Help:Disambiguation
In many cases, more than one article "should" have the same name. Such articles require disambiguation. Our scheme for disambiguating follows:
- If none of the meanings of the term require long definitions, they can all be listed in the same article.
- If there are exactly two meanings for the term, the primary or more commonly-used meaning should be found in the main article. The other meaning should be placed in a second article with a clarifying statement in parantheses. Both articles should include the Template:Disambig2 template to notify readers of the term's other meaning. (If neither meaning for the term is significantly more prominant, you may create a disambiguation page as described in the final bullet of this list.)
- If there are three or more meanings for the term, and one of the meanings is significantly more common than the other meanings, the most commonly-used meaning should be found in the main article. The other meanings should be placed in other articles with clarifying statements in parantheses. A disambiguation page should be created which lists and links to all meanings of the term. All of the articles should include the Template:Disambig3 template to point readers to the disambiguation page in case they ended up at the wrong page by mistake.
- If there are three or more meanings for the term, but none of them is significantly more common the the others, the main article itself should be a redirect to a disambiguation page. The disambiguation page should list and link to all meanings of the term. All of the articles should include the Template:Disambig3 template to point readers to the disambiguation page in case they ended up at the wrong page by mistake.
The titles of all disambiguation pages should end with "(disambiguation)". All disambiguation pages should end with the Template:Disambig template.
When deciding what to put in parantheses to disambiguate an article title, the first choice should always be the entity's franchise of origin. Multiple-word franchises may use abbreviations while single-word franchises should be written out (as in the Wiki's official franchise identifiers list). Thus the original Ironhide would be Ironhide (G1) and the Unicron Trilogy Ironhide is Ironhide (Energon). If a character/idea/object was introduced in one franchise, and then later fleshed out in another franchise with backstory set before the original introduction, we still use the earliest real-world depiction of the entity, not the earliest in-fiction depiction.
In those rare instances where a franchise name is not sufficient for disambiguation, there is no single best alternative system. Simply make the qualifier as brief and clear as possible. For characters, a faction or subgroup name will usually do the trick if the franchise alone will not; for example, since there are two different characters named "Sky High" within Generation 1, they would be marked "Sky High (Pretender)" and "Sky High (Micromaster)". If the subgroup is exclusive to a particular franchise, as in the case of Sky High, you may omit the franchise name. In some cases clarity might be improved by including the franchise along with the faction or subgroup. Use your best judgement. If others disagree, it will merely mean somebody moves the page later.
Characters with multiple names (as in the case of alter-egos) should have redirect pages at all names and their article under their most prominent name (hence Circuit Breaker instead of Josie Beller). Humans should be listed with their full name if possible (except in the case of alter egos) with redirects from nicknames.
