Hyperlinking sources

Question

I (think I) have read every help page on sourcing, adding references, etc., and yet I cannot answer this question.

Is there a policy against using hyperlinks in profiles as the source?

For example, if Family Search has a record, and I provide a direct link in the profile to that record IN ADDITION to adding the citation at the end of the profile, IS THIS WRONG?

My goal is to make my profiles user friendly for family members. Personally, I also like the look of hyperlinks in the text.

Thoughts?

Comments

Raw, or texted?

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I'm so sorry, I have no idea what that means!!

Here is one of my profiles, Elizabeth Hinton. I have placed a link to her death record in the Biography section and also added the FS citation under the sources.

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Christine, your source is a link to the image, not the source. The source citation should be included in the sources or inline citation. You can get to this from the image by hovering or clicking to the left of her name in the index area below the image. You would normally have started in that place first to get to the image, but that is the correct citation, not the one with the image.  You can also include a link to th Di age but there is information in the full source citation that is not seen on the image, if the image is not shown any longer.

"Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JXPM-6ZP : 26 March 2020), Eliza Hinton, 01 Dec 1905; citing Wolfore, Grenville, Ontario, yr 1906 cn 16778, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,854,401.

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Yes, I know, I have this citation on the profile. I'm sorry this seems more frustrating than it needs to be.

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This is "raw" :

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9Y4-J9Y1-H?cc=1307826&wc=3LK4-K6D%3A1584243504%2C1584257901%2C1584285201

"Texted" would have it be : direct link to image as found on FamilySearch (choose your own descriptive wording).

As it is, much of the link isn't needed to find that image - you just remove everything after the H? : https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9Y4-J9Y1-H

I would still text it, however, as it just looks neater.

(To "text" it you would use square brackets : 

[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9Y4-J9Y1-H Image blah blah] -- making sure there is a space between the end of the link and the beginning of the text.)

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Christine, the citation I used is not in your profile. Only the link to the image is seen, I think.

Answer 1

I don't believe that there is any policy that prohibits what you're doing, but it is non-standard.  It makes it a bit harder to maintain, because if the URL changes, you've got to correct it in two places.  Traditionally, the inline citation that Amy mentioned would be used.  Instead of having the link in the body of the biography as well as sources, you enclose the source/citation between <ref>...</ref>, so after "on December 1, 1905," add

<ref>"Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9Y4-J9Y1-H?cc=1307826&wc=3LK4-K6D%3A1584243504%2C1584257901%2C1584285201 : 24 October 2018), Deaths > 1906 > no 15363-21345 > image 395 of 1610; citing Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto</ref>

This will create a superscript footnote link and the actual source will automagically appear below

== Sources ==

<references />

If you're asking the question because someone told you that you're not allowed to do it that way, I've never read anything that says you can't.  However, since it's not standard, there's nothing that would stop another member from coming along and changing it to the more common style.

Answer 2

Are you saying that you want to add a link to the image, as well, as the regular source citation?  If so, many people do that, but the source citation should be on the profile.  There should not be a link 'only' to the image which doesn't give the information if the link for the image stops working. You shouldn't be putting a copy of the image in the profile but a link to the image can be added to your source citation.

Comments

Can you look at the profile I referenced? I'm not adding the image to the profile, only linking it. Yes I realize I am linking it twice. I always add as many sources as I can, with the knowledge that at any time those links may become dead (as has happened before with Find A Grave).

Answer 3

Hi Christine

This is a great question that I've been working on with some of our Scotland Project members who are working our Tartan Trail.

The profile example you provided does not use inline citations, so a link to the actual record is good to have.  Inline citations normally have the link as part of the citation.

Feel free to contact me and I can help you with this.