CZ:Naming conventions: Difference between revisions

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Citizendium has various conventions about how to name articles.  Most importantly, all words in an article name, except for the first word, should be lower case and singular (e.g. [[Sympathetic nervous system]]), unless it is normal to write it in the upper case or plural (e.g. [[Great Britain]], [[Pants]]).  Another convention is that the common names for things are preferred to the obscure, although there are exceptions. 
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== How to title articles ==
== How to title articles ==
If an article concerns only one aspect of a topic, then it should have a precise title that accurately reflects the content.  For example, if an article about [[Russia]] is only about the ''history'' of Russia, then it should be named [[History of Russia]].
'''Generally, prefer common names.'''  The common names for things are preferred to the recondite or obscure.  For instance, you might better place an article at [[Bill Clinton]] rather than [[William Jefferson Clinton]].


It is important to choose the right title for an article.
'''Be specific with person names.'''  When starting articles using a person's name, it is normally preferable to disambiguate the title (i.e., not just "Eugene Daub", but rather "Eugene Daub (sculptor)".


'''The title should describe the contents of an article accurately.'''  If you have written an article about a topic, only to discover that your article concerns only one aspect of the topic (such as its history), then it is preferable to place your article on a more accurately-named page, to write a short article about the original topic, and then link from that short article to the new page. For example, if you were to write an article about [[Russia]] only to find that you had written exclusively about the ''history'' of Russia, then you should move your article to [[history of Russia]], and link to that new page from a brief article about Russia on the [[Russia]] page.
== Prefer the well-known, common name for the article ==
If there is a name used regularly in common parlance, by non-experts, the common name should be the preferred article name in Citizendium; e.g., [[Superfund]] instead of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA.


'''Generally, prefer common names.'''  The common names for things--if accurate--should be used in preference to the recondite or obscure, although this may have a few exceptionsFor instance, we might better place the article about the 90s U.S. president at [[Bill Clinton]] rather than [[William Jefferson Clinton]].
== Naming places ==
Place names should nearly always include the surrounding location, i.e., not just "Big Sandy River", but "Big Sandy River, Tennessee" or "Big Sandy River, West Virginia".  Or, park name might use parentheses, such as "David Bradford Park (Princeton, NJ)"Really famous, widely known geographical features might not need to include a location (i.e., "Mississippi River" is sufficient).


== Typographical and stylistic rules ==
== Typographical and stylistic rules ==


'''Prefer lowercase.''' The article title should be lowercase unless it is typically written uppercase when used in a regular sentence.  So: [[computational complexity theory]]; but [[American Chemical Society]].
'''Prefer singular''': Prefer the singular form of nouns ([[Bear]], not [[Bears]]).


'''Prefer singular.''' Prefer the singular form of nouns (with few exceptions). For example, prefer [[bear]] to [[bears]].  This makes articles easier and more intuitive to link to.
'''First name first''': Articles about people put the first name first (e.g., [[Albert Einstein]]). Our metadata template alphabetizes the page according to the "abc" field in the metadata template.  Fill in the "abc" field  as <code><nowiki>abc = Einstein, Albert</nowiki></code>. This will file the Einstein article in all categories under "E" rather than "A" (See [[CZ:Using the Subpages template]]).


'''First name first.''' Unless there is a compelling reason not to, articles about people should begin with the person's first name first; e.g., [[Albert Einstein]]. Note that there is a way to list names in categories by last name first; e.g., the code <code><nowiki>[[Category:CZ Live|Einstein, Albert]]</nowiki></code> files the Einstein article in the "CZ Live" category last name, first.
'''Punctuation''': Avoid punctuation in an article title, but there are many exceptions:
#Disambiguation titles use parentheses (e.g. [[Accidental (music)]])—[[CZ:Naming_Conventions#Disambiguation_in_page_titles|see below]]
#Geographical place names may require commas (e.g., [[Anchorage, Alaska]])
#Artistic works are rendered as titled (e.g., [[William Faulkner|William Faulkner's]] ''[[Absalom, Absalom!]]'', [[Willa Cather|Willa Cather's]] ''[[O Pioneers!]]'')
#A person's name may include initials (e.g., [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]). Most institutions with acronyms or initialisms (e.g. NATO, WHO, USSR, BBC, NBC) along with official names comprised of initials (e.g., USS, HMS, RMS) do not use periods; but note that CZ usage is U.S. and not US<ref>The usage of "U.S." is technical as the search engine will differentiate between "U.S." and "us" but not "US" and "us". Thus if it were "US", a search for U.S. topics such as the "U.S. Civil War" would also return "between us, civil war erupted."  Similarly, searches for "US" topics would also return "USSR" topics.</ref>
#The names of most people (unless extremely famous) should be qualified with a word or two in parentheses, such as "Bob Jones (Missouri policeman)".


