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Hatnotes are short notes placed at the top of an article, normally to provide links to other similarly named articles or disambiguation pages. For more information about methods of disambiguating articles, see Wikipedia:Disambiguation.
[edit] FormatIn most cases, hatnotes should be created using a standard disambiguation template (as illustrated below). This permits the form and structure to change 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?Some hatnote disambiguation templates include a summary of the present article's topic; others do not. For instance, in the article Honey, one might use the template {{about|the insect-produced fluid}} to produce:
Alternatively, one might use {{otheruses}} to produce:
Either of these two styles is acceptable; the choice of style in a given article is based on editors' preference and what is likely to be clearer and easier for the reader. Where an article already has a hatnote in one of these styles, editors should not change to the other style without good reason. [edit] PlacementHatnotes are placed at the very top of the article, before any other items such as images, navigational templates and maintenance templates (like the "cleanup", "unreferenced", and "POV" templates). Text-only browsers and screen readers present the page sequentially. If a reader has reached the wrong page, they typically want to know that first. [edit] Examples of proper use[edit] Two articles with similar titles
When two articles share the same title, except that one is disambiguated and the other not, the undisambiguated article should include a hatnote with a link to the other article. It is not necessary to create a separate disambiguation page. {{about}} may be used for this. In this case the parameterization was [edit] Linking to a disambiguation page
When a term has a primary meaning and two or more additional meanings, the hatnote on the primary topic page should link to a disambiguation page. {{otheruses}} may be used for this. In many cases the hatnote also includes a brief description of the subject of the present article, for readers' convenience:
The template {{about}} may be used for this. In this case the parameterization was [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:
[edit] Examples of improper use[edit] Trivial information, dictionary definitions, and slangWhen notes feature a trivial detail or use of a term, or links to overly specific and tendentious material, they are unwarranted.
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 topicA previous version of the Aisha article showed:
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]
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
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] Extraneous linksOne should not link terms other than the desired target in the hatnote. For example:
In this case, the link to New Orleans, Louisiana in the hatnote is inappropriate. Only the possible other destination (WIST (AM)) should be linked. [edit] External linksA previous version of the Hurricane Katrina article contained:
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] Non-existent articlesHatnotes should not be used for articles that do not exist since the notes are intended to point the user to another article they may have intended to find. The exception is if one intends to create the linked article immediately. In that case, consider creating the new article first, before saving the addition of the hatnote. [edit] Hatnote templatesThe following list of available hatnote templates is transcluded from {{Otheruses templates}}. [edit] Otheruses templatesTo discuss these templates as a whole, please see: Disambiguation (talk). 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 the example page here. [edit] Generic
[edit] Other Uses[edit] About{{about}} is the main template for noting other uses. Note. When used in main namespace, the word "page" in the following hatnotes is replaced by "article".
This page is about USE1. For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
This page is about USE1. For other uses, see PAGE2.
This page is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.
This page is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For USE4, see PAGE4. For USE5, see PAGE5.
This page is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
This page is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see PAGE4 and Hatnote (disambiguation).
[edit] OtherusesWhen such a wordy hatnote as {{about}} is not needed, {{otheruses}} is often useful.
For other uses, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
For other uses, see PAGE1. [edit] VariationsThere are, historically, a whole family of "other uses" templates for specific cases. {{otheruses4}} has been generalized and merged with {{about}} to form the standard hatnote for "other uses" and many of the others can be specified using the {{about}} template. However, the individual templates may be easier to use in certain contexts. Here are the variations and (when appropriate) the equivalents using the {{about}} {{otheruses}} or {{for}} templates.
[edit] For{{for}} can be used instead of {{about}} so as not to display: This page is about USE1. but still specify as specific other use. This effect can also be achieved by using an empty first parameter in {{about}} as in:
However, it is somewhat more clear when using the {{for}} template, since the word "about" does not appear in the statement.
[edit] VariationsAs with {{otheruses}}, there are a whole family of "for" templates. For example {{for3}} appends the word the in its mention of the second parameter, then generating a link, using either the second or (if present) the third parameter, as a parenthetical. Additionally, {{the}} is simply a rendering of {{for3}}, without bothering with the optional first argument.
[edit] See also
[edit] Other people
[edit] Other places
For other places with the same name, see Hatnote (disambiguation).
For other places with the same name, see PAGE (disambiguation).
For other places with the same name, see PAGE. [edit] OtherhurricaneusesFor articles on storms:
[edit] Otherusesof (topic)
[edit] Redirect
"REDIRECT" redirects here. For other uses, see REDIRECT (disambiguation).
"REDIRECT" redirects here. For other uses, see PAGE1.
"REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1.
[edit] Variations
"TERM" redirects here. TERM may also refer to PAGE.
"REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation).
"REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE, see PAGE1.
"REDIRECT" redirects here. TEXT.
"REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation) and REDIRECT2 (disambiguation).
"REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For other uses, see REDIRECT (disambiguation).
"REDIRECT1", "REDIRECT2", and "REDIRECT3" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation), REDIRECT2 (disambiguation), and REDIRECT3 (disambiguation). [edit] Homonyms and homophones: "Not to be confused with..."
[edit] NotesDo not use subst: with these templates, as that will prevent:
Please do not edit these templates, unless you know what you are doing. These templates are used in thousands of articles; therefore, changing the syntax could break thousands of articles. If you wish to create or edit a disambiguation or redirection template, first ask yourself the following questions:
(This box appears in several articles in Template talk and Wikipedia namespaces.) [edit] See also
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