Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Citation

Helpful articles

Most important rules summarized

• Precise and detailed citations are required for all text passages, images and media (i.e. for all content) used in Lexicanum articles. All of the corresponding sources have to be verified and checked personally by the editor.
• Only accepted sources are permitted.
• Users who repeatedly and despite warnings fail to comply with Lexicanum Citation rules will be banned and their work deleted.

Introduction

Citations and footnotes (often also referred to simply as sources or sourcing) are essential elements of well-sourced Lexicanum articles. Many of our readers actually consider the strict sourcing policy to be one of the Lexicanum 's biggest assets that sets it apart from other wikis. It is also for this reason that the importance of proper sourcing practices cannot be overstated.

This page and its detailed subpages cover the basic rules to properly reference sources on the Lexicanum. Should you encounter unclear wording, discover loopholes, source cases not covered yet or think you have an idea to make our sourcing rules even better please get in touch with a Bureaucrat, thank you.

On the importance of sourcing

The correct use of the sources and the possibility for readers and editors to quickly and easily verify what was used as the basis for an article is what distinguishes the Lexicanum from many other wiki-based encyclopaedia projects. Only proper sourcing allows to weed out false or fan-made information and to maintain a high level of reliability and quality of content. Therefore the correct use of sources is vital.

From a practical point of view citations help anyone editing the article after you, and prevent unnecessary reverts or long discussions about the authenticity of sources. In addition detailed referencing assists other users in their research for these or other related articles. Also generally exclusively referring to official sources means details won't be misremembered or entered vaguely or that false information based on hearsay or "urban legends" finds its way into the Lexicanum.

Do explicitly note: The Lexicanum applies a very strict policy in this regard: Any article created without proper sourcing will be immediately deleted. Any changes to existing articles without proper sourcing will be immediately reverted. This includes not only the addition of text but also of images, media or any other content. Repeat offenders will be banned if they continue to ignore the citation rules despite having been made aware of them. So source your articles properly, and help to add references to articles without proper citations, thank you.

What are acceptable sources?

All sources used for citations must be part of the Warhammer 40,000 acceptable sources. While it is impossible to cover all eventualities this includes all official print or online material. If you are unsure if a source can be legitimately used, ask your fellow users, a Lexicanum Administrator or a Bureaucrat. Do also note that it is explicitly forbidden to simply copy and paste sources from existing Lexicanum articles - every editor has to personally check and verify that sources cited in other articles are correct and that the content in question corresponds 100 % to what is said in the original source.

We are aware that accepted sources might contradict each other, but there is no "hierarchy of sources" - i.e. no official source is considered more valid than another official source. More recent sources do however take precedence over older sources. This does however not mean that the old information is considered "wrong" and has to be deleted altogether. It is an explicit goal of the Lexicanum to also reflect outdated information - if necessary with appropriate disclaimers, notes and explanations.

General remarks

• In general sources must contain the exact title of the source as it appears on the Lexicanum (pay attention to not link to redirects but to the correct target article) and the exact location of the information within the source. What this means in practice depends on the source type and is explained in the respective subpage of this article:
  • Citation rules for text sources (paper or e-publications, NOT online resources)
  • Citation rules for images
  • Citation rules for online resources (e.g. websites, social media)
  • Citation rules for audio sources (e.g. audiobooks)
  • Citation rules for video sources (e.g. videos from official channels NOT videos from videogames)‎
  • Citation rules for videogame sources
  • Citation rules for Collectible/ Trading card games (CCG/TCG)
• The format described for each source type has to be followed to the letter (including structure, date formats, stylistic elements etc.). It does not matter what preferences, habits or background an editor might have, only the standardized and uniform format is allowed.
• There is basically only two exception where footnotes should not be used: In the uploading process of images and for the Trivia sections sources that are not officially recognized game or lore ressources the relevant sources should be formatted as direct external links to the source of the "Trivia" item (see also here).

How often and where do I need to add citations?

Citations must be added (as a minimum) at the end of each paragraph - even if there is only one single source for the whole article. In other words: It is is compulsory to include at least one citation in any and all paragraphs. This also explicitly applies to the introductory sentence or paragraph at the beginning of an article, all entries in for example tables and also to each element of lists, galleries and similar. And no, just because a subject that is in a list or gallery is properly sourced in its own article or file description this does not mean you don't have to put a footnote in the list or gallery, too. However due to space restrictions and because each item in a list or gallery also has its own article one source only is permitted per entry - as the complete list of sources can be found in the article proper. Any and all images used in an article must also be sourced with a citation at the end of the corresponding caption (that, again, includes galleries).

