Style/Relationships/URLs

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【I've tried to take as many of the guidelines from category pages and URL relationship pages, generalise them a bit and turn them into one hopefully coherent set of relationships for URLs, meaning we would need far fewer guidelines on the relationship pages, we wouldn't be expected to check the guidelines sections of FIVE pages just to add an amazon link and there's one central place for the majority of what people would need to know when adding URLs】

This page outlines general guidelines for adding relationships which link an entity to a URL. Many relationships also have their own guidelines which, should they conflict, supersede the ones on this page.

Which URLs are allowed?

Multiple URLs for the same relationship type

In general, any relevant URLs can be added, there is no technical limit to the number which can be added. However, some relationship types can potentially have hundreds of valid links and you should not try to link to every possible site in these cases.

Some examples of how this applies to different relationship types:

  • Fan pages: pick the ones that are most useful as a resource for MusicBrainz users and avoid sites whose unique content is only a few obscure bits and pieces. 【second point on Fanpage_Relationship_Type
  • Mail order and download relationships: Don't try to link widely available releases to every online store. The mail order and download relationships are most useful when a release is only available from particular stores. 【from the last section of What_Not_To_Link_To even though it's not official】
  • Wikipedia: Only link to the languages which are relevant to the artist. This usually means the artist's native language(s). The English Wikipedia is always allowed. 【new based on current unwritten consensus】

Restricted pages

Pages do not have to be completely open, as long as it is accessible to the general internet population. Password-protected sites are frowned upon, but if the page is really worth linking to, so long as the website allows free registration, the link is allowed. 【second point on Category:External_Information_Relationship_Class

When not to link

Some sites discourage systematic linking. Please do not add links if it would be counter to the wishes of the other site. 【first point on Discography_Relationship_Type

When linking to a page where you can download, stream or get music via mail-order, the page must respect copyright law. Do NOT link to pages which contain pirated material. There are two exceptions to this guideline:

  1. Bootleg recordings of concerts.
  2. Derivative works such as mash-ups or unauthorized remixes (a well-known example of this is Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album").

【originally from Category:Get_Music_Relationship_Class and Free_Download_Relationship_Type, edited by warp】

Which URL to use

Many sites have multiple pages, so there may be several URLs which would work. URLs which are simple and unlikely to change are preferred.【first point on Online_Community_Relationship_Type】Avoid linking to websites' search pages. 【generic version of the bit in the cd baby section of What_Not_To_Link_To】 The URL should still be specific to the entity being linked, so please do not link to top level domains when a site has information about numerous artists, releases, etc. 【from the bottom of What_Not_To_Link_To, also Category:External_Resource_Relationship_Class... not happy with the wording though】

Examples
  • The official homepage for Nine Inch Nails is http://nin.com/ (not http://nin.com/index.php, as that is more likely to change)
  • The Wikipedia page for George Harrison is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Harrison (not http://www.wikipedia.org/, because Wikipedia contains information about numerous different things)
  • The Amazon URL for With Teeth is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008ISM40 (not http://www.amazon.com/ because Amazon sells lots of different releases)

Linking to images

When linking to images, link directly to image files, not to pages containing pictures. 【third point on Image_Relationship_Type】 The exception to this is when using the cover art relationship to link to CD Baby or Jamendo, these are handled specially and should link to the release page. 【new based on how the server handles those】

Linking to pages where you can get music

The URL should also be as close as possible to a direct link to just the specific entity which is being linked. 【partly from Category:Get_Music_Relationship_Class ... but does this mean link to the page or the actual download?】

Standardised URLs

For many sites, we use a standardised URL format. In most cases, the URL will be automatically formatted correctly.

List of standardised URLs
  • Amazon:
    • Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/<ASIN>
    • France: http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/<ASIN>
    • Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/<ASIN>
    • Italy: http://www.amazon.it/gp/product/<ASIN>
    • Japan: http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/<ASIN>
    • UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/<ASIN>
    • USA: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/<ASIN>
  • Discogs:
    • Artists: http://www.discogs.com/artist/<name>
    • Labels: http://www.discogs.com/label/<name>
    • Release groups: http://www.discogs.com/master/<ID>
    • Releases: http://www.discogs.com/release/<ID>
  • IMDb:
    • Artists: http://www.imdb.com/artist/<ID>/ (not http://www.imdb.com/artist/<ID>/bio)
    • Release groups: http://www.imdb.com/title/<ID>/ (not http://www.imdb.com/title/<ID>/soundtrack)
  • MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/<username> or http://www.myspace.com/<profile number>
  • PureVolume: http://www.purevolume.com/<name>
  • Wikipedia: http://<language>.wikipedia.org/wiki/<page name>
  • YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/<username>

Which entity to link to

The URL should be linked to the most appropriate entity.【first point on Fanpage_Relationship_Type

Examples
  • http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008ISM40 is linked to With Teeth and not Nine Inch Nails. The URL is a purchase page for a specific release and not for the artist in general.
  • http://www.metallica.com/ is not the official homepage of Lars Ulrich. The site is for the group, not the specific person.

Which relationship types to use

The relationship type used should be the one which most closely matches. If there is a specific relationship type for the site, that relationship type should be used instead of generic types.【first point on Biography_Relationship_Type and Category:External_Website_Relationship_Class and Category:External_Information_Relationship_Class

Examples

Restricted relationships

【we should fix this section using code... there's a ticket somewhere】

For some of our relationships, only certain sites are permitted. For these, links to sites which are not on the whitelist must not be added. These relationships are: