View source for Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages

{{Short description|Wikimedia Project Page}}
{{For|a short introduction written for readers of Wikipedia |Help:Disambiguation}}
{{For|the standards for when and how editors should disambiguate articles |Wikipedia:Disambiguation}}
{{MoS guideline|MOS:DABPAGES|WP:MOSDAB|MOS:DAB|MOS:DISAMBIG|sortkey=Disambiguation}} 
'''Disambiguation pages''' (abbreviated often as '''dab pages''' or simply '''DAB''' or '''DABs''') are non-article pages designed to help a reader find the right [[Wikipedia:What is an article?|Wikipedia article]] when different topics could be referred to by the same [[Wikipedia:Search|search]] term, as described in the guidelines on the [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation]] project page. In other words, disambiguation pages help readers find the specific article they want when there is topic [[ambiguity]]. 

Note that even though most disambiguation pages are kept in the [[Wikipedia:Main namespace|Main/Article namespace (aka mainspace)]], they are {{em|not}} articles. These pages are aids in searching for articles. 

The style guidelines on this page aim to give disambiguation pages a consistent appearance and help the efficiency of searches by excluding extraneous information. Any page containing one of the [[Template:Disambiguation#Variant templates |disambiguation templates]] should contain only disambiguation content, whether or not the [[#Page naming|page title]] contains the parenthetical {{nowrap|"(disambiguation)"}}. For more information on these templates and identifying a disambiguation page, see [[#The disambiguation notice and categorization|§&nbsp;The disambiguation notice and categorization]] below.

Note that these style guidelines do {{em|not}} apply to article pages containing such sentence- or paragraph-level disambiguation techniques as having a [[hatnote]] at the top of an article pointing to a related subject. These guidelines only apply to pages correctly tagged with a disambiguation template.

{{Style}}
{{Dabnav}}

== Page naming ==
{{shortcut|MOS:DABPAGENAME}}
{{More|Wikipedia:Namespace|Wikipedia:Article titles#Disambiguation}}

In general, the title of a disambiguation page is the ambiguous term itself, provided there is no [[WP:PRIMARYTOPIC|primary topic]] for that term. If there is already a primary topic, "(disambiguation)" should be added to the title of the disambiguation page, such as {{xt|[[Jupiter (disambiguation)]]}}. For more on how to title a disambiguation page, see {{Section link|Wikipedia:Disambiguation|Naming the disambiguation page}}.

== At the top of the page ==
{{shortcut|MOS:DABFIRST}}
The first lines should consist of the following, in order:
# optionally: a link to {{em|Wiktionary}} (see {{section link||Linking to Wiktionary}})
# if there is a primary topic: a link to the {{em|primary topic}} (see {{section link||Linking to a primary topic}})
# the {{em|introductory line}} (see {{section link||Introductory line}})
Each of these three should begin its own line (the Wiktionary template creates a box on the right side of the page).

Thus if there is no Wiktionary link and no primary topic link, the introductory line should be the first line.

=== Linking to Wiktionary ===
{{shortcut|MOS:WTLINK}}
When a dictionary definition should be included (see {{section link|Wikipedia:Disambiguation|What not to include}}), rather than writing a text entry, create a cross-link to [[Wiktionary]], one of the [[Wikipedia:Wikimedia sister projects|Wikimedia sister projects]]. To do this, use one of these Wiktionary link templates on the first line:

* {{tlx|Wiktionary}} can be used with up to five optional parameters: {{tlc|wiktionary|WORD|WORD2|...|WORD5}}. This can be useful for linking dictionary entries with multiple capitalizations (e.g., {{xt|star}}, {{xt|Star}}, and {{xt|STAR}}). With no parameters, the template defaults to using the current page's name with a lowercase first letter.
* {{tlx|Wiktionary pipe}} will behave like a [[WP:PIPE|piped link]]: {{tlc|wiktionary pipe|WORD|{{var|optional display name}}}}.

Be sure to check the links created by these templates, as Wiktionary's [[case sensitivity]] sometimes differs from Wikipedia's. Most notably, Wiktionary uses [[wikt:WT:CAPS|proper capitalization]] for the first letter of its entries, unlike Wikipedia's use of an uppercase first letter for each page name.

=== Linking to a primary topic ===<!--"Wikipedia:Disambiguation" links to this section-->
{{Shortcut|MOS:DABPRIMARY|MOS:PRIMARYTOPIC|WP:DABPRIMARYTOPIC}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Is there a primary topic?}}
It is recommended that a link back to the primary topic appear at the top, in a brief explanatory sentence. This link should be the primary topic set in bold. (This is opposite to the recommendation for primary topics in articles; that is, [[MOS:BOLDLINKAVOID]] does not apply to disambiguation pages.) The brief explanatory sentence is otherwise an individual entry per [[MOS:DABENTRY]].

When the page has "(disambiguation)" in its title&nbsp;– i.e., it is the disambiguation page for a term for which a primary topic has been identified&nbsp;– users are most likely to arrive there by clicking on a top link from the primary topic article, generated by a template in the {{tl|otheruses}} series. For example, the article {{xt|[[School]]}} contains the [[Wikipedia:Hatnote|hatnote]]:
{{other uses|School (disambiguation)}}

The primary topic is the one reached by using the disambiguation page title without the (disambiguation) qualifier. Capitalisation differences matter, so there will only be one primary topic for a title. 

Since it is unlikely this primary topic is what readers are looking for if they have reached the disambiguation page, it should not be mixed in with the other links. As stated above, it is recommended that the link back to the primary topic appear at the top, in a brief explanatory sentence. For instance:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
A '''[[school]]''' is an institution for learning.

'''School''' or '''the school''' may also refer to:
* [[School of thought]], a number of individuals with shared styles, approaches or aims
* [[School (fish)]], a group of fish swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner
* . . .
</div>

When the primary topic article has a different title than the term being disambiguated, then the first line normally uses a [[WP:PRIMARYREDIRECT|redirect from the ambiguous term]] to link to that article:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
A '''[[cosmonaut]]''' or astronaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft.
</div>

Similarly for an acronym, initialism or alphabetism:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''[[CIA]]''' is the Central Intelligence Agency, a civilian agency of the United States government.
</div>

However, in some cases it may be clearer to link directly to the target of the redirect, such as with surnames that have a primary holder:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]''' (1756–1791) was a famous composer during the Classical period.{{tick}}
</div>
instead of the more awkward:
<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''[[Mozart]]''' was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), a famous composer during the Classical period. {{cross}}
</div>

=== Introductory line ===
{{shortcut|MOS:DABINTRO}}
{{see also|WP:Template messages/General#In introductory lines}}
The term being disambiguated should be in '''bold''' (not ''italics''). It should begin a sentence fragment ending with a colon, introducing a bulleted list:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Interval''' may refer to:
----
'''John Smith''' may refer to: 
{{blockindent|''or''}}
'''John Smith''' is the name of:
----
'''ABC''' may refer to:
{{blockindent|''or''}}
'''ABC''' may stand for:
</div>

Where several variants of a term are being disambiguated together, significant variants may be included in the lead sentence. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Bang''' or '''bangs''' may refer to:
{{blockindent|''or''}}
'''Bang(s)''' may refer to:
</div>

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Arc''' or '''ARC''' may refer to:
</div>

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Angus McKay''', '''MacKay''' or '''Mackay''' may refer to:
</div>

However, it is not necessary to mention minor variations of capitalization, punctuation or diacritics. For example, {{xt|'''AU''' may refer to:}} is preferable to {{!xt|'''AU''', '''au''', '''Au''' or '''A-U''' may refer to}}; and {{xt|'''Saiyuki''' may refer to:}} is preferable to {{!xt|'''Saiyuki''', '''Saiyūki''' or '''Saiyûki''' may refer to}}.

When the title being disambiguated has a primary topic (i.e. when the disambiguation page's title ends in "(disambiguation)"), the introductory line includes the word "also": see the "school" example in {{section link|#Linking to a primary topic}} above.

== Individual entries ==
{{shortcut|MOS:DABENTRY|MOS:DABENTRIES}}
After the introductory line comes a list of individual entries&nbsp;– lines which direct the readers to Wikipedia articles on the various topics which might be referenced by the term being disambiguated. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of the disambiguation page is to help people find the specific article they want quickly and easily. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Interval''' may refer to:
* [[Interval (mathematics)]], a certain subset of an ordered set
* [[Interval (music)]], the relationship between two notes
* ...
</div>

Apply the following rules when constructing entries:
* Preface each entry with a {{em|bullet}} (an asterisk in wiki markup). 
* Start each entry with a {{em|capital letter}} (unless it begins with a link to an article marked with {{tlx|lowercase title}}, like {{xt|[[eBay]]}}).
* Insert a {{em|comma}} after an entry when a description is included.
* If an entry link by itself is insufficiently descriptive for navigation, use a {{em|sentence fragment}}, with no closing punctuation unless it is part of the description (e.g., a description that ends in "etc." would end with the period)

* {{Anchor|onelinkonly}}{{shortcut|MOS:DABBLUE|MOS:DABONE}} Include {{em|exactly one}} navigable (blue) link to efficiently guide readers to the most relevant article for that use of the ambiguous term. {{em|Do not wikilink any other words in the line}}. For example: 

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
* [[Dark Star (song)|"Dark Star" (song)]], by the Grateful Dead {{tick}} 
but not:
* [[Dark Star (song)|"Dark Star" (song)]], by the [[psychedelic]] [[rock band]] [[The Grateful Dead]] {{cross}}
</div>
* Avoid descriptions that simply {{em|repeat}} information given in the link, e.g.:
<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
* [[Dark Star (song)|"Dark Star" (song)]], a song {{cross}}
However, this information may be repeated as part of a fuller description, if it adds value for the reader:
* [[Dark Star (song)|"Dark Star" (song)]], a song by the Grateful Dead {{tick}}
</div>
* {{anchor|terse}}Keep the description associated with a link to a minimum, just sufficient to allow the reader to find the correct link. In many cases, the title of the article alone will be sufficient and no additional description is necessary. If the type of entry is identified in a header (e.g. songs, films), it usually does not need to be repeated verbatim in the description.<!-- The thinking behind keeping description to a minimum is: it is only for helping the reader find the right link; being on an obscure page, it will not be used for reference, and will not be well maintained. -->
* Do not emphasize the link with bolding or italics, although entries such as foreign words or titles of works  may need to be italicized to conform with the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting|style guidance on formatting text]]; in general, if the linked article for a topic applies formatting to the ambiguous term, duplicate it on the disambiguation page's entry for that topic. If the article's title contains both a title and a clarifier, quote or italicize only the part requiring such treatment, as opposed to the entire link, e.g.: {{xt|[[Dark Star (film)|''Dark Star'' (film)]]}} (see {{section link||Piping and redirects}}). This can be accomplished by [[Wikipedia:Piped link|piping]] the link. The templates {{tlx|fti}} or {{tlx|ftq}} can also be used to put only the title, and not the qualifier, in italics or quotes, respectively.

In most cases the title of the target article will be an expansion or variation of the term being disambiguated (as in the example above). If this is the case:
* The link should come at the start of the entry.
* The article title should appear exactly as it is on the target page; the link should not be [[Wikipedia:Piped link|piped]] except to apply formatting (see {{section link||Where piping may be appropriate}}).

