LIMSWiki:Vendor page

Like Wikipedia, vendor pages are going to be allowed on LIMSwiki.org. Also like Wikipedia, certain standards are expected of a vendor page:

• A vendor page shouldn't be created unless it meets notability guidelines. As Wikipedia defines it, "notability is an attempt to assess whether the topic has 'enduring notability,' as evidenced by significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic."

• As mentioned above, a vendor page should be predominately based on reliable independent sources. While a vendor page can certainly contain self-supported, non-independent sources to back up company claims, these should not make up the majority of the sources.

• A vendor page should be neutral and not contain marketing speak.

• A vendor page should not read like an advertisement.

Vendor page format

A vendor page can have many different formats, based upon available information (or lack thereof) about the vendor. However, there are a few defining elements of a vendor page that need to be included in most every vendor page:

1. A company info box: Template:Infobox company is used to insert a company-based info box into a vendor page. The code for a vendor box (with all the available attributes) looks like this:

{{Infobox company
|company_name      =  
|company_logo      =  
|company_type      =  
|traded_as         = 
|industry          =
|genre             =
|fate              =
|predecessor       =
|successor         = 
|company_slogan    =  
|foundation        =  
|founder           =  
|defunct           =
|location_city     =  
|location_country  =  
|locations         =
|area_served       =  
|key_people        =   
|products          =  
|production        =
|service           =
|revenue           = 
|operating_income  =  
|net_income        =  
|aum               =
|assets            =  
|equity            = 
|owner             =
|num_employees     =  
|parent            =
|divisions         =
|subsid            =
|homepage          =  
|footnotes         =
|intl              =  
}}

Obviously not all of these attributes will be needed for a company. Those attributes not used can either be removed from the code inserted into a new vendor page or left intact for future use. (See below for an example.)

2. An introductory paragraph or two that introduces what the vendor does

3. A history of the vendor

4. A very brief description of the vendor's rechnology and/or products (save a longer description for a specific product page)

Additional sections that may appear in a vendor profile include "partnership," "culture," and "criticism." Header tags for these aspect should be pasted directly after the info box code. Here's example code a vendor article stub may start out with:

{{Infobox company
|company_name      = ABCXYZ, Inc.
|company_logo      =  
|company_type      = Public
|traded_as         = 
|industry          = Bioinformatics
|genre             =
|fate              =
|predecessor       =
|successor         = 
|company_slogan    =  
|foundation        =  
|founder           =  
|defunct           =
|location_city     = AnyAddress, AnyCity, AnyState
|location_country  = AnyCountry
|locations         = 2
|area_served       =  
|key_people        =   
|products          =  [[ABCXYZ LIMS]]
|production        =
|service           =
|revenue           = 
|operating_income  =  
|net_income        =  
|aum               =
|assets            =  
|equity            = 
|owner             =
|num_employees     =  
|parent            =
|divisions         =
|subsid            =
|homepage          =  [http://www.abcxyz.com ABCXYZ.com]]
|footnotes         =
|intl              =  
}}

This is an intro paragraph about the company.

==History==

This is the history of the company.

==Technology and products==

This is a brief description of the vendor's products.

==Criticism==

This is a section about criticism of a vendor's past actions in the press.

==References==
<references/>

<!---Place all category tags here-->
[[Category:Vendors]]

Obviously pages can be much more dynamic and contain much more content, as long that content is able to be supported with a fair mix of independent and non-independent sources.