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<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>CZ:Article mechanics - Citizendium</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"b77431a60a9757dc56026e6c","wgCSPNonce":false,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"CZ","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":100,"wgPageName":"CZ:Article_mechanics","wgTitle":"Article mechanics","wgCurRevisionId":924892,"wgRevisionId":924892,"wgArticleId":15146,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Content Policy","Policies"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"CZ:Article_mechanics","wgRelevantArticleId":15146,"wgIsProbablyEditable":false,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":false,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgPageFormsTargetName": null,"wgPageFormsAutocompleteValues":[],"wgPageFormsAutocompleteOnAllChars":false,"wgPageFormsFieldProperties":[],"wgPageFormsCargoFields":[],"wgPageFormsDependentFields":[],"wgPageFormsCalendarValues":[],"wgPageFormsCalendarParams":[],"wgPageFormsCalendarHTML":null,"wgPageFormsGridValues":[],"wgPageFormsGridParams":[],"wgPageFormsContLangYes":null,"wgPageFormsContLangNo":null,"wgPageFormsContLangMonths":[],"wgPageFormsHeightForMinimizingInstances":800,"wgPageFormsShowOnSelect":[],"wgPageFormsScriptPath":"/wiki/extensions/PageForms","edgValues":null,"wgPageFormsEDSettings":null,"wgAmericanDates":false,"wgVector2022PreviewPages":[],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":4};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.charinsert","ext.popups"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"});});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/load.php?lang=en&modules=skins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/wiki/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.39.5"/> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"/> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1000"/> <link rel="icon" href="/images/favicon1.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/wiki/opensearch_desc.php" title="Citizendium"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://citizendium.org/wiki/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Citizendium Atom feed" href="/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-W7ML9SNPXT"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-W7ML9SNPXT'); </script> </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-100 ns-subject page-CZ_Article_mechanics rootpage-CZ_Article_mechanics skin-vector action-view skin-vector-legacy vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-language-alert-in-sidebar-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-edit-disabled vector-feature-table-of-contents-disabled vector-feature-visual-enhancement-next-disabled"><div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice"></div> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-namespace">CZ</span><span class="mw-page-title-separator">:</span><span class="mw-page-title-main">Article mechanics</span></h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Citizendium</div> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><center><div class="usermessage plainlinks"><b>This is a summary of <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=CZ:Article_mechanics_Complete&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="CZ:Article mechanics Complete (page does not exist)">The complete document here</a>.</b></div></center> <div style="float:right; clear:right; margin:0 0 0.5em 0.3em; padding:0.5em 0 0.8em 1.4em;"><div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Opening_section"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Opening section</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#The_article_body"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">The article body</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Section_titles"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Section titles</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Standardized_information"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Standardized information</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Citations"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Citations</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Definition"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Definition</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Metadata"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Metadata</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Subpages"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Subpages</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#Related_articles_subpage"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Related articles subpage</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Bibliography_subpage"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Bibliography subpage</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="#External_links_subpage"><span class="tocnumber">5.3</span> <span class="toctext">External links subpage</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12"><a href="#Optional_subpages"><span class="tocnumber">5.4</span> <span class="toctext">Optional subpages</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#Miscellaneous_style_guidelines"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Miscellaneous style guidelines</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14"><a href="#Grammar,_spelling,_punctuation,_and_usage"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15"><a href="#Lists"><span class="tocnumber">6.2</span> <span class="toctext">Lists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16"><a href="#Write_lively_prose,_not_"encyclopedese""><span class="tocnumber">6.3</span> <span class="toctext">Write lively prose, not "encyclopedese"</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17"><a href="#Link_copiously,_but_relevantly"><span class="tocnumber">6.4</span> <span class="toctext">Link copiously, but relevantly</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18"><a href="#Quotations"><span class="tocnumber">6.5</span> <span class="toctext">Quotations</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19"><a href="#Conversions"><span class="tocnumber">6.6</span> <span class="toctext">Conversions</span></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <p><i>See also <a href="/wiki/CZ:Content_Policy" title="CZ:Content Policy">content policy</a>.