However, in some cases the target article title is {{em|not}} an expansion or variation of the term being disambiguated. For example, in the {{xt|[[Maggie Anderson (disambiguation)]]}} page for the entry corresponding to {{xt|[[Maggie Anderson (activist)]]}}, the link is an expansion or variation, but for the entry corresponding to the actress in {{xt|[[Corpus Callosum (2007 film)|''Corpus Callosum'' (2007 film)]]}} it is not. 

For cases where the link is not an expansion or variation see {{section link||Red links|Items appearing within other articles}} below.

Note also the following points when constructing lists of entries: 
{{shortcut|MOS:DABNOLINK}}
* An entry without a blue link is useless for further navigation. (See {{section link||Red links}} for cases in which no article yet exists.)
* A disambiguation page should not be made up completely of red links or have only one blue link on the entire page, because the basic purpose of disambiguation is to refer users to other Wikipedia pages. 
* {{anchor|extlinks}}Never include [[Help:External links|external links]], either as entries or in descriptions. Disambiguation pages disambiguate Wikipedia articles, not the World-Wide Web. To note URLs that might be helpful in the future, include them on the talk page.
* [[WP:REF|References]] should not appear on disambiguation pages. Dab pages are not articles; instead, incorporate the references into the target articles.

=== <span id="Specific_instances" ></span>Examples of individual entries that should not be created ===
{{shortcut|MOS:DABNOENTRY}}
{{further information|Wikipedia:Disambiguation#What not to include}}
Do not include entries for topics that are not ambiguous (according to the linked article) with the title. Use [[Wikipedia:Lists|list articles]] for lists of related topics if needed.

On a page called {{var|Title}}, do not create entries merely because {{var|Title}} is part of the name (see {{section link|Wikipedia:Disambiguation|Partial title matches}}). This does not apply if the subject is commonly referred to simply by {{var|Title}}. For instance, {{xt|[[Oxford (disambiguation)]]}} should link to {{xt|[[University of Oxford]]}} and {{xt|[[Catalina]]}} might include {{xt|[[Santa Catalina Island, California]]}}. If there is disagreement about whether this exception applies, it is often best to assume that it does. When multiple articles contain {{var|Title}} but are not referred to by it, {{tlx|look from}} and {{tlx|in title}} templates may be added in the [[#See also section|"See also" section]].

You may want to create entries on the same page for:
* {{var|TITLE}} and {{var|Title}}
* {{var|Title}} town and {{var|Title}} township
** An example is {{xt|[[Willow Valley]]}}, which lists a town of that name as well as "Willow Valley Township" in another state.

=== Given names or surnames ===
{{shortcut|MOS:DABNAME|MOS:DABSUR}}
{{Redirect|MOS:DABNAME|the guideline regarding how to name disambiguation pages|WP:DABNAME}}
{{main article|Wikipedia:WikiProject Anthroponymy}}

People who have the ambiguous term as surname or given name should be listed in the main disambiguation list of the disambiguation page only if they are frequently referred to simply by the single name (e.g., {{xt|[[Elvis]]}}, {{xt|[[Shakespeare]]}}).

There are two options for listing name-holders. A list of name-holders can be included in a {{xt|People}} section of the page, or alternatively in sections such as {{xt|People with the surname Xxxx}} or {{xt|People with the given name Xxxx}} below the main disambiguation list. For longer lists (of 12 or more entries), and as an alternative for a short list, an [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Anthroponymy/Standards|anthroponymy list article]] can be created and linked from the disambiguation page. If it isn't clear that the article includes a list, consider mentioning that in the description, for example: 

* {{xt|[[Marilyn (given name)]]}}, a female given name (including a list of people with the name)
* {{xt|[[Dylan (name)]]}}, a given name and a family name (including a list of people with the name)

Articles {{em|only}} listing persons with a certain given name or surname, known as anthroponymy articles, are {{em|not}} disambiguation pages, and this Manual of Style does not apply to them.  Anthroponymy articles follow [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Anthroponymy/Standards|their own style standards]].  For those articles, do {{em|not}} use {{tlx|disambiguation}} or {{tlx|hndis}}, but {{tlx|given name}} or {{tlx|surname}} instead.

=== Misspellings ===
{{shortcut|MOS:DABMISSPELL}}
Common misspellings should be listed only if there is a genuine risk of confusion or misspelling. These cross-links should be placed in a separate section entitled "Common misspellings" or "See also". For example, in a page called {{xt|[[Kington (disambiguation)]]}}, a link to {{xt|[[Kingston (disambiguation)]]}} would appropriately be included in the "See also" section.

==={{anchor|Piping}}<!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not remove or modify it, even if you modify the section title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it won't be broken. See [[Template:Anchor]] for details. -->Piping and redirects===

{{shortcut|MOS:DABPIPE}}
Piping and redirects are two different mechanisms that allow the displayed text of a link to differ from the title of the page that the link points to.
* {{em|[[Wikipedia:Piped link|Piping]]}} means concealing the title of a linked article by replacing it with other text.  For example, instead of showing the full title {{xt|[[Moment (physics)]]}}, it may be presented as <code><nowiki>[[Moment (physics)|moment]]</nowiki></code>, resulting in the link {{xt|[[Moment (physics)|moment]]}}.
* A {{em|[[WP:REDIRECT|redirect]]}} is a page used to "jump" readers from one page title to an article with a different title. For example, a redirect at the title {{xt|[[9/11]]}} sends users who navigate there to the article {{xt|[[September 11 attacks]]}}.

