View source for Stiles Wiki:Categorizing redirects

{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{redirect|SW:RCAT|how to redirect one category to another|Template:Category redirect}}
{{subcat guideline|editing guideline|Categorization Redirects|SW:RCAT}}
{{nutshell|Redirects are not articles and most should not be sorted into mainspace content categories; however, all redirects should be sorted into appropriate "maintenance" (non-article) categories whenever possible.}}
This is a Stiles.casa Wiki guideline for placing [[SW:redirect|redirect]] pages into [[SW:Categorization|categories]]. It is intended to document current practice and suggest best practice in other areas and indicate where categorization of redirects can be misleading.

==When to categorize a redirect==
Normal ("hard") [[SW:Redirect|redirects]] should be placed in one of several [[Stiles.casa Wiki:Template messages/Redirect pages|maintenance categories]] specifically for redirects.  This should be done using categorization templates (rcats) such as {{tl|Wikidata redirect}}.

[[SW:soft redirect|Soft redirect]]s usually should ''not'' be categorized by rcats.  Use of {{tl|Wikidata redirect}} and {{tl|R category with possibilities}} to tag soft-redirected categories are presently the only exceptions.

Redirects are not usually sorted to ''article'' categories; however, there are exceptions, as described below.

===Categories just for redirects===
There are a series of categories that are used only for redirects. Redirects are placed in categories by templates. These categories explain why the redirect exists, for example {{tl|R from merge}} means it was created by a merge or {{tl|R from alternative name}} means that the redirect is an alternative name for the main title.

These categories are only intended to contain redirects, and are helpful in keeping track of redirects and further subcategorizing them as needed. They include both redirects within main namespace and in other namespaces. They are often applied using templates, though such categories can also be created and populated directly. This categorization is intended for Stiles.casa Wiki editors, not readers.

For tables of redirect category templates, grouped both alphanumerically and by function, see [[Stiles.casa Wiki:Template index/Redirect pages]]. For the categorical list of such templates, see {{Cat|Redirect templates}}. All the redirect categories are subcategories of {{Cat|Stiles.casa Wiki redirects}}, which is ''not'' meant to contain any redirects directly and is purposely kept empty except for subcategories.

===Article categories===
There are some situations where placing a redirect in an article category ''is'' acceptable and can be helpful to users browsing through categories. The following are examples of some of these situations:

====Redirects having a target that is incompatible with the category====
{{shortcut|SW:INCOMPATIBLE}}
Alternative names should not look out of place on a category page.  This is often a way to satisfy disagreements over renaming an article when more than one name seems equally valid.  The alternative name(s) becomes a redirect and gets categorized the same way as its target. Another example is when a single article covers things known by multiple names, such as a person who is known in multiple fields of endeavour under different names, a merged article about three different newspapers, or a sketch comedy television show whose name exists on Stiles.casa Wiki as a redirect to the comedy troupe that created it. In such a case, consideration needs to be given to which title should be reflected in an individual category.

Note that placing such a category on the target article, with the alternative title in pipetext, does ''not'' accomplish the desired purpose, as pipetext in a category link only affects how a title is ordered alphabetically, ''not'' how it actually appears.
*''Examples:''
:*[[A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century]] is a hoax quotation by the phony author Israel Cohen. The redirect to that article, [[Israel Cohen (hoax)]], belongs in [[:Category:Nonexistent people used in hoaxes]] but the article does not.
:*[[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner]] is an article that covers both the cartoon and its titular characters. Categories that refer to one of the characters, but not both—such as [[:Category:Fictional coyotes]] and [[:Category:Fictional birds]]—are placed on the appropriate redirects.

====Alternative names for articles====
The primary function of the category system is to allow readers to browse through articles. The category system is often used like an alphabetical index. It is sometimes helpful for redirects from common alternative names to appear in the index list.  Editors should consider whether alternative names should be mixed in with other names, or not. Sometimes an entirely new category is more appropriate (see ''Categorization of multiple taxonomies'' below).

====Subtopic categorization====
{{shortcut|SW:SUBTOPICCAT}}
Some subtopics of articles have well-known names and, over time, may expand to become separate articles. Many articles cover several topics that have been combined. This can happen following a merge of several related articles.  Often there are redirects pointing to these subtopics. These redirects can be categorized.  In some cases, the categories for the redirects that point to the subtopics will be different than the categories for the entire article.
*''Example of similar categorization:''
:*''[[Butterfly vertebrae]] points to a subsection of [[Congenital vertebral anomaly]] &ndash; both appear in [[:Category:Dog health]]''
*''Examples of different categorization:''
:*''[[Prohibition in Finland]] (appearing in [[:Category:History of Finland]], [[:Category:Finnish society]], [[:Category:1932 in Finland]], and [[:Category:Prohibition by country]]) &ndash; redirects to a subsection of [[Prohibition#Nordic countries|Prohibition]] (appearing in [[:Category:Prohibition]] and [[:Category:Alcohol law]])''

====Categorization of multiple taxonomies====
Some articles can be organized by more than one [[taxonomy (general)|taxonomy]]. An example of this is the organization of animal and plant articles by common names and binomial name taxonomy. This is possible by categorizing the article one way and categorizing the redirect a different way.  In this case, the alternative categorization of the redirect will not appear in the article unless it is manually added. 
*''Examples:''
:*''An example for plants is: [[:Category:Banksia taxa by common name]] and [[:Category:Banksia taxa by scientific name]].''