== Disambiguation in page titles ==
== Disambiguation in page titles ==
{{Image|Disambiguation in Citizendium.jpg|left|500px|The Snake redirect needs to be restored, as Citizendium handles disambiguation differently than Wikipedia.  We make sure the top-level topic (in this case, [[Snake]], is a redirect so that no one will be tempted to create a new article if there is a redlink to it.}}
{{seealso|CZ:Disambiguation}}
To ''disambiguate'' is to reduce ambiguity.  It is occasionally necessary to place clarifying phrases within parentheses to specify ''which'' of various possible topics might be meant. For example, when
#The title is used in multiple ways, and the sense in the article is ''not'' the most common sense.  For example, there is a line of cosmetics called "Philosophy"; the article about that might live at [[Philosophy (cosmetics)]]. The article about deep thought continues to live at [[Philosophy]].
#The title takes a common word or phrase and uses it in a special way.  For example, "attack surface" is a term in computer science, but the words ''could'' mean all sorts of things, such as the deck of an aircraft carrier or a ping-pong table.  To clarify that we are using the word or phrase in a special way, we include a disambiguating phrase: e.g. [[attack surface (software)]]; [[frontal scale (snakes)]].
Some titles should ''always'' be disambiguated&mdash; in particular, those that do not suggest any one particular sense.  For example, "Georgia" is apt to bring to mind the U.S. state as much as the country in the Caucasus.  Therefore, we  use [[Georgia (U.S. state)]] and [[Georgia (country)]], or similar, suitably unambiguous titles.  At [[Georgia]], we put a "[[CZ:disambiguation|disambiguation]] page," i.e., a page that lists and links to the different pages with the title in question.


To ''disambiguate'' is to reduce ambiguityIt is occasionally necessary to use parenthetical phrases to specify ''which'' of various possible phrases might be meant.  There are at least two sorts of case in which this is necessary:
Similarly, [[CZ_Talk:Naming_Conventions#Proposed_solution | royalty should be disambiguated]] by kingdom in parenthesesKing [[James I]] should be disambiguated in the title by kingdom: [[James I (England)]], [[James I (Scotland)]], [[James I (Aragon)]].


* The title (i.e., the word or phrase in the title) is used in multiple ways, and the sense discussed in the article is ''not'' the most common sense.  For example, there is a line of cosmetics called "Philosophy"; the article about that might live at [[Philosophy (cosmetics)]].  The article about deep thought continues to live at [[Philosophy]]--no parentheses needed.
== Geographical names==
* The title takes a common word or phrase, or what might appear to be common, and uses it in a special wayFor example, "attack surface" is a term in computer science, but the words themselves ''could'' mean all sorts of things, such as the deck of an aircraft carrier or a ping-pong table. Simply to clarify that we are using the word or phrase in a special way, we include a disambiguating phrase: [[attack surface (software)]].  More examples: [[phenomenon (Kant's philosophy)]]; [[frontal scale (snakes)]]; [[pissant (insect)]].
Names of geographical entities should be written in full, in title case, and without the definite article ("the"): [[Pacific Ocean]], [[Red Sea]], [[Nile]], [[North America]]Generally, use the name of a geographical entity usually given by the locals if English-speaking, and most often used in English if the locals are not English-speaking (e.g., [[Rio Grande]])In uncertain cases, some sort of disambiguation should be used in the title.


