UniWiki:Manual of Style/Linking: Difference between revisions

{{hatnote|For information on adding external links to articles, see [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:External links|Wikipedia:External links]].}}

{{UMoS guideline}}

'''Linking''' through [[Wikipedia:Hyperlink|hyperlinks]] is an important feature of the UniWiki (and MediaWiki software in general. Internal links bind the project together into an interconnected whole. [[Wikipedia:Interwiki links|Interwiki links]] bind the UniWiki to other useful resources such as [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]], [[Wikipedia:Wiktionary|Wiktionary]], and external links bind the UniWiki to the [[Wikipedia:World Wide Web|World Wide Web]].

This page provides guidelines as to when links should and should not be used, and how to format links. Detailed information about the syntax used to create links can be found at [[Wikipedia:Help:Link]]. The rules on linking applicable to [[Wikipedia:WP:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are set out in the [[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages|disambiguation style guide]].

===General points on linking style===

*Section headings should not themselves contain links; instead, a {{tl|main}} or {{tl|see also}} template should be placed immediately after the heading.

*Links should not be placed in the [[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Lead section#Format of the first sentence|boldface reiteration of the title]] in the opening sentence of a lead.<ref>Many, but not all, articles repeat the article title in bold face in the first line of the article. Linking the article to itself produces '''boldface text'''; this practice is discouraged as page moves will result in a useless circular link through a redirect. Linking ''part'' of the bolded text is also discouraged because it changes the visual effect of bolding; some readers will miss the visual cue which is the purpose of using bold face in the first place.</ref>

The function of links is to clarify, not emphasize; do not create links in order to draw attention to certain words or ideas, or as a mark of respect.

Duplicate linking in lists is permissible if it significantly aids the reader. This is most often the case when the list is presenting information that could just as aptly be formatted in a table, and is expected to be parsed for particular bits of data, not read from top to bottom. If the list is normal article prose that happens to be formatted as a list, treat it as normal article prose.

*Consider [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Starting an article|creating the article]] yourself.

*If an article on the specific topic does not yet exist, create a redirect page to the article about a more general topic, as described in section {{section link||Redirects}}. For example, if no article yet exists on the song "Sad Statue" from the album ''Mezmerize'', create a new article called [[Wikipedia:Sad Status|Sad Statue]] that is a redirect to the article ''[[Wikipedia:Mezmerize (album)|Mezmerize]]''.

When neither a redirect nor a red link appear appropriate, consider linking to a more general article instead. For example, instead of {{xt|[[Wikipedia:Baroque hairstyles|Baroque hairstyles]]}}, write {{xt|[[Wikipedia:Baroque|Baroque]] hairstyles}}, {{xt|Baroque [[Wikipedia:Hairstyle|hairstyles]]}}, {{xt|Baroque hairstyles}}, or {{xt|[[Wikipedia:Hairstyle|hairstyles]] of the [[Wikipedia:Baroque|Baroque]]}}

===File type and size===

If the link is to a large file (in the case of HTML, consider the size of the entire page, including the images), a note about that is useful too. Someone with a slow (or expensive) connection may decide not to use it.

==Interwiki links==

===Linking===

Interwiki links can take the form of:

The pipe symbol suppresses the prefix:

Adding text after the pipe allows different text:

==Link maintenance==

*''Outgoing links:'' These should be checked from time to time for unintended changes that are undesirable. If the opportunity arises to improve their formatting, appropriateness, and focus, this should be done.

==See also==

==References==

{{Reflist}}