====Categorization of list entries====
{{Shortcut|SW:LISTRCAT}}
Some well-organized lists have redirects pointing at their subsections. In such cases, categorization of the redirects can be an alternative way of browsing entries in a long list. It can also provide an alphabetical listing for lists that are not organised alphabetically, such as lists organised in a chronological order. Redirects to sections of minor character lists should generally only be categorized within that fictional setting, and not in the wider fictional categories.
*''Examples:''
:*''[[:Category:EastEnders characters]] provides a single alphabetical listing of both minor and major characters in the soap opera [[EastEnders]]. However, the minor character redirects should not be categorized outside the EastEnders category structure, e.g. not in [[:Category:Fictional characters by occupation]].''

==How to categorize a redirect==
{{Redirect|SW:REDCAT|the guideline on red-linked categories|SW:REDNOT}}
{{Shortcut|SW:REDCAT}}

A redirect may be categorized in the same way as for any other page; however, when it is possible to use '''[[Stiles.casa Wiki:Template messages/Redirect pages|redirect category templates]]''' (rcats), then these should be used. For clarity, ''all'' category links should be added at the end of the page on their own lines, after the redirect target link and rcat(s). Use of a blank line between the redirect target link and all rcats and category links promotes readability of the code. 

<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Xxy Yzz]]

{{R from move}}
{{R printworthy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yzz, Xxy}}
[[Category:Aaa]]
</pre>

The {{code|<nowiki>#REDIRECT [[Article title]]</nowiki>}} ''must come first, on the top line, and must start from the left margin''.  {{code|<nowiki>[[Category:...]]</nowiki>}}-type links may be placed ''on their own lines after the redirect target link''.  Redirect category (rcat) templates, {{code|<nowiki>{{R from...}}, {{R to ...}}</nowiki>}}, etc., the {{tl|Redirect category shell}} (Rcat shell) template may be placed anywhere after the redirect ''on another line or lines'', preferably the third line for readability.  Those are usually placed before (above) content categories and empty lines are left between the types for readability.

The {{code|<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:}}</nowiki>}} [[Help:Magic words|magic word]] can also be placed on redirects, for example, to ensure that a redirect title that begins with a person's given name will be sorted to their surname: {{code|<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprat, Jack}}</nowiki>}}

The {{tl|Redirect category shell}} (Rcat shell) template may be used to group redirect categories. That template automatically senses protection levels and promotes a faster learning curve for new editors.  See its documentation page and the [[Template:Redirect category shell/Comparison|comparison]] page for more information.

The redirect will appear in the specified categories in a style format that is different than non-redirects (by default, redirects appear in ''italics'' type, while non-redirects do not – see [[#Technical note|Technical note]] below).

{{Collapse top|title=Further examples}}
; Example 1
: – a redirect that targets page ''Xxy Yzz'', which uses the {{tlx|R from former name}} and {{tlx|R printworthy}} rcats, and which is also sorted to article content categories ''Aaa'' and ''Bbb'', may appear as follows:
<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Xxy Yzz]]

{{Rcat shell|
{{R from former name}}
{{R printworthy}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yzz, Xxy}}
[[Category:Aaa]]
[[Category:Bbb]]
</pre>

:When the title being redirected is a person's proper name, consensus is to modify the [[SW:SORTKEY|sort key]] from its default action, (usually sorted by {{code|<nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki>}}, the redirect title in this case), to instead sort it by [[surname]]. The {{code|<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:}}</nowiki>}} [[SW:PF#Behavior switches|behaviour switch]] is used for this; for example, on the edit page of the {{noredirect|George Walker Bush}} redirect, use {{code|<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George Walker}}</nowiki>}}, so that the page will appear alphabetized in the B's and not the G's of the various categories.  Similarly, for titles beginning with a definite or indefinite [[article (grammar)|article]], such as "the" or "a" – for example in redirect {{noredirect|The President of the United States}}, use {{code|<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:President of the United States, The}}</nowiki>}}, so that the page will appear alphabetically in the P's (see [[Stiles.casa Wiki:Categorization of people#Ordering names in a category]] for more information). As with non-redirect pages, it should be positioned [[SW:FOOTERS|immediately before the article content categories]]:
:: For the {{-r|Bruce Jenner}} redirect:
<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Caitlyn Jenner]]

{{Rcat shell|
{{R from birth name}}
{{R printworthy}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenner, Bruce}}
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
</pre>
:: ''Category:Redirects from birth names'' is a subcategory of ''Category:Redirects from former names''.  Normally, the most specific subcategory is used on redirects rather than their parent categories.