Note: use parentheses for disambiguating phrases; do not use dashes, hyphens, or commas.
==Incorrectly named articles==
If you see a page that you think has been incorrectly named, first look at the article's Talk: page to see if the issue has been previously discussed and if a consensus has been reached about it.  If not, leave a note with your suggestion, and add the article to [[:Category:Rename suggested]] (add <nowiki>[[Category:Rename suggested]]</nowiki> to the bottom of the talk page). It might also be wise to notify the work group editors directly, since the "Category:Rename suggested" is, at the moment, not frequently looked at.  You can find a list of the work group editors by navigating through the [[CZ:Workgroups]] pages.  Look for the "editors" link under "community".


Some titles that should ''always'' be disambiguated--in particular, those titles that do not suggest any one particular sense.  For example, "Georgia" is apt to bring to mind the U.S. state as much as the country in the Caucasus.  Or, in any event, in the interests of [[CZ:Neutrality Policy|neutrality]], we should not pretend that one sense is the primary one.  Therefore, we should use [[Georgia (U.S. state)]] and [[Georgia (country)]]--or similar, suitably disambiguated titles.  What should we put at [[Georgia]] (with no parentheses)?  At [[Georgia]], we should put a "disambiguation page," i.e., a page that lists and links to the different pages with the title in question.
==Special cases==
*Some pages, like [[pH]] and [[e (mathematics)]], require lower case titles, which are done like this:
:<nowiki>{{lowercase|title=pH}}</nowiki> at the top of the article gives the correct title form for [[pH]]<br>
:<nowiki>{{lowercase|title=e (mathematics}}</nowiki> gives the correct title form of [[e (mathematics)]].


=== Disambiguation pages ===
*Some pages, like [[9/11 Attack|9/11]], require a "/" in their titles, which for technical reasons doesn't work with our [[CZ:Article structure#Subpages|subpage]] system. Use {{tl|slashtitle}}, and follow the instructions on that page.


The function of a disambiguation page is ''strictly'' to list the various articles (including planned articles) that go under a title.  [[Linux (disambiguation)]] is a good example.  Typically, disambiguation pages are marked with "disambiguation" parentheses, but not always; again, [[Georgia]] is an example.
== Notes ==
<references/>


Please ''do not'' list senses of a word for which there are no articles planned; a disambiguation page is merely a device to redirect people, not to enlighten them about all the different ways that a word or phrase is used.  It is also unnecessary to list related articles; for example, it is not necessary to list Linux creator [[Linus Torvalds]] on the [[Linux (disambiguation)]] page, since Torvalds is not a sense of "Linux."  Presumably, people will arrive at the disambiguation page looking specifically for a pointer to an article that goes under the title in question; anything else is a distraction.
{{Content Policy}}
[[Category:Policies]]

Latest revision as of 09:54, 3 October 2024

[edit intro]

Citizendium has various conventions about how to name articles. Most importantly, all words in an article name, except for the first word, should be lower case and singular (e.g. Sympathetic nervous system), unless it is normal to write it in the upper case or plural (e.g. Great Britain, Pants). Another convention is that the common names for things are preferred to the obscure, although there are exceptions.

How to title articles

If an article concerns only one aspect of a topic, then it should have a precise title that accurately reflects the content. For example, if an article about Russia is only about the history of Russia, then it should be named History of Russia.

Generally, prefer common names. The common names for things are preferred to the recondite or obscure. For instance, you might better place an article at Bill Clinton rather than William Jefferson Clinton.

Be specific with person names. When starting articles using a person's name, it is normally preferable to disambiguate the title (i.e., not just "Eugene Daub", but rather "Eugene Daub (sculptor)".

Prefer the well-known, common name for the article

If there is a name used regularly in common parlance, by non-experts, the common name should be the preferred article name in Citizendium; e.g., Superfund instead of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA.

Naming places

Place names should nearly always include the surrounding location, i.e., not just "Big Sandy River", but "Big Sandy River, Tennessee" or "Big Sandy River, West Virginia". Or, park name might use parentheses, such as "David Bradford Park (Princeton, NJ)". Really famous, widely known geographical features might not need to include a location (i.e., "Mississippi River" is sufficient).

Typographical and stylistic rules

Prefer singular: Prefer the singular form of nouns (Bear, not Bears).

