Template:Attribution needed/doc

__EXPECTED_UNCONNECTED_PAGE__

This is an inline template which should be placed immediately after the material in question. For example:

This sentence needs attribution.{{Attribution needed|date=October 2026}} → This sentence needs attribution.

The wikilink on "attribution needed" is set to Wikipedia:Attribution needed.

When to use

Use this to request in-text attribution or fixes to text-source integrity for perspectives and opinions that the Wikipedia article asserts is held by someone, but you don't know who holds the view.

If the material is supported by a citation to a reliable source that you can access, then look at the source to find out who holds the view, rather than adding this tag to the sentence.

Do not demand in-text attribution for simple, non-controversial facts. Simple facts, like "The Earth is round", should not be attributed to one person, because that attribution implies that very few people agree with the statement. In-text attribution is normally reserved for minority views, controversial claims, and other widely disputed material.

• Controversial, poorly sourced perspectives and opinions in biographies of living persons should be deleted immediately, without moving it to the article's talk page.
• If you have reason to think that these perspectives and opinions are not attributable to anyone by a reliable source, you may remove them altogether. Optionally, paste them into the article's talk page and explain your reasoning of why they should be removed.
• If you know whom the perspectives and opinions can be attributed to: Please be bold, delete the template, and indicate whom they are attributed to, either in the text or with a citation.

Avoid "drive-by tagging" and "tag bombing". It is much more constructive to edit an article to resolve a problem than it is to just leave a tag. Only tag if a resolution to the problem is not apparent.

Examples with attribution problems only

Use this template in the body of an article as a request for other editors to explicitly attribute a preceding passage, sentence or phrase to a person. This will be an author of a cited work or a person referred to in a source in which they have been directly or indirectly quoted. The passage tagged may indicate research, be opinion, a point of view or contain words to watch which may be appropriate to retain in the article if they are properly attributed. The tag can be resolved by attributing the identified passage, sentence or phrase as either a direct or an indirect quote. Alternatively, the material may be rewritten in language which is neutral.

Example one

Bucciarati is cooler than Giorno.

Resolved as:

Anime expert Eugene Glockenspiel said "Bucciarati is cooler than Giorno". (direct quote)

Anime expert Eugene Glockenspiel said that Bucciarati was more cool than Giorno. (indirect quote)

In making an in-text attribution to a person, it is usual (in the first instance) to establish their "credentials" and why their opinion is of consequence. Identifying them as an author, historian, critic, company president, manager or such, establishes their credentials and, the relevance and credibility of their opinion or other statement.

Example two

This was clearly a matter of mistaken identity. (in this case, clearly is editorialising)

Resolved as:

Amelia Hegginbottom, in an editorial for Egg-Layers' Weekly, said this was clearly a matter of mistaken identity. (attributing the editorial to a source)

or

This was a matter of mistaken identity. (removing the word that is editorial)

Usage of the tag is similar to {{Specify}} but differs, in how the issue might be resolved in these instances.

Examples also including text-source integrity problems

Example three (previously four)

It was "clearly a case of XYZ". Next sentence[s].

In this case, the source of the quote is even less clear. In writing this, it was the editor's intent to quote from the source cited; however, the footnote and attribution for a quote should be explicit.

Resolved as:

Source 1 said that it was "clearly a case of XYZ". Next sentence[s].

This example has similarities to the use of {{Specify}}, where two opposing views are expressed but which sources apply is not clear. The distinction in usage is that this template is applied at the point of the quote and is to resolve which source applies to the quote.

Example five

It was "the most something" of a case of XYZ. Next sentence[s].

This is an example of where the article editor appears to be quoting a phrase from a source, as opposed from using quote marks for use–mention distinction or a scare quote. The footnote should be brought closer to the quote, and the attribution should be explicit.

It has been described by the author, Name, as "the most something" of a case of XYZ. Next sentence[s].

or where the quoted phrase might be mistaken as use–mention distinction or a scare quote.

It has been described by the author, Name, as "the most something" of a case of XYZ. Next sentence[s].

Scare quotes should, in general, be attributed, since they usually represent a "point of view", unless they are the subject of discussion.

It was "scare quote" ...

as opposed to

The "scare quote" by Source 1 was the subject of ...

Example six

If a quoted phrase is the subject of discussion, once its "provenance" has been established by an initial citation, it is not necessary to require further citations in follow-up discussions.

