FalloutWiki:Reference Policy

The Reference Policy is designed to maintain consistency throughout the Independent Fallout Wiki. This policy outlines the types of references utilized, when to use each, and how to format each type.

Introduction
The correct and consistent use of sources to support objective information is the Independent Fallout Wiki's highest priority. Editors must strive to identify and remove false, embellished, speculative, real-world paralleled, or fan-made information, allowing the wiki to maintain a high level of reliability. Detailed referencing assists other community members in their research and is crucial to the accuracy of their projects.

Verifiability
All content must be verifiable. The burden to demonstrate verifiability lies with the editor who adds or restores material, and it is satisfied by providing a citation to a reliable source that directly supports the contribution.

Displaying where information comes from helps avoid details being misremembered or false information based on opinions or personal headcanon turning into widely accepted facts, which damages the community as a whole. In turn, the Independent Fallout Wiki applies a strict policy in this regard.

Editors must do their due diligence in fact-checking for accuracy, writing objectively, and maintaining high standards for referencing. This ensures the content maintained here is trustworthy and above all, not misinforming those who utilize it. The correct use of the citations and references, utilizing the established uniform format and style, is a team effort and imperative in accomplishing our goals.

Source groups
References are used to support the claims of statements made throughout the site. Several groups of sources are used for this purpose, and each type is labeled directly in the reference itself. Source groups include Game Content, Developer Statements, Publications, and Design Documents. References must be formatted by group according to the Style Guide.

Rewrites
When overhauling articles that do not meet quality standards, the goal is not to remove information outright, but focus on the following.
 * Reword claims so that they align with applicable references. What we are claiming must align exactly with the content of the reference, present only what the source states and nothing more.
 * Ensure each claim is referenced appropriately with a verifiable source. This means another editor must be able to check the source independently to confirm.
 * Check that all references are relevant to the claim and formatted correctly based on the source type. The reference must be clear in where the citation comes from, and must be labeled appropriately.

Link archiving
External links are valuable references that strengthen the body of knowledge maintained here. These links must be archived to ensure they are accessible when websites become defunct. The process for archiving them is outlined within the External Link Archiving Policy.

Developer statements
In addition to the archival process above, editors are encouraged to add Developer Statements to the established game and project-specific repositories. This process involves uploading a screen capture of the developer statement to an ongoing list to further safeguard these sources for future use. The process for archiving them is outlined within the Developer Statement Archiving Policy. Direct messages, emails, private group chats, or other mediums that are not publicly accessible cannot be used as a reference, in order to respect privacy as well as ensure all content sourced on this wiki is independently verifiable.