Erythrophobia is the fear of, or sensitivity to, the colour red. Recently, I have seen more and more erythrophobic Wikipedians; specifically, Wikipedians who are scared of red links. In Wikipedia's early days, red links were encouraged and well-loved, and when I started editing in 2006, this was still mostly the case. Jump forward to 2014, and many editors now have an aversion to red links.
In a few places, a dislike for red links has been codified. The featured list criteria require that "a minimal proportion of items are redlinked". The main page does not contain red links, even when they would otherwise be appropriate. Similarly, the featured portal criteria require that "[r]ed links are limited in number and restricted to aspects that encourage contribution". While these kinds of requirements are not found in the English Wikipedia's featured article criteria, they are found in the criteria on other Wikipedias. [1] Moving away from written guidelines, through participation in review processes, I have encountered numerous editors nervous to add red links to articles they've written, and editors who have asked me to remove red links from articles I have written.
The aversion some people feel to red links is at odds with our central guidelines on the subject. To summarise Wikipedia:Red link:
“ | Red links for subjects that should have articles but do not, are not only acceptable, but needed in the articles. They serve as a clear indication of which articles are in need of creation, and encourage it. Do not remove red links unless you are certain that Wikipedia should not have an article on that subject. | ” |
So, removing red links to topics which should have an article is contrary to our explicit guidelines on the topic, and red links should be added to articles where appropriate.
It might be clear by now that I like red links, and I share the view common on Wikipedia several years ago that red links are a really good thing. Red links serve many important roles on Wikipedia, and any sentiment against red links will reduce their effectiveness and damage Wikipedia.
So, if red links are such an important and positive part of Wikipedia, why do some people dislike them? There seem to be a few reasons, but all, I think, are mistaken.
I have mostly focused on discussing articles up until this point, but articles are not the only kinds of content on Wikipedia. The featured list criteria and the featured portal criteria both contain mentions of how red links should be limited. It is worth asking whether that is a good thing. Perhaps lists and portals serve a particular navigational purpose to which red links can be detrimental. However, disambiguation pages and navigation templates, both of which serve a navigational purpose, routinely contain red links; indeed, it is one of their advantages that they can contain red links, while categories cannot.
Given that portals and red links share an aim of encouraging contribution, they should surely go together naturally. Restricting red links to areas of the portal specifically geared towards encouraging contributions means that portals follow the lead of the main page, which is really a portal itself. That said, some portals do contain red links, so it seems that the criterion is not too strictly enforced.
As for featured lists, the potential consequences of a requirement that "a minimal proportion of items are redlinked" are strange, if the criterion is properly enforced. An expert lichenologist could spend many hours producing a list of all known lichen species in Scandinavia. The list could contain all pertinent information, impeccably sourced to the most up-to-date literature on European lichen. Each species would warrant a link to its own article, but Wikipedia's coverage of lichen is a long way from complete. Would it really be right for us to deny this list featured status just because of the presence of red links? Surely not: red links are a part of Wikipedia, and a positive thing. This list would serve to encourage further work on Scandinavian lichens, and red links could only help with that.
"But wait," I hear you say. "That's all well and good, but what does it have to do with me?" Well, hopefully, you'll want to join me to bring red links back. There are three easy steps we can take.
And there we go. If we all take these simple steps, we can bring back red links, and all of the benefits they bring to Wikipedia. So, are you with me? Is it time to bring red links back into fashion?
Erythrophobia is the fear of, or sensitivity to, the colour red. Recently, I have seen more and more erythrophobic Wikipedians; specifically, Wikipedians who are scared of red links. In Wikipedia's early days, red links were encouraged and well-loved, and when I started editing in 2006, this was still mostly the case. Jump forward to 2014, and many editors now have an aversion to red links.
In a few places, a dislike for red links has been codified. The featured list criteria require that "a minimal proportion of items are redlinked". The main page does not contain red links, even when they would otherwise be appropriate. Similarly, the featured portal criteria require that "[r]ed links are limited in number and restricted to aspects that encourage contribution". While these kinds of requirements are not found in the English Wikipedia's featured article criteria, they are found in the criteria on other Wikipedias. [1] Moving away from written guidelines, through participation in review processes, I have encountered numerous editors nervous to add red links to articles they've written, and editors who have asked me to remove red links from articles I have written.
The aversion some people feel to red links is at odds with our central guidelines on the subject. To summarise Wikipedia:Red link:
“ | Red links for subjects that should have articles but do not, are not only acceptable, but needed in the articles. They serve as a clear indication of which articles are in need of creation, and encourage it. Do not remove red links unless you are certain that Wikipedia should not have an article on that subject. | ” |
So, removing red links to topics which should have an article is contrary to our explicit guidelines on the topic, and red links should be added to articles where appropriate.
It might be clear by now that I like red links, and I share the view common on Wikipedia several years ago that red links are a really good thing. Red links serve many important roles on Wikipedia, and any sentiment against red links will reduce their effectiveness and damage Wikipedia.
So, if red links are such an important and positive part of Wikipedia, why do some people dislike them? There seem to be a few reasons, but all, I think, are mistaken.
I have mostly focused on discussing articles up until this point, but articles are not the only kinds of content on Wikipedia. The featured list criteria and the featured portal criteria both contain mentions of how red links should be limited. It is worth asking whether that is a good thing. Perhaps lists and portals serve a particular navigational purpose to which red links can be detrimental. However, disambiguation pages and navigation templates, both of which serve a navigational purpose, routinely contain red links; indeed, it is one of their advantages that they can contain red links, while categories cannot.
Given that portals and red links share an aim of encouraging contribution, they should surely go together naturally. Restricting red links to areas of the portal specifically geared towards encouraging contributions means that portals follow the lead of the main page, which is really a portal itself. That said, some portals do contain red links, so it seems that the criterion is not too strictly enforced.
As for featured lists, the potential consequences of a requirement that "a minimal proportion of items are redlinked" are strange, if the criterion is properly enforced. An expert lichenologist could spend many hours producing a list of all known lichen species in Scandinavia. The list could contain all pertinent information, impeccably sourced to the most up-to-date literature on European lichen. Each species would warrant a link to its own article, but Wikipedia's coverage of lichen is a long way from complete. Would it really be right for us to deny this list featured status just because of the presence of red links? Surely not: red links are a part of Wikipedia, and a positive thing. This list would serve to encourage further work on Scandinavian lichens, and red links could only help with that.
"But wait," I hear you say. "That's all well and good, but what does it have to do with me?" Well, hopefully, you'll want to join me to bring red links back. There are three easy steps we can take.
And there we go. If we all take these simple steps, we can bring back red links, and all of the benefits they bring to Wikipedia. So, are you with me? Is it time to bring red links back into fashion?
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