This FAQ is linked from the {{ dablinks}} template. The FAQ briefly describes what links to disambiguation pages are, why they should generally be removed, how to fix them, and how to remove the template.
Links to disambiguation pages are generally wrong; they are intended to go to some page with a more specific title that can be found on the disambiguation page.
For example, where an editor writes "Captain [[John Smith]] is remembered for his role in establishing the English settlement of Jamestown", they don't intend to create a link to the disambiguation page John Smith, but to the article John Smith (explorer). This is remedied using piped links: "Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is remembered for his role in establishing the English settlement of Jamestown"
No. This template is only placed on articles that have a large number of links to disambiguation pages, currently defined as 7 dablinks or more.
Generally, with one of the following tools to help:
popupFixDabs
flag set to true makes it easier to fix disambiguation links in a Wikipedia article. Once you've enabled popups in
Special:Preferences, go to your
javascript config file and add the following line (but without any leading space). window.popupFixDabs=true;Then, when you mouse over a dablink, the popup will show your options. Pick the correct article from the list of links in green at the bottom of the popup.
Let's say your article links to John Smith, yet it should really link to an article about John Smith, who is a ballet dancer, but that article does not exist. To solve this, simply create the redlink John Smith (dancer). (See WP:PRECISION in Article titles for how to best name a redlink.)
Links should almost always go to an article instead of a disambiguation page. Most exceptions are in the case of See also sections and hatnotes such as {{ otheruses}}. But in rare cases, an in-article disambiguation link is correct. For example: "Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is one of many people named [[John Smith]]." In this case, the link to the John Smith disambiguation page is intentional, so we mark it as such by making use of the (disambiguation) redirect: "Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is one of many people named [[John Smith (disambiguation)|John Smith]]." This would no longer come up in the reports for the DPL project as needing to be fixed.
In the case of a disambiguation page lacking the word "(disambiguation)" in its title, it is impossible for the bot to recognize the link as correct. You can follow the lead of John Smith (disambiguation) redirecting to John Smith and create a link with "(disambiguation)" redirecting to the desired (disambiguation)-lacking disambiguation page.
As a last resort, include the {{
bots}} template at the top of the page, and deny access to the DPL bot that activates this text, like so: {{
bots|deny=DPL bot}}
. Please use this sparingly, as this means other links to disambiguation pages on the same page will not be patrolled by the bot.
As soon as the number of dablinks drops below 7, you're free to remove the template. If the number of dablinks drops to 4 or fewer, DPL bot will remove it for you. This tool[ dead link] will tell you how many disambiguation pages your article links to. This daily report[ dead link] lists articles that are eligible to have their {{ dablinks}} template removed.
If the number of dablinks drops to fewer than 4, DPL bot will automatically remove the template. If the number of dablinks is between 4 and 7, you can manually remove the template and DPL bot will not try to replace it. Or you can improve those links.
Please visit the Disambiguation pages with links project.
This FAQ is linked from the {{ dablinks}} template. The FAQ briefly describes what links to disambiguation pages are, why they should generally be removed, how to fix them, and how to remove the template.
Links to disambiguation pages are generally wrong; they are intended to go to some page with a more specific title that can be found on the disambiguation page.
For example, where an editor writes "Captain [[John Smith]] is remembered for his role in establishing the English settlement of Jamestown", they don't intend to create a link to the disambiguation page John Smith, but to the article John Smith (explorer). This is remedied using piped links: "Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is remembered for his role in establishing the English settlement of Jamestown"
No. This template is only placed on articles that have a large number of links to disambiguation pages, currently defined as 7 dablinks or more.
Generally, with one of the following tools to help:
popupFixDabs
flag set to true makes it easier to fix disambiguation links in a Wikipedia article. Once you've enabled popups in
Special:Preferences, go to your
javascript config file and add the following line (but without any leading space). window.popupFixDabs=true;Then, when you mouse over a dablink, the popup will show your options. Pick the correct article from the list of links in green at the bottom of the popup.
Let's say your article links to John Smith, yet it should really link to an article about John Smith, who is a ballet dancer, but that article does not exist. To solve this, simply create the redlink John Smith (dancer). (See WP:PRECISION in Article titles for how to best name a redlink.)
Links should almost always go to an article instead of a disambiguation page. Most exceptions are in the case of See also sections and hatnotes such as {{ otheruses}}. But in rare cases, an in-article disambiguation link is correct. For example: "Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is one of many people named [[John Smith]]." In this case, the link to the John Smith disambiguation page is intentional, so we mark it as such by making use of the (disambiguation) redirect: "Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is one of many people named [[John Smith (disambiguation)|John Smith]]." This would no longer come up in the reports for the DPL project as needing to be fixed.
In the case of a disambiguation page lacking the word "(disambiguation)" in its title, it is impossible for the bot to recognize the link as correct. You can follow the lead of John Smith (disambiguation) redirecting to John Smith and create a link with "(disambiguation)" redirecting to the desired (disambiguation)-lacking disambiguation page.
As a last resort, include the {{
bots}} template at the top of the page, and deny access to the DPL bot that activates this text, like so: {{
bots|deny=DPL bot}}
. Please use this sparingly, as this means other links to disambiguation pages on the same page will not be patrolled by the bot.
As soon as the number of dablinks drops below 7, you're free to remove the template. If the number of dablinks drops to 4 or fewer, DPL bot will remove it for you. This tool[ dead link] will tell you how many disambiguation pages your article links to. This daily report[ dead link] lists articles that are eligible to have their {{ dablinks}} template removed.
If the number of dablinks drops to fewer than 4, DPL bot will automatically remove the template. If the number of dablinks is between 4 and 7, you can manually remove the template and DPL bot will not try to replace it. Or you can improve those links.
Please visit the Disambiguation pages with links project.