Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers/Archive 18

message: I think the changes suggested above should clearly be implemented for the digits.  Ideas about more comprehensive changes, for general ease of use and stylistic consistency:
* It can be confusing to have a policy that the bare number should not only redirect to, but should be the article for a given year.  
* It is slightly off-style to include the disambiguation list ("other uses of 100") in the article about a given number.  It would be cleaner to have a separate disambiguation page, particularly when the list is long.
In light of this, changes that could be made:
====Proposed changes====
* Have bare number 2 (for instance) redirect to  2 (year)
* Make the links to the page on the number-and-numeral clear at the top of the page; perhaps slightly larger than they are now
* If necessary -- that is, if the number/numeral page is sufficiently long -- create a "2 (disambiguation)" page for dab content and move "other uses" out of the relevant 2 (number) page.  Then the disambig notice at the top of the page for the year 2 should link to both the number and the dab, something like  "For the number 2, see 2 (number).  For other uses of 2, see 2 (disambiguation)."
*: +sj + 16:16, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree with the second proposal, "Make the links to the page on the number-and-numeral clear at the top of the page". But I disagree with the first proposal. Even when the usefulness of the number pages is fully realized, the vast majority of people who edit Wikipedia will still appreciate being able to make year links without worrying about redirects. PrimeFan 20:11, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Emphasizing disambiguation with (year), (number), and (disambiguation)

message: * Have bare number 2 (for instance) redirect to  2 (year)
* Make the links to the page on the number-and-numeral clear at the top of the page; perhaps slightly larger than they are now
* If necessary -- that is, if the number/numeral page is sufficiently long -- create a "2 (disambiguation)" page for dab content and move "other uses" out of the relevant 2 (number) page.  Then the disambig notice at the top of the page for the year 2 should link to both the number and the dab, something like  "For the number 2, see 2 (number).  For other uses of 2, see 2 (disambiguation)."
*: +sj + 16:16, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Proposed changes

message: *According to Wikipedia:Naming_conventions#Numbers, the number articles with related meanings should be at 3 (number), rather than Three or Number 3 or 3. Similar to letters, where all related meanings are listed under A#Meanings_for_A, this should include content that might have been on disambiguation pages. Template:Otheruses-number leads from the year article to the number article
*Four, Isère is not related to the number, so 4_(number)#In_other_fields isn't the place to list it, but it's current location at 4 (number) is consistent with other meanings using redirects. The long list at 3_(number)#Groups_of_three could easily go on a separate page. In general, the numbers 1-12 could probably benefit from a format more consistent with the higher numbers, but as they are longer, it's more difficulte to give them a consistent look.
** My favorite Style Guideline is: "Use common sense when creating page divisions."  When there's not enough content for a handful of pages, use just one.  We should start creating N (disambiguation) pages, separate from N (number) pages, as they become necessary for numbers with extensive "other uses" sections. If a dab page exists, we should say "for other uses, see N (disambiguation)," which would in turn link to the N (number) page. 
**: note that the same style guideline led to the happy compromise of having one page per hundred numbers, and then one per thousand numbers, as the numbers get larger and larger. +sj +
*The years at 1, 2, 3, etc. are the titles with the formats used for dynamic date formatting, so without changing mediawiki, I tend to think it's preferable to leave them there. -- User:Docu
** The only penalty for redirecting the digits is that people following 'dynamic date formatting' and similar date links will have one (invisible) redirect.  Since those ten years are not terribly popular, this is no significant harship on the servers.  I think we should make exceptions for those ten.
User:Sj: please can you explain the problem you are trying to solve, and how you believe your proposed solution solves it? Gdr 20:50, 2005 May 12 (UTC)
*For consistency's sake, please keep naming for single or double-digit numbers (and years) the same as for triple and quadruple-digit ones. Just as 1985 is the year and not the number, so should 8 be the year and not the nubmer. Radiant_* 07:29, May 13, 2005 (UTC)
:I agree with the second proposal, "Make the links to the page on the number-and-numeral clear at the top of the page". But I disagree with the first proposal. Even when the usefulness of the number pages is fully realized, the vast majority of people who edit Wikipedia will still appreciate being able to make year links without worrying about redirects. PrimeFan 20:11, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Commentary