;Example 2
: – a redirect to an article subsection titled "Header":
<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Xxy Yzz#Header]]

{{Redirect category shell|
{{R to section}}
{{R printworthy}}
}}
</pre>
: ''also'', when the above shell template is used, all its contents can be entered on one line as follows:
<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Xxy Yzz#Header]]

{{Redirect category shell|{{R to section}}{{R printworthy}}}}
</pre>

: There are often very good reasons to choose to use ''Rcat shell'' rather than using rcats by themselves; these reasons are detailed on its documentation and comparison pages.

;Example 3
: – a redirect to an article that has an anchor titled "Anchor this" (see templates {{tl|Anchor}}, {{tl|Visible anchor}}, and {{tls|Anchor comment}}):
<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Xxy Yzz#Anchor this]]

{{Redirect category shell|
{{R to anchor}}
{{R unprintworthy}}
}}
</pre>

;Example 4
: – one common redirect need to a geology page titled ''Xxy Yzz'', which uses the ''R to section'' rcat to point to the article and section where the common term is defined, and which should be in categories ''Aaa'', ''Bbb'', ''Ccc'' and ''Ddd'' (the parent article may be sorted to a few more, such as ''Eee'', ''Fff'', etc.), all of which are categories usually found in the parent article.  Here is how this example would appear:
<pre>
#REDIRECT [[Xxy Yzz#Section header]] 

{{Rcat shell|
{{R to section}}
{{R to related topic}}
{{R printworthy}}
}}

[[Category:Aaa|{{PAGENAME:Xxy Yzz}}]]
[[Category:Bbb|{{PAGENAME:Xxy Yzz}}]]
[[Category:Ccc|{{PAGENAME:Xxy Yzz}}]]
[[Category:Ddd|{{PAGENAME:Xxy Yzz}}]]
</pre>


;Notes
:# '''Crucial note''':  If the ''Redirect category shell'' (Rcat shell) template is placed on the first line, the same line as the redirect target, there are usually unexpected and peculiar results.  [[HTML Tidy]] may interfere with the templates and cause them to appear in abnormal and unexpected ways when saved.  Just be careful to put these templates on the third line beginning at the far left margin of the edit screen.
:# {{code|<nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki>}} is one of several "[[Help:Magic words|magic word]]s" (magic words are different from [[SW:template|template]]s) in wikimarkup language.  It fills in the pagename (without the namespace) of the redirect ''unless'' the pagename of the target page (without namespace) is entered as its first parameter.  The first category parameter represented by {{code|<nowiki>|{{PAGENAME:Xxy Yzz}}</nowiki>}} (note that the colon ( ''':''' ) is used to pass parameters in magic words rather than the pipe ( '''|''' ) symbol that is used in templates) above is in fact the sort key used to group pages together in a category list.
:# When the ''Redirect category shell'' (Rcat shell) template is used, each rcat can pass its own parameters, whether named or numbered, in the normal manner, and without concern for what position the rcat holds within the shell template.
:# As shown above, [[SW:printworthiness|printworthiness]] is an important type of sort.  We are told in the style guide, "The ultimate goal of the guide is to have every redirect categorised in a standard format, as well as to have every [[SW:mainspace|main-namespace]] redirect categorised as either printworthy or unprintworthy."  It is important to note that this only applies to main article namespace redirects ''and not to redirects in any other namespace''.
:# For more detailed information about how to categorize redirects please see the documentation for individual rcats, and the ''Redirect category shell'' template.

{{Collapse bottom}}

<div style="width: 100%; background: lightyellow;">
; {{pad|6px}}General information note
: ALL the {{code|<nowiki>{{R from...}}, {{R to...}}</nowiki>}}, etc., templates have as their main purpose to populate a redirect subcategory (see {{cat|Stiles.casa Wiki redirects}}) to aid in maintenance.  A second goal is to help editors with concise explanations for such sortings. Generally speaking, one such template categorizes redirect pages to the subcategory, though that template may be "aliased" by use of several alternative phrasings, themselves redirects to the template.  Common alias choices are: other vs. alternative, capitalization vs. capitalisation and other such spelling/phrasing variants like "R to singular" vs. "R from plural" and "R from singular" vs. "R to plural".</div>

==Technical note==
The appearance of a redirect link on category pages and in search results is determined by the CSS class "redirect-in-category" and the specification for that class in [[MediaWiki:Common.css]]. By default, this class is set to "italics", although this may be changed by the user. In the past, no distinction was made for users, which fueled the controversies over how to categorize redirects. By displaying them in italics, redirects are easy to pick out. Perfectly good (and in many cases better known) terminology implemented as redirects for technical reasons can now be categorized for the readers to browse, and for editors to know and use as needed.

==See also==
* [[Stiles.casa Wiki:WikiProject Redirect/Style guide]]
* [[Stiles.casa Wiki:Template messages/Redirect pages]]
* [[Stiles.casa Wiki:Printability]]
* [[:Category:Redirect templates]]
* [[User:Wugapodes/Capricorn|Capricorn]], a [[Stiles.casa Wiki:User scripts|user script]] to assist in categorizing redirects

{{R template index}}
{{Stiles.casa Wiki categorization navbox}}

[[Category:Stiles.casa Wiki categorization]]
[[Category:Stiles.casa Wiki redirecting]]

[[fr:Aide:Redirection (wikicode, avancé)#Catégoriser une redirection]]