[WikiEN-l] Embeds and links on Wiki pages?

[FT2]

Hi Lottie,


First of all, and with appreciation, thank you for your care and
forethought. We do try to maintain a certain standard and abide by policies
and communal agreement on matters such as links, and it's far better to
discuss these amicably than any other way.

Since you don't give full details, the easiest way to start is with a
general overview, and then if you have questions please do come back with
them -- we'll be glad to discuss. Anyhow, here's the brief version. I'll add
links to relevant pages as I go, for you to read further.

Wikipedia (as you know) is an encyclopedia. That means in practical terms a
few important factors kick into play that affect every edit, every editorial
contribution, and every link. The following summarizes these in lay-terms;
policies contain specific definitions which can be referred to for the
detail:


    **  Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Some things, although very useful or
interesting, just don't belong in it. There are policies that will summarize
what sort of content is (or is not) suitable as subject matter of an
article. Broadly it must be suitable content, the facts must be verifiable,
and it must have a degree of notability and an ability to have a neutral
article with some kind of substance written about it. 

    **  Within articles, we document facts. The facts we include must be
capable of being sourced from "reliable sources" -- that is, independent
sources which one might judge are likely to report what is said, with some
kind of credibility or reliability. We avoid citing facts that cannot be
checked, information which is just an editor's opinion, and the like. This
is why sites like IMDB are cited -- so people can check where we get the
facts we state, and that they are correctly stated, their context, and so
on.

    ** Wikipedia is neutral. We don't include or exclude things, except in
extreme cases (legal, harassment etc) that take a side or a stance, as far
as possible. If we did, then we would lose our value as a reference source.
As a corollary, we have strict policies against self-promotion, and conflict
of interest. We also are more interested in documenting subjects, than
providing links to commercial suppliers, unless highly relevant -- using
articles as a means to aid commercial ventures runs contrary to neutrality.
We usually judge editors by how they act though;  an editor capable of
editing neutrally will usually be able to do so, their edits will probably
receive higher scrutiny however.

    ** We have policies on external links. Links exist selectively, to
provide valued resources as one might expect in an encyclopedia or reference
source. There are many, many sites and web pages for some things. But we
link only those with significant reference value on the subject. Given a
choice we choose sources  selectively.

Useful links for these and other policies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifability
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_your_sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars   (a quick summary)


If you'd like to explain in a bit more detail, then you'll get a ready
response from this mailing list. But I think what matters is this:

Wikipedia links to sites as a way to ensure it is basing its articles upon
cited verifiable information. There is no policy that IMDB or any site must
(or will) be always applicable, or any site, nor does any site have a
license or "permission" to be cited. If it's appropriate to an article,
fine, if not then not. Individual editors, or editorial groups working
collaboratively, make decisions on this, case by case.

The issue you are likely to face, if I understand your request correctly, is
that you want your site linked to as a resource on various TV related
matters, because it's useful. Wikipedia is more about what's factual and
encyclopedic. Much useful content is simply not relevant to an encyclopedia
that acts as a reference work on many subjects. We don't usually "embed"
special code (RSS, rich media, etc) or custom external search tools as a
norm, for the same reasons. Wikipedia aims to simply be an encyclopedia,
when all said and done, and a reputation for commercial linking would harm
our ability to do this as well.

But without more detail what exactly you are thinking, it's hard to say
more.  

If you have more questions, or I've misunderstood your inquiry, please do
reply,

Best,


FT2



-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Lottie B
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 4:58 PM
To: WikiEN-l at lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [WikiEN-l] Embeds and links on Wiki pages?


Hi, I'm looking for some advice about links and embeds. I see there are
regular IMDB and TV.com links in the TV and film pages. I'm from the team
developing the new film and TV search site LocateTV, which allows you to
search for when a programme, film or actor is next on TV, online or on DVD,
specific to your region. We also have embeds for bloggers to put straight on
their pages linking readers to the content. I thought this could be a great
addition to the Wiki pages but I understand there is a very unbranded /
democratic feel to Wiki. Can anyone advise me if, considering other sites
are routinely linked to, it would be possible to put these embeds up or just
links? We don't want to tread on any toes!