If multiple sources are used within the same paragraph the correct footnotes must be added at the end of each corresponding sentence - not in a "collective" citation at the end of the paragraph. If a specific information is found in different sources, multiple footnotes are to be inserted accordingly at the end of the sentence or paragraph. It does however not make a lot of sense to add a huge number of different sources saying exactly the same - common sense and a policy of "not overdoing it" should be applied in these cases (while of course observing the strict need for proper sourcing). If one sentence contains information from different sources it is best to place the citation directly behind the information it is the source for.

How to add citations

In the Lexicanum the footnote template is used to link the in-line citation number with the matching footnote (click the number to see this in action).^[0] We use {{Fn|#}} for the in-line citation number, and {{Endn|#}} to link to the footnote at the bottom of the page (# is replaced with the footnote number, starting at 1 and running 'til you run out of references). For example (here for a classical text source, see respective subpages for specific rules depending on the source type, see above):

Paragraph of new text, or statement.^[1]

Code:

Paragraph of new text, or statement.{{Fn|1}}

This footnote is then referenced as an internal (most cases) or external link (for web sites, check relevant subpage for more details) under the level two "Sources" heading (i.e. ==Sources==) at the end of the article:

• 1: Codex: Blood Angels (3rd Edition), pg. 71

Code:

*{{Endn|1}}: [[Codex: Blood Angels (3rd Edition)]], pg. 71

In practice, it should look like this:

This new text has something to prove. It was founded on the ice-world of Hubbleron in late M29^[2] and will have citations at the end of each and every paragraph.^[3]

Sources

• 2: Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition), pg. 42
• 3: White Dwarf 286 (UK): The Eye of Terror, pgs. 69-70

Sources

• 0: This footnote hasn't been researched at all. Click the footnote number to see the in-line citation (it works both ways!).

Citing multiple references from the same source

If the article you are editing or creating requires sourcing from more than one page of the source (e.g. different pages of the same book), then the main source must be listed under the main footnote number as a normal (i.e. non-footnote template) number (e.g. "16"), and the individual pages or chapters listed under the same number with consecutive letters added with the proper footnote template (e.g. {{Endn|16a}}, {{Endn|16b}}, {{Endn|16c}}...). Note that the format to use in case of huge numbers of references to the same source runs first from for example 1a trough to 1z, then from 1aa to 1zz, from 1aaa to 1zzz etc.

Example:

Statement sourced from one section of source material ^[16a] ... end of paragraph with citation for a different section of the same source material.^[16b]

The footnotes for these citations are placed below the main source as an indented column by adding two asterisks (**) at the start of each footnote line. The source material is listed at the top, with a single asterisk (and without using the footnote template) (*).

Sources

• 16: Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition):
  • 16a: pg. 27
  • 16b: pg. 31
  • 16c: pg. 45
  • 16d: pgs. 49-51

How to deal with content missing citations

If you encounter an article or content within an article that needs a verifiable source or that is insufficiently sourced (e.g. that has a wrong source, does not contain the exact location of the information within the source etc.) you should first have a look at the article's Page history. If the content in question has been added relatively recently (arbitrary cut-off date: all content newly added after 01 August 2024) feel free to immediately revert or delete the content in question. If you do so, please leave a remark on the corresponding editor's User talk page with the article's title, a link to this Help article on citations and the politely formulated request to take note of these rules.

If you do feel generous or if the content in question has been added before the cut-off date mentioned above you can first try to find a corresponding, valid source. If that is not possible the next step depends on the nature of the unsourced/ insufficiently sourced content in question:

• Case 1: If the unsourced/ insufficiently sourced content is a generally known "fact" (e.g. "Orks are green") or seems probable enough proceed to mark the content in question (including eventual sources) as explained here.
• Case 2: If the unsourced/ insufficiently sourced content suspiciously looks like for example fan-made content (e.g. a romance between an Imperial assassin and an Eldar farseer), false or otherwise highly dubious information, proceed to quarantining it. Please do note that this step should not be taking lightly as quarantining parts of articles might do serious damage to their readability. If in doubt, discuss the issue with fellow editors, Administrators or Bureaucrats.

Old styles of citation

Older forms of citation in the Lexicanum included the manual use of superscript () and comment tags. When encountered these outdated and outlawed citation styles should be immediately replaced by the current citation method described above.

Examples of good sourcing

• to be found