Wikipedia:Hatnote
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This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should follow, though it should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
Hatnotes are short notes placed at the top of an article before the primary topic, generally either 1) to provide disambiguation of closely related terms or 2) to summarise a topic, and explain its boundaries. "Hatnote" is also a polite term to refer to improper disambiguation links which exceed standard length, link directly to trivial topics instead of a disambiguation page (such as adding to War "For the band, see War (band)"), self-reference to Wikipedia, or otherwise misuse the disambiguation scheme in ways that can be regarded as linkspam.
Note: The dispute regarding the proper usage of summaries and extended disambiguation notes is currently unresolved (see #Summarize or not? below). Most agree that they should be limited to the simplest possible form, preferably only linking to a standard [[Article (disambiguation)]] page, allowing slightly more extensive hatnotes when warranted in certain cases. This style guideline is intended to make this process more efficient by giving article pages a consistent look, and avoiding distracting information (such as extraneous links).
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[edit] Format
In most cases, a standard Wikipedia:Disambiguation template should be used. This permits the form and structure to change gracefully and uniformly over time. Currently, each note should be italicized and indented, without a bullet before the item. A horizontal dividing line should not be placed under a note, nor after the final item in a list.
[edit] Summarize or not?
There is an ongoing dispute as to whether hatnote disambiguation templates should include a brief summary of the article's topic in their first sentence if they refer to "other uses". For instance, consider the article Honey. One type of hatnote, exemplified by {{otheruses4}}, would be along the lines of:
- This article is about the insect-produced fluid. For other uses of the term, see Honey (disambiguation).
The other type, exemplified by {{otheruses3}}, would omit the first sentence, leaving the hatnote like:
- For other uses of the term, see Honey (disambiguation).
Currently the article simply uses {{other}} resulting in
- For other uses, see Honey (disambiguation).
Pro-summarizers argue that it's confusing and bad style to write the hatnote such that the reader must read the words "other uses", look down a line, and read the first sentence or paragraph before being able to understand what the "other uses" actually refers to. Anti-summarizers feel, on the other hand, that it's pointless and annoying to duplicate a description that should be in the lead paragraph anyway.
Note that this argument is inapplicable to cases where only one other use exists. If the plural phrase "other uses" does not apply, it would appear no one would strongly favor including an article summary, so it's best to use a template such as {{for}}. (See, for instance, Kubla Khan.)
At present, this dispute is unresolved. Therefore, according to general Wikipedia precedent, it would be best to avoid changing over the style used in any given article until consensus is reached (if it ever is; see the AD/CE dispute for a case where this situation is perpetual).
[edit] Placement
Place hatnotes at the very top of the article, before images and templates (like navigational and "series" templates). There is no consensus at the moment whether to place hatnotes above or below maintenance templates (like the "cleanup", "unreferenced", and "POV" templates). Use your best discretion or voice your opinion on the talk page at the current discussion.
- In terms of document structure, it is awkward to have article content, then meta content, then article content again. Analogously, in HTML it would be bad form to put <title> and <meta> tags within <body>.
- In terms of accessibility, not everyone is using or has the CSS functionality that "floats" images and templates to the right or left, which in turn gives many people the perception that a hatnote placed after an image or template looks OK. Imagine if someone without CSS landed on this version of the Bread article but happened to be in the wrong place. They'd have to scroll, or perhaps in the case of a blind user, have their screen reader trodge through a long "cuisine" template before reaching the navigation aid they desire. Likewise, those who redistribute Wikipedia content may choose to change or eliminate CSS entirely. (To test the CSS-less realm in Firefox, go to View, Page Style, No Style.)
- The Wikipedia guidance on accessibility recommends that "Disambiguation links should be the first elements of the page."
- Similarly, Wikipedians may decide to change the look of the hatnote templates in the future, for example to the style currently used on the German Wikipedia. If such a change were made, hatnotes that look fine now despite not being at the very top of the article would visually clash with proximate images and templates.
