User:Kirby King/Disambiguation pages

On SmashWiki, disambiguation pages are used to differentiate between different topics that may share the same name. Disambiguation pages should include disambig at the bottom of the page. This will add it to Category:Disambiguation pages. This page outlines general rules regarding the use of disambiguation pages.

Levels of disambiguation
There are different ways that one can disambiguate certain material that may be confused by the user. The proper method to use depends on how likely it is that a user would be looking for a given subject under the term in question.

Equal odds
If there are two or more topics that a user may be equally interested in, the case falls under the equal odds scenario. In this case, the main page for the subject should also be the disambiguation page, and include links to the other articles in question.

For example, assuming that the topic Mario and his SSB/Melee incarnations were to be considered equally sought after by visitors, the Mario article should be a disambiguation page such as:

Mario is a character who appears in multiple games in the Super Smash Bros. series:
 * Mario (SSB) talks about Mario in the original Super Smash Bros.
 * Mario (SSBM) talks about Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Note that the first line talks about Mario in general and explains why there is more than one page about him, while each of the disambiguation links clarify the difference between the two articles. Also, the link to each article includes the disambiguation text--do not exclude it as you normally would if linking to it.

Weighted preference
For an topic where there is a greater chance that one subject is more likely to be sought after than another one, the main article for the term should serve as the location of that subject's article. There should be a note included on top of the page to the following effect:


 * This article discusses Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For information about Mario in the original Super Smash Bros., see Mario (SSB).

If there is more than one other page about the topic, the line should appear as follows:


 * This article discusses Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For other uses, see Mario (disambiguation).

Please note that in the actual case of Mario, the weighted preference scenario should hold true for a general article on Mario rather than an article on a particular appearance. This general article, ideally, should clearly include links to information on his other appearances and the other uses for "Mario." Such cases may sometimes negate the need for disambiguation text to appear at the top of an article.

Linking to disambiguated pages
As a rule, you shoud not link to disambiguation pages, but rather to the article discussing the subject in the appropriate context. In addition, when linking to a disambiguated page, you should include a pipe character (|) before the ending double square brackets in the link (such as . This will remove the parenthesized text on the page, but will still link to the correct article.