MEpedia:External links

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

When to use external links

External links are to be generally avoided in the body of an article, where internal links are preferred instead. However, external links are allowed in certain sections at the bottom of an article, such as "Online presence", "Learn more", "Talks and Interviews", and "References". (The “See also” section is reserved for internal links; external links are not listed there.)

When to use references instead of external links

In the main body of an article you should use references, instead of external links, to cite your sources. This allows for a consistent, reliable method of documenting sources.

Another important reason for this practice is link rot: websites regularly change their content and over time become dead links, leaving the MEpedia content without a verifying source. The citation details included in a reference footnote often make it possible to track down content even if it has been moved or removed altogether.

Additionally, the "References" section will generate its own external link to your source, which allows you to also add any relevant internal links that might be helpful to the reader.

Example:

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", you can make internal links to valganciclovir, human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus for readers interested in these topics, while still having an external link to the paper in the reference footnote. By contrast, just using an external link ("Response to valganciclovir in chronic fatigue syndrome patients with human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus IgG antibody titers") does not allow this.

For the same reasons, in a "Notable studies" section, it's recommended to create a reference for each listed paper, instead of an external link. 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 reference footnotes will contain a URL as well, but some readers may find them convenient.

Example:

• 2004, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Lack of Association between Pain-Related Fear of Movement and Exercise Capacity and Disability (Full Text)

How to create an external link

In the Visual Editor:

1. Highlight the text you want to link.
2. Select the chain "link" icon at the top of the window.
3. Select the “External link” tab.
4. Type in the internet address (URL) of the external link.
5. Then click the "Done” button.

In the Source Editor, add the URL just before the phrase you wish to link, and then enclose the entirety in single brackets:

• Example: Type [http://www.google.com/ Google] to create Google.

Interwiki links

An "interwiki link" is an external link from one wiki to another, such as a link from a MEpedia page to a Wikipedia page. Interwiki links in MEpedia articles should always be made using the external link method described in this page. Interwiki links in articles should not be made using an interwiki prefix, as this makes the external link inaccurately appear as an internal link.

See also

• MEpedia:Internal links
• Search MEpedia for specific types of external links: Special:LinkSearch

Learn more

• MediaWiki's complete guide to internal, external and transwiki links