Stiles Wiki:Redirect: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Wikipedia method/tool to automatically redirect a user from a page to another page}}

{{Redirect2|WP:R|WP:RDR|other uses of "WP:R"|Wikipedia:R (disambiguation)|centralized dispute resolution requests|Wikipedia:Requesting dispute resolution}}

{{For|the WikiProject|Wikipedia:WikiProject Redirect}}

<noinclude>{{Subcat guideline|editing guideline|Redirect|WP:R|WP:REDIR|WP:RDR}}</noinclude>

[[File:EnWiki redirect - Pichilemo.png|thumb|right|300px|A screenshot of Wikipedia showing a redirect from [[Pichilemo]] to [[Pichilemu]]]]

Redirects are used to help people arrive more quickly at the page they want to read; this page contains guidance on how to use them properly. For technical help relating to how redirects work, see '''[[Help:Redirect]]'''. Other relevant pages are [[Wikipedia:Double redirects]], [[Wikipedia:Hatnote#Redirect|Wikipedia:Hatnote §&nbsp;Redirect]] and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Redirect|WikiProject Redirect]].

{{Shortcut|WP:POFR|WP:RPURPOSE}}

* Alternative names redirect to the [[Wikipedia:Article titles|most appropriate article title]] (for example, [[Edson Arantes do Nascimento]] redirects to [[Pelé]]).

* Less specific forms of names, for which the article subject is still the [[WP:PRIMARYTOPIC|primary topic]]. For example, [[Einstein]] redirects to [[Albert Einstein]], whereas [[Albert]] is a [[WP:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] page rather than a redirect, since no Albert is regarded as the primary topic for that name.

* Abbreviations and initialisms (for example, [[ADHD]] redirects to [[Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]]). But often an abbreviation will have multiple meanings, none of which is a [[WP:PRIMARYTOPIC|primary topic]]—in that case a disambiguation page should be created rather than a redirect.

* Punctuation issues—some titles containing [[dash]]es should have redirects using [[hyphen-minus|hyphens]], and vice versa. The proper title depends on official spelling (in the case of a name, such as [[Olivia Newton-John]]), or established Wikipedia policy and naming conventions (such as [[Spanish–American War]]).

* Likely alternative capitalizations (for example, [[Natural Selection]] redirects to [[Natural selection]]). This is not necessary for user searches made via Wikipedia's search engine, but may aid linking from other articles and external sites, as well as direct URL entry.

* To comply with the maintenance of nontrivial edit history, pursuant to [[Wikipedia:Merging#PROMERGE]] for copyright licensing requirements.

* Redirects to disambiguation pages that do not contain "(disambiguation)" in the title (for example, [[Durham (disambiguation)]] redirects to [[Durham]]). These help maintenance by allowing deliberate links to disambiguation pages to be distinguished from links that need to be disambiguated. See [[WP:INTDAB]] for a fuller explanation.

* [[WP:Shortcut|Shortcuts]] (for example, [[WP:V]] and [[Wikipedia:V]] redirect to [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]]). This is commonly done in [[WP:Project namespace|project space]], but not in article space.

* Old-style [[Wikipedia:CamelCase and Wikipedia|CamelCase]] links (if already in existence) ([[AnnaKournikova]] redirects to [[Anna Kournikova]]).

There are [[Wikipedia:Template messages/Redirect pages|redirect templates]] to explain the [[Wikipedia:Redirect#PLA|reason]] for a redirect.