</i> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Citizendium" title="Citizendium">Citizendium</a> aims to build a body of <a href="/wiki/CZ:Articles" class="mw-redirect" title="CZ:Articles">articles</a> that <i>introduce</i> their topics in an accessible, yet authoritative, way. An article is not a mere summary or list of information, but a connected piece of prose, meant to be read all the way through. Articles must be selective in what they present, but need not be <i>brief</i>; they should say what they need to as clearly as possible, in a concise and interesting way. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Opening_section">Opening section</span></h2> <p>The opening section should <i>always</i> be introductory, so the heading "Introduction" is unnecessary. The first paragraph usually begins with a definition, and we <b>bold</b> the title of the article in the first sentence, e.g.: "<b>Philosophy</b> is an abstract, intellectual discourse..." The first paragraph should contain a concise and neutral answer to "Why is this topic important (or interesting)?" If the topic is a person, say what the person is best known for; if an event, summarize its impact; if a place, describe what makes it notable. The rest of the opening section should give the background needed for understanding the rest of the article. The opening section can be a ‘’summary’’ of the article, but a brief outline of the article structure may be better if the article is very long. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="The_article_body">The article body</span></h2> <p>Generally, articles need a plan that lends coherence and flow and invites readers to keep reading. A task of editors is to help plan articles, and this may be discussed on the Talk page. Generally, major achievements of individuals should be presented before minor ones; the basic tenets of a theory before derivative ones; and earlier events before later ones. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Section_titles">Section titles</span></h3> <p>Section headings help both readers and authors, but too many can be ugly and distracting. A well-organized narrative is <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://pilot.citizendium.org/wiki?title=Biology&oldid=100047130">this "Biology" article</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Standardized_information">Standardized information</span></h3> <p>If there is to be an article about every species of snake, it is convenient to have a standard structure. When beginning an article, authors should check articles on closely related themes to see if a standard structure has already been established by others. <i>Citizendium</i> <a href="/wiki/CZ:Workgroups" title="CZ:Workgroups">workgroups</a> will ultimately settle on any such standard practices. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Citations">Citations</span></h3> <p>See <a href="/wiki/Help:Citation_style" class="mw-redirect" title="Help:Citation style">Help:Citation style</a>. We expect citations in about the same quantity as in academic encyclopedias. <b>Citations are not usually needed for information that is common knowledge among experts.</b> But the following categories of claims generally do need citation: </p> <ul><li>direct quotations</li> <li>claims with unique sources (such as survey results, or the finding of a particular paper)</li> <li>implausible-sounding but well-established claims</li> <li>claims central to the article</li></ul> <p>Wherever possible, give an online link for any reference, at least to the abstract (via, for example, a PubMed reference.) </p><p>Rather than use several references in one sentence, it may be better to include several sources in one citation. </p><p><b>It is important to give full citation credit to imported illustrations, where for example these are imported from open-access journals.</b> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Definition">Definition</span></h2> <p>See <a href="/wiki/CZ:Definitions" title="CZ:Definitions">CZ:Definitions</a>. Every page should have a subpage/Definition that only contains a short sentence explaining the topic of the page: </p> <ul><li>Maximum one sentence (no more than 30 words/150 characters, ignoring formatting characters).</li> <li>Don't include the term defined in the definition itself.</li> <li>Start the text with a capital letter and end with a period. (Use a semicolon, if necessary, in between, but no period.)</li></ul> <p>This definition is mainly used on the /Related Pages subpage where </p> <dl><dd> {{r|number}} and {{r|no number}} </dd></dl> <p>produce </p> <dl><dd></dd></dl> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Number" title="Number">Number</a> <span class="plainlinks" style="font-size:0.8em;">[<a href="/wiki/Number/Related_Articles" title="Number/Related Articles"><span title="Click on the ''r'' to display related articles!" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">r</span></a>]</span>: One of the fundamental concepts of mathematics, used for such purposes as counting, ordering, and measuring. <span class="plainlinks" style="font-size:0.8em;"><sup>[<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Number/Definition&action=edit"><span title="Click on the ''e'' to edit the definition!" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">e</span></a>]</sup></span> and</li> <li><a href="/wiki/index.php?title=No_number&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="No number (page does not exist)">No number</a> <span class="plainlinks" style="font-size:0.8em;">[<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://en.citizendium.org/wiki?action=edit&preload=Template%3ARelated_Articles_start&title=no+number/Related_Articles"><font color="#8B0541"><span title="Click on the ''r'' to create the Related Articles page!" