Wikipedia Initiative/Wikipedia references
International Game Developers Association
A good Wikipedia article will clearly list outside references. These are both for the information of those people who may be reading the article, and also as proof that the subject is notable.
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[edit] Good references to include
- A comprehensive list of works, showing what the subject has worked on / written
- A list of books that have been written about the subject
- A list of major newspaper/magazine articles that refer to the subject
[edit] When references are not needed
For certain minor biographical information, it is generally okay to go with someone's "say so" or information from a personal website. Examples of this would be:
- Birthdate / location
- Schools attended
- Current city of residence
- Information about marriage / children
- Anecdotal information about what projects were major influences on the individual. For example, if someone says that the television program "Star Trek" was a major influence on them as they were growing up, it's probably okay to include that information in a Wikipedia article, even if it's not clearly cited from an external reference
[edit] When references are absolutely needed
- Citing sales figures
- Listing awards that have been won
- Any information that may be considered controversial, historical, or aggrandizing. Example: "Joe Smith was the first person to use a mouse." "Mary Jones had the biggest selling game of 1983." "Jack and Jill both worked on the game 'Dig Dug Well', but despite what Jill says, Jack was really the creative force behind it."
