WikiPortallus: Template:Fact.html

Template documentation

This documentation is transcluded from Template:Fact/doc. ( | history)

1 Purpose
2 When not to use this template
3 Alternative names
4 See also
- 4.1 In-line templates
  - 4.1.1 Verification
  - 4.1.2 Content
- 4.2 Article message box templates

Purpose

This template is used in articles to identify sentences or short passages which need an inline citation. It produces a superscripted notation like the following:

Humphrey Bogart is the greatest actor that ever lived.^{citation needed}

Use this template to "tag" information which may be questionable, so that other editors can know to back up the statement with citations, per Wikipedia:Verifiability. A bot will date your entry with the month and year.

You can also add "dummy" parameters to leave a better record for future editors. For example, the following usage might be appropriate to the arguable claim that "Humphrey Bogart is the greatest actor...":

{{fact|please give a reliable source for this assertion. How about Laurence Olivier?|~~~}}

~~~ automatically inserts your username without adding an additional date.

Adding this template to an article places the article into one of a family of categories identifying "Articles with unsourced statements". To find all such articles, see Category:All articles with unsourced statements.

When not to use this template

Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material about living persons should be removed immediately. Do not tag it; remove it. For more information, see the section on poorly sourced contentious material in the Biography of Living Persons policy.

Material which is doubtful and harmful may be removed immediately, rather than tagged. See Unsourced material.

If you have the time and ability to find an authoritative reference, please do so. Then add the citation yourself, or correct the article text. After all, the ultimate goal is not to merely identify problems, but to fix them.

Many editors object to what they perceive as overuse of this tag, particularly in what is known as "drive-by" tagging, which is applying the tag without attempting to address the issues at all. Consider whether adding this tag in an article is the best approach before using it, and use it judiciously.

This template is intended for specific passages which need citation. For articles or sections which have significant material lacking sources (rather than just specific short passages), there are other, more appropriate templates, such as {{Unreferenced}}.

Alternative names

Some find the name "fact" is unclear or non mnemonic, not referring to citations explicitly, so you can use {{Citation needed}} or {{Cn}}. These redirect to {{Fact}}, they are alternate names for the same template. Cleanup bots will often replace redirected templates, so {{Citation needed}} and {{Cn}} will often get changed to {{Fact}}.

Template:Fact.html

Contents

Purpose

When not to use this template

Alternative names

See also

In-line templates

Verification

Content

Article message box templates