First name first: Articles about people put the first name first (e.g., Albert Einstein). Our metadata template alphabetizes the page according to the "abc" field in the metadata template. Fill in the "abc" field as abc = Einstein, Albert. This will file the Einstein article in all categories under "E" rather than "A" (See CZ:Using the Subpages template).

Punctuation: Avoid punctuation in an article title, but there are many exceptions:

  1. Disambiguation titles use parentheses (e.g. Accidental (music))—see below
  2. Geographical place names may require commas (e.g., Anchorage, Alaska)
  3. Artistic works are rendered as titled (e.g., William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!, Willa Cather's O Pioneers!)
  4. A person's name may include initials (e.g., J. R. R. Tolkien). Most institutions with acronyms or initialisms (e.g. NATO, WHO, USSR, BBC, NBC) along with official names comprised of initials (e.g., USS, HMS, RMS) do not use periods; but note that CZ usage is U.S. and not US[1]
  5. The names of most people (unless extremely famous) should be qualified with a word or two in parentheses, such as "Bob Jones (Missouri policeman)".

Disambiguation in page titles

The Snake redirect needs to be restored, as Citizendium handles disambiguation differently than Wikipedia. We make sure the top-level topic (in this case, Snake, is a redirect so that no one will be tempted to create a new article if there is a redlink to it.
See also: CZ:Disambiguation

To disambiguate is to reduce ambiguity. It is occasionally necessary to place clarifying phrases within parentheses to specify which of various possible topics might be meant. For example, when

  1. The title is used in multiple ways, and the sense in the article is not the most common sense. For example, there is a line of cosmetics called "Philosophy"; the article about that might live at Philosophy (cosmetics). The article about deep thought continues to live at Philosophy.
  2. The title takes a common word or phrase and uses it in a special way. For example, "attack surface" is a term in computer science, but the words could mean all sorts of things, such as the deck of an aircraft carrier or a ping-pong table. To clarify that we are using the word or phrase in a special way, we include a disambiguating phrase: e.g. attack surface (software); frontal scale (snakes).

Some titles should always be disambiguated— in particular, those that do not suggest any one particular sense. For example, "Georgia" is apt to bring to mind the U.S. state as much as the country in the Caucasus. Therefore, we use Georgia (U.S. state) and Georgia (country), or similar, suitably unambiguous titles. At Georgia, we put a "disambiguation page," i.e., a page that lists and links to the different pages with the title in question.

Similarly, royalty should be disambiguated by kingdom in parentheses. King James I should be disambiguated in the title by kingdom: James I (England), James I (Scotland), James I (Aragon).

Geographical names

Names of geographical entities should be written in full, in title case, and without the definite article ("the"): Pacific Ocean, Red Sea, Nile, North America. Generally, use the name of a geographical entity usually given by the locals if English-speaking, and most often used in English if the locals are not English-speaking (e.g., Rio Grande). In uncertain cases, some sort of disambiguation should be used in the title.

Incorrectly named articles

If you see a page that you think has been incorrectly named, first look at the article's Talk: page to see if the issue has been previously discussed and if a consensus has been reached about it. If not, leave a note with your suggestion, and add the article to Category:Rename suggested (add [[Category:Rename suggested]] to the bottom of the talk page). It might also be wise to notify the work group editors directly, since the "Category:Rename suggested" is, at the moment, not frequently looked at. You can find a list of the work group editors by navigating through the CZ:Workgroups pages. Look for the "editors" link under "community".

Special cases

  • Some pages, like pH and e (mathematics), require lower case titles, which are done like this:
{{lowercase|title=pH}} at the top of the article gives the correct title form for pH
{{lowercase|title=e (mathematics}} gives the correct title form of e (mathematics).
  • Some pages, like 9/11, require a "/" in their titles, which for technical reasons doesn't work with our subpage system. Use {{slashtitle}}, and follow the instructions on that page.

Notes

  1. The usage of "U.S." is technical as the search engine will differentiate between "U.S." and "us" but not "US" and "us". Thus if it were "US", a search for U.S. topics such as the "U.S. Civil War" would also return "between us, civil war erupted." Similarly, searches for "US" topics would also return "USSR" topics.


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