Editing Help:Citing sources

[[File:IDW MtMtE5 MagnusTailgateAutopedia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWdD206eSv0 You really think someone would do that? Just go on the internet and tell lies?!]]]
About to add a cool new piece of info to {{SITENAME SHORT}}? Whoa, slow down there! Is it goated with the source?

{{TOC|limit=3}}

==Why cite?==
{{SITENAME SHORT}} does not hold itself to the same {{w|Wikipedia:Citing sources|strict notability standards}} as {{w||Wikipedia}}. This is because we are a wiki for toy robots, consulted mostly by toy robot nerds, and not a de-facto reference text for the whole world to consult on important topics.

Nonetheless, it's inherently useful to keep sources around.
* It lends credibility to the article, by letting readers fact-check surprising or unlikely-sounding statements.
* When we add information to the wiki, we should be paraphrasing the material for clarity and relevance—but it's good to also be able to refer to the original full source to be certain of its exact nuances.
* It's useful to know where a piece of information was given, so we can better understand its context and how widely it applies.
* When two sources conflict, it's helpful to be able to compare them directly.

And perhaps most importantly, {{SITENAME SHORT}} is often used as a reference by official creators working on the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]]... which, in cases where our information turned out to be inaccurate or unclear, has resulted in the dreaded [[circular reporting|citogenesis]].

==How cite?==
[[File:Proper citation.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[https://www.homestuck.com/sweet-bro-and-hella-jeff/38 "THIS IS WHAT THE REFRANCE"]]]

===Citing fiction===
It is absolutely critical that you refer to primary sources when writing about ''Transformers'' fiction. For many sources which are long out of circulation, [https://tfwikicommunity.wordpress.com/ our community blog] maintains archives, while backups of text sources are kept in [[:Category:Source material]].

Unlike many fan wikis, which use footnotes to indicate which sections of a summary or biography are based on which sources, we have a [[Template:Storylink|<nowiki>{{storylink}}</nowiki>]] template which provides the title of the source—linking to the relevant article—inline with the text, so as not to break the flow of the story. We even have special storylinks for our sister wikis: {{gb|Main Page|GoBots Wiki}} has [[Template:Gbstorylink|<nowiki>{{gbstorylink}}</nowiki>]], and the {{i|Main Page|IDW Hasbro Wiki}} has [[Template:Istorylink|<nowiki>{{istorylink}}</nowiki>]]. Note that storylinks should only be used in fiction sections; otherwise, just use footnotes ([[#Citing social media|see below]]).

Here are some examples!

====''Generations Selects Special Comic''====
<pre>
[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Neo Autobot X]] used [[Rung (G1)|]]'s [[alternate mode]] to administer an Energon enema to a  [[Quintesson Judge]]. {{storylink|Abominus comic 2}}
</pre>
[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Neo Autobot X]] used [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]'s [[alternate mode]] to administer an Energon enema to a  [[Quintesson Judge]]. {{storylink|Abominus comic 2}}

====''Go-Bots'' comic====
<pre>
In the cafeteria, [[Turbo (GoBots)|]] took out [[Tank (GoBots)|]] using the hot fry oil. {{gbstorylink|Go-Bots issue 5|Issue 5}}
</pre>
In the cafeteria, [[Turbo (GoBots)|Turbo]] took out [[Tank (GoBots)|Tank]] using the hot fry oil. {{gbstorylink|Go-Bots issue 5|Issue 5}}

====''M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand''====
<pre>
[[Vanessa Warfield]] demonstrated her expertise in the field of quantum mechanics to [[Miles Mayhem]]. {{istorylink|M.A.S.K.: Revolution}}
</pre>
[[Vanessa Warfield]] demonstrated her expertise in the field of quantum mechanics to [[Miles Mayhem]]. {{istorylink|M.A.S.K.: Revolution}}

===Citing online sources===
[[File:Yatter - AllSpark Almanac Sample Page.jpg|thumb|upright=1|<sup>1</sup>This was once revealed to me in a dream.]]
For sections concerning ''Transformers'' from an "out of universe" perspective—i.e.in the real world—you can provide a footnote by surrounding some text with <nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki> tags. Make sure that at the bottom of the page (above the "External links"/"See also" sections if present) a References section has been added to display these footnotes, using the following:

<pre>
==References==
{{reflist}}
</pre>

Sometimes, you will want to link to the same reference in multiple places; if so, you can give the reference a name:

<pre>
<ref name=usedtwice>This source supports two different statements in the article!</ref>
</pre>

And then refer to it again later on:

<pre>
<ref name=usedtwice />
</pre>

For most online sources, we have a one-size-fits-all [[Template:Citesocial|<nowiki>{{citesocial}}</nowiki>]] template to put inside the reference tags, which takes the information about the source and displays it in a standardised format, ideally linking directly to it. Crucially, the "quote" field allows you to transcribe the exact relevant quote to back up your statement—this is important because online sources have a tendency to disappear, as people stop paying web-hosting costs or purposefully delete their own social media posts.

Here is an example of the template in action:

<pre>
{{citesocial|quote=Hey, look at me!  I'm waving!  No, I don't transform into a USB drive.  Why do peeps keep asking, lol?|link=https://twitter.com/ravagekitteh/status/5723818650|name=Ravage|site=Yatter|year=2009|month=11|day=15}}
</pre>
{{citesocial|quote=Hey, look at me!  I'm waving!  No, I don't transform into a USB drive.  Why do peeps keep asking, lol?|link=https://twitter.com/ravagekitteh/status/5723818650|name=Ravage|site=Yatter|year=2009|month=11|day=15}}

Check [[Template:Citesocial|the template's full documentation]] for more examples; it also has a "title" field, if you want to quote the name of an article or similar, and a "defunct" field for if the source's link is dead. You should always check [http://web.archive.org/ the Wayback Machine] first, though, to see if a copy of the website was saved. Failing that, you might want to use your search engine to dig up a mirrored copy of the source—for example, a fansite reporting on it. Sometimes, a broken link might just be due to a change in domain name! When adding a link to an article, we strongly recommend [https://web.archive.org/save/ saving it on the Wayback Machine] to ensure a copy is preserved for posterity.

