Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Categorization (section)

== Categorizing articles <span class="anchor" id="ARTICLES"></span><span class="anchor" id="Articles"></span> ==
{{For|category types to avoid|Wikipedia:Overcategorization}}
In general, categories of articles must be: 

*{{Anchor|V|Verifiable|Verifiability|CATV}}{{Shortcut|WP:CAT#V|WP:CATV}} '''''[[Wikipedia:Verifiability|Verifiable]]''''': It should be clear from verifiable information in the article why it was placed in each of its categories. Use the {{tl|Unreferenced category}} template if you find an article in a category that is not shown by sources to be appropriate or if the article gives no clear indication for inclusion in a category.
*{{Anchor|POV|NPOV|CATPOV|POVCAT}}{{anchor|Neutral|N}}{{Shortcut|WP:CAT#N|WP:CATPOV|WP:POVCAT}} '''''[[Wikipedia:NPOV|Neutral]]''''': Categorizations appear on article pages without annotations or referencing to justify or explain their addition; editors should be conscious of the need to maintain a neutral point of view when creating categories or adding them to articles. Categorizations should generally be uncontroversial; if the category's topic is likely to spark controversy, then a [[Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists|list article]] (which can be annotated and referenced) is probably more appropriate. 
*: For example, a politician (not convicted of any crime) should not be added to a category of notable criminals.
*{{Anchor|Defining characteristics|Defining}}{{anchor|D|DEF|CATDEF}}{{Shortcut|WP:CAT#D|WP:CATDEF}} '''''[[WP:DEFINING|Defining]]''''': <section begin=DefiningDef /><section begin=DefiningFull />Defining characteristics of an article's topic are central to categorizing the article. A defining characteristic is one that [[WP:RS|reliable sources]] ''commonly'' and ''consistently'' refer to<ref>in declarative statements, rather than table or list form</ref> in describing the topic, such as the nationality of a person or the geographic location of a place.<section end=DefiningDef /> Articles should normally be included in the categories that are most closely related to the subject's defining characteristics.
*:For example, ''Italian'' and ''artist'' are defining characteristics of [[Caravaggio]], because virtually all reliable sources on the topic mention them, so that article is included in categories such as [[:Category:Italian Baroque painters]].<section end=DefiningFull />
* For [[Wikipedia:Overcategorization#Non-defining characteristics|non-defining characteristics]], editors should use their judgment to choose which additional categories (if any) to include.
*:For example, [[Caravaggio]] is included in the non-defining category of [[:Category:Deaths from sepsis]].

=== Naming conventions <span class="anchor" id="NC"></span> ===
{{For|the full category naming guidelines (including topic-specific naming conventions)|Wikipedia:Category names}}
{{#section:Wikipedia:Category names|NCCAT-ART}}

=== Categorizing articles about people ===
{{shortcut|WP:SEPARATE}}{{main|Wikipedia:Categorizing articles about people}}
{{see also|Category:People}}<section begin=CAAPEOPLE />
*For articles about people, categorize by characteristics of the person the article is about, <em>not</em> characteristics of the <em>article</em>: e.g., do not add <code><nowiki>[[Category:Biography]]</nowiki></code> to an article. [[Wikipedia:Categorization#Subcategorization|Sub-categories]] of [[:Category:Biography (genre)]] may legitimately contain articles about biographical <em>films</em> or biographical <em>books</em>, but should not contain articles about individual people. The <em>article</em> is a biography; the topic of the article{{snd}}the <em>person</em>{{snd}}is not.
*{{Anchor|SEPARATE}} Keep articles about people separate. Categories with a title indicating that the contents are people, should normally only contain biographical articles and lists of people, and perhaps a non-biographical main article, though this can also be added at the top of the category. This is for clarity and ease of use, and to preserve the integrity of [[:Category:People|category tree of people articles]].<section end=CAAPEOPLE />

=== Categorizing articles about works <span class="anchor" id="CATWORKS"></span><span class="anchor" id="CATFICTION"></span> ===
{{shortcut|WP:CATWORKS|WP:CATFICTION}}{{see also|Category:Creative works|Wikipedia:Category names#Works of art categories by subject}}
* Articles on fictional subjects should not be categorized in a manner that confuses them with real subjects. {{tl|Category see also}} is useful for interlinking examples of real-world and fictional phenomena.
* Individual [[:Category:Works by creator|works by a person]] should not be included in an [[#eponymous category]] but should instead be in a subcategory such as [[:Category:Novels by Agatha Christie]].

