Insert By Linking

Insert by linking is the process by which a hyperlink is inserted which references a segment, text, document, image which is owned by another individual or community and which has been made accessible by that owner for view. By using this means of introduction and attribution, you can preserve the rights of the owner while also tying that object to an idea or presentation you are trying to make. It is a method of attribution and recognition of ownership of an object. Since you are not in fact inserting the object, but a reference to that object in the stream, you are viewing, when you click on the link, what the owner has offered for view. Even though there are allowances for certain freedoms of quotations of owned material in other creations, it is much safer, and indeed much more honest to use the hyperlink.

Example using the subject of this page in a search (gives links to additional information on subject): http://www.google.com/search?q=Insert+by+using+a+hyperlink+attribution&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en.
Example given for authors' submission of articles for web publishing: http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/misc/ifora.shtml.

On Wiki, if there is sufficient potential for discussion, it's best to make a Wiki page to hold the external link so others can reuse the link and comment on the content. A one-off mention of some website wouldn't be worth it, but a link to an article on patterns probably would.