If quoting an audiovisual source, such as a podcast or panel recording, please provide the timestamp of the relevant part! It's especially useful in these cases to correctly transcribe the quote in full.

At times, you may want to personally reach out to an official ''Transformers'' creator for confirmation or elaboration on a point regarding something they worked on. We'd like to stress, for the love of god, if you do this—please be ''very'' polite, and have respect for their time and the fact that they might not have the answer you're looking for.

===Citing images===
{{main|Transformers Wiki:Images#Image description}}
When uploading an image (art, photo, screencap, whatever), please state where the image comes from (issue number, episode title, book name, etc.) and the names of everyone known to have contributed to the image. It is important that artists and photographers be credited for their work!

The wiki has [[:Category:Image templates]], a monstrously huge suite of templates which basically provide forms you can fill out with all of this metadata. The easiest way to find an appropriate one is to click on an existing image on the wiki, click "edit" at the top, and copy the existing code, swapping out the specific information. Make sure a [[Transformers Wiki:Copyrights|copyright]] template has been applied, so we can declare that our usage of the image (assuming we do not own it) falls under {{w|fair use}}.

In cases where you have modified the image in some way by comparison to the original source—for instance, translated or removed text, colour-correction, background removal—then please make a note of how exactly the image has been changed in its description. Please note that the wiki '''prohibits''' the use of any kind of AI upscaling or extension, as it cannot be guaranteed that AI-modified images are an accurate reflection of the content. Images should be posted at their original resolution, and if that makes an image too small, well, deal with it!

===Citing correspondence===
There are plenty of cases where the only reason we know about something is because a source happened to chat with a fan about it! Again, if this was Wikipedia, information obtained in such a way would ''not'' be admissible evidence in Wikipedia court. But the ''Transformers'' community relies on word-of-mouth from the creators working on the franchise to understand its inner workings, and the lack of a published or textual source doesn't necessarily make the information unreliable.

You could cite an in-person conversation without a direct quote like this:
<pre>
{{citesocial|name=Wendy Fairchild|site=speaking at her table at TFNation 2025|year=2025|month=08|day=08}}
</pre>
{{citesocial|name=Wendy Fairchild|site=speaking at her table at TFNation 2025|year=2025|month=08|day=08}}

However, keep in mind that if no-one else is able to corroborate your information, it may just get removed.

Or you could cite personal correspondence with a direct quote like this:
<pre>
{{citesocial|quote=Oh yeah I designed that toy!|name=John Hasbro|site=Instagram DMs|year=2025|month=06|day=09}}
</pre>
{{citesocial|quote=Oh yeah I designed that toy!|name=John Hasbro|site=Instagram DMs|year=2025|month=06|day=09}}

Again, it's best if you can provide supporting evidence for this information—sharing a screenshot on [https://discord.gg/N99Bygq our Discord server] will usually be enough to convince other editors it's legit.

But in either case, before making edits based on conversations like this, seriously ask yourself—'''do you have permission to publicise this information?'''

===How not to cite===
If you're in a rush, you might be tempted to just leave the link to whatever source supports your edit in the edit summary field, or trust that a source linked on a talk page is enough, or simply that other editors will take your word for it. Please don't do this! It's trivial even to just leave a link with a brief remark as a hidden comment (see below) in the page's source code, right next to the information in question, which someone else can format into a proper citation—so there's no excuse to make things more difficult for your fellow editors.

<pre>
<!--This text only shows up if you view the page's source code.-->
</pre>
<!--You just lost the game.-->

===Who not to cite===
TFWiki.net has been in operation in its current form since 2006, and like anything old and popular, it has attracted its fair share of detractors, with complaints ranging from us not taking ''Transformers'' seriously enough to our userbase (and management) of largely queer and/or neurodiverse progressives.  Out on the wild world wide web are all sorts of people who act in bad faith, either intentionally—posting misinformation, falsifying sources with AI, or spreading rumors without a verifiable source—or unintentionally, such as by machine translating a source from a foreign language without consulting a fluent speaker, or parroting rumours without critically examining from where they first heard them.

For an example that doesn't require one to wade into 4chan or search up the wiki on X, The Everything App and spot the complainants that ''by coincidence'' merrily throw around slurs, take the well-documented example of [[Matt Moylan]].  In 2006 he claimed, among other things, that [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] was written as gay in the [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity]], a claim disputed by writers [[James McDonough]] and [[Adam Patyk]] as "an especially juvenile way [...] to try to rile up the fandom".  While Moylan could have proven a valuable source about the day-to-day operation at [[Dreamwave Productions]], since this incident all of his anecdotes have been approached with a healthy dose of skepticism.

We can't expect every user to remember every self-declared TFWiki opponent, but don't be surprised if your edits are reverted if your only citation is someone we know to be posting with an agenda.

===If all else fails===
As a last resort, if you can't find a source to back up a certain statement, you can mark it with the [[Template:Fact|<nowiki>{{fact}}</nowiki>]] template,{{fact}} which provides a link to this very help page. Note that you shouldn't use this to mark information you think is spurious; if something doesn't look right and there's absolutely nothing to back it up, you should just remove it from the article entirely! Or, if you're on the fence, check the article history to see when the information was added, ask around on the relevant talk page, or bring it up in [https://discord.gg/N99Bygq our Discord server] to see if anyone has any more information.