External links
External links can be added to entries for songs, albums, artists, tags, and events.
These links serve three main purposes:
- Provide ways for the viewers to legally purchase or download the albums or songs.
- Provide ways for the viewers to find out more about the artists or albums.
- Provide points of reference.
Note that VocaDB is not intended to provide all the possible information about artists, nor can users buy albums on VocaDB. Artists’ own websites, online stores and sometimes other wikis are better for explaining this.
The third point means that links to reliable reference sites, such as VGMdb, Discogs, and the Vocaloid Wiki are encouraged. As long as the linked sites are reliable, having more links to such sites makes the information on VocaDB more reliable as well. Links to official sources, such as artists’ websites, are even better, but having multiple references is still good.
The link description and category will be guessed automatically based on the URL if the domain is known: WebLinkMatcher.ts
Link icons are maintained on the ExtIcons-repository and implemented on ExtLinks.css.
Link categories
Rule 20: Correct link category
Use the correct link category.
Link categories are available for the main entry types (songs, albums and artists).
Official= Links to content that the artist can directly control.Commercial= Official links that include commercial features (such as album/song purchase).Reference= Unofficial reference, such as wiki article.Other= Other unofficial and useful links that do not directly reference the entry.
Link category examples
| Entry type | Official | Commercial | Reference | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song | Official karaoke links | (Prefer adding the link to the album entry) | Wiki article of the song | Wiki article of the song theme |
| Album | Official album websites | Official commercial websites | Wiki article of the album | Wiki article of the album theme |
| Artist | Official artist websites, social media links | Artist’s profile page on commercial websites | Wiki article of the artist | Wiki article of the artist theme |
Removing links
See the Content removal guidelines.
External link rules
Rule 16: No mobile links
Some websites have a separate URL for pages meant to be viewed on mobile:
Always prefer adding the desktop version of the link.
Rule 17: No download links
Direct download links (on any field) to media files (such as .mp3 or .flac) and links to file-hosting services (such as Google Drive or Dropbox) are not allowed, even if they’re legal. If the content is officially distributed, link the artist’s page (e.g., on Piapro or a blog) instead.
File sharing website links are only allowed if the website supports user profile pages, and the user (uploader) page is directly navigable from the download link page (https://piapro.jp/ links for example). In other cases the download link location should be mentioned in the entry description instead.
Rule 18: No email links
Do not add email links.
Rule 19: No tracking links
When adding external links, remove extraneous URL elements (usually after ? or &). More on #1765.