Bottom Line Up Front:
I propose that a separate namespace for published sources be created.
Background:
Wikitree has a variety of namespaces already existing: Free space pages exist in one namespace [[Space:]], categories exist in one [[Category:]], etc. (for more information on wiki namespaces see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Namespace )
Aim:
It is best to start with what the aim is not: The aim is NOT to replicate the excellent work already done by werelate.org. The purpose is to help make it easier to add formatted citations of published sources across profiles in a consistent manner using the built-in power of wikis to do page inclusion and substitution.
Suggested/Example Use:
The actual usage could take different forms depending on what is best for the particular source – for example most of the citation of a census or vital record is unique to the record and details one or a few individuals of interest so substituting a “fill-in-the-blanks” template is probably most helpful to users. As an example putting {{subst:Source:US census 1870}}in a profile and then saving could add to the profile:
1870 U.S. Census, _____ County, !STATE, population schedule, !CIVIL DIVISION, p. ___ (stamped), dwelling __, family __, !PERSON(S), NARA microfilm publication ___, roll ___.
which can then be edited to fill in the relevant details. When using substitution the result becomes an editable part of the profile and changes to the source page are not be reflected in the profiles. It's main benefit is in reducing the time spent looking up the appropriate formatting to use for a specific source or type of source.
A different use is for books or periodicals that cover many people - these can be created so that adding {{Source:Pioneer Life on the Bay of Quinte|p=25}} to a profile would result in the display
William F. E. Morley, Pioneer Life on the Bay of Quinte: Including Geneaologies of Old Families and Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens. (Toronto: Rolph and Clark Limited, 1904), p.25.
When using this method changes to the citation format on the source page also appear on the profiles that cite the source which allows a user to deal with situations where they lack the information for a full 'proper' citation; for example, a member of the profile improvement project might encounter a source where publishing information has been omitted – rather than having to look up the missing information to finish the profile, they could enter {{Source:______}} and if it already exists it will populate, if it does not already exist it will show up in red.
Appropriate parameters can be set up for each source such as edition, volume, issue, page, article title and author, etc. This is essentially a trade off between ease of use in creating the source and ease of use in citing the source a hundred times.
Namespace 'format':
I suggest that the [[Category:]] namespace be the model for the proposed [[Sources:]] namespace as it does not have privacy settings, watchlist integration, or an image upload area. Sources are almost universally a matter of public record, even if the content is not, so having no privacy settings is appropriate. While a 'watchlist' for frequently used sources might be appealing, this can be worked around by instituting an intuitive naming convention for sources. Having a separate namespace for sources does however improve the possibility of developing an individualized 'favourite sources' in future. The ability to upload images for sources is not necessarily desirable as it may be seen as encouraging people to upload pdf versions of sources, possibly in violation of copyright. Images (if required) can still be linked from the narrative.
Presumably the 'tagging' functionality of categories (using square brackets instead of braces) can also be replicated so that profiles can appear as articles under a source creating an index of names that appear in a source.
Similarly the functionality of sub-categorization can be used to organize sources - this could potentially be used to keep track of sources that cites other sources, or all the works by specific authors
Required decisions if implemented:
Naming Convention – the names of sources should follow a simple pattern where a person familiar with the convention does not need to look up a specific work to know the appropriate name to use
Citation formatting convention – What citation format should sources follow. I would suggest Evidence Explained Reference Note would be the appropriate format – people who do not have access to EE could use any format they are comfortable using, with the understanding that the formatting may be changed to EE format later.
Parameter conventions – to be intuitive, short, standardized parameter names such as “p” for page, and “v” for volume should be agreed upon.
Source formating conventions – What would be the suggested content and layout of the source page itself? It should indicate if the Source is intended to be included or substituted; it should detail what parameters are allowed; it should give an example of the formatted citation.
Some other G2G discussions consulted or considered:
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/66920/how-do-i-update-a-source-across-many-profiles-at-once
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/39038/are-there-more-source-templates-we-can-use-on-our-profiles
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/59112/source-list-pull-down-from-my-wikitree-dropdown-list
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/28517/is-anyone-creating-free-space-profiles-for-sources
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/46506/citing-resources?show=46551#c46551