Where a citation at the end of a sentence refers to a quoted phrase, the proximity of a quoted phrase to the citation is of significance. The more words and other sources between the quoted phase and the citation, the less clear it is that the quote is drawn from the citation.

On February 1, Source 1 started the investigation. What happened was "quote phrase". The cause might be Cause 1. (clear)

It was "quote phrase" that did this. (reasonably clear)

It was "quote phrase" that did this, "something else" that did this, that and the other thing and "more words" that did something else. (unclear)

Resolved as:

It was "quote phrase" that did this according to Person A, "something else" that did this, that and the other thing according to Person B, and "more words" that did something else according to Person C – not to mention a few other things.

In the resolved case, it is clear which quoted phrase is supported by which citation and none are an editorial use of quote marks.

Relation to other tag templates

For dealing with dubious information, please use one of the following: {{citation needed}}, {{verify source}}, {{dubious}} or {{disputed-inline}}. If the problem is a reference to vague "authorities" such as "serious scholars", "historians say", "some researchers", "many scientists", and the like, use {{who}}. If the problem is with text that is difficult to understand, use {{clarify}}.

This template is a self-reference and so is part of the Wikipedia project rather than the encyclopedic content.

Parameters

Abbreviated parameter sets:

• {{Attribution needed|date=October 2026|reason=}}
• {{Attribution needed|date=October 2026|reason=|text=}}

Full parameter set:

• {{Attribution needed|date=October 2026|reason=|text=|pre-text=|post-text=}}

Parameter descriptions

• |date= : This template allows an optional date parameter that records when the tag was added. If this template is added without the date parameter, the date parameter will be added soon after by a bot. Alternatively, you may add the date automatically (without requiring bot intervention) by substituting the template. That is: {{subst:Attribution needed}} is equivalent to {{Attribution needed|date=October 2026}}. This technique also works if other parameters – |reason= |pre-text= |post-text= – are given.
• |reason= : Because it may not be immediately apparent to other editors what about the tagged passage is in need of attribution, it is generally helpful to add a brief reason for the tag: {{Attribution needed|reason=What the problem is}} (this is preferable to using an HTML <!-- comment --> after the tag, as it is tidier to keep all of the {{Attribution needed}}-related code inside the template). If the explanation would be lengthy, use the article's talk page
  As well as being visible in the source code for editors' benefit, |reason=, if provided, displayed when the mouse is hovered over the "attribution needed" link in the article. For technical reasons, this mouse-over feature does not work if the reason text contains double quotes. Use single quotes instead, or use the code " if it is essential to include a double quote.
• |text=: The particular text needing attribution may be highlighted by wrapping this template around it:

  As an example:

  Text preceding the template,{{Attribution needed|text=unattributed text,|date=October 2026}}, text following the template.

  produces:

  Text preceding the template,unattributed text,, text following the template.

• |pre-text=
• |post-text=: One can specify additional text to appear before and/or after the "attribute" tag using the two parameters listed above.

Examples:

1. {{Attribution needed|pre-text=remove or}}

   will cause the text "remove or" to appear before "attribute" like this:

2. {{Attribution needed|post-text=(unattributed opinion)}}

   will cause "(unattributed opinion)" to appear after "attribute" like this:.

3. {{Attribution needed|post-text=(see talk)}}

   can be used to link to a discussion on the article's talk page; this example produces:

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Attribution needed in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Attribution needed

Use this inline template as a request for other editors to attribute text that may research, opinion, a point of view, contain ''words to watch'' or is a quote that has not been clearly attributed. Place immediately after the material in question.

Template parameters

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
reason	reason	A brief reason for the tag; do not include any double quotes.	String	suggested
text	text	Text fragment containing concerns the tag is supposed to address.	String	optional
date	date	The date the tag was added (this will be added automatically soon by a bot if not added manually). Auto value {{SUBST:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{SUBST:CURRENTYEAR}}	String	required
pre-text	pre-text	Any string to be added before the "Attribute" tag, such as "?"	String	optional
post-text	post-text	Any string to be added after the "Attribute" tag, such as "unattributed opinion".	String	optional

Categorization

Adding this template to an article will automatically place the article into Category:Wikipedia articles needing words, phrases or quotes attributed, or a dated subcategory thereof.

