Difference between revisions of "User:Wookipan/External links policy"

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(Poot policy draft heer)
 
(Made some edits and left some comments. Take a look at the diff and feel free to revert whatever.)
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Articles on the Team Fortress Wiki may include '''external links''', links to websites outside the Wiki. External links are placed at the very bottom of an article, either as its own section or as a reference. However, external links can also be found in the body of most articles throughout the Wiki, most notably links to Wikipedia, Steam, and other independent sources. External links '''must always''' lead to trusted websites; links that lead to suspicious websites of any kind may be removed without warning. Links that are found to be malicious should be removed immediately and reported to [[Help:Group rights|staff]] for further investigation.
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Articles on the Team Fortress Wiki may include '''external links''', or links to websites outside the Wiki. External links are often placed at the very bottom of an article, either as their own section or in the list of references. However, external links are also used in the body of some articles, most notably linking to Wikipedia, Steam, and other independent sources.
 +
 
 +
External links '''must always''' lead to trustworthy websites; links that lead to suspicious websites of any kind will be removed without warning. If you find a link to a malicious site, you should remove it immediately and report it to the [[Help:Group rights|staff]] for further investigation.
 
   
 
   
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While most websites would be acceptable to link to, users '''must not''' link to closed websites where the source is locked behind account registration, i.e. websites and/or platforms that require the visitor to register an account in order to view the contents or for participating in a community. In short, sources ''must'' be available at all times without the burden of account registration.
+
Aside from a website being trustworthy, links also '''must not''' be "closed", where the source is locked behind account registration. For example, websites or platforms that require the visitor to register an account in order to view their contents<ref>darkid: You also said links should not require registration "for participating in a community" here, and I don't know if I agree. For example, we might link to a developer post on twitter; that's visible but you can't participate without a twitter account.</ref>. In short, sources ''must'' be available at all times to all users, with no additional effort.
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* Links on user pages are generally exempt from this rule, but are not exempt from reputability requirements.
 
−
* Event organizers that use Discord or similar closed platforms for community events are instead advised to create a Steam Community group and link their communities through that.
 
  
 +
<references />
 +
There are a couple of exceptions:
 +
* Links on user pages are generally exempt from the "closed" rule, but still '''must''' be trustworthy.
 +
* Community event organizers that use Discord (or similar closed platforms) are instead advised<sup>darkid: encouraged? Is this a hard requirement?</sup> to create a Steam Community group, and moderate through that.
  
 +
<sup>Is this summary necessary? I feel like this would be better as a {{tl|nutshell}}, and only if this page gets too long.</sup>
 
''To sum it up, do '''not''' provide links to sites that:''
 
''To sum it up, do '''not''' provide links to sites that:''
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# Misleads the reader by use of factually inaccurate material or unverifiable sources.
+
# Mislead the reader by use of factually inaccurate material (or unverifiable sources)<sup>.
 
# Require the visitor to register an account in order to view the contents or participate in a community.
 
# Require the visitor to register an account in order to view the contents or participate in a community.
 
# Contain malware, malicious scripts or trojan exploits.
 
# Contain malware, malicious scripts or trojan exploits.
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# Intend to self-promote or promote a website and/or product that has no relevance to the ''Team Fortress'' franchise whatsoever.
+
# Intend to self-promote or promote a website<ref>This seems like two things, and I don't know if either of them are really accurate. Self-promotion is hard to judge, e.g. is it OK for the creator of a community update to link to their website? What about one of the contributors linking ther deviantart?</ref> and/or product that has no relevance to the ''Team Fortress'' franchise whatsoever.<ref This one seems easier to explain, and should probably be in the lead; external links are only allowed when relevant. (For example, we talk about portal 2 -- a link to wikipedia.com/portal_2 would be fine but is wholly unrelated to tf2.)</ref>
  
 +
<references />
  
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; ''The tables below documents examples of acceptable/unacceptable websites and platforms that fall under the rules above''
 
  
−
{| style="width: 15em; float: left;" class="wikitable grid"
+
=== Examples ===
−
|+ Acceptable
+
Here are a few examples of sites which are acceptable/unacceptable external links
−
|-
+
 
−
! style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Safe and open
+
{| class="wikitable grid"
 +
! class=header | Website
 +
! class=header | Safe
 +
! class=header | Open
 +
! class=header | Notes
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Wikipedia
 
| Wikipedia
 +
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
 +
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
 +
| Wikipedia's content is vetted by moderators, so it is a trustworthy, independent source.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Steam
 
| Steam
 +
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
 +
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| Steam store pages are provided by developers and are a good primary source of information. However, steam comments are user-submitted and may not be factual.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Reddit
 
| Reddit
 +
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| darkid: I don't know that I would list reddit here. Some reddit communities are 18+ and reddit content is not always thoroughly moderated.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| TF2Maps.net
 
| TF2Maps.net
 +
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
 +
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| Similarly to steam, TF2Maps is a good primary source for mapping development. However, some of the threads contain user comments and may not be factual.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| ETF2L
 
| ETF2L
 +
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
 +
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| darkid: ETF2L is similar to steam/tf2maps. I would only list one or two of these.
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Internet Archive
+
| The Wayback Machine
−
|}
+
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
−
{| style="width: 15em;" class="wikitable grid"
+
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
−
|+ Unacceptable
+
| The internet archive hosts a service which makes persistent copies of pages. This is a good way to keep content open, even when the original site disappears or is privatised. However, its safety depends on the safety of the original contents.
−
|-
 