{{em|Apart from the exceptions listed below, piping and redirects should generally not be used on disambiguation pages}}. This is to make it clear to the reader which topic is the subject of an article title. For example, on the disambiguation page {{xt|[[Moment]]}}, in the entry {{xt|[[Moment (physics)]]}}, the parenthetical disambiguator {{nowrap|"(physics)"}} should be visible so that the reader sees which "moment" topic the entry is about, among others sharing the same base title. In many cases, what would be hidden by a pipe is exactly what the user would need in order to find their intended article. However, raw section and anchor points should not be displayed; see {{section link||Section and anchor point linking}} for those cases.

Though piping and redirects should generally {{em|not}} be used in disambiguation pages, there are certain cases in which they may be useful to the reader:

====Where redirecting may be appropriate====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABREDIR}}
<ul>
<li>
Redirecting may be appropriate where the {{em|primary topic}} is a redirect; see {{section link||Linking to a primary topic}}.
</li>

<li>
Redirecting may be appropriate when linking to [[WP:INTDABLINK|another disambiguation page]].
</li>

<li>
However, when the disambiguated term is an [[Acronym and initialism|acronym or initialism (alphabetism)]], links should {{em|not}} use redirects to conceal the expanded version of that initialism. For example, on the disambiguation page {{xt|[[BNL]]}}, linking to the full article title {{xt|[[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]]}} is preferable to linking to a redirect at {{xt|[[BNL (bank)]]}}.
</li>
<li>
A redirect should be used to link to a specific section of an article if only that section discusses the disambiguated topic. This also suggests that the topic may eventually have its own article. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Eon''' may refer to:
* (correct) [[Eon (geology)]], a division of the geologic time scale
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>[[Eon (geology)]], a division of the geologic time scale</syntaxhighlight>{{tick}}
* (incorrect) [[Geologic time scale#Terminology|Eon]], a division of the geologic time scale
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>[[Geologic time scale#Terminology|Eon]], a division of the geologic time scale</syntaxhighlight> {{cross}}
* (incorrect) Eon, a [[Geologic time scale#Terminology|division of the geologic time scale]]
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>Eon, a [[Geologic time scale#Terminology|division of the geologic time scale]]</syntaxhighlight> {{cross}}
</div>

The above technique is used when the link is the subject of the line. For description sections, redirects or piped links may be used; follow the normal [[Wikipedia:Redirect]] and [[Wikipedia:Piped link]] guidelines.
</li>

<li>
Linking to a redirect can  also be helpful when both:

# the redirect target article contains the disambiguated term; {{em|and}} 
# the redirect could serve as an alternative name for the target article, meaning an alternative term that is already in the article's lead section. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''James Cary''' may refer to:
* (correct) [[James Carrey]] or Jim Carrey (born 1962), Canadian actor
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>[[James Carrey]] or Jim Carrey (born 1962), Canadian actor</syntaxhighlight> {{tick}}
* (incorrect) James Carrey or [[Jim Carrey]] (born 1962), Canadian actor
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>James Carrey or [[Jim Carrey]] (born 1962), Canadian actor</syntaxhighlight> {{cross}}
</div>

The above example of a redirect is only appropriate because '''James Carrey''' is indicated as an alternative name in the lead section of the {{xt|[[Jim Carrey]]}} article.  If it were not, then the second example could have been used instead.
</li>
</ul>

====Where piping may be appropriate====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABPIPING}}
<ul>
<li>
Use piping to add italics or quotation marks to part of an article name; for instance, {{xt|[[Harvey (film)|''Harvey'' (film)]]}}, {{xt|[[USS Adder (SS-3)|USS ''Adder'' (SS-3)]]}}, {{xt|[[Route 66 (song)|"Route 66" (song)]]}}, {{xt|[[Saturnalia (genus)|''Saturnalia'' (genus)]]}}, {{xt|[[Hush (Buffy episode)|"Hush" (''Buffy'' episode)]]}}, {{xt|[[Neo (The Matrix)|Neo (''The Matrix'')]]}}. The templates {{tlx|fti}} and {{tlx|ftq}} may be used to create properly formatted links. These should be [[WP:Substitution|substituted]], since templates are discouraged on disambiguation pages (see {{section link||Images and templates}} below).

* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Disambiguation/Title templates]] for song, album and film title links
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships/Tools]] for ship and ship classes links
</li>

<li>
Similarly, use piping if the entry's article title differs from how it should actually be rendered, due to [[Template:Correct title|technical limitations in Wikipedia]]; for instance, ''{{xt|[[The Singles 86–98|The Singles 86>98]]}}'' or {{xt|[[Softimage XSI|Softimage&#124;XSI]]}}.
</li>

<li>
When the link is part of the description, rather than the actual entry name, piping can be used more freely. However, the text of the link should still be very similar to the title of the target article, to avoid confusing the reader. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Switch''' may refer to:
* "Switch", a song by Siouxsie & the Banshees from ''[[The Scream (album)|The Scream]]''
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>"Switch", a song by Siouxsie & the Banshees from ''[[The Scream (album)|The Scream]]''</syntaxhighlight>
</div>
</li>