See also

• {{Attribution repair}} – builds a proper insufficient attribution repair statement
• {{Cite check}} – message-box
• {{Quote without source}} – message-box
• {{POV statement}} – message-box
• {{Weasel}} – message-box
• {{Peacock inline}} – message-box
• {{Opinion}} – message-box
• {{Specify}} – message-box
• {{Who}} – message-box
• Wikipedia:Attribution needed
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Unsupported attributions
• Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup/Verifiability and sources
• Wikipedia:Citing sources

Redirects to this template

Template:Attribution needed invokes Module:Navbox using Lua.

Usage

This template can be used to make a standard navigation box. It is intended for use within another template that standardises the title and contents of the box (see Template:ShipNavbox). This template SHOULD NOT be used directly within articles, as it creates a maintenance burden to do so whenever the contents of the box have to be updated.

The purpose of this template is to standardise the attributes of all navigation boxes, for example, their colours and other CSS attributes. The template is fairly simple, and could be extended to add other features in the future. Using this template allows changes to be implemented much quicker and easier than editing each template separately.

Syntax

{{navbox
|state      = uncollapsed, collapsed, plain, autocollapse (default)
|name       = mandatory - name of the template
|style      = optional - style for the whole table
|title      = mandatory - navbox header
|gtitleN    = optional - title of N-th group of items
|styleN     = optional - style for groupN; i.e. text-align
|groupN     = mandatory - list of groups of items
|fstyle     = optional - style for footer ; i.e. text-align
|footer     = optional - navbox footer
}}

• Groups: Currently there is no technical limit to the maximum number of groups.
  • Groups of items can be added as parameters: group1, group2, group3, ... up to groupN.
• Group title: Each group has its own title parameter: gtitle1, gtitle2, gtitle3, ... up to gtitleN. Note that the default width for the first column is 15%.
• Group style: Style may also be customised to each group in: style1, style2, style3, ... up to styleN.
  • Note that neither the title nor the items have any wiki-links built into the template. As a result, users of the template are free to use wiki-links as they wish.
• Line breaks: Line-breaks (<br />) are unnecessary, as text wrapping is done automatically by the template. This also includes links and text in gtitleN and groupN.
• Bullets: Create unordered lists with lines beginning with *.
• Pipe links: Because of the nature of template syntax, it may be necessary to use Template:! ({{!}}).

States

• Autocollapse: By default, the state of a navbox is "autocollapsed". This means that if the number of navboxes in a page exceeds the maximum allocation of the collapsible navboxes, then the remaining navboxes are collapsed automatically. For more information (or to change the setting), see MediaWiki:Common.js.
  • Currently, the autocollapse allocation is 2 (see MediaWiki:Common.js). This means that if there are 3 navboxes in a page, the third and subsequent navboxes will be collapsed automatically.
• Uncollapsed: Forces the navbox to be displayed.
  • All of the navboxes in this documentation are in the uncollapsed state.
• Collapsed: The reverse of uncollapsed. Forces the navbox to be hidden instead.
  • Navboxes with a height of more than 300 pixels will also be collapsed automatically. For more information (or to change the setting), see MediaWiki:Common.js.
• Plain: Removes the "show/hide" link.

Sub-groups

• For larger navboxes, it may be necessary to include sub-groups within a particular group of items. It is also possible to collapsible navboxes within the parent navbox, see Collapsible sub-groups.
• To create sub-groups within {{navbox}}, certain parameters are to be included:
  • The parent navbox group (i.e. group2 in the example below) requires the type parameter (gtype2 = Subgroup).
  • The nested navbox (sub-group) requires the inclusion of the sub-group parameter (subgroup = yes). This enables the template to differentiate between the sub-group and the parent navbox.

{{navbox
|name    =
|title   =
|gtitle1 =
|group1  =
|gtitle2 =  
|gtype2  = Subgroup (mandatory)
|group2  = 
  {{navbox
  |subgroup = yes (mandatory)
  |gtitle1  = 
  |group1   =
  |gtitle2  = 
  |group2   = 
  }}
}}

Collapsible sub-groups

• For extremely long navboxes, it is recommended to use collapsible navboxes within the parent navbox. Further sub-groups can then be added to these collapsible navboxes.
• To create collapsible sub-groups within {{navbox}}, these parameters need to be included:
  • The parent navbox is almost always uncollapsed (state=uncollapsed).
  • The parent navbox group (i.e. group1 in the example below) requires the type parameter (gtype1 = Subgroup).
  • The nested collapsible navbox requires the inclusion of the collapsible parameter (collapsible = yes). This enables the template to differentiate between the collapsible navbox and the parent navbox.
  • The nested collapsible navbox is forcefully collapsed (state=collapsed).