−
! style="background-color: #FFC7C7;" | Safe and closed
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Discord
 
| Discord
 +
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| No
 +
| Discord channels can be 18+, and are inaccessible without an invitation. Note that a picture of a discord message is not acceptable because it cannot be verified.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Facebook
 
| Facebook
 +
| style="background-color: #9EFF9E;" | Yes
 +
| No
 +
| Facebook has a fairly stringent terms of use, so its contents are safe. However, content requires an account to view, and is thus not open.
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Twitter <small>(private profiles)</small>
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| Twitter
−
|-
+
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
−
! style="background-color: #FFC7C7;" | Unsafe
+
| style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" | Mostly
 +
| Twitter does host some 18+ content, and some of its contents may be closed, for example direct messages or private profiles. A copy of a private twitter profile via the wayback machine would be considered open.
 
|-
 
|-
−
| malicious-website.com
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| t3amf0rtress.com
 +
| style="background-color: #FFC7C7;" | No
 +
| N/A
 +
| Phishing websites which masquerade as real websites are unsafe, and should not be linked under any circumstances.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| spam-promotion.com
 
| spam-promotion.com
 +
| style="background-color: #FFC7C7;" | Mostly not
 +
| N/A
 +
| Sites which are blatant advertisements are not acceptable links since they do not provide value and are often malicious.
 
|}
 
|}

Revision as of 04:51, 7 March 2022

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Articles on the Team Fortress Wiki may include external links, or links to websites outside the Wiki. External links are often placed at the very bottom of an article, either as their own section or in the list of references. However, external links are also used in the body of some articles, most notably linking to Wikipedia, Steam, and other independent sources.

External links must always lead to trustworthy websites; links that lead to suspicious websites of any kind will be removed without warning. If you find a link to a malicious site, you should remove it immediately and report it to the staff for further investigation.

Aside from a website being trustworthy, links also must not be "closed", where the source is locked behind account registration. For example, websites or platforms that require the visitor to register an account in order to view their contents[1]. In short, sources must be available at all times to all users, with no additional effort.

  1. ↑ darkid: You also said links should not require registration "for participating in a community" here, and I don't know if I agree. For example, we might link to a developer post on twitter; that's visible but you can't participate without a twitter account.

There are a couple of exceptions:

  • Links on user pages are generally exempt from the "closed" rule, but still must be trustworthy.
  • Community event organizers that use Discord (or similar closed platforms) are instead adviseddarkid: encouraged? Is this a hard requirement? to create a Steam Community group, and moderate through that.

Is this summary necessary? I feel like this would be better as a {{nutshell}}, and only if this page gets too long. To sum it up, do not provide links to sites that:

  1. Mislead the reader by use of factually inaccurate material (or unverifiable sources).
  2. Require the visitor to register an account in order to view the contents or participate in a community.
  3. Contain malware, malicious scripts or trojan exploits.
  4. Intend to self-promote or promote a website[1] and/or product that has no relevance to the Team Fortress franchise whatsoever.<ref This one seems easier to explain, and should probably be in the lead; external links are only allowed when relevant. (For example, we talk about portal 2 -- a link to wikipedia.com/portal_2 would be fine but is wholly unrelated to tf2.)</ref>
  1. ↑ This seems like two things, and I don't know if either of them are really accurate. Self-promotion is hard to judge, e.g. is it OK for the creator of a community update to link to their website? What about one of the contributors linking ther deviantart?


Examples

Here are a few examples of sites which are acceptable/unacceptable external links

Website Safe Open Notes
Wikipedia Yes Yes Wikipedia's content is vetted by moderators, so it is a trustworthy, independent source.
Steam Yes Mostly Steam store pages are provided by developers and are a good primary source of information. However, steam comments are user-submitted and may not be factual.
Reddit Mostly Mostly darkid: I don't know that I would list reddit here. Some reddit communities are 18+ and reddit content is not always thoroughly moderated.
TF2Maps.net Yes Mostly Similarly to steam, TF2Maps is a good primary source for mapping development. However, some of the threads contain user comments and may not be factual.
ETF2L Yes Mostly darkid: ETF2L is similar to steam/tf2maps. I would only list one or two of these.
The Wayback Machine Mostly Yes The internet archive hosts a service which makes persistent copies of pages. This is a good way to keep content open, even when the original site disappears or is privatised. However, its safety depends on the safety of the original contents.
Discord Mostly No Discord channels can be 18+, and are inaccessible without an invitation. Note that a picture of a discord message is not acceptable because it cannot be verified.
Facebook Yes No Facebook has a fairly stringent terms of use, so its contents are safe. However, content requires an account to view, and is thus not open.
Twitter Mostly Mostly Twitter does host some 18+ content, and some of its contents may be closed, for example direct messages or private profiles. A copy of a private twitter profile via the wayback machine would be considered open.
t3amf0rtress.com No N/A Phishing websites which masquerade as real websites are unsafe, and should not be linked under any circumstances.
spam-promotion.com Mostly not N/A Sites which are blatant advertisements are not acceptable links since they do not provide value and are often malicious.
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