Source and citation policy

A citation on C64 Wiki answers a specific question: what evidence supports this claim? It is not a decoration and it is not a signal that the cited material may be copied.

Source preference

Prefer, in order appropriate to the claim:

original manufacturer documentation, source code, schematics, standards, and contemporary records;
museums, libraries, archives, universities, and other durable institutions;
established technical projects and specialist publications with named responsibility;
independent secondary analysis that identifies its own evidence.

Search-result snippets, anonymous reposts, generated summaries, and circular wiki citations are not adequate evidence for a core claim.

Citation form

Place a <ref> immediately after the supported sentence or paragraph. Identify the author or responsible publisher, page title, stable URL, relevant section or page number when available, and access date. Use <references /> in the article's References section.

Independence

Two URLs are not necessarily two sources. A scan and a transcription of the same manual share one provenance root. A museum description copied from a press release shares the press release's root. Core claims should be checked against two independent roots when possible.

Source snapshots

The research system may retain hashes and private evidence snapshots for audit and link-rot detection when lawful. Publication of a hash does not publish the source. Restricted or copyrighted material remains citation-only unless an explicit license or permission record authorizes redistribution.

Failed and conflicting sources

A broken link should be replaced with an equivalent authoritative source or marked for repair. If sources conflict, preserve both citations and explain the conflict. Do not average incompatible facts or choose the more convenient value without evidence.