Talk:Charity selection
Use of cite web template
Per guidance in Template:Cite web:
Do not use this template in the "External links" section of articles.
I have reverted the change. --LadyGeek 13:23, 19 February 2023 (UTC)
- I had never noticed that statement and I must admit I don't understand it either. I regularly use {{Cite web}} in the External links section specifically to ensure consistency of the output format. Otherwise the section often becomes a mishmash of styles.
- My personal pet peeve is section headings in the External links section. I do not believe that is appropriate per point 4 of Important points to remember, although in our case we tend to use the External links section to collect all relevant external sources, some of which are often more useful to aid in further development of the article rather than for the use of readers. --Peculiar Investor 13:43, 19 February 2023 (UTC)
- Consistency is important, but that section is not for citations. To say this another way, the "External links" section is intended to provide a description of the target site. The reader needs to understand why they should follow the link. You can't do that with a citation. --LadyGeek 13:55, 19 February 2023 (UTC)
I mostly concur but disagree with the last sentence. However look at this from a reader's perspective. As the article is currently written:
External links
From Charity Intelligence Canada
From MoneySense
The changes to use {{Cite web}} result in the reader seeing:
External links
- "Top 100 Rated Charities (2022)". Charity Intelligence Canada.
- "Top 10 Impact Charities (2022)". Charity Intelligence Canada.
- "Five-Star Charities". Charity Intelligence Canada.
- "Strategies for smarter charitable giving". MoneySense. 2020.
I would suggest the reader is unaware that internally a citation template has been used. Hence the template usage in this way is acceptable, contrary to what Wikipedia states in both the template itself and the linked explanation article.
I guess the solution would be to create a new template, call it Template:Format external link that takes the parameters URL, title, date (optional) and website that essentially mimics the output generated from Cite web. --Peculiar Investor 14:26, 19 February 2023 (UTC)