<li>
Piping may be used {{em|when the link is in the description}} (see {{section link||Items appearing within other articles}}) for linking to a section or [[Help:Section#Section linking|anchor point]] rather than an entire article. For example, on {{xt|[[E (disambiguation)]]}}, the piped {{xt|[[Entertainment Software Rating Board#Ratings|Entertainment Software Rating Board]]}} (<code><nowiki>[[Entertainment Software Rating Board#Ratings|Entertainment Software Rating Board]]</nowiki></code>) is preferable to simply linking to the entire article {{xt|[[Entertainment Software Rating Board]]}}. Piping is commonly used to link to the track listing section of an album article. The text of the link should not be the title of a different article, and should not surprise the reader. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Ten''' may refer to:
* (correct) Ten or Tenshinhan, a [[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tenshinhan|character in Dragon Ball media]]
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>Ten or Tenshinhan, a [[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tenshinhan|character in Dragon Ball media]]</syntaxhighlight></code> {{tick}}
* (incorrect) Ten or Tenshinhan, a character in [[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tenshinhan|Dragon Ball]] media
*: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin" inline>Ten or Tenshinhan, a character in [[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tenshinhan|Dragon Ball]] media</syntaxhighlight> {{cross}}
:::<small>This is incorrect because although the piped link will take the reader to the correct page where the character's name is discussed, the actual article [[Dragon Ball]] does not mention him and is not where the reader should think he or she is heading.</small>
</div>
</li>
</ul>

=====Section and anchor point linking=====
{{Shortcut|MOS:DABSECTION|MOS:DABANCHOR}}
{{redirect|MOS:DABSECTION|guidance on how and when to create disambiguation page sections|MOS:DABGROUPING}}

[[Help:Link#Section linking (anchors)|Section and anchor points]] in links should not be visible to the reader (e.g., <code><nowiki>[[Galactic quadrant (Star Trek)#Delta Quadrant]]</nowiki></code>). If an anchor-point link is needed:
* For linking the subject, link to a redirect to the anchor point (or leave the subject unlinked and move the link to the description).
* For links in the description, link to a redirect or use an anchor-point link with piping to display text similar to the article title.
When creating a redirect to a section, add the template {{tlx|R to section}} on the redirect page within the {{tlx|Redirect category shell}}. When a redirect to an anchor is created, make sure the {{tlx|anchor}} template is placed at the targeted topic in the article, and tag the redirect with {{tlx|R to anchor}}.

=== Specific entry types ===
====External links====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABEXT}}
External links should not be used on disambiguation pages.

==== Foreign languages ====
{{clear}}
{{shortcut|MOS:DABOTHERLANG}}
For {{em|foreign-language terms}}, be sure an article exists or could be written for the word or phrase in question. Usually this means that the term has been at least partially adopted into English or is used by specialists.

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Tambo''' may refer to:
* [[Tambo (weapon)]], a very short staff used in martial arts
</div>

Avoid adding foreign words or phrases that are merely translations of an English term. For example, do {{em|not}} include:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
* {{lang|ja|Tambo}} (田んぼ), a Japanese word for [[rice paddy]] {{cross}}
</div>

Instead, consider [[#Linking to Wiktionary|linking to Wiktionary]].

==== People ====
{{Shortcut|MOS:DABPEOPLE}}
For {{em|people}}, include their birth and death years (when known), and only enough descriptive information that the reader can distinguish between different people with the same name. Keep in mind the conventions for birth and death dates—see {{section link|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Dates of birth and death}}. Do not include ''a'', ''an'' or ''the'' before the description of the person's occupation or role.

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''[[John Adams]]''' (1735–1826) was the second President of the United States (1797–1801).

'''John Adams''' may also refer to:
* [[John Adams (composer)]] (born 1947), American composer, came to prominence with ''Shaker Loops'' in 1978
* [[John Adams (physicist)]] (1920–1984), Director General of CERN and particle accelerator designer
* [[John Worthington Adams]] (1764–1837), British general in India
</div>

=====Title-and-name disambiguation pages=====
{{Shortcut|MOS:TNDIS}}
It is common practice for sources to refer to holders of certain offices or stations by their title and surname. These references frequently make their way into articles, complete with links. Having disambiguation pages at these titles makes it easier for readers to find particular individuals who might be known by this combination, while also helping to eliminate incorrect links. These pages provide better results than Wikipedia's search function, which will sometimes return every article containing the title and the surname, even where the words have no relation to one another in the article. Jumbled results from the search function bury those most relevant to a search for people who might actually be called by that title and name. This is exacerbated by [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography#Titles of people]], which generally prohibits referring to article subjects by their title in running text. These pages also provide a better result than merely redirecting the combination to a surname page, as the surname page will likely include many names of persons not associated with the title. 

A title-and-name disambiguation page should only be created if there are multiple individuals who can be included on the page. Furthermore, an individual should only be included on a page if the subject was {{em|notably}} known by that title and name, and this is reflected in reliable sources. For example, there is no redirect from {{xt|[[Lieutenant Kennedy]]}} to {{xt|[[John F. Kennedy]]}}, even though Kennedy at one point in his military service held this rank. Although many notable people with the surname Kennedy may have at some point held the rank of Lieutenant, none of them were notable for having held the rank, and it is therefore inappropriate to have a disambiguation page at that title. By contrast, {{xt|[[William Howard Taft]]}} can be listed at both {{xt|[[Governor Taft]]}} and {{xt|[[Justice Taft]]}} (and can be the redirect target of {{xt|[[President Taft]]}}) as he would have been notable even if any one of those was the only office he had held.

Having a title in some capacity is also not, by itself, sufficient to merit inclusion on the page. There must be a reasonable propensity for the subject to be referred to by the title and name {{em|in combination}}. Thus, people who are merely a sports team captain should not be listed with people titled "Captain", and people who are merely the president of a company should not be listed with people titled "President". In some cases, people have given names that in other contexts are a title (such as actor [[Justice Smith]], politician [[Major Owens]], and musician [[Earl Hines]]). Where this is the case, the person with such a name will often be considered the primary topic over any person with a corresponding title and name.

==== Places ====
{{Shortcut|MOS:DABPLACES}}
For {{em|places}}, it may only be necessary to write the name of the article.

