GTA Wiki:References

This page documents the Official Policy of the GTA Wiki.

It concerns standards that all users should follow.

This page documents the Official GTA Wiki Policy on references.

Policy

The definition of a Reference, in this context, is "the use of a source of information in order to ascertain something." References are sometimes known as citations.

GTA Wiki strives to provide accurate, reliable and verifiable information on the Grand Theft Auto series and beyond. While not everything needs referencing, it is sometimes required that an additional piece of verification, such as imagery, file data or external references (videos, forum posts, etc) is provided alongside written content should the reader suspect the information is disputable.

While not as stringent as the rules on citing sources on Wikipedia, it is expected that users use common sense to assess whether something needs a reference or not; in general, if something seems obscure, unusual or otherwise difficult to prove in normal circumstances, it probably needs a reference. Common types of content requiring references include glitches and beta content and information or data that is obtained from game files via third-party tools.

When to use references

• Direct quotes: Direct quotations from outlets or companies, including Rockstar Games themselves. Examples include game reviews and Rockstar Newswire posts.
• Real-world figures: Any statistics pertaining to the real world, such as sales figures and game ratings.
• Controversial claims: Any statement that might be disputed or is controversial. Examples include Grand Theft Auto VI September 2022 leaks and Little Lacy Surprise.
• Game file data: Any data obtained from game files, such as vehicle handling information or object properties.
• Glitches, beta and leaked content: Any statement that cannot readily and easily be verified in-game. References used for leaked content should comply with the leaked content policy.

When not to use references

• Common knowledge: Any information which is fairly obvious to most GTA fans. Examples may include specific events in the plot, the way specific gameplay mechanics work in each game (Money, Reputation, Wanted Level, etc), background information on specific content (such as the main protagonists and antagonists, in-game locations, etc).
• Visual confirmation: Anything that can be easily verified from images already included in the article (infobox, galleries, etc).
• Popular sources: Further information pertaining to a topic which can be found on sites such as Wikipedia. This also includes links to real-world influences of in-game content, such as links to locations on Google Maps or vehicles, weapons and other topics on Wikipedia.

How to use references

Main article: Manual of Style:References

Inline citations should be placed directly after the information that needs verification. This can be achieved using the {{Ref}} template or by using reference tags <ref></ref>.

References are automatically appended as a list in order of their position in the article. A "Reference" section (see MOS:HEAD) should be used to group this information; the {{Reflist}} template should be used in this section.

How to mark something as requiring verification

See also: Category:Pages requiring verification and Category:Pages with unclear information

If something is disputed, the {{Fact}} template can be placed where the reference should be (directly after the disputed statement). Additional information can be included in the template to further clarify what exactly needs verifying, as well as a date for when the dispute was created. This template will add the article to a list of pages requiring verification.

For content that isn't necessarily disputed, but is rather unclear or not specific enough, {{Vague}} can be placed after the statement. As with the {{Fact}} template, additional information can be included in the template to clarify what exactly is vague about the statement. This template will add the article to a list of pages with unclear information.

See Also

• Manual of Style:References - more information on how to format references.
• GTA Wiki:Leaked Content - more information on leaked content and how to properly cite information pertaining to it.