Help talk:References

From Tolkien Gateway
Revision as of 00:53, 8 July 2011 by Morgan (talk | contribs) (→‎Adding Maps to Reference Templates: Which names to use?)

Articles with only one source

Where to put and how to use referencing, when you only have one source for an article (which has many sections or paragraphs)?

  1. Inline references (footnotes) for every paragraph
    1. Pros: It's easy to add new fact to an article, using a different source
    2. Cons: Clutters up the text with many footnotes
  2. Just put the source at the bottom (no footnotes)
    1. Pros: Doesn't clutter up the text (obviously!)
    2. Cons: If new info is added from a different source, it's hard to say to where each reference is pointing

Anyone recognize this problem? --Morgan 00:19, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I say yes to inline references per section, but not to paragraphs; see Lalia Clayhanger, for example. -- Ederchil (Talk/Contribs/Edits) 14:49, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I am firmly in the "reference as much, and as often, as possible" camp. If I were writing an essay I would struggle to write a paragraph without referencing, so I think the same must be true here especially as we are simply conveying information. --Mith (Talk/Contribs/Edits) 15:07, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Similar claims in different articles

Sometimes there are claims which I find are better (or more properly) explained in a different article. Shouldn't the reference only be used in that 'proper' article?

  • Example 1) Yesterday I was editing the article Fire-drakes. There is a reference to Smaug, and that he was killed by Bard. Now, the article on Fire-drakes isn't really concerned about the details of Smaug. Do we then need a reference for the general claims that are made about Smaug in the article on Fire-drakes?
  • Example 2) In the page for Quenya atar, we have the claim that it is derived from root ATA. If you go to the article on ATA you find the reference for this claim. But is it really needed to also have this reference on the atar page?

--Morgan 00:33, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Reply[reply]

  1. Part of me says "No, that's common knowledge", but another says "Yes, to avoid confusion". Maybe a reference to Appendix B instead?
  2. Yes. -- Ederchil (Talk/Contribs/Edits) 14:49, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  1. I'm similarly torn.
  2. Yes. Languages are a minefield of misinformation. --Mith (Talk/Contribs/Edits) 15:07, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Adding Maps to Reference Templates

Under Template:FR one of the options is "Part", which produces a reference to the "Part of the Shire" map. This is a very useful shortcut for adding a reference for a description of some location in the Shire (see the first reference in Hobbiton as an example). Template:S also has an option of "Map" for the "Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North" fold-out.

However, these are the only template shortcuts for references maps. It would seem useful to have other such references in other templates. Here is a list:

  • The Fellowship of the Ring (Template:FR) has the unnamed fold-out map for all of Middle-earth.
  • The Two Towers (Template:TT) has the same map as Book I, so it may not need a reference.
  • The Return of the King (Template:RK) has the unnamed fold-out map of Gondor and places nearby.
  • Unfinished Tales (Template:UT) has the fold-out "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" map that has different features than the two maps in Books I and II. Unfinished Tales also has the "Númenórë" map on the page prior to the Introduction.
  • The Hobbit (Template:H) has "Thrór's Map" and the bigger "Wilderland" map.

Could some administrator add these map references to the templates listed? If blank articles are attached to the references I or someone else could write up a description.

--Gamling 23:39, 7 July 2011 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Added maps to UT and H. I'm not sure how to link to the maps contained in the LotR - any ideas? --Morgan 00:53, 8 July 2011 (UTC)Reply[reply]