=== Categorizing list pages ===
{{see also|Category:Lists}}
If there are more than a few [[WP:Stand-alone lists|lists]] in a particular subject area, it may be appropriate to create a specific subcategory that contains only the list pages and no other types.
* For example, [[:Category:Countries]] contains the subcategory "[[:Category:Lists of countries]]", which in turn contains the list pages "[[List of Soviet Republics]]", and "[[List of countries by population]]".
When placing list pages in such a category, use a [[WP:SORTKEY|sort key]] to adjust the page title to exclude the starting words "List of", or all lists would appear under "L". 
* For example, when adding List of Soviet Republics to the category, using <code><nowiki>[[Category:Lists of countries|Soviet Republics, List of]]</nowiki></code> and will make it be sorted in the S section.

=== Eponymous categories <span class="anchor" id="EPON"></span><span class="anchor" id="OCEPON"></span><span class="anchor" id="EPONYMOUS"></span><span class="anchor" id="Eponymous category"></span> ===
{{Shortcut|WP:EPON|WP:OCEPON|WP:EPONYMOUS}}{{see also|Category:Eponymous categories|Category:Wikipedia categories named after people}}
{{for|the overuse of the word "eponymous" on Wikipedia|WP:TITULAR}}
A category that covers exactly the same topic as an article is known as the '''eponymous category''' for that article (e.g. [[New York City]] and [[:Category:New York City]]; [[Mekong]] and [[:Category:Mekong River]]; [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[:Category:Abraham Lincoln]]).

Eponymous categories should not be created unless enough directly related articles or subcategories exist. However, this should not be done simply to reduce the number of categories displayed in an article. 

An eponymous category should have only the categories of its article that are relevant to the category's content. For example:
*Both [[New York City]] and [[:Category:New York City]] fit well in [[:Category:Cities in New York (state)]].
*The article [[New York City]] is in [[:Category:Populated places established in 1624]], but this category is not necessarily relevant to the content of [[:Category:New York City]], so it should not be used on the eponymous category.

==== Articles with eponymous categories <span class="anchor" id="CATMAIN"></span><span class="anchor" id="MAIN"></span> ====
{{Shortcut|WP:CATMAIN}}{{Redirect|WP:CATMAIN|the template|Template:Category main article}}
*The article itself should be a member of the eponymous category. It should be sorted with a space, so that it appears at the start of the category listing (see [[#Sort keys|§&nbsp;Sort keys]] below).
*The article should be listed as the main article of the category using the {{tl|Category main article}} template.
*Articles with an eponymous category may be categorized in the broader categories that would be present if there were no eponymous category (e.g. the article [[France]] appears in both [[:Category:France]] and [[:Category:Countries in Europe]], even though the latter category is the parent of the former category). Editors should decide by consensus which solution makes most sense for a category tree. There are three options:
# Keep both the eponymous category and the main article in the parent category. This is used in [[:Category:Countries in Europe]] to allow that region's country articles to be navigated together.
# Keep just the child article. This is used in [[:Category:British Islands]], to prevent a loop.
# Keep just the eponymous category. This is used for [[:Category:Farmers]] in [[:Category:People by occupation]]. Such "''X'' by ''Y''" categories sometimes cover a limited navigational set, not a topic (see [[#Category tree organization|§&nbsp;Category tree organization]] below), thus there is no logical article content.

If eponymous categories are categorized separately from their articles, it will be helpful to make links between the category page containing the articles and the category page containing the eponymous categories. The template {{Tl|Related category}} can be used for this. An example of this set-up is the linked categories [[:Category:American politicians]] and [[:Category:Wikipedia categories named after American politicians]].