Stories Games Wiki:Sourcing Policy

Attribution is required for **direct quotes and for material that is challenged or likely to be challenged**. Any material that is challenged and for which no source is provided may be removed.

If you do not know how to format the citation, provide as much information as you can, and others may fix it for you. Cite it!

## Why sources should be cited

* To improve the overall credibility and professional character of the wiki.
* To credit a source for providing useful information and to avoid claims of plagiarism.
* To show that your edit is not original research.
* To ensure that the content of articles is credible and can be checked by anyone.
* To help users find additional reliable information on the topic.
* To reduce the likelihood of editorial disputes, or to resolve any that arise.

## When to cite sources

### When you add content

The need for citations is especially important when writing about opinions or sweeping statements. Avoid generalizations such as, "Most fans liked/disliked ..." Instead, be concise and make your writing verifiable: find a specific person or group who holds that opinion and give a citation to a reputable publication in which they express that opinion. Remember that this Wikia is not a place for expressing your own opinions or for original research.

### What material can be challenged?

**All material that is challenged or likely to be challenged needs a source.**

Any material ranging from, but not limited to, in-universe information, real world facts, statements, and news related to the *Sly Cooper* scope.

## Citing

### Embedded HTML links

Web pages referenced in an article can be linked to directly by enclosing the URL in square brackets. For example, a reference to a newspaper article can be embedded like: [http://slycooper.wikia.com], which looks like this: [1]

### Introduction

Do not cite sources in the introduction; most, if not all of the information in the introduction is mentioned again later in the article and should be cited within the main text. This helps to limit congestion of the introductory text and keep the overall presentation respectable. If, however, a sourced piece of information *is not* mentioned again in the main text, cite it where required.

### Positioning

Citations go immediately after punctuation and outside of quotation marks, with no space between the end of a sentence and a reference tag. It must be made directly after that which is being cited, so as to prevent confusion to the reader. If an entire paragraph cites information from a single source, then simply place the citation at the end of the paragraph.

### Format

Citations must be inserted as follows;

* For the single insertion of a citation, proceed as follows. On the Edit page, enter:

```
<ref>''[[Sly 2: Band of Thieves]]''</ref>
```

* For multiple insertions of the same citation, proceed as follows. On the Edit page, this is placed at the first insertion point:

```
<ref name="Sly 2: Band of Thieves">''[[Sly 2: Band of Thieves]]''</ref>
```

* This is placed at the second and all subsequent insertion points of citation:

```
<ref name="Sly 2: Band of Thieves" />
```

### Real-world references

Real-world references should be kept to a minimum, and mentioned only in the 'Trivia' section of an article. The references must add something constructive to the article, and come from a source reliable in relation to the field it is from.

### Reference list

At the bottom of the article, just before categories and appearance templates such as {{Sly1LocationsNav}} the following must be inserted;

```
<references/>

```