[edit] Examples of proper use
[edit] Two articles with the same title
Dunwich (pronounced Dun-Itch) is a town in the county of Suffolk in England, the remnant of what was once a prosperous seaport and centre of the wool trade during the early middle ages, with a natural harbour formed by the mouths of the River Blyth...
- This article is about the village in England. For H. P. Lovecraft's fictional town, see Dunwich (Lovecraft).
When two articles share the same title, the unambiguated article should include a hatnote with a link to the other article. It is not necessary to create a separate disambiguation page. {{otheruses4}} may be used for this.
[edit] Linking to a disambiguation page
A monolith is a monument or natural feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock. Erosion usually exposes these formations...
- For other uses, see Monolith (disambiguation).
When a word has a primary meaning and three or more additional meanings, the hatnote should show a link to a disambiguation page. {{otheruses}} may be used for this.
[edit] Proper noun linking to a disambiguation page
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate maze-like structure constructed for King Minos of Crete and designed by the legendary artificer Daedalus to hold the Minotaur...
- This article is about the mazelike labyrinth from Greek mythology. For other uses, see Labyrinth (disambiguation).
When a word is a proper noun but has two or more additional meanings, the hatnote may include a brief description and a link to a disambiguation page. {{otheruses1}} may be used for this.
[edit] Ambiguous term that redirects to an unambiguously named article
{{Redirect}} or a related template can be used when an unambiguous article name is redirected to from an ambiguous term:
Johann Sebastian Bach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Bach)
- "Bach" redirects here. For other uses, see Bach (disambiguation).
Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced [joˈhan/ˈjoːhan zeˈbastjan ˈbax]) (March 21, 1685 O.S. – July 28, 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer...
[edit] Examples of improper use
[edit] Trivial information, dictionary definitions, and slang
When notes feature a trivial detail or use of a term, or links to overly specific and tendentious material, they are unwarranted.
Investment is a term with several closely-related meanings in finance and economics. It refers to the accumulation of some kind of asset in hopes of getting a future return from it...
- During a siege, to invest a town or fortress means to surround it with a contravallation and a circumvallation.
In this case, there is no direct disambiguation, and the note listed is bound to be uninteresting to most readers. The proper disambiguation simply links to a separate Invest (disambiguation) page.
[edit] Legitimate information about the topic
A previous version of the Aisha article showed:
Aisha or Ayesha (Arabic عائشه `ā'isha = "she who lives") was a wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad...
- Ayesha is sometimes used as a woman's name. Once popular only among Muslims, it was briefly popular among English-speakers after it appeared in the book She by Rider Haggard.
This is a typical and highly improper misuse of disambiguating hatnotes. Instead, the information belongs in the body of the article, or in the articles about the book, or in a separate article about names, or all three places. Hatnotes are meant to reduce confusion and direct readers to another article they might have been looking for, not for information about the subject of the article itself.
[edit] Linking to articles that are highly related to the topic
Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth. Its existence is currently hypothetical: there is as yet no evidence of extraterrestrial life that has been widely accepted by scientists...
- This article is about the scientific study of extraterrestrial life; for treatment in popular culture, see Extraterrestrial life in popular culture.
Instead of using a hatnote, it is better to summarize Extraterrestrial life in popular culture under a subsection of Extraterrestrial life in conjunction with the {{main}} template. Alternatively, it could be linked to in the See also section.
[edit] Disambiguating article names that are not ambiguous
Tree (set theory)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Tree (disambiguation).
In set theory, a tree is a partially ordered set (poset) in which there is a single unique minimal element (called the root) and in which the set of elements less than a given element is well ordered...
Here, the problem is that the reader would not have ended up at tree (set theory) if they were interested in other types of trees, as tree does not redirect there.
However, a hatnote may still be appropriate when even a more specific name is still ambiguous. For example, Matt Smith (comics) might still be confused for the comics illustrator Matt Smith (illustrator).
