Marvel's Spider-Man Wiki:Verifiability

This page documents an official Marvel's Spider-Man Wiki content policy.

It approximates a widely accepted standard that all editors should normally follow. Changes made to this page should reflect consensus.

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The Verifiability policy requires that all content in the mainspace of the Marvel's Spider-Man Wiki be verifiable against inline citations to reliable sources. Editors and readers should be reasonably able to check the accuracy of a claim and trace its origin. Comprehensive verifiability standards help ensure the authority of the site and its usefulness as a resource, as well as avoid or adjudicate content disputes.

Verifiability mostly concerns contentious material that may be challenged by a reasonable, scrutinous reader. This policy does not require that even truistic content be attributed to a source; rather, that it be simply attributable to a reliable source. For example, facts gathered simply by playing the games normally are attributable to said games, but they do not need to cite them.

Procedure

Unverifiable statements are liable to be removed at any time by any editor. However, be mindful of the difference between the unverifiable and the unverified. Statements that may be attributable to an appropriate source but do not yet cite any should first be tagged with {{citation needed}} for a courteous amount of time prior to removal.

Ultimately, the burden of proof (that is, the responsibility to provide a source) lies with the editor making or wishing to keep the claim in question. When determining whether a provided source does in fact support the statement citing it, use the Sagan standard: the weight of a claim requires the same as that of its evidence.

By the same token, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck—it's a duck. Sources need not spell out a concept for it to be understood. As an encyclopedia, the Marvel's Spider-Man Wiki admits, encourages, and even depends on original research. While we prohibit baseless speculation and fan fiction, the ideal article lets the reader draw their own conclusions, but still helps connect the dots.

Citing sources

Citations are created using footnotes, or bracketed superscript numbers or letters that are linked to a full reference. Citations are placed inline within the body text, while its references are listed in numerical or alphabetical order in a separate section at the bottom of the page.

This is done automatically using the cite extension. However, the Marvel's Spider-Man Wiki uses and requires specialized implementations of the cite extension using citation templates (refer to the relevant documentation for instructions on how to use them).

There are two important kinds of footnotes: citations, which are used to reference direct sources that support a claim, and annotations, which explain incidental or tangential information to add context to a claim. The former uses bracketed numbers, while the latter uses bracketed letters.

All footnotes should be placed within close proximity to the claim they support, after all punctuation. They should be referred to under a "Notes" section, with "Annotations" and "Citations" subsections (if necessary). Non-linked references (i.e., fully-formatted citations) should be listed in a subsequent "References" section, with "Games" and "Bibliography" subsections (if necessary).

See also

• Help:Cite, for a basic introduction to the cite extension.
• Extension:Cite, for the full cite extension documentation.
• Category:Citation templates, for all templates related to footnotes on the wiki.