Incubator escapee wiki

Incubator escapee wiki:Merging

Project page Discussion
Revision as of 00:09, 31 May 2025 by imported>Mathglot (→‎Proposing a merge: Add BOLDMOVE shortcut in its own box, as it applies only to this first part, not the whole section as the top shortcuts do. Either that, or the alternative is to move the other two down to the second paragraph, where they are directly relevant.)
(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Template:Short description Template:Infopage Template:Broader Template:For Template:Distinguish Template:Redirect2 Template:Pp-semi-indef

A merge, or merger, is the process of uniting two or more pages into a single page. It is done by copying some or all content from the source page(s) into the destination page and then replacing the source page with a redirect to the destination page.

Any editor can perform a merge. No permission or discussion is needed if you think the merge is uncontroversial; just do it (but it might get reverted). Otherwise, the merge should be first proposed and discussed, as detailed below.

When performing a merge, one should remember to reconcile talk pages, and to attribute copied content, as required by Wikipedia's license. At minimum, this means adding words "Merged content to/from [[page]]" to edit summaries. See How to merge below for details.

Reasons for mergingEdit

{{#invoke:Shortcut|main}} There are several good reasons to merge pages:

  1. Template:AnchorDuplicate: There are two or more pages on exactly the same subject, with the same scope. If a duplicate article was recently created, it may also be a candidate for speedy deletion under CSD A10 criteria.
  2. Template:AnchorOverlap: There are two or more pages on related subjects that have a large overlap and might be WP:REDUNDANT. Remember, Wikipedia is not a dictionary; there does not need to be a separate entry for every concept. For example, "flammable" and "non-flammable" can both be explained in an article on flammability.
  3. Template:AnchorShort text: If a page is very short (consisting of perhaps only one or two sentences) and is, in your opinion as editor, unlikely to be expanded within a "reasonable" (unspecified) amount of time, it often makes sense to merge it into a page on a broader topic.
  4. Template:AnchorInsufficient notability: Some topics may not reach the general notability guidelines, or more specific criteria, so merging is an alternative to deletion. While this can also be implemented through the articles for deletion process, merging directly may be more efficient. For example, parents or children of a celebrity who themselves are otherwise unremarkable are generally covered in a section of the article on the celebrity.
  5. Template:AnchorContext: If a short article requires the background material or context from a broader article in order for readers to understand it. For example, minor characters from works of fiction are generally covered in a "List of characters in <work>" article (and can be merged there); see also Wikipedia:Notability (fiction).

Template:Anchor{{#invoke:Shortcut|main}} Merging should be avoided if:

  1. The resulting article would be too long or "clunky", or
  2. The separate topics could be expanded into longer standalone (but cross-linked) articles

Proposing a mergeEdit

{{#invoke:Shortcut|main}} Template:Ombox

Template:Sh

If the need for a merge is obvious, editors can be bold and simply do it. See how to merge below. Bold merges may be reverted, even if it was labor-intensive to complete, but this edit process and civil discussion produces better articles. Articles that are young or short, such as stubs differing only in title and wording, should be merged immediately. Articles that have been separate for a long time should usually be discussed first, especially those on controversial topics.

To start a discussion, perform the following steps. If the merge is difficult to perform or seems potentially controversial, you should request assistance and feedback at Wikipedia:Proposed mergers.

Do not use the discussion procedure described here to propose:

Step 1: Create a discussionEdit

This is usually done on the proposed destination page's talk page. Exceptions:

  • If the destination does not exist, do not create its talk page (it could get speedily deleted).
  • If a discussion exists already, do not move it (for example, having a discussion on the source page is acceptable).

For example, if suggesting that Foo be merged into Bar, create a proposal in a new section at Talk:Bar. Start a new section at the bottom of that talk page and include the proposal itself, the list of the affected pages, and a merge rationale. A good example is the following section: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

Merge proposalEdit

I propose merging Foo into Bar. I think the content in Foo can easily be explained in the context of Bar, and a merge would not cause any article-size or weighting problems in Bar.~~~~ </syntaxhighlight>

Notify involved users (optional)Edit

You may optionally notify involved users (e.g. contributors to the source and destination pages), who might not be watchlisting them. One way is to simply notify them directly from the merge discussion page:

Template:Tlx Message text. ~~~~

Alternatively, go to those users' talk pages and start a new section. Make sure to provide a link to the merge discussion. You may use the following standard templates to leave a standard message:

Template:Tlx

Please respect neutrality when making invitations to participate in the merge discussion. Votestacking, that is, canvassing support by selectively notifying editors who have a predetermined point of view or opinion, is inappropriate.