A hatnote may also be appropriate in an unambiguously-named article when an ambiguous term redirects to it, as explained in the "Proper uses" section above.
[edit] External links
A previous version of the Hurricane Katrina article contained:
Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, was one of the most destructive and expensive tropical cyclones to hit the United States...
- If you are trying to locate someone missing in Hurricane Katrina, or register yourself as found, you can use the site www.disastersearch.org [1]
The use of external help links in Wikipedia, though noble, cannot reasonably be maintained. In special cases, a link to an "External links" section with several links may be appropriate, but POV favoritism can be obstructive. In this case, the hatnote was removed entirely.
[edit] Templates
Templates which standardise and shorten the disambiguation hatnotes
[edit] Otheruses templates
To discuss these templates as a whole, please see Wikipedia talk:Disambiguation If you wish to discuss general wordings, rather than the wording or formatting of this specific template, don't post here, or else what you say will probably go unnoticed.
For a summary page on how to use these templates, see Wikipedia:Otheruses templates (example usage).
[edit] Generic
{{Dablink|TEXT}}:TEXT
-
- For example, {{dablink|For other senses of this term, see [[etc...]]}}. This template is adaptable, but fails to standardize hatnotes.
{{Selfref|TEXT}}:
- TEXT
- (Similar to Dablink, but used for messages that wouldn't make sense on mirrors of Wikipedia, such as a link in the main article namespace that links to one in the Wikipedia namespace. See Wikipedia:Avoid self-references for more details.)
[edit] Otheruses
{{About}} is the main template for giving other uses; it redirects to {{otheruses4}}.
{{otheruses4|USE1}}(disambiguous):This page is about USE1. For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{otheruses4|USE1|USE2}}:This page is about USE1. For USE2, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{otheruses4|USE1|USE2|PAGE2}}:This page is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.{{About||USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|USE4|PAGE4|USE5|PAGE5}}(alias and empty first param):
-
For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For USE4, see PAGE4. For USE5, see PAGE5.
{{otheruses4|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|USE4|PAGE4|USE5|PAGE5}}(fully specified):
-
This page is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For USE4, see PAGE4. For USE5, see PAGE5.
[edit] Variations
There are also variations of {{about}}. These serve the same purpose, and are marginally easier to use for each individual purpose, but overall, it is complicated to have so many different templates; it could be argued that the time saved using them is lost as other editors have to familiarise themselves with them.
All of these templates are special cases of {{about}}.
{{otheruses}}:For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
Note: {{about}} will produce the same result.
{{otheruses1|USE}}:This page is about USE. For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
Note: {{about|USE}} will produce the same result.
{{otheruses2|PAGE}}:For other uses, see PAGE (disambiguation).
Note: this simply adds "(disambiguation)" to what you input as PAGE.
{{otheruses3|PAGE}}:For other uses, see PAGE.
Note: {{about|||PAGE}} will produce the same result - note the two empty parameters.
{{otheruses5}}:For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation) and Hatnotes (disambiguation).
Note: this is for when there is both a singular and plural disambiguation page; it only works when the plural is formed simply by adding "s" at the end.
{{otheruses6|PAGE1|PAGE2}}:For other uses, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.
Note: this is for when there are two disambiguation pages, such as noun and adjective, or singular and irregular plural. There are only two parameters and at least one is required.
Note: this cannot be recreated with {{about}} - only with {{dablink}} or {{for}}.
Note: {{about|USE||PAGE}} will produce the same result - note the empty parameter.
[edit] For (other topic)
{{for}} (and {{for2}}) can be used instead of {{about}} to not include the first part - "This article is about USE". However, this can also simply be achieved with an empty first parameter in {{about}}.
For example, {{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE}} becomes {{About||OTHER TOPIC|PAGE}}.
