ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ:WikiProject Merge/PMGGUIDE

From Help:Merging and Wikipedia:Merging

A merger is a process by which the content of two pages are united on one page for one or more of the following reasons:

  • Unnecessary duplication of content
  • Significant overlap with the topic of another page
  • Minimal content that could be covered in or requires the context of a page on a broader topic.

A copy paste merger creates "attribution dependency". To license the content from the originating article you must, at minimum, provide a direct link to the original article in the edit summary of the page where content is being placed. You should also place the {{Copied}} tag on the originating article as well as the target article.

Merging should be avoided if the articles are sufficiently distinct to stand on their own and the resulting article will be too long or "clunky"; the separate topics could be expanded into longer standalone (but cross-linked) articles; the topics are discrete subjects and deserve their own articles even though they may be short.

If you need direction for making a new merge proposal see Wikipedia:Proposed mergers. On Wikipedia, articles may be boldly merged without any proposal taking place, though it is recommended where the merge is expected to be controversial. If you boldly merge an article and it is reverted, this should be considered part of the BOLD, revert, discuss cycle and not undone until discussion takes place—do not edit war.

Project Merge Guidelines

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Listing and Delisting

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A merge is listed once a tag is placed on the article, such as {{Merge}} or {{Merge to}}. Removing the tag, delists the article. Never remove a proposed merge tag unless you are intending to delist the article and only do so when all issues have been addressed. If the proposer of the merge did not start a discussion for the merge, and it is not obvious why the articles should be merged, it is acceptable to remove the tags. If the reason for the merge is obvious, you can either merge the articles boldly, or start a new discussion.

Editors should always close a proposal uncontroversially. Complex cases can be referred to the project's talk page. Merging an article where there was a consensus-based decision to do so at an AfD discussion that has been closed by an administrator is not controversial, and may be undertaken with no further discussion or closing procedure. Local consensus should determine a merge with redirect if discussion is underway for even a very old merge proposal, however, content may still be boldy added to the target page if it is not already present, has context and has references. If content can be saved by taking the extra time to copy edit for original prose, references, formatting, etc. an editor is encouraged to do so.

If an article is original and has sufficient differences from the target article it can be retained and not be redirected or merged and delisted. A merge tag represents the efforts of an editor to gain consensus. If no other discussion is made it is an individual judgement call, whether or not to carry out a "Merge with redirect" from a proposal. If a MWR is reverted by another editor after being carried out by a project participant (or other editor) with no discussion we can assume opposition to the merge and delist as "no consensus".

Stale merge proposals

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If there has been no discussion generated after a reasonable amount of time then the merge proposal is stale. Stale merge proposals more than one year should be immediately delisted if any of the following apply:

  • The merge has been completed already.
  • Either the target or destination article has been deleted.
  • Either the target or destination article is a redirect to a different topic. (This does not include redirects for capitalization, spelling or formatting)
  • The merge discussion doesn't name both articles to be merged. (Close the discussion as void due to confusion about what articles are involved)
  • The tags propose a merge from a very narrow topic to a very wide topic, or vice versa (Example - merging Killdeer, North Dakota to United States)
  • The tags propose merging a biography to another biography without justification. This almost never makes sense, and there is a strong burden of proof on the proposer.
  • The article qualifies for speedy delete. Redirect it to a logical target if there is one, otherwise nominate for speedy deletion.
  • The article faced an articles for deletion discussion while the merge tag was on the page and not a single user proposed the merge in the discussion. Be sure to check the article history to make sure the merge tag was there during the deletion discussion.

Stale merge proposals less than a year old

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Once a reasonable amount of time has passed and no discussion is generated the proposal becomes stale. Stale proposals of less than one year may be delisted if any or all of above apply as well as additional standards for newer proposals:

  • No AFDs/ANI or Dispute resolution is in process or about to begin. Do not remove the merge tag from the proposed article if the AFD is merge related. Tags are not removed during disputes. Any edit done during an AFD is subject to admin approval or decline but are generally allowed.
  • Niether article would benefit from a straight merge with redirect. Examples may be articles that receive substantial expansion or are already large enough for C class when or since proposed or a target article already far too large.
  • Unreasonable merge to destination/target. Either article does reasonably fit the other.
  • The article qualifies for speedy deletion. Redirect it to a logical target if there is one, otherwise nominate for speedy deletion.
  • The proposal has not been closed after no less than two weeks with no discussion or two weeks from last edit with no consensus reached.

If the articles listed for merge meet the above standards then you may simply remove the tags as a stale merge/old proposal no consensus. No merging takes place.

If none of the above apply or it is your decision to carry out the merge, be sure and follow the steps as laid out by Help:Merging.

Editing and merging during disputes

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Editors should not merge content during an AFD. AfD participants should not work "around" consensus by beginning a merge process on their own, before discussion. While preservation of content is a good consideration, copying may be contentious and may create additional steps and administrative work if undoing any copying is necessary. Such a merge also causes an attribution dependency breakage between articles that may require the merging of article history that would be lost if the source page is deleted. AFD participants may offer proposals and negotiate with the other participants during the discussion. If needed, editors may ask the closing admin how to rescue the content or what additional steps that need to be taken.

Using reference merge

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Any editor may add contents and references if the prose used is completely original. In this manner the merged content is not merely copied and pasted but all original content makes use of the available references.[] Rather than merging, the content can be rewritten. In this case, there is no attribution problems as the content is new. However, one should exercise extreme caution BEFORE undertaking such a controversial merge. While it is not strictly prohibited, Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge recommends that all editors refrain from such tasks in the spirit of collaboration. Unless there is a strong case for the merger specified by deletion policy it is preferred that editors wait until the discussion period is complete.

Once the content is merged do not forget to blank the originating page and add:

  • #REDIRECT [[PAGENAME]] {{R from merge}}

Attribution of originating content

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At minimum, attribution must be provided in the edit summary of the page into which content is placed. This step is required in order to conform with Wikipedia's licensing requirements. Do not omit it nor omit the page name. It is important to remember, once a merge has been made and the redirect set or even when a redirect is not set in place, to add this template on both the target and originating article talkpage and fill out completely:

{{Copied |from= |from_oldid= |to= |diff= }}

This code, when filled, out produces the name of the two articles and the original diff from your action of adding the material in full or in part and is needed to attribute the work of the authors. Below is this example for the Merge guidelines copied in full or in part from Help:Merging.