Note that redirects to other Wikimedia projects, other websites, or [[Special:SpecialPages|special pages]] do not work. These should be avoided or replaced with a {{Tl|soft redirect}} template. Soft redirects are also used in [[Help:Category|category space]] (using the {{Tl|category redirect}} template). Redirects from list titles to categories (e.g. a redirect from <nowiki>[[List of things]]</nowiki> to <nowiki>[[Category:Things]]</nowiki>) are highly discouraged.<ref>Discouraged after [[Wikipedia talk:Stand-alone lists/Archive 10#RfC about redirects to categories|a 2019 discussion]].</ref>

{{main|Help:Redirect|Wikipedia:How to make a redirect}}

<!-- <div class="notice" style="background:#def; border:1px solid #468; padding:0.5em; margin:0.5em auto; background-color:#EBFFEB;"><center>Note: For a [[Wikipedia:Autoconfirmed article creation trial|trial period]] from September 14, 2017 to at least March 14, 2018, users will not be able to create pages, including redirects, directly in the [[Wikipedia:What is an article?#Namespace|article mainspace]] until their accounts are [[Wikipedia:User access levels#Autoconfirmed and confirmed users|autoconfirmed]] – an editing threshold passed when a user's account is at least 4 days (96 hours) old, and has made more than ten edits. Non-autoconfirmed users can request creation of redirects at [[Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Redirects and categories]].</center></div> -->

To create a redirect using the [[Wikipedia:VisualEditor|VisualEditor]]:

Redirects can also be automatically created when you [[Wikipedia:MOVE|move (rename) an existing page]].

If you can't create pages, you can request redirects at [[Wikipedia:Redirect wizard]].

{{shortcut|WP:EDRED|WP:RTOA}}

For example, say [[Trygve Halvdan Lie]] did not have his own article, and so this link was a redirect to the page [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]]. If, later on, the page [[Trygve Lie]] was created as a biography, the page [[Trygve Halvdan Lie]] should be changed to redirect to [[Trygve Lie]] per [[WP:COMMONNAME]]. To do this, go to the redirect page by clicking the existing redirect note on the target page, which in this case would read "(Redirected from {{-r|Trygve Halvdan Lie}})". Once there, you may click the "Edit" tab, and change the page from

{{Shortcut|WP:TARGET|WP:RSECT}}

Most redirects are ''untargeted'', i.e. they lead simply to a page, not to any specific section of the page. This is usually done when there is more than one possible name under which an article might be sought (for example, [[Cellphone]] redirects to the article [[Mobile phone]]). For deciding which should be the actual title of the article, see [[WP:Article titles|Article titles]].

The text given in the link on a targeted redirect page must exactly match the target section heading or anchor text, including capitalization and punctuation. (While spaces and underscores are interchangeable in the current implementation of the Wikimedia software, it is generally good practice and aids maintenance to use exactly the same spelling in links as is used in the corresponding targets also for these characters.) (In the absence of a match, the reader will simply be taken to the top of the target page.) It is often helpful to leave a [[WP:HIDDEN|hidden comment]] in the target text, to inform other editors that a section title is linked, so that if the title is altered, the redirect can be changed. For example:

When a section title is known to be the target of incoming links, the Wikipedia Manual of Style [[MOS:RENAMESECTION|suggests creating a redundant anchor with the same name as the section title]], so that such links will continue to work even if someone renames the section without creating an anchor with the old name.  Technically, the redundant section and anchor names result in invalid HTML.<ref>{{cite web

{{Main|Wikipedia:Double redirects}}

Double redirects often arise after a page is [[WP:MOVE|moved]] (renamed)—after moving a page, check whether there are any redirects to the old title (using the link on the move result page, or using [[WP:WHATLINKSHERE|"What links here"]]), and change them to redirect straight to the new title. Double redirects are usually fixed by a [[Wikipedia:Bots|bot]] in a few days; however, an editor should not leave behind any self-created double redirects.

{{Main|Wikipedia:Manual of Style (linking)#Redirects|l1=MoS linking redirects}}

{{Main|Wikipedia:Categorizing redirects}}

Most redirect pages are not placed in article [[WP:Categorization|categories]]. There are three types of redirect categorization that are helpful and useful:

* Maintenance categories are in use for particular types of redirects, such as [[:Category:Redirects from initialisms]], in which a redirect page may be sorted using the {{Tl|R from initialism}} template. One major use of these categories is to determine which redirects are fit for inclusion in a [[WP:Printability|printed subset]] of Wikipedia. See [[Wikipedia:Template messages/Redirect pages]] for functional and alphabetical lists of these templates. A brief functional list of redirect category ([[WP:RCAT|rcat]]) templates is also found in the {{Tl|R template index}} navbar.

