Help:Disambiguation Naming Conventions

WIP: We're working on this admin article!

Here are some standard ways of disambiguating page names for different types of articles.

Because every page must have a unique title, where there could be several pages with the same title, you need to differentiate between them. A page can be disambiguated by adding a parenthetical qualifier, like so: Maya (fan writer).

Parentheticals should be in lower case, except for proper nouns (e.g. Batman).

If there are no other pages already in the wiki with the same name, you should not add a parenthetical qualifier. (This rule does not cover cases where the page name is the title of a fanwork, and the title itself contains parentheses.) The page can be renamed later if need be.

Character pages

In general, the parenthetical should follow the format (Fandom). Examples: Martha Kent (Smallville), Sydney (Forever Knight).

Where the character name is the same as the fandom name, the above scheme doesn't work so well. The disambiguation format will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Examples: Harry Potter (character), Merlin (Merlin character).

See also Help:Character pages.

Fanwork pages

The parenthetical should follow the format (Fandom fanwork-type). Examples:

• Red (Merlin vid)
• Beginnings (Star Trek: Voyager story)
• The Circuit (Logan's Run newsletter)

If there are two or more fanworks of the same kind in the same fandom:

• Quantum Mechanics (Quantum Leap anthology by Peg Kennedy)
• Quantum Mechanics (Quantum Leap anthology by Jessica Farrow)

If the fanwork uses multiple canon sources or otherwise doesn't fit this model, you can use (multifandom fanwork-type), (multimedia fanwork-type), or just (fanwork-type):

• Us (multifandom vid)
• Over the Edge (multimedia zine)

See also Help:Fanworks.

Zines

Depending on how many zine pages share the same name, your parenthetical may need to be more or less specific:

• Ad Astra (Battlestar Galactica zine)
• Affairs to Remember (Man from UNCLE slash zine)
• And Death Shall Have No Dominion (Beauty and the Beast zine by Gerda Eeckelaert)

See also Help:Zines.

Fanfiction

No consensus as yet, but most pages follow the pattern (Fandom story) or (Fandom fic)

Fandom pages

The parenthetical for TV fandom pages should be (TV series) or (TV)??

The parenthetical for film fandom pages should be (film) or (film series) or (films)??

Alternatively, ignore canon format and use (fandom) if needed.

Fan pages

Disambiguating fans can be tricky. Try one of the following:

• Add (fan). Example: Devra (fan).
• Add the type of activity they are known for. Example: Severitus (fan writer).
• Add their journaling user name, if uniquely identifiable. Example: Helen (Helenish).
• Add their fandom, if they are associated with only one. Example: Dragon (Beauty and the Beast fan).

See also Help:People pages.

Glossary, trope, and genre pages

• (glossary term)
• (trope)
• (genre)