Guideline: Edit

Editing Guideline:Hatnote

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In this instance, the rendered term will stand out unitalicized.
 
In this instance, the rendered term will stand out unitalicized.
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== Examples of improper use ==
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<!-- Examples for which permalinks are given are taken verbatim from said revisions. Do not perform any copy editing on such examples without discussing it first on the talk page. -->
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===Trivial information, dictionary definitions, and slang===
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{{shortcut|BTW:TRHAT|BTW:NOTHATNOTE}}
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When notes feature a trivial detail or use of a term, or links to overly specific and [[Wiktionary:tendentious|tendentious]] material, they are unwarranted.
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A [[Special:PermaLink/23034454|previous version]] of the article [[w:Investment|Investment]] showed:
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<blockquote style="border:1px solid black; padding: 1em;">
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<div style="color: red;">
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{{hatnote|During a [[w:siege|siege]], to '''invest''' a town or fortress means to surround it with a [[w:contravallation|contravallation]] and a [[w:circumvallation|circumvallation]].}}
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</div>
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'''Investment''' is a [[w:Term (language)|term]] with several closely related meanings in [[w:finance|finance]] and [[w:economics|economics]]. It refers to the accumulation of some kind of [[w:asset|asset]] in hopes of getting a future [[w:return (finance)|return]] from it. ...
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</blockquote>
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In this case, there is no direct disambiguation, and the note listed is bound to be uninteresting to most readers. The proper disambiguation simply links to a separate [[w:Invest (disambiguation)|Invest (disambiguation)]] page.
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===Legitimate information about the topic===
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{{shortcut|BTW:LEGITHAT}}
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A [[Special:PermaLink/23208477|previous version]] of the ''[[Aisha]]'' article showed:
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<blockquote style="border:1px solid black; padding: 1em;">
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<div style="color: red;">
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{{hatnote|Ayesha is sometimes used as a woman's name. Once popular only among Muslims, it was briefly popular among English-speakers after it appeared in the book ''[[She_%28novel%29|She]]''  by [[Rider Haggard]].}}
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</div>
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'''Aisha''' or '''Ayesha''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic ]]عائشه ''`ā'isha'' = "she who lives") was a wife of  the [[Islam]]ic [[prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. ...
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</blockquote>
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This is a typical but improper use of disambiguating hatnotes.
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Instead, the information belongs in the body of the article, or in the articles about the book, or in a separate article about names, or all three places. Hatnotes are meant to reduce confusion and direct readers to another article they might have been looking for, not for information about the subject of the article itself.
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===Linking to articles that are related to the topic===
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{{shortcut|BTW:RELATED}}
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Disambiguation hatnotes are intended to link to separate topics that could be referred to by the same title, of the article or any of its redirects. They are not intended to link to topics that are simply related to each other, or to a specific aspect of a general topic:
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<blockquote style="border:1px solid black; padding: 1em;">
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<div style="color: red;">
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{{about|the scientific study of extraterrestrial life|treatment in popular culture|Extraterrestrial life in popular culture}}
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</div>
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'''Extraterrestrial life''' is [[life]] that may exist and originate outside the planet [[Earth]].  Its existence is currently hypothetical: there is as yet no evidence of extraterrestrial life that has been widely accepted by scientists. ...
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</blockquote>
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Instead of using a disambiguation hatnote in such cases, it is better to [[BattleTechWiki:Summary style|summarize]] the topic [[Extraterrestrial life in popular culture]] under a subsection of [[Extraterrestrial life]] in conjunction with the {{tl|main}} template.
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Similarly, do ''not'' use the {{tl|see also}} or {{tl|main}} templates on top of a page, as they are meant only for sections; templates {{tl|other uses}} and {{tl|broader}} might be more appropriate alternatives.
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This guideline does ''not'' discourage the use of disambiguation hatnotes in a situation where separate topics are related, but could nonetheless be referred to by the same title and would thus qualify for disambiguation, such as a book and its film adaptation (e.g. ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]).<!--example isn't pertinent for this now-->
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==={{anchor|NAMB}}Disambiguating article names that are not ambiguous===
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{{shortcut|BTW:NAMB|BTW:NOTAMB}}
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It is usually preferable not to have a hatnote when the name of the article is not ambiguous.
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<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 0pt; border:1px solid black; padding: 1em;">
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<big>'''Water (wuxing)'''</big>
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----
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<div style="color: red;">
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{{Other uses|w:Water (disambiguation)}}
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</div>
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'''Water''', is the low point of the matter, or the matter's dying or hiding stage. ...
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</blockquote>
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Here, the hatnote can be removed.  A reader who is following links within BattleTechWiki is unlikely to end up at [[w:Water (wuxing)|Water (wuxing)]] if they were looking for other meanings of water, since [[w:water|water]] does not redirect there.
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A hatnote may still be appropriate when even a more specific name is still ambiguous.  For example, [[w:Tree (set theory)|Tree (set theory)]] might still be confused with [[w:Tree (descriptive set theory|Tree (descriptive set theory)]].
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The presence or absence of hatnotes in articles with disambiguated titles has been a contentious issue, and this guideline doesn't prescribe one way or the other. There are cases where some editors strongly believe that such hatnotes should be included, such as the various articles about treaties called [[w:Treaty of Paris|Treaty of Paris]].
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A hatnote '''may be appropriate''' in an unambiguously named article '''when an ambiguous term redirects to it''', as explained in {{section link|#Ambiguous term that redirects to an unambiguously named article}} above.
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===Non-existent articles===
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{{shortcut|BTW:NOARTICLE|BTW:REDHAT}}
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Hatnotes should not contain red links to non-existent articles, since hatnotes are intended to help users navigate to another article they may have intended to find. The exception is if one intends to create the linked article immediately. In that case, consider creating the new article first, before saving the addition of the hatnote.
  
 
== <span class="anchor" id="Templates"></span>Hatnote templates ==
 
== <span class="anchor" id="Templates"></span>Hatnote templates ==

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