User:Pigsonthewing/Citations - the future
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This is a sketch of how I envisage citations might operate, in the long term.
- For each work, create a Wikidata1 entry, Qnnnnn
- This will include author(s) (and possibly their ORCID(s), if there is no separate item), title, publisher/journal, ISBN/ISSN/DOI, etc. Maybe also translations of the title.
- Perhaps initially, only for works with ISBNs or DOIs
- Editors will be able to enter a citation as they do now, or using a simple wizard, in the manner of Citoid, and the tool will then create the Wikidata item, if none already exists
- To cite a work use a template like
<ref>{{Cite Q|Qnnnn}}</ref>- To cite a specific page, use
<ref>{{Cite Q|Qnnnn|page=34}}</ref> - To cite with a quotation, use
<ref>{{Cite Q|Qnnnn|page=34|quote="Hello, World"}}</ref> - To cite with a note,
<ref>{{Cite Q|Qnnnn|page=34|note=Later disproved}}</ref> - For clarity, use meaningful reference names, like
<ref name="Smith-2015"> - Alternatives like
<ref>{{Cite Q|isbn=FOO}}</ref>or<ref>{{Cite Q|doi=FOO}}</ref>should also work. A bot can later substitute the equivalent QID
- To cite a specific page, use
- Each signed-in reader can then set, under "preferences", the format in which they wish to see citations rendered - no more WP:CITEVAR arguments!
- A gadget will display full citation metadata during subsequent editing
- There will be "Special:" pages showing the articles in which any given work, or any given author, is cited.
[1] Or in a parallel Wikibase instance.
Updates[edit]
- 2017-05
- Demonstrator template at {{Cite Q}}.
- 2017-09
- Bots are creating, in bulk, Wikidata items for works cited (ongoing)