It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.
Onlarge disambiguation pages, organizing by subject area helps readers find the page they want.
Readers should be able to find their target with minimal reading, by:
Identifying the relevant section from level 2 headers, then
Identifying the relevant subsection (if present) from level 3 (and deeper) headers, then
Identifying the topic they want from the entries in that (sub)section
without having to descend into irrelevant sections, and without having to read anything twice. This page discusses three principles that enable that goal, and suggested headings to use.
The title of each section must make it clear what kinds of entries it contains, and all entries that fall within that subject area must be there. Also:
Use the same section names as similar dab pages, if practical. Consistency helps readers immensely.
Pick subject areas that don't overlap.
E.g., vehicles and engines would fit in "Transportation" and in "Science and technology", so if you use both sections, readers won't know where to look. If overlap can't reasonably be avoided:
For one or two items that fit in multiple sections: duplicate these entries in each appropriate section.
For several items (or a subsection): put these entries in only one section, and put a hatnote at the top of any other appropriate sections, e.g.: {{for|<topic>|#<Section>}}.
Only combine closely related topics.Biology and medicine is fine; Cosmology and medicine is not. Other uses is the exception.
Avoid having lots of "other uses" entries – but not at the cost of making awkward or overly small sections (see § Moderate section size).
Entries that are not fully categorized belong in an "Other uses [in topic]" section at the end of the page or section (but before any "See also" section). The space above the first section on the page (or above the first subsection in a section) should not have any entries ("orphans"), except for:
At most oneprimary topic, if there is one, at the top of the page; and
And these entries should be repeated in the appropriate sections. "Loose" entries at the top of a page or section don't appear in the table of contents, and readers can easily miss them.
If all the "other" entries in a section can be described by a plural noun, the words "uses in" should be avoided, e.g.: Other people, not Other uses in people; Other media, not Other uses in media.
Put the table of contents before the first heading with {{TOC right}}.[note 1]
Use the "See also" section for entries whose titles are related to, but not strictly ambiguous with, the page title.
Order sections alphabetically unless there is a clear reason not to. (This is the easiest order to recognize – importance, for example, is usually too subjective.)
Organizing schemes not based on subject area can be confusing. Avoid organizing entries by etymology, pronunciation, or whether the items are acronyms or not – these schemes assume knowledge that the reader may not have.
Certain variations on the ambiguous term may be used to sort entries within sections, such as:
Formatting, such as capitalization
Plural vs. singular forms of a term
The presence of "A", "An", or "The" (or their equivalent in a foreign language) at the start of a proper title
but these should not usually be the basis for section divisions, particularly when a subject area scheme can be used instead. For more on sorting within sections, see MOS:DABORDER.
This scheme, or any part of it, may be used to organize disambiguation pages. Braces ("{}") suggest alternative terms, which may be split up and recombined in keeping with the principles above. Common pitfalls that may make dab pages harder to navigate are marked in red.
NOTE! These headings are an example only; most disambiguation pages will only use a few of these headings. They should be liberally modified, supplemented, and promoted or demoted to different header levels to best suit each particular page. Disambiguation pages are enormously varied, and another scheme may better suit a given page.
Remember to remove visible braces ("{ }") and pipes ("|") before saving a dab page.
[An "organization" is generally accepted to mean any group of people formally organized for a purpose. If "Organizations" is used, and businesses, schools, sports teams, etc. are listed elsewhere, hatnote(s) are needed here.]
[People with the page title as part of their common name should typically be listed on an anthroponymy page, such as Bob (given name), not a disambiguation page, unless there are only a small number of such people.]
[List groups of people (such as ethnic groups), namesas such, and titles shared by several people separately from individuals.]
[Some consider mathematics to be a science, some don't. If there are math topics here, it is advisable to include "mathematics" in the parent section title.]
[Caution: This section may have significant overlap with other sections as noted below. If used, handle as described in § Clearly defined subject areas.]
[Often used for individual vessels (e.g. HMS Dreadnought (1906)), with types of vehicles (e.g. dreadnought) listed under "Science and technology" instead; if so, note this in a hatnote.]
[Ambiguous entries that do not fit into another section. Entries that fit in another section, but not in any of its subsections, should be placed in an "Other uses in [topic]" subsection there.]
[Entries that are similar or related to, but not ambiguous with, the page title, that might reasonably help readers find what they are looking for; see MOS:DABSEEALSO. Use judgment; do not include every page title that contains the ambiguous term.]
