E2's citation requirements
...are minimal.
E2 operates on a fairly relaxed policy of credit where it's due. You would probably be expected to at least name a source if you make use a particularly long quote or a substantial amount of somebody else's data in a writeup. You don't have to be formal about it. You don't have to use a specific formal citation style; indeed, you don't have to use ANY formal citation style. For example, you could put "As a wise man once said...", with "wise man" pipe linked to the name of the person in question, would easily suffice.
What will not stand on Everything2 is plagiarism. Plagiarism is passing off somebody else's writing as your own. Copy-and-paste work. Everything2 is not in the habit of violating copyrights and the Content Editors come down hard on people who attempt to do so.
Public domain works, which you have legimitate permission to post on Everything2, should be attributed more formally. For more about posting public domain works, see:
If you have come across a work which is not public domain, but the author has given you explicit permission to node it, then, again, a more formal citation is preferable.
But I really want to add citations. Which style should I use?
All official styles and sub-styles of citation are equally welcome on E2. You can even make your own up provided it's consistent and meaningful. However, examples of the popular Modern Language Association (MLA) Style are provided below for your reference.
In MLA style you briefly credit sources with parenthetical citations in the text of your paper, and give the complete description of each source in your Works Cited list. The Works Cited list, or Bibliography, is a list of all the sources used in your paper, arranged alphabetically by author's last name, or when there is no author, by the first word of the title (except A, An or The).
In printed text, it is customary to indent the second and any further lines of a citation. This is a little tricky to pull off on the internet, and, unfortunately, impossible on Everything2. As an (admittedly clumsy) alternative, you can insert line breaks manually using the <br> tag and indent manually using the non-breaking space character, , five or six times in a row.
Or you can just forget about it and we'll forgive you.
Books
Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Encyclopedias and reference books
Author of Article.(if given) "Article Title." Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Multivolume sets
Author or Editor. Title of Set. Total number of vols. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Poem or short story in an anthology
Author of Story. "Title of Story." Title of Book. Name of Editor. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page numbers of the story.
Magazine articles
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine. Date: Page(s).
Newspaper articles
Author. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper. Date, edition: Page(s).
Scholarly journal articles
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume number (Year): Pages.
Television programs
"Title of Episode or Segment." Credit (Performer or author). Title of Program. Name of Network. Call letters (if any), City of Local Station (if any). Broadcast Date.
Videotapes, DVDs, laserdiscs
Title. Director, Producer, and/or Writers. Medium. Distributor, Year.
Interviews
Person Interviewed. Type of interview (personal or telephone). Date.
Web site -- professional or personal
Creator's name (if given). Web Page Title. URL. Institution or organization. Date of access.
Online service: InfoTrac
Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Magazine. Date of Publication: Pages. Name of Database. InfoTrac. Library Name. Date of Access.
Online service: NewsBank
Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper. (State]) Date of Publication: Pages. NewsBank NewsFile. Library Name. Date of Access (http://infoweb.newsbank.com/).
Online newspaper article
Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper. Date of Publication. Date of Access.
Online magazine article
Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Magazine. Date of Publication. Date of Access.
Email
Sender's Name. "Title." (from Subject line) E-mail to the author. Date of message.
Online discussion lists
Writer's Name. "Title of Message." (from Subject line) Online posting. Date of Message. Name of Discussion Group/List. Date of access (URL of Group's Internet Site, or E-mail Address of List Moderator).
back to
Everything2 Help
| 
