MySpace Ban revisited
I would like to suggest that what appears to be a total ban on links to MySpace be reconsidered if the link is to a Band or some other "Professional" type page. In particular this type of page can frequently be an appropriate source for "Independent" musicians, etc. CyntWorkStuff 05:53, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
(undent) If a band or artist or whatever has an official website and there is a link on that website to the Myspace page, then why do we need to link to both from WP? The link to the official site gets people on the right track to finding the other one. if there is no link on the official site, then how do we know it's official? -- Alucard (Dr.) | Talk 19:48, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Not music related. An article on my watchlist (an article for a school) recently had a groups.myspace.com link deleted, with a note indicating "(Removing external link: *.myspace.com -- per external link guidelines)". This link was to an online group for the alumni of the school, which is a small boarding school. I am not familiar with this school, but earlier when I checked the external links in the article, it appeared to me that the myspace group was at least as useful a resource in the context of the article as the school's official website. http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Spam_blacklist lists only myspace blogs and a few other specific myspace pages as being blacklisted. Is there some other blacklist that bans all of myspace, or can I assume that groups.myspace.com is not actually blacklisted?--orlady 20:53, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
- Until Myspace cracks down on impersonation, it cannot be considered a reliable or verifiable source, pure and simple. I should note that Jimbo Wales has a few impersonators there. Cheers, ✎ Peter M Dodge ( Talk to Me • Neutrality Project ) 00:10, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
- MySpace allows only musicians or authorized agents to post music and create artist pages. see MySpace's band signup pageJessesamuel 09:25, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
That might be their policy, but it's definitely not the practice. I believe the guidelines should insist that any such pages linked should be 'official' and not fansites, and leave it at that. It would be of value if it became known that the only myspace links on WP were those verified to be 'official' by the WP community. There's a balance to be made between keeping WP 'pure' and making it the best resource possible. joly Wwwhatsup 09:31, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
(undent)Yes, the policy says it should link to official sites, but how do you know something is an official site? Because the site itself says it is the official site? --Dirk Beetstra T C 15:02, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
I just can't take the argument that "MySpace is never a reliable source" argument seriously. Get with the times; MySpace is here to stay, and its ease of use (for lack of a much better phrase) is very attractive to people. For example, Jon Favreau, the director of the upcoming Iron Man film, has been using his MySpace blog as an official source of information. Are we seriously not allowed to cite the director, just because we "don't like" the website he used? Couple that with the rise of MySpace for bands, and any argument for a flat-out ban on MySpace becomes ridiculous to incredible proportions. EVula // talk // ☯ // 15:52, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Whether it's a reliable source or not is immaterial, if it's not a spam problem it doesn't belong in the spam blacklist. Inappropriate ELs in general can be removed by other editors, who, unlike a blanket ban in the SBL, can use judgement on a case-by-case basis. --Random832(tc) 03:04, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
Guideline against text links to external links?
The current 4th paragraph of External link was edited in a way intended to clarify it. It had been combined with the previous paragraph. Provided that there is no Wiki article that covers a hypertext link reasonably well, nothing in External link indicates that a text link to external links are to be discouraged. Or so a coherent reading of the previous Edit suggeests. An example consistent with this interpreation is Economics, which has the following last sentence of the Lead:
There the most suitable link is used, whether to another wiki article or an external link. Does anyone believe that the guideline of External link either does or should discourage such a practice? Comments welcome in either direction. --Thomasmeeks 19:24, 30 March 2007 (UTC) (']]' & spelling fixes) Thomasmeeks 00:21, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
I believe that the 4th para., 4th sentennce clarifies:
If "beyond" in the quotation referred to the External links section, there would not be a separate section for that subject. Therefore, it must refer to external links other than for citation/reference or the External links section such as referred to in section 3: What to link. There it refers to providing context and making the discussion more accessible, which is just what an in-line Wiki link should do. --Thomasmeeks 21:28, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
Footnote URLs that mess up the formatting
Example: James Dobson. What's the best way to resolve this? Use PURL? --David Bixenspan 20:52, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
Retitle "Advertising and Conflict of Interest"?
