User:Quietbritishjim/piping

Current version (as of 2010-03-18)

Piping and redirects

Piping and redirects are two different mechanisms, both having the effect that the displayed text of a link is not the same as the title of the article at which readers will arrive when they click that link.

• Piping means concealing the actual title of a linked article by replacing it with other text, often to suppress parenthetical expressions in an article. For example, instead of linking Moment (physics) in a normal article, it will be presented as [[Moment (physics)|Moment]] to display as a single word: Moment.
• A redirect is a special page used to "jump" readers from one page title to an article with a different title. For example, a redirect is used at the title 9/11 to send users who navigate there to the article at September 11 attacks.

Subject to certain exceptions as listed below, piping or redirects should not be used in disambiguation pages. This is to make it clear to the reader which article is being suggested, so that the reader remains in control of the choice of article. For example, in the Moment disambiguation page, with the entry for Moment (physics), "physics" should be visible to the reader. In many cases, what would be hidden by a pipe is exactly what the user would need to be able to find the intended article. In addition, raw section and anchor points should not be displayed. See section and anchor point linking for the handling of these cases.

Even when the disambiguated term is an acronym, initialism or alphabetism, links should not use redirects to conceal the expanded version of that initialism. For example, on the disambiguation page BNL, linking to the full article title Banca Nazionale del Lavoro is preferable to linking to a redirect at BNL (bank).

Exceptions

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

Where redirecting may be appropriate

• A redirect should be used to link to a specific section of an article only if the title of that section is more or less synonymous with the disambiguated topic. This indicates a higher possibility that the topic may eventually have its own article. For example:

Delta may refer to: (correct) Delta Quadrant, in the Star Trek universe ([[Delta Quadrant]], in the ''Star Trek'' universe) (incorrect) Delta Quadrant, in the Star Trek universe ([[Galactic quadrant#Delta Quadrant|Delta Quadrant]], in the ''Star Trek'' universe)

• The above technique should be used only when the link is the subject of the line, not when it is in the description. For description sections, consider piping instead.
• Linking to a redirect can also be helpful when the redirect contains the disambiguated term and could serve as an alternative name for the target article, meaning an alternate term which is already in the article's lead section. For example:

Jim Jones is also the name of: (correct) James Carrey or Jim Carrey (born 1962), Canadian actor ([[James Carrey]] or Jim Carrey, (born 1962), Canadian actor) (incorrect) James Carrey or Jim Carrey (born 1962), Canadian actor (James Carrey or [[Jim Carrey]], (born 1962), Canadian actor)

• The above example of a redirect is only appropriate because James Carrey is indicated as a name in the lead section of the Jim Carrey article. If it were not, then the second example could have been used instead.
• For situations where the primary topic is a redirect, see Linking to a primary topic above.

Where piping may be appropriate

• Use piping to add italics or quotation marks to part of an article name; for instance, Harvey (film), USS Adder (SS-3), "School" (song), Saturnalia (dinosaur), "Hush" (Buffy episode), Neo (The Matrix).
• Similarly, use piping if the article title differs from what it should be due to technical limitations per {{wrongtitle}}; for instance, The Singles 86>98 or Softimage|XSI.
• When the link is in the description, rather than at the start of the entry, piping can be used more freely. However, the text of the link should still be close to the title of the target article, to avoid confusing the reader. For example:

Switch may refer to: "Switch", a song by Siouxsie & the Banshees from The Scream ("Switch", a song by Siouxsie & the Banshees from ''[[The Scream (album)|The Scream]]'')

• When a disambiguation page is linking to a specific section of an article, rather than an entire article, piping may be used for linking to that section via anchor points or section linking. This technique is used commonly for piping to the track listing section of an album; a further example, from E (disambiguation), is that the piped ESRB ([[ESRB#Current | ESRB]]) is preferred to simply linking to the top of the target page ESRB.

• When piping is used on a disambiguation page to link to an article section, the link should be in the description, and should avoid surprising the reader. The text of the link should not be the title of a different article. For example:

Ten may refer to: (correct) Ten or Tien Shinhan, a character in Dragon Ball media (Ten or Tien Shinhan, a [[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tien Shinhan|character in ''Dragon Ball'' media]]) (incorrect) Ten or Tien Shinhan, a character in Dragon Ball media (Ten or Tien Shinhan, a character in ''[[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tien Shinhan|Dragon Ball]]'' media)

Section and anchor point linking

Section and anchor points in links should not be visible to the reader (e.g., [[Galactic quadrant#Delta Quadrant]]). 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 {{R to section}} on the redirect page.

Proposed version

Piping

Piping means concealing the actual title of a linked article by replacing it with other text, often to suppress parenthetical expressions in an article. For example, instead of linking Moment (physics) in a normal article, it will be presented as [[Moment (physics)|Moment]] to display as a single word: Moment.

