References on TG
The rules of Tolkien Gateway require that statements are accompanied with a reference that points to a source written by J.R.R. Tolkien (and in some cases the page number) that supports those statements. Since you did not follow those rules, I will revert your edit. I recommend to you to read Help:References and Tolkien Gateway:Manual of Style. --Akhorahil (talk) 14:35, 13 February 2023 (UTC)
- Whatever information I add is from Tolkien's works. Some have references, while others are hard to find. I'm speaking in a general consensus. The reason why I add more information on certain characters is to make it more engaging to read about. All of that information is from Tolkien's works, as I've previously mentioned, but I paraphrase what is said.—Unsigned comment by MikeyofGondor25 (talk • contribs).
- Hi Mikey, those sort of additions still need to have citations. For example, if we add something about Aragorn that comes from information in the Strider chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, we would add this after the sentence: <ref>{{FR|Strider}}</ref>. It will then appear in the References list at the bottom of the article. You can read more about how to do this here: Help:References. If you click a specific citation template on that page it will give you more information about how to cite a specific chapter of the book. In addition, the content of most articles here follow a fairly uniform layout. I suggest looking at how other articles are structured to see what kind of information we include, what kind of information deserves its own section in an article, etc. You can also click Edit on existing articles to see more examples of how citations are added with the <ref> tag. --Oromë (talk) 16:00, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
Reminder about references
Hi Mikey, I added some references to your addition to Aragorn. I want to reiterate what's been said above: all statements about Tolkien's world, characters, etc., need references to the texts, at least to a specific chapter. Page numbers are ideal, but only if you have access to the one-volume 50th anniversary edition of Lord of the Rings; in other editions the page numbers won't match. References are needed even if the statement seems like common knowledge or common sense. There are a lot of misconceptions and myths going around about Tolkien, and the only way to keep Tolkien Gateway from perpetuating these is for all statements to be supported from the books. Additions without references risk getting removed, even if they're accurate. --Pachyderminator 17:01, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
- If it helps, you can think of it like this: Tolkien Gateway isn't about you know, it's about what you can prove. The way you prove your statements is by referring to one of Tolkien's works. If something you're saying can't be backed up with a reference, you probably shouldn't add it to a TG article. --Mord 20:49, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
Mikey, are you reading these messages? Earth to Mikey, come in Mikey! Please, please, please add references on your edits. Pachyderminator has been kind enough to clean up after you. Do you need help? Is something confusing you? Please feel free to join the Discord server and come chat with other editors if you would like advice or help on how you can make helpful edits! --Mord 00:48, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
- Yes. I'm reading the messages. Thanks. What I really need help with are how to reference sources. For some reason, I can't do it in accordance with the rules, despite my efforts. Now matter how many times I look at the steps and try to follow them, it doesn't go through way I want it to. MikeyofGondor25 (talk) 01:02, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
- Yeah, the citation templates can be confusing. You'll get the hang of it after doing it a few times. The discord server is a good place to get help, or if you prefer, next time you're having trouble with formatting feel free to post questions on my talk page. Also, Hyarion offers screen sharing sessions if you'd like a one-on-one tutorial. --Pachyderminator 02:36, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
How to use references
Hi MikeyofGondor! Help:References contains full instructions for citations but it can be quite confusing so I'll try to summarize the most important points here. All citations go between <ref> and </ref>. Most books you'll cite can use citation templates (full list here), which basically function as a shortcut for making references.
If you wanted to cite the chapter "A Long-expected Party" you would use Template:FR, this is the citation template for The Fellowship of the Rings. To use it write {{FR| }} The template page, (located at Template:FR), will show a list of shortcuts for each chapter, in this case, "party" or "I1" will both work. This will go after in that blank space after the |.
Page numbers use p. # for one page or pp. #-# for multiple pages. The page number should be added right after the template with a comma between.
Bring that all together, and to cite pages 20-25 of the chapter "A Long-expected Party" from The Lord of the Rings I would write:
<ref>{{FR|Party}}, pp. 20-5</ref>
Which generates this: [1]
To summarize:
1. Find the citation template for the book you want to cite
2. Put the chapter after | using the key on the template page
3. Put page number after a comma
4. Make sure it's between <ref> and </ref>
5. If there isn't already a references section at the bottom of the page just add {{references}} (right above categories and templates at the bottom)
For references that don't have citation templates, the standard is the same just write it out like so:
<ref>Author, ''Book title'', "chapter", p. #</ref>
BTW I know a bunch of people are commenting on this page but we truly do appreciate new editors and hope to see more (correctly cited) edits from you, it's just imperative for our trustworthiness as a wiki that we can prove the claims we make. This stuff is pretty confusing at first but eventually it comes naturally. You're more than welcome to ask any questions on my talk page. Cheers, ~ Éowyn ☆ talk ~ 21:16, 23 April 2024 (UTC)