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''[[Jacksonville]]''' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida.

'''Jacksonville''' may also refer to:
* [[Jacksonville, Alabama]]
* [[Jacksonville, Arkansas]]
</div>

It may be appropriate to add the country after the link. Leave the country unlinked.

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Kimberley''' may refer to:
* [[Kimberley, British Columbia]], Canada 
* [[Kimberley, Nottinghamshire]], United Kingdom 
</div>

====Red links====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABRL|MOS:DABRED}}
A link to a non-existent article (a "[[Wikipedia:Red link|red link]]") should be included on a disambiguation page only when a linked article (not just other disambiguation pages) also includes that red link. Do not create red links to articles that are unlikely ever to be written, or are likely to be removed as insufficiently notable topics. To find out if any article uses the red link, follow the link, and then use the "[[Help:What links here|What links here]]" link in the toolbox.

If the only pages that use the red link are disambiguation pages, do one of the following:
* Unlink the entry word but still keep a blue link in the description. Red links should not be the {{em|only}} link in a given entry; link also to an existing article, so that a reader (as opposed to a contributing editor) will have somewhere to navigate to for additional information. The linked article should contain some meaningful information about the term.
* Start a new article for the red link, using the description on the disambiguation page.
* Make a redirect to a page where the item is described (see {{section link||Piping and redirects}} above).

In the following (made-up) examples, if the entry with the architectural motif is judged to be appropriate for a future article, and assuming that the fictitious "flibbygibby" is mentioned in its respectively linked article, it is considered a valid entry. If "flibbygibby" is not mentioned in the noodle article, or there is no linked article at all, as in the toy example, it is not a valid entry; therefore, only the entry for the architectural motif can include a red link.

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Flibbygibby''' may refer to:
* (correct) [[Flibbygibby (architecture)]], a flamingo motif used on [[cornice]]s {{tick}}
* (incorrect) Flibbygibby, a type of [[noodle]] {{cross}}
* (incorrect) [[Flibbygibby]], a type of toy {{cross}}
</div>

==== Synonyms ====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABSYN}}
If the link is to a {{em|synonym}} (where the disambiguated title is mentioned as a synonym), simply use it as it is named:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Serving spoon''' may also refer to:
* [[Tablespoon]]
</div>

==== Items appearing within other articles ====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABMENTION}}
If a topic does not have an article of its own, but is mentioned within another article, then a link to that article may be included if it would provide value to the reader. In this case, the link does not start the line, but it should still be the only blue wikilink. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Maggie Anderson''' may also refer to:
* Maggie Anderson, actress in the 2007 film [[Corpus Callosum (2007 film)|''Corpus Callosum'']]
* Maggie Anderson, a character in the musical play ''[[Brigadoon]]''
</div>

It is often useful to link to the relevant {{em|section}} of the target page using [[Help:Anchors|anchors]] and conceal that by making it a piped link. For examples, see {{section link||Where piping may be appropriate}}, above.

If the topic is {{em|not mentioned}} on the other article, that article {{em|should not be linked to in the disambiguation page}}, since linking to it would not help readers find information about the sought topic.

====Acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABACRO|MOS:DABINITIALS|MOS:DABABRV}}

Many pages serve primarily to disambiguate short letter combinations that can represent various acronyms and initialisms. When considering articles to include in the list, it is important that each individual entry is referred to by its respective abbreviation within its article. For example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''TLA''' may refer to:
* (correct) [[Three-letter acronym]] {{tick}}
* (incorrect) [[Two-letter acronym]] {{cross}}
</div>

The second entry is incorrect because the article that it refers to, {{xt|[[Acronym]]}}, does not mention that "Two-letter acronym" is abbreviated "TLA", and therefore is unlikely to be searched for by that letter combination. The {{xt|[[Three-letter acronym]]}} page, however, notes that the topic {{em|is}} abbreviated "TLA", and would thus be a likely candidate for someone searching that initialism. If an abbreviation is [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|verifiable]], but not mentioned in the target article, consider adding it to the target article. Similar to [[MOS:DABNOENTRY]], if there is disagreement about whether this applies, it is often best to assume that it does. {{crossref|(See also [[WP:DABABBREV]].)}}

==Organization==
{{shortcut|MOS:DABORG}}

{{clear right}}
===Ordering===
{{anchor|Ordering|Order of entries}}<!-- "Order of entries" is the old heading name, probably linked to from somewhere. -->
{{shortcut|MOS:DABORDER|MOS:DABCOMMON}}
The following guidelines describe the appropriate order of entries on disambiguation pages:
# The [[#Linking to a primary topic|primary topic]], if there is one, should be placed at the top.
# In cases where a small number of main topics are significantly more likely to be the reader's target, several of the most common meanings may be placed at the top, with other meanings below. See {{xt|[[Mojave (disambiguation)|Mojave]]}} or {{xt|[[Mercury (disambiguation)|Mercury]]}} for examples of this.
#  Long disambiguation pages should be grouped into subject sections, and even subsections as necessary, as [[#Organizing long lists by subject sections|described below]]. These sections (and any subsections) should typically be in alphabetical order.
#  {{em|Within}} each section, entries should be ordered to best assist the reader in finding their intended article. Entries are typically ordered first by similarity to the ambiguous title, then alphabetically or chronologically as appropriate.<br/> A recommended order is:
## Articles with a clarifier in parentheses: e.g., {{xt|[[Moss (band)]]}}
## Articles with a clarifier following a comma: e.g., {{xt|[[Moss, Monterey County, California]]}}
## Articles with the item as part of the name: e.g., {{xt|[[Moss Bros]]}} (Only include articles whose subject might {{em|reasonably}} be called by the ambiguous title.)
## Synonyms: e.g., {{xt|[[Tupolev Tu-126]]}} (NATO reporting name: Moss)

====See also section====
{{shortcut|MOS:DABSEEALSO}}

When appropriate, place easily confused terms or commonly confused alternate spellings in a [[Wikipedia:Hatnote|hatnote]] instead of a {{var|See also}} section. For example, {{xt|[[Sidney]]}} has a hatnote linking to {{xt|[[Sydney]]}} and {{xt|[[Sydney (disambiguation)]]}}. Generally, there should not be more than a few of these links.

