Wikipedia talk:FAQ/Categorization

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[edit] category article inside category

Please include the question "Should a page be put in a category of the same name?", e.g. should "Cat" go in Category:Cats, and maybe mention the use of |* for these cases. Kappa 05:24, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I have looked for an answer in the existing documentation but found none. In my opinion the article with the same name as the category should not be put in the category but in the parent category. The article can be referenced form inside the category by catmore or a link in the description of the category. MathMartin 12:42, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

  • Well the point is how to get from the article to the category and its children, and to know that there *is* a category with that name. Kappa 16:57, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Ok, I did not realize this. MathMartin 20:41, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If anyone is still watching, a proposal related to this very topic is being considered at Wikipedia talk:Categorization. -- Samuel Wantman 02:27, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

The current norm is that a page should always be put in the category of the same name, and piped with a space so that it appears before all others. -- Samuel Wantman 08:22, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Category size

I think we should have a recommended size for categories (both upper and lower). Right now we have several extremes which are much to large, such as Category:Websites, and those which are much to small, where the category is so specific there's only one entry.

I suggest that we give a recommended upper limit of ~150 and a recommended lower limit of ~10. Exceptions to this would be "gateway" categories, which are used as sorting tools (XX by nationality etc.). Oberiko 16:42, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

In finnish Wikipedia there is practise that even categories where is only 1 article are acceptable in most cases, even there is a rule that says "You should not create categories with only 1 or 2 articles". Some says that it's ok if you can expect that there is more coming in a next few years. I'd like to know what is the original rule about this, or is there any? --195.197.175.20 00:29, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Missing QA

I wanted to find info on whether the article can be categorized with a subcategory and a parent category (i.e. Category:Peace treaties and Category:Polish peace treaties). I thought it was against our guidelines/MoS, but I can't find any text on any category-related page to prove my point. Any help would be appreciated.--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 04:21, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

That should be avoided. Articles should only be put in the most specific category applicable. Only very occasionally is it appropriate to also place the article in a (grand,grand,grand-)parent category. I have read this somewhere... *googles* Found it: An article should not be in both a category and its subcategory, for example Microsoft Office is in Category:Microsoft software, so should not also be in Category:Software. An article with the same name as a category should usually belong only to that category, for instance, Deism belongs only in Category:Deism. From Help:Category#When_to_use_categories. It's a guideline. pfctdayelise 04:45, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

In this case there probably should not be duplication. However, The issue is more complicated than this. There are cases where it makes sense to put an article in a category and its parent. For example, Robert Duvall is in Category:Film actors as well as its subcategory Category:Best Actor Oscar. A proposal related to this very topic is being considered at Wikipedia talk:Categorization. -- Samuel Wantman 02:33, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] red link

"Category:Main page" has one... Uh, there is no "Category:Main page" . Should we remove this reference in the text?

[edit] Consistent Spelling

I have made an effort to change all instances of the word "categorisation" or the like to "categorization". I figure that since the name of the article spells it the American way, then it should be consistent throughout the entire article. I don't mind British English, but I prefer the spellings to be the same throughout the article, and I think that if it is inconsistent, it could possibly be distracting to readers. --Sbrools (talk . contribs) 17:10, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tags & Tagging versus Categorization

One of the major confusions I see is people who attempt to use Wikipedia:Categories as tags/keywords. I propose that we need something in the FAQ to clearly set forth the distinction, with examples, and (probably) a link to a somewhat longer "help" page of some sort. --lquilter 18:15, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New

This FAQ doesn't seem to explain how you create a new category. How do you do so? Thanks. AstroHurricane001(Talk+Contribs+Ubx) 19:55, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

  • You can find that information at Help:Category. If you take a look and want some additional assistance, please feel free to drop a note on my talk page. --After Midnight 0001 03:06, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Indexing of "Mac"s and "Mc"s

There has been a discussion on the Administrators' Noticeboard about the practice of indexing people with a surname beginning with "Mc". If they are indexed under "Mc" then, when alphabetically sorted, they appear in a different place to the people whose surname begins with "Mac". Real life lists invariably treat the two as the same and effectively read "Mc" as "Mac". I think something could be put in the Categorization FAQ to the effect that a surname beginning with "Mc" should be indexed under "Mac". Sam Blacketer 23:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Creating a category

The question "how do I delete a category" is there, but no instructions on how to create one. 2 things:

1. How do you make a category?
2. This info should be added to the FAQ in the same manner as deleting a category, ie "how do I add a category?" -Mike Payne 18:02, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Payne's request is still standing. I have some pages that I'd categorize if I knew how. -kdammers
The answer is located at Wikipedia:Categorization#How to create categories. --After Midnight 0001 20:30, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The category template does not appear

I'm trying to fix Aladdin (video game), but the category template does not generate. How can this be fixed? 67.188.172.165 23:10, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

I assume this is now ok? --BozMo talk 08:05, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Categories on redirects

Hello. Should categories be added to redirect pages, or should that be avoided? Oberiko 15:31, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New entries in a category

Is it possible to "watch" a category, i.e., be notified when new articles have been added to a specific category. --KYN 19:21, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

  • You can monitor the category's "Related changes".... --After Midnight 0001 03:11, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, this is what I do, but for a large category "Recent changes" may present a full page of edits in the "old" articles and it is rather tedious to see which articles have been added recently to the category. --KYN 07:21, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Joe Taddeo deletion exhibits categorical problem

Not sure this discussion belongs here but I didn't know where else to put it: One remarkable thing that is happening on Wikipedia is information that is notable that was collected nowhere else is being collected here. One example of that is Category:Recipients of US Distinguished Flying Cross. Unfortunately, the US government did not keep a cumulative record of DFC recipients, therefore no one knows how many have been awarded or to whom. [1] Due to its collaborative nature wikipedia is producing the first ever such list, which is a remarkable, important, and appropriate thing for an encyclopedia to do. As you know, items are not added directly to a category page but instead an article on the item must refer to the category and that produces the entry on the category page. This is a good design except sometimes the articles created for this purpose are inadequately sourced, or seem to fall short of wikipedia's notability guidelines. One solution would be to allow direct editing of category pages and then new entries would only have pages created if there was proper information to flesh out an article. Another solution would be to assume that if the article properly belongs on the category page then it must (categorically) pass the notability and sourcing tests. The administrators should figure that out. Suffice to say, until they do they were out of line deleting the article Joe Taddeo. The only way to put him on the Category:Recipients of US Distinguished Flying Cross page is to leave Joe Taddeo alone. The fact he won the medal is well sourced (I provided a copy of the citation) and the fact he won it is significant to anyone interested in the medal. Wongaboo —Preceding comment was added at 06:27, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disabling Category listing

Is there any magic word or some other way that would disable category listing for a page? It would be useful in sandboxes or testcase pages, specifically where categories are transcluded by templates (but wouldn't be needed). Thanks. --Qyd (talk) 14:12, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Include Categories within an article

is it possible to add a template of a certain category to list all articles related to that category within an article, so that whenever a new article is added to that category, the list of articles is automatically updated in my article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.148.97.69 (talk) 09:42, 19 November 2007 (UTC)