{{Shortcut|WP:R#CRD}}

To delete a redirect '''without replacing it with a new article''', list it on [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion|redirects for discussion]]. See the [[Wikipedia:Deletion policy|deletion policy]] for details on how to nominate pages for deletion.

Listing is not necessary if you just want to replace a redirect with an article, or change where it points: see [[meta:Help:Redirect#Changing a redirect|these instructions]] for help doing this. If you want to ''swap'' a redirect and an article, but are not able to move the article to the location of the redirect, please use [[Wikipedia:Requested moves]] to request help from an [[Wikipedia:Administrators|admin]] in doing that.

{{Wikipedia:Redirect/Deletion reasons}}

{{Shortcut|WP:R#PLA|WP:R#ASTONISH}}

{{Further|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Other uses|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Alternative names}}

Wikipedia follows the "[[Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Principle of least astonishment|principle of least astonishment]]"; after following a redirect, the reader's first question is likely to be: "Hang on ... I wanted to read about ''this''. Why has the link taken me to ''that''{{-?}}" Make it clear to the reader that they ''have'' arrived in the right place.

If the redirected term could have other meanings, a [[WP:Hatnote|hatnote]] ([[Wikipedia:HATTEST#Redirect|examples]]) should be placed at the top of the target article or targeted section that will direct readers to the other meanings or to a relevant [[WP:DAB|disambiguation]] page. This is usually done using one of the [[:Template:Redirect#"… redirects here. For other uses, see …"|redirect disambiguation templates]] ([[Wikipedia:HATTEST#Redirect|examples]]).

It may also be helpful to [[Help:Searching|search]] the [[Help:Category#Listing all categories|List of Categories]] for [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Categories#Can I specify categories when searching?|related terms]].

{{Short|WP:BLANKANDREDIRECT|WP:BLAR}}

{{See also|Wikipedia:Deletion policy#Redirection}}

[[WP:BLANK|Removing all content]] in a problematic article and replacing it with a redirect is common practice, known as '''blank-and-redirect'''. If other editors [[WP:BRD|disagree]] with this blanking, its contents can be recovered from [[Help:page history|page history]], as the article has not been [[WP:DEL|deleted]]. If editors cannot agree, the content issues should be discussed at the relevant talk page, and other methods of [[Wikipedia:Resolving disputes|dispute resolution]] should be used, such as restoring the article and nominating the article for [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion]].<ref>[[Special:Permalink/998395765#Request_for_comment:_Proposed_blank_and_redirects|An RfC closed in 2021]] found {{tq|Most users believe that AfD should be used to settle controversial or contested cases of blanking and redirecting.}}</ref>

To make it easier for other editors to find the history of the blanked article, it's good practice to add a short notice at the talk page of the target article, even if no content has been [[Wikipedia:Merging|merged]] there. This is especially useful if the blanked article had few visits and infrequent edits. If the redirect replaces an article that has been deleted by an [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrator]], this notice is the only way for editors to know that a previous version of the article existed at all.

The template {{tl|R with history}} should be added to the resulting redirect. If the topic of the article can be reasonably thought to describe a [[WP:N|notable]] topic, mark the redirect with the template {{Tl|Redirect with possibilities}} to indicate that [[Wikipedia:Redirect#How to edit a redirect or convert it into an article|it could be expanded in the future]]. You may also consider [[Wikipedia:Stubbing#Stubbing existing articles|turning the article into a stub]] by removing all unsourced content and keeping the valid references, instead of blanking it.