Subject to certain exceptions as listed below, piping should not be used in disambiguation pages. This is to make it clear to the reader which article is being suggested, so that the reader remains in control of the choice of article. For example, in the Moment disambiguation page, with the entry for Moment (physics), "physics" should be visible to the reader. In many cases, what would be hidden by a pipe is exactly what the user would need to be able to find the intended article. In addition, raw section and anchor points should not be displayed. See section and anchor point linking for the handling of these cases.

Exceptions – Where piping may be appropriate

• Use piping to add italics or quotation marks to part of an article name; for instance, Harvey (film), USS Adder (SS-3), "School" (song), Saturnalia (dinosaur), "Hush" (Buffy episode), Neo (The Matrix).
• Similarly, use piping if the article title differs from what it should be due to technical limitations per {{wrongtitle}}; for instance, The Singles 86>98 or Softimage|XSI.
• When the link is in the description, rather than at the start of the entry, piping can be used more freely. However, the text of the link should still be close to the title of the target article, to avoid confusing the reader. For example:

Switch may refer to: "Switch", a song by Siouxsie & the Banshees from The Scream ("Switch", a song by Siouxsie & the Banshees from ''[[The Scream (album)|The Scream]]'')

• When a disambiguation page is linking to a specific section of an article, rather than an entire article, piping may be used for linking to that section via anchor points or section linking. This technique is used commonly for piping to the track listing section of an album; a further example, from E (disambiguation), is that the piped ESRB ([[ESRB#Current | ESRB]]) is preferred to simply linking to the top of the target page ESRB.

• When piping is used on a disambiguation page to link to an article section, the link should be in the description, and should avoid surprising the reader. The text of the link should not be the title of a different article. For example:

Ten may refer to: (correct) Ten or Tien Shinhan, a character in Dragon Ball media (Ten or Tien Shinhan, a [[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tien Shinhan|character in ''Dragon Ball'' media]]) (incorrect) Ten or Tien Shinhan, a character in Dragon Ball media (Ten or Tien Shinhan, a character in ''[[List of Dragon Ball characters#Tien Shinhan|Dragon Ball]]'' media)

Section and anchor point linking

Section and anchor points in links should not be visible to the reader (e.g., [[Galactic quadrant#Delta Quadrant]]). 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 {{R to section}} on the redirect page.

Redirects

A redirect is a special page used to "jump" readers from one page title to an article with a different title. For example, a redirect is used at the title 9/11 to send users who navigate there to the article at September 11 attacks.

Subject to certain notes listed below, there is no reason to prefer a direct link over a redirect. If several possible ways to link to an article are available (including redirects and the actual article title), choose the link that makes the most sense. What makes "most sense" depends on the context, but the following cases should be considered:

• Linking to a redirect can be helpful when the redirect is expressed in a more similar way to the disambiguation page than the target article. For example:

Continuity may refer to: (correct) Continuity (topology), a generalization of continuity to functions between topological spaces ([[Continuity (topology)]], a generalization of continuity to functions between topological spaces ) (incorrect) Continuous function (topology), a generalization of continuity to functions between topological spaces ([[Continuous function (topology)]], a generalization of continuity to functions between topological spaces )

• Linking to a redirect can be helpful when the redirect contains the disambiguated term and could serve as an alternative name for the target article. For example:

James Cary may refer to: (correct) James Carrey or Jim Carrey (born 1962), Canadian actor ([[James Carrey]] or Jim Carrey, (born 1962), Canadian actor) (incorrect) James Carrey or Jim Carrey (born 1962), Canadian actor (James Carrey or [[Jim Carrey]], (born 1962), Canadian actor)

• A link to redirect should not be used if that word or phrase would not be appropriate in general use. In general, proper names deserve particular attention, and such redirects should only be used if the alternate term is already in the article's lead section. The above example of a redirect is only appropriate because James Carrey is indicated as a name in the lead section of the Jim Carrey article. If it were not, then the second example could have been used instead.
• When the disambiguated term is an acronym, initialism or alphabetism, links should be to the expanded version of that term (unless the previous note applies). For example, on the disambiguation page BNL, linking to the full title Banca Nazionale del Lavoro is preferable to linking to BNL (bank).
• A redirect should be used to link to a specific section of an article only if the title of that section is more or less synonymous with the disambiguated topic. This indicates a higher possibility that the topic may eventually have its own article. For example:

Delta may refer to: (correct) Delta Quadrant, in the Star Trek universe ([[Delta Quadrant]], in the ''Star Trek'' universe) (incorrect) Delta Quadrant, in the Star Trek universe ([[Galactic quadrant#Delta Quadrant|Delta Quadrant]], in the ''Star Trek'' universe)

• The above technique should be used only when the link is the subject of the line, not when it is in the description. For description sections, consider piping instead.
• For situations where the primary topic is a redirect, see Linking to a primary topic above.