User:Eternal dragon/Guidelines/Reference as you edit

It is considered accepted Wikipedia practice to cite the sources which you obtain information from. In accordance with the practice of citing sources, it is generally a good idea to reference as you edit, to cite the sources for each fact that you create on the encyclopedia as you donate them. Otherwise, it cannot necessarily be verified, and may be deleted or reverted unless a significant source can be found. How and what you reference is also an essential part of the process.

Fact verifiability

Reference As You Edit is generally to be used on the basis of verifiability, so that people can confirm a fact which is donated. If the a fact cannot be verified, editors may question its value on the encyclopedia and search for it online. Editor may then challenge facts, which can result it edit wars, however, under the guideline, the editor who removes it is essentially right and justified in his or her actions. Facts, depending on the type, need to cite reliable sources.

Five fact types

Essentially, all facts on Wikipedia fall under five common types. These facts should be referenced in different ways as they are added.

Common knowledge facts

Singapore is a country in Southeast Asia.

D-Day was the invasion of the German-occupied France on the beach at Normandy.

The AFL is the official league of Australian Rules football.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred on December 26, 2004.

Final Fantasy is a series of video games.

Common knowledge facts are the really obvious ones, usually beginning with "Topic X is...". The can cover the "what" topic. Generally, it would be obvious that most users would agree on what exactly someone or something is (unless of course it is vandalism) and it would need little or no verifiability - basically, in real life, it actually is true, no question.

Concrete facts

Singapore is an island nation to the south of Malaysia.

The Battle of Britain lasted from June to November 1940.

Australian Rules games last 80 minutes.

John F. Kennedy was assasinated in 1963.

Matt Damon starred in The Bourne Supremacy.

Concrete facts are also obvious ones which are generally agreed on by people. They can represent the "who", "when" and "where" facts which are 100% true and need little proof, however they differ from common knowledge facts in the sense that they are not defining the topic but rather outlining it. However, editors would still want a reliable source, most probably, for this type of fact, the official website or archive of the topic.

Non-concrete facts

Singapore imports foods and agricultural products from Australia.

The RAF were outnumbered by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.

Baseball is the most widely-played sport in the United States.

The Liberal Party of Australia follows a very conservative management strategy.

Final Fantasy is known for combining elements of science fiction with the supernatural genre.

Non-concrete facts are known by most to be true, however they are usually generalisations instead of specific facts. Often it is very hard to back these up with citations as they do not bear statistics in mind, however it is often very hard or not in the correct tone to mention in statistical format.

Statistical facts

Singapore has a population of approximately 3 million.

Barry Bonds hit a world record 75 home runs in 2001.

Approximately 260,000 people were killed in the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Spanish is spoken by approximately 350 million people worldwide.

Final Fantasy is the third-largest selling video game franchise in the world.

Statistical facts are facts on, ummmm. Statistics. Obviously if you put these down, you can't be making it up, it's obviously false unless you can prove that it the statistic has been officially recorded. Inline citations are absolutely necessary for this, as editors know that you can't count all the people in Singapore or ask every single person in the world if they speak Spanish. So we'll say it's false - and get rid of it.

Opinionated facts

Australia has one of the best sporting reputations in the world.

The Holocaust was one of the most horrific forms of genocide in modern-day history.

Baseball is regarded as America's favourite pastime.

Paris is most known for the Eiffel Tower.

Final Fantasy is regarded as one of the greatest RPGs ever.

Opinionated facts are those which, obviously, are based largely on opinion. While a majority of people would agree on it, it is still an opinion and probably violated NPOV. It is best to use inline citations and several external links who agree with the statement, however its existence on Wikipedia is debatable - the topic is very well-known for this opinionated fact, however it is largely unverifiable. Editors usually conflict over them, but if it is said there, it must have references from both the official sites or archives and others to ensure neutrality.