Note that certain forms of blanking are not allowed. [[Wikipedia:Vandalism#Blanking, illegitimate|Illegitimate blanking]] of valid content without reason is considered [[WP:vandalism|vandalism]], a form of [[Wikipedia:disruptive editing|disruptive editing]]. Other forms of blank-and-redirect, although not vandalism, are still undesirable. If you want to [[WP:CUTPASTE|rename the article by cutting and pasting text]] to a new article with a different title, you should instead [[Wikipedia:Moving a page|move the page]] with the ''Move'' option. If you want to keep some content from the blanked article and add it to the target article, you should follow the instructions at {{section link|Wikipedia:Merging|How to merge}}. Both processes will create proper links to the edit history, which is required by the [[Wikipedia:Copyrights|Wikipedia license]] for legal reasons to [[Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia|preserve attribution of content to its authors]].

{{Anchor|NOTBROKEN|notbroken}}{{Shortcut|WP:NOTBROKEN|WP:DONOTFIXIT}}

{{Redirect|WP:NOTBROKEN|text=You may be looking for {{section link|Wikipedia:Typo Team|Some typos do not need to be corrected}} or [[Wikipedia:If it ain't broke, don't fix it]]}}

{{Further|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Linking#MOS:NOPIPE}}

* Shortcuts or redirects to embedded anchors or sections of articles or of [[Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines|Wikipedia's advice pages]] should never be bypassed, as the anchors or section headings on the page may change over time. Updating one redirect is far more efficient than updating dozens of piped links. (The [http://69.142.160.183/~dispenser/view/Rdcheck Rdcheck] tool is extremely useful in such cases for finding which redirects need to be changed after an article is updated.)

* Intentional links to [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation|disambiguation pages]] always use the title with "(disambiguation)", even if that is a redirect.

{{Anchor|Bypass redirects in navigational templates|template link fix|template linkfix|templatelinkfix|TLF}}Good reasons to bypass redirects include:{{Shortcut|WP:BYPASSREDIRECT|WP:NAVNOREDIRECT|WP:BRINT|WP:MPNOREDIRECT|WP:DOFIXIT}}

* It may be appropriate to make this kind of change if the hint that appears when a user hovers over the link is misleading (see [[WP:ASTONISH|Principle of least astonishment]]).

* Links on disambiguation pages. See {{section link|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages|Piping and redirects}} for rationale and exceptions.

* In other namespaces, particularly the template and portal namespaces in which [[WP:Subpages|subpages]] are common, any link or transclusion to a former page title that has become a redirect following a page move or merge should be updated to the new title for naming consistency.

{{Shortcut|WP:SELFRED}}

However, linking to a title that redirects to a section or anchor within the article (redirects with {{Tl|R to section}} or {{Tl|R to anchor}}) is acceptable, as it facilitates navigation in particular on long articles that cannot be viewed all at once on an average-sized computer screen. In addition to readability benefits, when such redirects are marked with {{Tl|R with possibilities}}, they have the potential to become independent articles in the future. However, consider using [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Linking#Section links|section links]] instead, when such redirects do not already exist.

==Template redirects== <!-- Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/General fixes links here -->

A redirect categorisation ([[Wikipedia:Categorizing redirects|rcat]]) template such as {{Tl|R from move}} may be added to T2 (on the third line below the <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT</nowiki></code> line) as follows:

{{Shortcut|WP:REDIRECTPROTECTION|WP:RPROTECTION}}

Redirects that are protected include [[Obama]], [[Hitler]], and [[9/11]]. '''[[WP:SRD|Soft redirects]]''' that are protected include obvious vandalism targets like [[dumbass]] and [[fatass]].

Redirects in other namespaces may be protected for technical reasons or are protected under existing guidelines. For example, a template redirect (shorthand) used thousands of times qualifies it as a [[Wikipedia:High-risk template|highly visible template]], eligible for [[WP:TEMP-P|template protection]].

{{Shortcut|WP:R#CATEGORY}}

{{About|technical issue on category redirects|making "soft" category redirects|Wikipedia:Categories for discussion#Redirecting categories|section=yes}}

Instead, [[WP:soft redirect|"soft" redirects]] are used. It can be created by placing {{Tlx|Category redirect|target}} in the category page. See [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion#Redirecting categories]].