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">r</span></font></a>]</span>: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=No_number/Definition&action=edit&preload=Template%3ADef_preload"><i><font color="#666666">Add brief definition or description</font></i></a></li></ul> <p>If there is a main page, but no /Metadata page (e.g., if the page is a redirect), the template shows the link in boldface. A special case of this is a <i><a href="/wiki/CZ:Lemma_article" title="CZ:Lemma article">lemma article</a></i>, which is an article that has a main page containing only the {{subpages}} template. In this case, the /Definition is transcluded to the page: </p> <dl><dd></dd></dl> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Foo_lemma" title="Foo lemma"><font color="#111111">Foo lemma</font></a> <span class="plainlinks" style="font-size:0.8em;">[<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://en.citizendium.org/wiki?action=edit&preload=Template%3ARelated_Articles_start&title=foo+lemma/Related_Articles"><font color="#8B0541"><span title="Click on the ''r'' to create the Related Articles page!" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">r</span></font></a>]</span>: This example of a lemma has only a definition page and an article page with the subpages template. The article transcludes the text from the definition page. The link to the article, when using the R template is shown in black to indicate it has no more content that the definition which can already be seen. <span class="plainlinks" style="font-size:0.8em;"><sup>[<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Foo_lemma/Definition&action=edit"><span title="Click on the ''e'' to edit the definition!" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">e</span></a>]</sup></span></li></ul> <p>A definition intended for a lemma article may be longer than a "normal" definition. Lemma articles may have Related Articles, Bibliography and External Links subpages, which must not have the {{subpages}} template. At any time, a lemma article may be converted to a regular article; at that point, part of a long definition usually will move to the main page. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Metadata">Metadata</span></h2> <p>See <a href="/wiki/CZ:Article_structure#Metadata" title="CZ:Article structure">CZ:Article structure#Metadata</a> </p><p>Organizational and technical information related to a page is stored on a special template page Template:<i>ArticleName</i>/Metadata: Title, title for alphabetization, workgroups, status, approval data, etc. It also contains the workgroup categories. (Please note that <a href="/wiki/CZ:Categories" title="CZ:Categories">categories</a> are only used for administrative purposes.) </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Subpages">Subpages</span></h2> <p>Factual material, where there is no real narrative flow, may be best presented in <a href="/wiki/CZ:Subpages" title="CZ:Subpages">subpages</a>. The standard subpages will always include: </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Related_articles_subpage">Related articles subpage</span></h3> <p>This connects each article with related articles and offers greater insight into the underlying conceptual structure of the encyclopedia. Related Articles subpages generally are organized into a few Parent Topics, which are more general topics within which the current article is located; Subtopics, which are aspects of the main topic worth separate discussion; and Related Topics are "close tangents" which take the discussion off in new directions. The article on <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> includes Parent Topics on War and <a href="/wiki/Nationalism" title="Nationalism">Nationalism</a>, Subtopics include famous battles such as <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Gallipoli&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Gallipoli (page does not exist)">Gallipoli</a> and the <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Somme&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Somme (page does not exist)">Somme</a>, and Related Articles include <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Trench_warfare&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Trench warfare (page does not exist)">Trench warfare</a> and <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Mustard_gas&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mustard gas (page does not exist)">Mustard gas</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Bibliography_subpage">Bibliography subpage</span></h3> <p>This is an annotated <a href="/wiki/CZ:Bibliography" title="CZ:Bibliography">bibliography</a>: books, articles and other material that are important and useful, clarifying why an item is listed ("one of the most commonly used texts in this field"; "the paper which originally defined the concept"). For example, historical topics may list and annotate the leading sources for information on a topic, and articles about authors may list their major works. If an item is available online, the annotation should provide the link. (Here are the <a href="/wiki/CZ:Citation_templates" title="CZ:Citation templates">citation templates</a>.) How to write annotations is discussed by the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.loc.gov/nls/other/annotation/revised/creating%20an%20annotation%20(without%20title%20page).pdf">Library of Congress publication <i>Creating an Annotation</i>.</a> </p><p>Articles may also have a "Suggested reading" section at the end of the main article that presents 5-10 publications suitable for beginners, especially if they are on the web. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links_subpage">External links subpage</span></h3> <p><i>See <a href="/wiki/CZ:External_Links" title="CZ:External Links">CZ:External Links</a></i> </p><p>External links should be neutrally annotated. Links to external websites should not be placed within articles but in footnotes. Link words and phrases to <i>Citizendium</i> articles rather than external sources of information --even if we still lack an article on the subject. We have rules against self-promotion (<a href="/wiki/CZ:Policy_on_Topic_Informants" title="CZ:Policy on Topic Informants">policy on topic informants</a>), and contributors should not link to websites that they manage, unless it is very evident that the website is a leading <i>and reliable</i> source of information. