WP:RED redirects here. For redirects, see Wikipedia:Redirect.

This page documents an English Wikipedia editing guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

Shortcuts: WP:RED WP:REDLINK

A red link, like this one, signifies a link to a page that does not exist in Wikipedia. Sometimes it is useful in editing article text to create a red link to indicate that a page will be created soon or that an article should be created for the topic because it would be notable and verifiable. Furthermore, academic research conducted in 2008 has shown that red links help Wikipedia grow.^[1] However, rather than using red links in lists, disambiguation pages or templates as an article creation guide, editors are encouraged to write the article first, and instead use the wikiproject or user spaces to keep track of unwritten articles. Articles should not have red links for topics that are unlikely ever to have articles, such as a celebrity's romantic interest (who is not a celebrity in his or her own right) or every chapter in a book; nor should they have red links to deleted articles.

Good red links help Wikipedia—they encourage new contributors in useful directions, and remind us that Wikipedia is far from finished.

Contents 1 Creating red links 1.1 When to create red links 1.2 Avoiding creation of certain types of red links 2 Dealing with existing red links 3 Note 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Creating red links

A red link appears whenever double brackets [[ ]] are placed around a word or phrase for which Wikipedia does not have an article.

[edit] When to create red links

Only make links that are relevant to the context. Please do create red links to articles you intend to create, technical terms that deserve more treatment than just a dictionary definition, or topics which should obviously have articles.

Keep in mind there are various notability guidelines (WP:NOTABILITY), which exist for a number of subjects, including people (WP:BIO). A red link to a non-notable person can end up being a link to a different person of the same name.

Red links are generally not included in either See also sections or in navigational boxes, or pointed with templates such as {{Main}} or {{Further}}, since these navigation aids are intended to help readers find existing articles.

[edit] Avoiding creation of certain types of red links

Do not create red links to articles that will never be created, including articles that do not comply with Wikipedia's naming conventions. Note that the illustrative red link created at the beginning of this article is an example of this type of normally-unwanted link.

[edit] Dealing with existing red links

Shortcut: WP:REDDEAL

In general, a red link should be allowed to remain in an article if it links to a term that could plausibly sustain an article, but for which there exists no candidate article, or article section, under any name.

An existing red link can indicate one of the following things:

• A new article is needed. When a Wikipedian writes an article, it is common practice to link key topics pertinent to an understanding of the subject, even if those topics don't have an article on Wikipedia yet. This has several applications:

• From within an article, such a link prepares the article to be fully supported. At any time, a Wikipedian may independently write an article on the linked-to subject, and when this happens, there's already a link ready and waiting for it. The red link also gives readers the opportunity to click on it to create the needed article on the spot.
• The red link may identify a need to create a redirect to another article, but only if that article comprehensively deals with the topic.
• Some WikiProjects have bots that determine how many times a certain red link appears in Wikipedia. This is used to determine what articles are the most needed. Editors can also, after clicking on a red link, use the "what links here" function to determine how many times the subject has been red linked.

• The link is broken and no longer leads to an article (perhaps because the underlying article was deleted). In such a case, the link usually needs to be removed or renamed to point to an existing article.
• The link may have been made by someone who wasn't aware of what should and shouldn't be linked to within articles. Always evaluate whether or not a red link is linking to a page that actually needs creation. See Wikipedia:Only make links that are relevant to the context#What generally should be linked.
• The red link may be a typo—e.g., someone wanted to link to George W. Bush, but instead typed George W. Bussh. In this case, try to figure out the intended article and fix the link. If it looks like a common misspelling, such as Scandanavia, you may want to create a redirect from that misspelling to the correct one, but you should still correct the misspelling even though it would no longer appear red.
• The subject of the red link may be covered on another edition of Wikipedia. In this case, translation into English is recommended.

[edit] Note

Using user preferences, a user can format red links so that they instead show up as question marks. This option is under my preferences → Appearance → Advanced options.

Example: Derby Field Airport?

[edit] See also

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Red Link Recovery
• Wikipedia:Only make links that are relevant to the context
• Wikipedia:Write the Article First - an essay
• Help:Starting a new page
• Wikipedia:Starting an article
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (links)
• Wikipedia:Most wanted articles - most redlinked articles.
• Wikipedia:Link color
• Category:Red list for redlinks identified by users
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-08-11/Growth study

[edit] References