MEpedia:External links

External links are links from MEpedia entries to other websites. (Internal links are links from one MEpedia page to another.)

When to use external links
External links are commonly used in the sections at the bottom of an entry, such as "Online presence", "Learn more" and "References".

By contrast, generally avoid using external links as references in the prose in the main body of an entry. Instead use footnotes (inline references). The most important reason for this is link rot: websites regularly change their content and over time and become dead links, leaving the MEpedia content an external link previously verified without a source. The citation details included in a footnote often make it possible to track down content even if it has been moved or removed altogether. Additionally, if you include the URL in the footnote, the References section will generate its own external link to your source while also permitting you to add any relevant internal links to the prose in question. For instance, if you mention a paper called "Response to valganciclovir in chronic fatigue syndrome patients with human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus IgG antibody titers", and cite it as a footnote rather than an external link, you may link to valganciclovir, human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus for readers interested in these topics, while still having a link to the paper in the footnote.

For the same reasons, in the "Notable studies" section, it's recommended to create a footnote for each listed paper. You may, optionally, wish to add a following parenthetical note with an external link either to the paper's "Abstract" or "Full text". Those links are not strictly necessary, as footnotes will contain a URL as well, but many find them convenient.

How to create an external link

 * In Visual Editor, highlight the text you want to link and then select the "link" icon. Paste in the URL and then click "External link".
 * In Source Editor, add the URL just before the phrase you wish to link, and then enclose the entirety in single brackets. For instance: Google creates Google.