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Optional_subpages">Optional subpages</span></h3> <p><i>See <a href="/wiki/CZ:Subpages#Optional_subpages" title="CZ:Subpages">list of optional subpages</a></i> </p><p>Many other subpages may be included; the current list of subpages includes Works, Discography, Filmography, Catalogs, Timelines, Gallery (Images), Audio and Video pages, Computer Code, Tutorials, Student-level discussions, Signed Article, Function, Addendum, Debate Guide, Advanced and Recipes. <br />There are also some <i><a href="/wiki/CZ:Article-specific_subpages" title="CZ:Article-specific subpages">article-specific</a></i> subpages (for certain topics) which are not yet fully acknowledged. <br />Please note <a href="/wiki/CZ:Categories" title="CZ:Categories">Categories</a> are used for administrative purposes (workgroups, etc.) only. Lists of topics are compiled on appropriate /Catalogs subpages. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Miscellaneous_style_guidelines">Miscellaneous style guidelines</span></h2> <p><i>See also <a href="/wiki/CZ:Sage_advice_on_writing_CZ_articles" title="CZ:Sage advice on writing CZ articles">Sage advice on writing CZ articles</a>.</i> </p><p>Craft articles for maximum readability. Many topics may be impossible for a non-specialist fully to understand, but if an advanced piece of text <i>can</i> be written to make it more accessible to nonspecialists, then it <i>should</i> be. Professionals are often accused of writing jargon that is decipherable only by people in their fields; our task is to "translate" the jargon into elegant prose. </p> <h3><span id="Grammar.2C_spelling.2C_punctuation.2C_and_usage"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Grammar,_spelling,_punctuation,_and_usage">Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage</span></h3> <p>Strunk and White's <i>Elements of Style</i> is useful; the first edition is available <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bartleby.com/141/">here.</a> For American English, please consult <i>The Chicago Manual of Style</i> for matters of formatting, punctuation, etc. and Garner's <i>Dictionary of American English Usage</i> for issues of usage. For British English, consult Fowler's <i>Modern English Usage</i>. </p><p>For usage of <a href="/wiki/SI" class="mw-redirect" title="SI">SI</a> ("metric") units see the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.physicstoday.org/guide/metric.html">Physics Today</a> guide for metric practice. </p><p>For physics oriented articles consult chapters III and IV of <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://forms.aps.org/author/styleguide.pdf">The American Physical Society Style Guide</a>. (Pdf). </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Lists">Lists</span></h3> <p>Main articles should not be a list of topics (even if annotated). The appropriate place for such material is either the Related Articles subpage or a Catalogs subpage. Such lists are not collected using <a href="/wiki/CZ:Categories" title="CZ:Categories">categories</a> (Categories are only used for administrative purposes). </p> <h3><span id="Write_lively_prose.2C_not_.22encyclopedese.22"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Write_lively_prose,_not_"encyclopedese"">Write lively prose, not "encyclopedese"</span></h3> <p>Writing an encyclopedia brings out a tendency in some writers to make prose dull--perhaps the influence of boring encyclopedia articles we read as children. But we can, and should, give our prose personality. Many writers today have taken William Strunk's pithy injunction, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html#13">"Omit needless words,"</a> to heart. Tightening up flabby verbiage is one of the most <i>needful</i> improvements we can make, <b>but</b> we must not denature our prose entirely: we want our writing to be readable, not encyclopedese. </p><p>Another common stylistic rule would have us use simple Anglo-Saxon words rather than hifalutin, impressive-sounding words, <b>but</b> this does not mean that we should prefer a merely adequate word to a really apt word just because the apt word is a bit more obscure. Choose the familiar word rather than the obscure word, but the precise word rather than the loose word. </p> <h3><span id="Link_copiously.2C_but_relevantly"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Link_copiously,_but_relevantly">Link copiously, but relevantly</span></h3> <p>One strength of a wiki-based encyclopedia is the ease with which articles can link to other articles. Links permit serendipitous discoveries, and <i>Citizendium</i> encourages copious interlinking. But <a href="/wiki/Pronoun" title="Pronoun">it</a> is <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Possibility&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Possibility (page does not exist)">possible</a> to take <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Demonstrative_pronoun&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Demonstrative pronoun (page does not exist)">this</a> <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Advice&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Advice (page does not exist)">advice</a> to an <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Absurdism&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Absurdism (page does not exist)">absurd</a> <a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Extremism&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Extremism (page does not exist)">extreme</a>--linking so many words that many <i>inappropriate</i> links are created, that distract rather than help. Remember that two consecutive links (of the same color) will run together as if they were one; it may be better to reword so the links are separated by a non-link word. </p><p>A general rule is: </p> <dl><dd><b>If our target audience would find that the linked article illuminates the present article, then we should link to it.</b></dd></dl> <p>It is important to add links to articles that do not yet exist -these help us see what articles are most needed: see <a href="/wiki/Special:WantedPages" title="Special:WantedPages">Wanted Pages</a> (linked on the left under toolbox > Special pages). </p><p>Link only the first use of a word or phrase, not every use--unless the word is <i>particularly</i> relevant to the point. 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