links are added by an editor who has never been involved with the article and who never edits that article again- sort of a "drive by edit". This is not necessarily bad, as a maintaining editor can see the worth of such a link and incorporate it in the body of the article as needed.
Links must be examined as to their relationship to the context and scope of the article. If not related to the full scope of the article, then the link should be redacted or moved to the proper article.
Standards[edit]
Unit links[edit]
Often, unit links are added into articles that are of a national or world-wide scope. For example, troop web sites get added to the article Boy Scouting (Boy Scouts of America). With over 42,000 troops in the BSA, even a small percentage of such links would be overwhelming.
The project preference is to not add such links directly into an article. Instead, use a link into the Open Directory Project. The ODP is a listing of links for all sorts of subjects, including Scouting. The main link into Scouting on the ODP is http://www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Scouting/.
As an example, this wikicode will generate a reference into the ODP:
- <!---Please do not add unit links directly. Follow this link and add them to the Open Directory --->
- *{{cite web |url=http://www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Scouting/Organizations/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Explorer_Posts/Police_and_Law_Enforcement/ |title=Explorer Posts: Police and Law Enforcement |accessdate=2007-02-24 |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher=[[Open Directory Project]] |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}
That will appear like this:
- "Explorer Posts: Police and Law Enforcement". Open Directory Project. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
This link should be placed in the External links section of the lowest level article. For example, instead of placing an ODP troop link in the Boy Scouting article, it should be placed in the by state or council article.