Some entries may belong in a [[WP:SEEALSO|''See also'' section]] at the bottom of the page:
* Links to indexes of article titles beginning with {{var|Title}} (using {{tlx|look from|{{var|Title}}}}) or article titles containing {{var|Title}} (using {{tlx|in title|{{var|Title}}}})
* Terms which can be confused with {{var|Title}}, for example {{xt|[[New Market]]}} and {{xt|[[Newmarket]]}}
* Less likely to be confused alternate spellings of {{var|Title}}, for example {{xt|[[Belmont]]}}, {{xt|[[Belmonte]]}} and {{xt|[[Bellmont]]}}
* Different forms of {{var|Title}}, for example {{xt|[[Splitting]]}}, {{xt|[[Split]]}}, and {{xt|[[Splitter]]}}
* Certain [[WP:PTM|partial title matches]].

As with any {{var|See also}} section, the ordering should be logical.

The {{var|See also}} should always be separated from the other entries with a [[Help:Section|section header]]. Links to other disambiguation pages should use the "(disambiguation)" link per [[WP:INTDABLINK]].

In the {{var|See also}} section of a disambiguation page, an intentional link to another disambiguation page that does not contain "(disambiguation)" in the title should be written as <code><nowiki>[[Foo (disambiguation)]]</nowiki></code>, and a redirect to <code><nowiki>[[Foo]]</nowiki></code> should be created at that location.

====Example ordering====
<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
<!-- This is just a sample to demonstrate "Order of entries" pls don't add the actual DAB here -->
'''[[Moss]]''' is a small, soft, non-vascular plant that lacks both flowers and seeds.

'''Moss''' may also refer to:
* [[Moss (band)]], a UK extreme doom metal band
* [[Moss (surname)]]
* [[Moss, Monterey County, California]]
* [[Moss FK]], a Norwegian football club
* ''Moss'', a Korean webtoon by [[Yoon Tae-ho]] 

{{fake heading|sub=2|See also}}
* [[MOSS (disambiguation)]]
* [[Spanish moss]], a flowering bromeliad plant that grows hanging from tree branches
</div>

===Grouping by subject area===
{{shortcut|MOS:DABGROUPING}}
{{anchor|Organizing long lists by subject sections|reason=Old section name, probably linked to from somewhere.}}
A large number of entries can make it difficult for a reader to find a particular topic. On longer disambiguation pages, separate entries by subject [[WP:SECTION|sections]]. Subject areas should be chosen carefully {{em|to simplify navigation}}; see [[Wikipedia:Organizing disambiguation pages by subject area|Organizing disambiguation pages by subject area]] for detailed guidance. Use subject areas that are well-defined, and that group the entries into similarly sized sections. Very small sections may impede navigation, and should usually be avoided. Section headings should be as simple as possible; {{xt|Sports}} is preferred to {{xt|Sports people}} or {{xt|Sports figures}}, since the nature of the category (people, in this case) should be obvious.

Entries which do not fit neatly into any section should be placed in an "Other uses" section or subsection, at the bottom of the page or section (but above any [[MOS:DABSEEALSO|"See also" section]]). The "Other uses" section should be relatively short; if it becomes excessively long, the page may need to be reorganized. Uncategorized entries should {{em|never}} be left at the top of the page or section, with the exception of one or two primary topics at the top of the page as stated [[MOS:DABORDER|above]].

Keep in mind that a particular division scheme may not work equally well on all disambiguation pages. An example:

<div style="margin: 0.5em 10%; border: 1px solid; padding: 0.25em;">
'''Thingamajig''' may refer to:

{{fake heading|sub=2|Science}}
* [[Thingamajig|Thingamajig (biology)]], an invasive plant used as ground cover
* [[Thingamajig|Thingamajig (chemistry)]], an isotope of chlorine
* [[Thingamajig|Thingamajig (physics)]], a kind of pulsar

{{fake heading|sub=2|World music}}
* [[Thingamajig|Thingamajig (Peru)]], a wind instrument similar to an aulos
* [[Thingamajig|Thingamajig (Qatar)]], a seven-stringed musical instrument
* [[Thingamajig|Thingamajig (UK)]], a wind instrument, similar to, but longer than the Peruvian one
</div>

Use sections rather than bold text (see [[WP:PSEUDOHEAD]]). Using more than one level may be necessary, as on {{xt|[[Aurora (disambiguation)]]}}. Always use <nowiki>==Level two==</nowiki> as the highest-level header. Section headings should not include links. See {{section link|Wikipedia:Writing better articles|Headings}} for more.

On longer lists, {{tlx|TOC right}} may be used to move the table of contents to the right hand side of the page. This reduces the amount of white space and may improve the readability of the page. (For more information, see {{section link|Help:Section|Floating the TOC}}.) If used, {{tlx|TOC right}} should be placed after the lead section of the wiki markup and immediately before the first section heading. Users of screen readers do not expect any text between the TOC and the first heading, and having no text above the TOC is confusing. (For more information, see {{section link|Wikipedia:Accessibility|Article structure}}.)