{{navbox
|state  = uncollapsed
|name   = 
|gtype1 = Subgroup
|group1 = 
  {{navbox
  |collapsible = yes
  |state   = collapsed
  |title   = 
  |gtitle1 = 
  |group1  = 
  |gtitle2 = 
  |group2  = 
  }}
}}

Use of images

• The use of images in navboxes is permitted, but please resize the images to keep them small. Inventory-sized images (25-30 pixels) are recommended.
• Please use {{t|plink}} to create links with images. Use {{t|plink}} for any case where text is not desired after the link. It functions the same as {{t|plink}}, but it does not produce a wikilink in text. Use {{t|chatl}} to link chatheads. These templates create links for both the image and text (except for {{t|plink}}) using far less wikicode than the standard syntax.

Link and file share the same name

{{plink|Item}}

File name differs from the link

{{plink|Item|File}}

Link and file share the same name, but different text is desired to display

{{plink|Item|alt=Text}}

File name differs from the link and different text is desired to display

{{plink|Item|File|alt=Text}}

Categorising

Navboxes are very useful for transcluding categories onto a large number of pages that share both a trait and the navigation box. For example: Template:ShipNavbox transcludes Category:Ships onto every page that uses it.

There are 2 methods of categorising pages with navboxes:

The first way is with {{t|Ctg}}. This is the preferred method, and can be used in most cases. The rules and operations for the Category handler template are very simple; however, they are enough to produce the desired results on most pages.

Categorisation should only be used on a template for large-scale addition. It is unhelpful, for example, to use a rule that only applies to 1 page.

Examples

To see the following navboxes in action, see Template:Navbox.

Single line navbox with centered list

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  =
}}

Navbox with standard footer

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = 
|group1  = 
|footer  = Centered footer
}}

Navbox with styled footer

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = 
|group1  = 
|fstyle  = text-align:right
|footer  = Right-aligned footer
}}

Multiple line navbox

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = Group title 1
|group1  = 
|gtitle2 = Group title 2
|group2  = 
|gtitle3 = Group title 3
|group3  = 
}}

Collapsed navbox

{{navbox
|state   = collapsed
|name    = 
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  = 
}}

Plain navbox with Tnavbar

{{navbox
|state   = plain
|name    = 
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  = 
}}

Plain navbox without Tnavbar

{{navbox
|state   = plain
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  = 
}}

Complicated navbox

{{navbox
|state   = uncollapsed
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = Level 1 Title 1
|group1  = 
|gtitle2 = Level 1 Title 2
|group2  = 
|gtitle3 = Level 1 Title 3
|group3  = 
|gtitle4 = Level 1 Title 4
|group4  = 
|gtitle5 = Level 1 Title 5
|gtype5  = Subgroup
|group5  = 
  {{navbox
  |subgroup = Yes
  |gtitle1  = Level 2 Title 1
  |group1   =
  |gtitle2  = Level 2 Title 2
  |group2   =
  |gtitle3  = Level 2 Title 3
  |gtype3   = Subgroup
  |group3   = 
    {{navbox
    |subgroup = Yes
    |gtitle1  = Level 3 Title 1
    |group1   =
    |gtitle2  = Level 3 Title 2
    |group2   =
    }}
  |gtitle4  = Level 2 Title 4
  |group4   = 
  }}
|gtitle6 = Level 1 Title 6
|group6  = 
|gtitle7 = Level 1 Title 7
|group7  = 
|fstyle  = 
|footer  = 
}}

Preventing unwanted documentation

The Navbox template's documentation is automatically transcluded under the navbox on any Template namespace page. It is not transcluded when used as a sub-group or collapsible sub-group template (subgroup= yes or collapsible=yes).

Should the documentation appear when it is unwanted, it can be hidden by setting the doc parameter doc=no on the template. In most cases, the doc parameter is NOT used and the parameter is removed completely.