Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages are not articles
 | This is an essay on disambiguation. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Although disambiguation pages reside within the Main space (often called "article space"), they are not considered articles. They are considered navigational aids. |
Wikipedia uses different tools for disambuation, with disambiguation pages being one of those tools. Although disambiguation pages reside within the Mainspace (often called "article space"), they are not considered articles. They are considered navigational aids. Hence,
- References are not used in disambiguation pages
- Images and navigation templates should not be used in disambiguation pages
- Categories are not added to disambiguation pages[a]
- The
{{Orphan}}template is not added to disambiguation pages - Disambiguation pages are not supposed to be linked from articles, with the exception of links from disambiguating hatnotes and the "See also" sections of articles.
As of August 2, 2025[update] there are 368,991 disambiguation pages in the mainspace, which represent 5.2% of the 7,032,949 pages in the Mainspace.
Disambiguation pages in contrast with set index articles
[edit]In some cases, set index articles appear similar to disambiguation pages (in other cases they do not), but in spite of the similarity, set index articles are considered articles and hence provide more than just navigational information.
Examples of set index articles that appear similar to disambiguation pages:
- USS Vincennes – Only visible differences are the inclusion of an image gallery and multiple blue links per entry, which is not allowed on disambiguation pages.
- HMS Shamrock – Only visible differences are the inclusion of references and multiple blue links per entry, which is not allowed on disambiguation pages.
Examples of set index articles that are developed to a point such they no longer resemble disambiguation pages:
- Gigafactory – the list of "disambiguating entries" is preceeded by a lead section
- Dodge Charger – each "entry" is expanded into a paragraph, and in many cases more than a paragraph
Notes
[edit]- ^ Disambiguation pages get categorized with the use of the specific {{disambiguation}} template used