Help:Merge

Merging is a process by which the content of two pages is united on one page.

Reasons to Merge
Reasons to merge a page include the following:


 * unnecessary duplication of content,
 * significant overlap with the topic of another page, and
 * minimal content that could be covered in or requires the context of a page on a broader topic.

Caution
Discretion should be exercised to make sure merging does not result in an article that is too long or drawn out, short articles that can be shown to be expanded, or if said short articles are of a discrete enough topic that merging is not possible nor makes sense.

Results of a Merge
Merging results in a redirect to the parent page(s) with some or all content cut-and-pasted into that page(s). A comment in the edit summary must be made in the pages being merged as to where they are being merged to, and it must be noted in the parent page(s)' edit summary where the content from other pages are being merged from; this is done to preserve attribution under the Creative Commons Share-alike 3.0 license.

Steps to Merge

 * 1) Compare both the articles for content. Bring them up in two different windows so you can compare side-by-side if necessary.
 * 2) Decide which article to keep in Wiki. This is the Target article. The one not kept is the Duplicate article.
 * 3) To determine which is the Target, review the following:
 * 4) *Information - which article is more complete?
 * 5) *What links here? - which article has more links going to it? (Under Toolbox &gt; What links here)
 * 6) *Talk - which article are people discussing more over time?
 * 7) Take any information in the Duplicate that is not in the Target and incorporate it into the text of the Target article.
 * 8) Editing of the Target article may be required to make the information flow in a logical manner. Material may have to be restated to match the language of the Target article.
 * 9) Check "What Links Here" and remove the links to the Duplicate article by clicking on the articles in the list and replacing the links to the Duplicate article title with the Target article title.
 * 10) Place a "Redirect link" to take the patron to the Target article by the following steps in the rich editor:
 * 11) *Log in.
 * 12) *In the Duplicate article/articles click on the "Edit This Page."
 * 13) *In the rich editor box, type: #REDIRECTCategory:Pagename.
 * 14) **Steps in Wikitext: After rich editor comes up, click on the word "Wikitext" in the tool bar just under "rich editor." #REDIRECTCategory:Pagename.
 * 15) Remove the rest of the text on the page.
 * 16) Type in Summary box: "Placing redirect link, merged content with another article"
 * 17) Save page.
 * 18) Check to see that redirect link works.

Help links

 * Help Redirects
 * FamilySearch Wiki Redirects

Alternative Action
If pages that should be merged are discovered and time/expertise precludes merging, the template can be added to the pages. This will alert the Wiki Support Team of the need to merge the pages.