== Images and templates==
{{shortcut|MOS:DABIMG|MOS:DABICON}}
Including images and transcluding templates are discouraged unless they aid in selecting between articles on the particular search term in question. Examples of this are the images at {{xt|[[Congo (disambiguation)]]}} and {{xt|[[Mississippi Delta (disambiguation)]]}}.

Icons, including flag icons, should not be used on disambiguation pages. Only if flag topics are being disambiguated and images are needed to do so, then flag icons or flag images might be added. See also: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Icons]].

== The disambiguation notice and categorization==
{{shortcut|MOS:DCAT}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Categories}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:Template messages/General#On disambiguation pages}}
After all of the disambiguation content (including the See also section, if present), but before any categories (see below) or [[Help:Interlanguage links|interlanguage links]], a template should be placed identifying the page as a disambiguation page. This generates a message to the reader explaining the purpose of the page, and also places the page in the appropriate [[Wikipedia:Categorization|category or categories]].

The usual template to use is {{tlx|disambiguation}}, which produces a general disambiguation notice, and places the page in [[:Category:Disambiguation pages]]. Parameters can be added to place the page {{em|additionally}} into other more specific disambiguation categories. For example, if a page includes multiple places and multiple people with the same surname (and possibly other items), use {{tlx|disambiguation|geo|surname}}. A full list of available parameters and their corresponding categories can be found in the {{tlx|disambiguation}} template documentation.

If a disambiguation page consists {{em|exclusively}} of items in one of the more specific classes, then a specific template should be used instead of {{tlx|disambiguation}}. For example, use {{tlx|place name disambiguation}} for locations, {{tlx|human name disambiguation}} for human names and so on. A full list can be found in the {{tlx|disambiguation}} template documentation. 

If a disambiguation page needs cleaning up to bring it into conformance with this style manual, use {{tlx|disambiguation cleanup}}. This replaces {{em|both}} {{tlx|disambiguation}} and {{tlx|cleanup}}.

Do not use <code><nowiki>{{subst:disambiguation}}</nowiki></code> or <code><nowiki>{{subst:disambiguation cleanup}}</nowiki></code>, as the contents of this notice may change in the future (see [[Wikipedia:Transclusion costs and benefits]]). Also, the Wikipedia software relies on links to the templates to determine which pages are disambiguation pages<!-- (see [[MediaWiki:Disambiguationspage]]) page no longer exists; a version of it has been archived at [[Wikipedia:Historical archive/MediaWiki:Disambiguationspage]] but is not maintained. -->, and subst'ing breaks this feature.

Most disambiguation pages do not need to be placed into any categories other than those generated by the template. If such cases do arise (for example, specific categories of personal names that do not have corresponding template parameters), then the additional categories should be placed after the template.

If new topical categories of disambiguation pages seem to be needed, please bring this up for discussion at [[Wikipedia talk:Disambiguation]].

== Exceptions ==
=== Set index articles ===
{{Shortcut|MOS:DABNOTINDEX}}
[[Wikipedia:Set index articles|Set index articles]] are [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists|list articles]] about a set of items {{em|of a specific type}} that have similar or identical names. {{em|Set index articles are not disambiguation pages}} and do not have to follow the style outlined on this page. Note that the set index article exception was designed to be narrow: for pages that contain links to articles about different topics, please follow this style guide for disambiguation pages. An example of a set index article is a list of ships with the same name, such as {{xt|[[HMS Albatross|HMS ''Albatross'']]}}. For more information about such ship lists, see {{section link|Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships/Guidelines|Index pages}}.

=== Disambiguation pages with only two entries ===
{{further information|Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Disambiguation page or hatnotes?}}
A disambiguation page with only two meanings is not necessary if one of them is the [[WP:PRIMARYTOPIC|primary topic]] for that term. The recommended practice in these situations is to place a [[Wikipedia:Hatnote|hatnote]] on the primary topic article to link directly to the secondary topic. The {{tlx|for}} and {{tlx|redirect}} templates are useful. A two-entry disambiguation page with a primary topic can be tagged with {{tlx|only-two-dabs}}.

If neither of the two meanings is primary, then a normal disambiguation page is still used at the base name.

== <span id="When to break Wikipedia rules">When to ignore the guidelines</span> ==
{{see also|Wikipedia:Ignore all rules}}
Application of these guidelines will generally produce useful disambiguation pages that are consistent with each other and therefore easily usable by most readers. Usefulness to the reader is their principal goal. However, for every style recommendation above, there may be pages in which a good reason exists to use another way; so ignore these guidelines if doing so will be more helpful to readers than following them.

== See also ==
* [[Wikipedia:Broad-concept article]]
* [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation dos and don'ts]] (information page summarizing key points of this guideline)
* [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links]]
* {{section link|Wikipedia:Database reports|Disambiguations}}
* {{section link|Wikipedia:Red links|Disambiguation pages}}
* [[Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates]]
* [[Wikipedia:Organizing disambiguation pages by subject area]]
* [[Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual/Building a stronger encyclopedia/Getting readers to the right article: Naming, redirects, and disambiguation]]

=== WikiProjects ===
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Disambiguation]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Disambiguations]]

=== Relevant categories ===
Also see the [[Wikipedia:Categories|categories]] located, as usual, at the bottom of this page.
* [[:Category:Disambiguation and redirection templates]]
* [[:Category:Disambiguation pages in need of cleanup]] 

=== Essays ===
* [[Wikipedia:Partially disambiguated page names]]
* [[Wikipedia:Primary topics in WP:TWODABS situations]]

{{Writing guides}}
{{Manual of Style}}
{{Wikipedia editor navigation|state=collapsed}} 
[[Category:Wikipedia disambiguation|Manual of Style (disambiguation pages)]]
[[Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (content)]]