{{For}}(disambiguous):For {{{1}}}, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{For|OTHER TOPIC}}(disambiguous):For OTHER TOPIC, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE}}:For OTHER TOPIC, see PAGE.{{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1|PAGE2}}:For OTHER TOPIC, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.{{For2|OTHER TOPIC|CUSTOM TEXT}}:For OTHER TOPIC, see CUSTOM TEXT.
[edit] Other people
{{otherpersons}}(disambiguous):For other persons named Hatnote, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{otherpersons|USE}}(disambiguous):For other persons named USE, see USE (disambiguation).{{otherpersons|USE|PAGE}}:For other persons named USE, see PAGE.{{otherpeople2|PAGE}}:For other persons of the same name, see PAGE.{{otherpeople3|USE1|USE2}}:This article is about USE1. For USE2, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{otherpeople4|USE1|USE2|PAGE}}:This article is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE.
[edit] Other places
- {{Otherplaces}}, analogous to {{Otheruses}}
- {{Otherplaces2}}, analogous to {{Otheruses2}}
- {{Otherplaces3}}, analogous to {{Otheruses3}}
[edit] Otherhurricaneuses
- For articles on storms.
{{otherhurricaneuses}}(disambiguous):For other storms of the same name, see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{otherhurricaneuses|DISAMBIG}}:For other storms of the same name, see DISAMBIG.{{otherhurricaneuses|DISAMBIG|THIS}}:This page is about THIS. For other storms of the same name, see DISAMBIG.{{otherhurricaneuses3|USE1|USE2|MAIN}}:This article is about the USE1. For the USE2, see the main article, MAIN. For other storms of the same name, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
[edit] Otherusesof (topic)
{{otherusesof}} (disambiguous):For other uses of "Hatnote", see Hatnote (disambiguation).{{otherusesof|TOPIC}}:For other uses of "TOPIC", see TOPIC (disambiguation).{{otherusesof|TOPIC|PAGE}}:For other uses of "TOPIC", see PAGE.
[edit] Redirect
{{Redirectstohere|REDIRECT notice}}(To Document dependent link[s], Template also has a hidden mode, (Set "|hide=true") which enables it to document a section title is a redirect page target section, and so should not be changed.); Some examples:
REDIRECT redirects here.,
REDIRECT, Another name and A Foreign name all redirect to here.
— with a little care, bolding the titled redirects can substitute for awkward phrases involving multiple name forms of the main article title; particularly those of the "also known as varieties"...
Gustavus II Adolf, Gustav Adolphus II and Gustavus Vasa II of Sweden all redirect to here.
{{Redirect|REDIRECT}}(disambiguous):"REDIRECT" redirects here. For other uses, see REDIRECT (disambiguation).{{Redirect|REDIRECT||PAGE}}:"REDIRECT" redirects here. For other uses, see PAGE.{{Redirect|REDIRECT|USE|PAGE}}:"REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE, see PAGE.{{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2}}(disambiguous):"REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation).{{Redirect3|REDIRECT|TEXT}}:"REDIRECT" redirects here. TEXT.{{Redirect4|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2}}(disambiguous):"REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation) and REDIRECT2 (disambiguation).{{Redirect6|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2}}:"REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.{{Redirect6|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1||}}
[edit] "Not to be confused with"...
{{Distinguish|PAGE}}:Not to be confused with PAGE.{{Distinguish2|TEXT}}:Not to be confused with TEXT.
[edit] Notes
Do not use subst: with these templates, as that will prevent:
- propagating changes as the template is modified; and
- the What links here (WLH) listing.
Please do not edit these templates unless you know what you are doing
These templates may be used in thousands of articles, and changing the syntax could therefore break thousands of articles. If you wish to edit a disambiguation template first ask yourself:
- Is there already another template that will do this job? We have lots of disambiguation templates already, see Category:Disambiguation and redirection templates.
- Do I really need a template for this? Will it ever get used on any other articles, or should I just use {{dablink}} instead?
- Do I know what will happen if I change the parameters around? Will it break existing uses of the template, and if so, can I fix them all?