Step 2: Tag the relevant pagesEdit

These templates should not be substituted.

To propose a merge of two pages, place the following template at the top of each page or section:

Template:Tlx

If you know which page should be removed, use

Template:Tlx

on the source page, and

Template:Tlx

on the destination page.

If two pages are proposed to be merged into a third destination page that already exists, use

Template:Tlx

on the source pages, and

Template:Tlx

on the destination page.

If two pages are proposed to be merged at a destination page that does not yet exist (destination does not have a talk page), use

Template:Tlx

on each source page, choosing one of the source talk pages as the discussion location and ensuring the discuss parameter directs to this talk page on both source pages.

Please use the discuss parameter to direct to the same talk page. Otherwise, two separate discussions could take place. If the discuss parameter is not specified, the "Discuss" links lead to the top of each article's Talk page. In Template:Tl, Template:Tl), it always leads to the destination talk page, but it is still preferable to link to a specific section of the talk page.

In other namespacesEdit

  • Do not use the above templates to propose a category merge. This should be requested at WP:Categories for discussion, which uses a separate Template:Tl template.
  • For a merge of pages within "Wikipedia" namespace (titles with the "Wikipedia:" or "WP:" prefix), do not include this prefix in the parameter.
  • When proposing a merge between two different namespaces, these templates won't work because of technical limitations.

Step 3: Discuss the mergeEdit

Make sure to follow standard talk page guidelines, which includes civility and staying focused on the content, not on the involved editors, using threaded discussion formatting, not biting newcomers, and being clear and concise.

In many cases, a hybrid discussion/straw poll is used, but remember that polling is not a substitute for discussion. Example formatting:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

  • Merge – <insert reason for supporting merge here> ~~~~
  • Don't merge – <insert reason for opposing merge here> ~~~~

</syntaxhighlight>

Step 4: Determine consensus and close the merge discussionEdit

{{#invoke:Shortcut|main}}

During discussion, a rough consensus may emerge to proceed with the merge. Any user, including the user who first proposed the merge, may close the discussion and move forward with the merge if enough time (normally one week or more) has elapsed and there has been no discussion or if there is unanimous consent to merge. Closing of merge discussions differs from closing of requested move discussions in that closings of uncontroversial merge discussions by involved users are allowed. Admin tools are not needed unless page protection prohibits editing.

In more unclear, controversial cases, the determination that a consensus to merge has or has not been achieved should be made by an editor who is neutral and not directly involved in the merge proposal or the discussion. The discussion can be posted at WP:Proposed mergers to get some help. If necessary, a request that an administrator, who is not involved, close the discussion can be made at the Requests for Closure noticeboard. If a consensus is formed against the merge shortly after it was performed, it can easily be reversed.Template:Anchor

To close a merge proposal discussion, the Template:Tl and Template:Tl templates are used in the following manner:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

Merge proposalEdit

Template:Discussion top

The merge proposal...

  • and discussion...
  • ...

Template:Discussion bottom </syntaxhighlight>

If there is consensus to mergeEdit

After closing the merge proposal discussion, remove the Template:Tl template from the source page and the Template:Tl template from the destination page. Replace both with the Template:Tl template, which is used in the following manner:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">

  1. REDIRECT Template:Being merged

Template:Redirect category shell</syntaxhighlight>

If there is consensus against merging or no consensusEdit

After closing the merge proposal discussion, remove the Template:Tl template from the source page and place the Template:Tl template on the corresponding talk page in the following manner:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext"> Template:Old merge</syntaxhighlight>

Then, remove the Template:Tl template from the target page.

Step 5: Perform the mergeEdit

See Template:Section link below. The main reason that the merge backlog includes thousands of articles is because the people who support the merge neglect to undertake this final step. Any editor, including the editor who originally proposed the merge, is permitted to perform a merge in accordance with consensus. Merging pages does not require intervention from an administrator.