Could the title of Section 4.1, "Advertising and Conflict of Interest," be amended to something like "Advertising, Self-Linking, and Conflict of Interest"? I'm a math professor who tried to set up links to my course notes. I initially skipped over this section in my reading, because I didn't think I fell into either of the two categories; I was thinking "Coke, Pepsi, and politicians." I think many fellow new users might get confused. Thanks! Ken Kuniyuki 01:38, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
Open Directory Project
I removed this for discussion:
Rather than creating a long list of external links, editors should consider linking to a related category in the Open Directory Project (also known as DMOZ) that is devoted to creating relevant directories of links pertaining to various topics. (See {{Dmoz}}.) If there is no relevant category, you can request help finding or creating a category by placing {{Directory request}} on the article's talk page.
I'm curious to know when this was added and who agreed to it, because it seems that we're throwing ourselves on the mercy of that project's editorial judgment and policies rather than our own. I saw it misused today where it seems it's being added because it contains a link to a highly POV blog-style entry about a contentious issue. Is there widespread consensus that this project should be linked to? SlimVirgin (talk) 00:06, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
Wikipedia is not a collection of links, but ODP is. So it seems reasonable to let ODP handle the list of links and Wikipedia the article content. It indeed seems popular. Your say "I saw it misused today" and that makes it sound like you assume bad faith. // Liftarn
- It may be popular, but the point of our guideline pages is not to advertise popular websites. > R a d i a n t < 11:19, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
So its safe to remove these when found? - Denny ( talk ) 20:07, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
I would like to suggest that if after reading the Archived version of this discussion (which has been had twice since I became a WP editor) and presumably before then too, we talk about changing the policy, and not doing mass-deletions of DMOZ categories. Previous discussions are: Yahoo Directory and DMOZ, Link to DMOZ, DMOZ Again (that one was about me), Use_of_deep_links_into_DMOZ_categories - you will see that the issue has some passionate advocates on both sides of the argument. -- Alucard (Dr.) | Talk 21:18, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
Here is a quote from the Wikipedia:External links section titled "Links to be considered":
Search engine results are not the same as a web directory page. Such as a category page at the Open Directory Project (dmoz). There are many web pages that list relevant links by topic. Each link list, directory, category, and subcategory page should be considered on its merits in my opinion. If the editor of the directory or topic list is putting in relevant links, and is not including problematic links for the most part, then it could be a useful external link for wikipedia.
I suggest we add some kind of clarification such as: "If the category page has more than a few problematic links that violate wikipedia guidelines, then wikipedia s
Custom Tombstone Generator
Custom Tombstone Generator Make your very own personalized ... code to paste in your website, MySpace ... page generators, flash text generators, doll generators, girly graphics, word ...
MySpace Generators Collection
Word Generator: MySpace Layouts: Words: Glitters: Images: Backgrounds: Icons ... A collection of MySpace, Hi5 and Friendster generators: Fortune Cookie, Custom Clock Generator, Dark Angel ...
Myspace Generators
MySpace Generators ... Generate a Glitter Image word or sentence. Friends Space Generator Ggenerate your custom top 12, 16, even 40, 80 ...
Myspace Generators, Myspace Layouts, Graphics, Generators ...
... leading resource for Myspace Layouts, Myspace Generators, Myspace ... Here you can choose from over 50 custom icons! Click to ... an acronym for your real name, or just a random word ...
SuperPimper.com - MySpace Layouts, Generators, Flash Toys, Comments ...
We have a large selection of MySpace layouts, codes, generators, editors and ... Glitter Word Generator: Custom Glitter:
MySpace Generators - Custom Link Generator
MySpace Custom Link generator allows you to create a separate and nicer Custom Link than what you have currently in your myspace profile. ... Text Box Maker Glitter Word Generator ...
Scroll Image Generators
Custom Scroll Image Generator for your MySpace, Hi5, Friendster blogs and web page. ... Put here code that copy from word creator, or html ...
Custom Picture Generator
Custom Picture Generator Make your very own custom text picture for your blog, webpage, myspace, friendster, or hi5 ... text generators, doll generators, girly graphics, word ...
MySpace Generators - Generators for MySpace
We offer Myspace Layouts, Myspace Codes, Myspace Generators ... Generate your custom top 12, 16, or even 40 ... Type a word in this generator and it will atomically reverse it .
Myspace Glitter Word Generators Free stuff for MySpace, hi5, Xanga ...
Glitter Word Generator 1 : Glitter Word Generator 2 ... Write custom messages on your own colourized LED scroller for your myspace layout page!