{{Anchor|SUPPRESS}}{{Shortcut|WP:R#SUPPRESS}}

When a page is moved, a redirect is automatically left behind. Some groups of users (those who possess a <code>suppressredirect</code> [[Special:ListGroupRights|right]]) have the ability to prevent the redirect being created, by unchecking the box labelled "{{MediaWiki:Move-leave-redirect}}." Currently these groups are [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrators]], [[Wikipedia:Bots|bots]], [[Wikipedia:Page mover|page movers]], and [[meta:Global rollback|global rollbackers]]. In some circumstances, a page should be moved, but a redirect from its current name is inappropriate, such as reverting [[Wikipedia:Vandalism#Page-move vandalism|page-move vandalism]]. Suppressing the redirect can avoid an extra action (page removal) and save time in these cases.

However, in general, the redirect will be a useful entry in the history, and it is best to leave it behind, unless there is a good reason to suppress the redirect, such as vandalism, [[Wikipedia:Userfication|userfying]] ''recently created'' malplaced items or freeing a title to be occupied immediately by another page (e.g., moving <u>term</u> to <u>accurate term</u> and <u>term (disambiguation)</u> to <u>term</u>). Redirects leave a trail to help readers find the old article, in case a new article is created at its previous location, and to prevent [[Wikipedia:Linkrot|linkrot]]. Therefore, we usually neither suppress nor [[#When should we delete a redirect?|delete]] redirects. As Brion Vibber [[phab:T17842#205934|said]], "Not breaking links helps everyone, ''especially us first and foremost''". He also [[phab:T17842#205878|said]] that the removal of (file) redirects is "extremely user-hostile and makes the project less useful".

A Wikipedia redirect is not the same as an [[HTTP redirect]]—it does not generate an [[HTTP 302]] (or other 30''x'') response. Instead, a page with almost the same content as the target of the redirect is generated by the MediaWiki software, differing in that a small-text note appears below the title of the page, identifying the name of the redirect used to get there (and linking to it in such a way that it can be accessed without the redirect, e.g. so it can be changed). When a user clicks on a redirect such as [[housecat]], the page URL initially will be https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housecat, but the URL shown by the browser will change to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat after the page loads.

On one hand, this allows links like [[housecat#Anatomy]] to work as expected, but it also requires redirects to anchors to be implemented as a piece of JavaScript that jumps to an appropriate section after the page has loaded. For example, [[second-stage boot loader]], which is rendered as the URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-stage_boot_loader, is a page defined as a #REDIRECT to [[Booting#SECOND-STAGE]]. "SECOND-STAGE", in this case, is a manually defined anchor (using the markup "<nowiki>=== {{anchor|SECOND-STAGE}}Second-stage boot loader ===</nowiki>") which will persist even if the section is renamed. However, whether a redirect points to a manually defined anchor, or an anchor defined implicitly via a section name, the behavior will be the same: the page will automatically be scrolled down to the pointed-to anchor only after the page finishes loading (at which point the URL bar will also change to reflect the redirected-to URL, including "#''anchor''" portion, rather than the redirected-from URL).

{{Wikipedia glossary}}

* [[:Category:Wikipedia redirects]]

* [[Wikipedia:Moving a page]]

* [[Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Redirects and categories]], to suggest a missing redirect

* [[Wikipedia:Hatnote]] (see [[Wikipedia:Redirect#What needs to be done on pages that are targets of redirects?|above]])

* [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion]]

* [[Wikipedia:Soft redirect]]

* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Redirect]]

** [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Redirect/Style guide]]

* [[Wikipedia:Database reports/Page count by namespace]] and by non-redirects/redirects

* [[Wikipedia:Deletion by redirection]]

* [[User:Wugapodes/Capricorn|Capricorn]], a Wikipedia gadget for categorizing redirects

* {{anli|Wikipedia:Redirects are cheap}}

* {{anli|Wikipedia:Redirects are costly}}

[[Category:Wikipedia editing guidelines]]

[[Category:Wikipedia redirecting| ]]