Template:Redirect category shell/Comparison

This is an essay on Wikipedia:Categorizing redirects guideline.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Wikipedia redirect pages can display additional readable text – not just the redirect arrow and target title as was previously the case. This feature was added in a software modification in 2014.

This page compares how text appears on redirect pages when tagged with redirect category templates (rcats), in line with the guideline for categorizing redirects. This page focuses on style differences between rcats wrapped using the {{Redirect category shell}} template:

{{Redirect category shell|{{R from plural}}|{{R with possibilities}}}}

and rcats added individually:

{{R from plural}}
{{R with possibilities}}

The {{Redirect category shell}} functions similarly to other shell templates like {{WikiProject banner shell}}, but instead of collapsing its contents, it provides a cleaner and more professional appearance for multiple rcats.

Learning curve

With the Rcat shell template, the learning curve for inexperienced editors, who want to learn the details of redirect categorization, can be greatly enhanced. If an editor has no idea where to start and wants to learn, they can just add {{Rcat shell}} to the third line of a redirect's edit screen, and someone will "come a runnin'" to add rcats to the redirect. If they keep track of where they left a shell template, then they will learn how to categorize from more experienced editors. As their learning grows, they are not abandoned. If an editor knows that one or two rcats are needed, but they are unsure if any more should be added, all they need do is leave the very first parameter empty. Just as before, other editors will come a runnin' to double check their good work. This ability to help new and inexperienced editors is not available to individually applied rcats. More details may be found on the template documentation page.

Protection detection

Another good reason to consider using the Redirect category shell instead of using individual rcats on redirects is that the shell template, in addition to the learning curve and standardized text, is capable of detecting the protection level(s) of a redirect. When an administrator protects a redirect, either edit-protected, move-protected, or both and, if the Redirect category shell template has been used to tag the redirect, then it automatically sorts the redirect into appropriate protection categories. If and when protection is lifted, raised, or lowered, then the protection tags and categories are automatically removed or adjusted accordingly. If the Rcat shell is added to an already protected redirect, then any manually placed protection templates may be removed as they will not be needed. This automatic protection sensing is not available to individually applied rcats.

Style comparison

Templates used: The rcat templates used in this example are:

{{R from alternative name}}
{{R to redirect template}}

Rcat shell

{{Rcat shell|
{{R from related word}}
{{R from shortcut}}
{{R from long name}}
{{R from alternative name}}
{{R to redirect template}}
}}

Individually added

{{R from related word}}
{{R from shortcut}}
{{R from long name}}
{{R from alternative name}}
{{R to redirect template}}

From a related word or phrase: This is a redirect from a word or phrase (term) to a page title that is related in some way. This redirect might be a good search term, or it could be a candidate for a Wiktionary link.
- Redirects from related words are not properly redirects from alternative spellings of the same word. They are also different from redirects that are subtopics or related topics, because unlike those, a related word or phrase probably does not warrant its own subtopic section in the target page or possess the possibility of ever becoming an article, template, project page, and so forth.

From a shortcut: This is a redirect from a shortcut in any namespace to a page in any namespace.
- Shortcuts are wikilinked on community pages, talk pages, and edit summaries, but not in mainspace articles.

From a longer title: This is a redirect from a title that is a complete, more complete or longer version of the topic's name. It leads to the title in accordance with the naming conventions for common names and can help writing and searches. However, do not replace these redirected links with a piped link unless the page is updated for another reason.

From an alternative name: This is a redirect from a title that is another name or identity such as an alter ego, a nickname, or a synonym of the target, or of a name associated with the target.
- This redirect leads to the title in accordance with the naming conventions for common names to aid searches and writing. It is not necessary to replace these redirected links with a piped link.
- If this redirect is an incorrect name for the target, then {{R from incorrect name}} should be used instead.

To a redirect category (rcat) template: This is a redirect from an alias/shortcut (usually), or from a redirect that is the result of a page move/rename, to a redirect category (rcat) template.

Incorrect namespace

Also noted is how these rcats will appear if they are used to tag a redirect in the wrong namespace. {{R from plural}} is an rcat that is only used in article mainspace, and this page is a "template" page, so:

{{Rcat shell|{{R from plural}}}}...

{{R from plural}} if used individually...

