Wookieepedia:Duplicate articles

Below is a **list of duplicate articles** that have been created mostly by mistake. They have to be merged into a single piece of work, and one title has to be redirected to the other (or a completely new page must be created) in accordance with Wookieepedia:Naming conventions and Wookieepedia:Manual of Style.

Categories that need merging can be listed [together] on Wookieepedia:Trash compactor where one category will be deleted after merging into the other.

Although this page does not automatically update as does Category:Articles to be merged, this page has nevertheless been kept because unlike the category page, this page allows editors to make comments about the articles to be merged.

If you disagree with a "merge" indication then you can remove it, or change the template from {{merge|Article Name}} to {{MergeDisputed|Article Name}} and discuss it on this page until consensus is reached.

## Actively avoiding duplicates

You can help prevent the creation of duplicate articles (and the resulting wasted effort) by:

* Searching for existing articles on the same subject *before* creating any new articles.
* Creating redirects for every term that is synonymous with the article's name, provided that it doesn't have to be disambiguated.
* Using the correct existing capitalization of an article name when linking to it.
* Instead of contributing to an article - check first that an article on essentially the same subject does not already exist. If it does, put merge notices on the two articles and then contribute to the correct one.

Orphaned Articles lists articles that aren't linked to, and may have been created when a new article was created without having searched for a previously existing article.

## Mark current duplicates

If you find a pair of articles that appear to be duplicates, merge them! If you can't carry out the merger yourself, it is suggested that you put the following at the top of each:

**{{merge|*Other article*}}**
This informs future visitors to the pages of your request that they be merged.

If you know which way the merger should go, you can put the following at the top of the article where the merged material should end up:

**{{mergefrom|*Other article*}}**
...and the following at the top of the article that contains material to be merged with the other article:

**{{mergeto|*Other article*}}**

Please note that the list at the bottom of this page is not generated automatically; its entries must be added manually (unlike *Category:Articles to be merged*).

Many Wikipedia users prefer to avoid having tags at the tops of articles, particularly if they aren't relevant to readers. Consider using these tags sparingly, and use the talk pages to discuss how to merge articles where it's not obvious whether or how the articles should be merged.

## How articles should be merged

Before you begin with the process of merging the articles, it is recommended that you take these bits of advice into consideration:

* Usually, an experienced user will suggest that one article (the source) be absorbed into another (the target).
* Read both articles carefully and decide which article has the more appropriate title and content.
* Merge the content by copying/pasting from one window to another. Be sure not to allow any of the good content to be lost in the transfer.
* The articles don't necessarily have to be merged at once. You can let others collaborate with the merging process, by placing the **{{merging|*Target article name*}}** template on the page that you will merge *from* (the source page). In this way, confusion will also be avoided, as others will know that the source page is outdated, and that all further contributions should only be included in the target page.
* **Upon completion, it is critical to place a redirect on the page that the content has been moved *from*.** For example, if you move the content of "John Ronald Doe" into "John Doe" you replace the content of the former with "#REDIRECT [[John Doe]]". This helps people find the new article title and prevents others from mistakenly recreating the duplicate.
* If you copy material from one article to the other, you must explain in your edit comment that you have done so, giving the name of the source article, for example "Merged material from [[John Ronald Doe]] into section "Biography"." This is important so that all contributors to the article can be properly credited, as required by CC-BY-SA.

Alternatively, you could also leave the two pages distinct (without a redirect), but complete the text of one of the pages so that it is no longer a duplicate, incorrect, or a stub. For example, someone might suggest that the "Cinema of India" and "History of Indian Cinema" be merged, as they contain mostly duplicate information. In this case "Cinema of India" should contain an overview of the subject, including a short summary of the history, with a link to "History of Indian Cinema" which should contain the detailed history.

After a pair has been merged, **please remove it from the list below** (both the source and target pages). If you want to show off your work, use the talk page.