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Wikipedia provides two methods of providing the citation content for footnotes: "inline references" or "list defined references".
The more common inline reference style looks something like this:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
This is some content.<ref name="Example.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.example.org|title=Example article|first=A. U.|last=Thor|date=7 May 2024}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
|
This is some content.[1]
|
List defined references, however, move the content of the references to the reference section:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
This is some content.<ref name="Example.org"/>
== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="Example.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.example.org|title=Example article|first=A. U.|last=Thor|date=7 May 2024}}</ref>
}}
|
This is some content.[1]
|
In both cases, the rendered article page is identical; the only difference is how it appears when editing the page.
Advantages of inline references:
- Editors are used to it (but only experienced editors, and we have a dearth of new editors joining the project).
- It avoids orphaned references (provided each reference is only used once, and automated bots can fix this easily anyway).
- It means you write the citation in the same place as adding the content.
Advantages of list defined references:
- Editing the references section lets you edit the references, which makes much more intuitive sense, particularly for new editors.
- It moves the citation content out of the way when reading markup.
- When a citation is used multiple times, it avoids editors needing to work out which is the "original" to be able to edit the citation.
The point about attracting new editors is a critical one to me: Wikipedia's complex, undocumented and unique syntax is frequently cited as a reason potential new editors are put off from contributing. The much-maligned VisualEditor was supposed to help with that, but that is unlikely to ever fully replace editing the wikitext markup. List defined references mean there's a much closer match between the rendered article (text, a small link to a citation, with full citation details in a separate section) and the wikitext (text, a small tag naming a citation, with full citation details in a separate section), than with the "normal" inline references.
See also edit
- WP:CITEVAR: "Editors should not attempt to change an article's established citation style merely on the grounds of personal preference, to make it match other articles, or without first seeking consensus for the change. As with spelling differences, it is normal practice to defer to the style used by the first major contributor or adopted by the consensus of editors already working on the page, unless a change in consensus has been achieved."
- WP:LDRHOW: "List-defined references (LDR) ... was implemented in September 2009 as a way to make referencing articles easier and with less clutter."