From the plural form: This is a redirect from a plural noun to its singular form.
- This redirect link is used for convenience; it is often preferable to add the plural directly after the link (for example, [[link]]s). However, do not replace these redirected links with a simpler link unless the page is updated for another reason (see WP:NOTBROKEN).
- Use this rcat to tag only mainspace redirects; when plural forms are found in other namespaces, use {{R from modification}} instead.

The above rcat should only be used to categorize redirects that are in the main namespace.

Note 1: If {{R from plural}} or any template is used in a different namespace than it should be used, the editor may note that both the above error message and a different categorization than expected is generated. The page will not be sorted to the expected category, and will instead populate Category:Pages with templates in the wrong namespace.

Note 2: When the error box shown above is seen on "preview" or after the edit has been published, be sure to correct the error by removing the rcat that should only be used in another namespace. In this case the {{R from modification}} rcat, which may be used in any namespace, can be used instead of R from plural:

{{Rcat shell|{{R from modification}}}}...

{{R from modification}}...

From a modification: This is a redirect from a modification of the target's title or a closely related title. For example, the words may be rearranged.
- Please note that there are many more specific templates. Please use {{R from alternative spelling}}, {{R from alternative hyphenation}}, {{R from alternative punctuation}}, {{R from alternative spacing}} and {{R from misquotation}} where relevant; see subcategories of Category:Redirects from modifications for other options (capitals, abbreviations, diacritics, plurals, stylizations, transliteration, ligatures, different parts of speech, etc.). If you are unsure which to use, this template is fine; someone will make it more specific later if necessary.
- In cases of modification from distinctly longer or shorter names, please use {{R from long name}} or {{R from short name}}, respectively. An abbreviation should be tagged with {{R from initialism}} or, if it can be spoken like a word such as NASA and RADAR, use {{R from acronym}}.
- Use this rcat instead of {{R from other capitalisation}} and {{R from plural}} in namespaces other than mainspace for those types of modification. This may also apply to several other subcategories of modification; please check those templates' output before saving if using outside of mainspace.

Edit notes

Always double check your edits even after you have previewed and published them. Some edits may appear differently in different browsers and skins, so it's good to be prepared and to check those edits with different browsers and in different skins. Also, a few edits may appear differently after being published than when they were viewed on preview.

If your edits fail to appear after you've published them, be sure you have enabled your ability to see "hidden categories". You can make this choice very easily:

In your preferences, check the box Preferences → Appearance → Advanced options → Show hidden categories
Click Save

You may need to purge your browser cache to ensure that you can see hidden cats in the future.

The following "preview trick" is no longer necessary since the bugs were fixed. It is kept only for historic reasons, because it also works for other templates. There is another way the text can be seen and checked to see if the correct rcat has been added. When an editor begins to edit a redirect, the edit screen is brought up that gives the ability to change the page. If the redirect is disabled for preview and not saved, the editor can see the text of the rcat(s) added by clicking on Show preview. Once the editor has determined that the correct rcats have been added, the redirect can be re-enabled before being saved. One easy way to disable a redirect is to type a number or letter in the upper left of the edit field, to the left of the "#REDIRECT", as in "4#REDIRECT". Be sure that the "4" is removed before the Publish changes is clicked.

The following "preview trick" is no longer necessary since a software update enabled section reference viewing. It is kept only for historic reasons, because it also works for other templates. The above "preview trick" works for other templates as well, such as {{Reflist}}. Place one of those beneath a paragraph of an article section and click on Show preview to give you a "test reflist" with which to check citation edits. If you forget to remove the test reflist and published the page with it still in, just be sure to double check the edit and correct your mistake. Others will understand because we've all made the same or similar errors.

Bug note

There are two closed bugs and one open Phab ticket that dealt/deal with the appearance of text on redirects:

T16323 Resolved
T44642 Resolved
T134075 same bug description only for file image redirect pages

Until the first two were resolved, the above texts only appeared at Rfd, because only then was a redirect disabled (by the Rfd template). Only when a redirect was disabled would text appear on redirects.

Editors' choice

There is no policy nor guideline with a goal to get editors to use the Rcat shell. So it is up to editors to decide which style is better for use: the Rcat shell wrapping the rcats or the rcats are used individually. The editors who have worked to improve the Rcat shell hope that other editors will put it to good use.