Wikipedia:Simplest diff guide
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Wikipedia:Simplest diff guide |
[edit] How to make a diff
If you contribute an argument to a page like Requests for comment, requests for arbitration, or the incidents noticeboard for administrative attention, it's essential to give evidence for your claims in the form of diffs. A diff is a permanent link to a single edit. Without diffs, you will be taken less seriously. If you simply claim that "editor X has posted several personal attacks on talkpages" or "editor Y is edit warring on George W. Bush", you may be told "Diffs or it didn't happen".
This is how to make a diff: find the page which contains the edit you want to refer to. Click on its history tab. Find the edit in the history list. (If that's a problem, clicking on the word last in the list will let you read the edit.) To obtain a copy of the URL for the "diff", right-click on its "last" button and select "Copy link location" (or "copy shortcut" or however your browser expresses it). The URL of the diff you want is now in your clipboard. (Or, click on "last" and you are viewing the diff. Copy the url of the page you are then viewing.) Paste it into your text where you want it to appear. Include the whole of it, http:// and all. Put single square brackets [] around it.