Merge as a result of a deletion discussionEdit

In Articles for Deletion (AfD) discussions, editors may suggest that the article(s) nominated for deletion be merged to an appropriate article. Template:Crossref If there is a rough consensus for a merge at the end of a deletion discussion, the following template is placed at the top of the nominated article:

Template:Tlx

Similarly, the following template is placed on the destination article's talk page:

Template:Tlx

This informs users involved in those pages that content is to be merged as a result of a deletion discussion. It is the involved editors' job, not the closing administrators' job, to perform the merge. Proceed in the manner described above. See also Wikipedia:Merge what? for an essay encouraging not to just vote merge in AfD discussions.

How to mergeEdit

{{#invoke:Shortcut|main}} Template:For

  1. Copy all or some of the content from the source page(s) and paste the content in an appropriate location at the destination page. Don't just redirect the source page without copying any content if any good content from the source page exists. Publish the edit, leaving the following edit summary (a link to the source article is required by copyright):
    Merged content from [[source page]] to here. See [[Talk:merge discussion section]].
    Ideally, do any necessary copyediting and rearranging in a separate, second edit rather than when you first paste the moved text (to simplify attribution). In practice, this means: Copy and paste all the content you want to transfer; publish the page with the required edit summary (even if it duplicates parts or looks a bit messy at this stage; you can use Template:Tl or Template:Tl if you want to let others know you'll be fixing it right away); then edit the page a second time to clean it up.
  2. Redirect the source page whose content was just merged by replacing everything with the following:
    #REDIRECT [[destination page]] Template:Tl
    Or if the content was merged to a single section, the following:
    #REDIRECT [[destination page#section]] Template:Tl Template:Tl
    Publish the page, leaving the following edit summary:
    Merged content to [[destination page#section]]. See [[Talk:merge discussion section]].
  3. Reconcile talk page tags. If the source page has a talk page:
    • Move any Template:Tl and Template:Tl templates to the destination page's talk page.
    • Reconcile Template:Tlf templates: copy them from the source page to the destination and remove duplicates (look out for alternative templates; e.g. Template:Tlf is the same as Template:Tlf). Once copied, change the source article WikiProject templates so that they contain Template:Para (even for WikiProjects that do not yet support a redirect class); this does not have to be done if Template:Tl is being used, since that template will automatically choose the class.
  4. Optionally: Tag the destination page's talk page with Template:Tlx, and the source page's talk page with Template:Tlx. Place these tags at the top of the talk pages.
    Do not add a new merge-from template to the destination talkpage if the merger is the result of an WP:AfD discussion, and Template:Afd-merge from has already been placed on the destination talkpage.
    As an alternative, experienced users can add Template:Tlx to the top of both talk pages.
  5. Optionally: Fix any double redirects found at Special:WhatLinksHere. A bot automatically fixes this problem but it may take a day or two.
  6. Check for non-free images (or other files). Examples: a book cover, a poster, a logo, etc. The description page of such an image will have a red copyright icon and a non-free use rationale (a summary box with Non-free use rationale in the title, or a Fair use section) – the article title mentioned in such a rationale should be updated. This is required under the non-free content criteria.
  7. Remove the relevant Template:Tlx template from the destination article, if it still exists.

Note 1: Most merged articles are not good candidates for merging of page histories because they have been edited in parallel and the collation of their edit states would create unhelpful and/or misleading diffs. In most cases, no request for a history-merge should be submitted. (A more detailed explanation is available here.)

Note 2: Merging should not be confused with a cut-and-paste move, where the former refers to joining content across different pages with existing content, and the latter refers to copying and pasting the entire content of an article to a new name (where there is no or little content at the target name).

See alsoEdit

Pages to mergeEdit

Template:Merge progress Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge was initiated to clear merge backlog. Current pages tagged for merging can be found at Category:Articles to be merged, which lists pages that have been tagged for merging on a particular month (tagging began in September 2006).

List of merge templatesEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} See here for a table with examples. Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Other guidesEdit

Other projectsEdit

Template:Reflist Template:Help navigation

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Incubator_escapee_wiki:Merging&oldid=611826"