User:Batsondl/Sandbox 20

article combined
Proposed combination of the following articles regarding naming articles:


 * FamilySearch Wiki:Page or article naming - Actual policy
 * FamilySearch Wiki:Naming Conventions for Geographic Names - proposed policy by community
 * FamilySearch Wiki:Page or article naming - policy and ridiculously short
 * Help:Name a new article

Taking in to account the following suggestions by community members:


 * FamilySearch Wiki talk:Naming Conventions for Geographic Names

Rewrite of article
This page offers policies and best practices in naming articles, categories, images, files, templates, and namespaces on FamilySearch Wiki.

General Guidelines
Before creating a new article, take the time to think of a name that clearly explains in a few words the content of the article. Remove any unnecessary words or punctuation. The correct name for a new article can be very helpful to users.


 * 1) FamilySearch Wiki is international, so any article with a general title such as "Surnames" should really cover the entire globe. If you are writing an article which applies to one locality only, then this should be made clear in the name of the article, such as Surnames in England or Scottish surnames.
 * 2) Make sure that the article name clearly and concisely communicates what a user may find in the article
 * 3) Keep article names short
 * 4) Avoid descriptive adjectives
 * 5) The first letter of proper nouns should be capitalized
 * 6) Do not capitalize regular nouns
 * 7) Avoid the use of pronouns
 * 8) Do not use abbreviations
 * 9) Article names should be gender neutral
 * 10) Do not start article names with "A," "The," or "An" if possible
 * 11) Replace "&amp;" with "and" unless it is part of a formal name
 * 12) Do not include characters such as / + { } [ ]
 * 13) Category names for topics should be singular

Avoid abbreviations, acronyms, and postal codes =
Do not use abbreviations in naming a wiki article.

Omit name of the article author from titles (or articles, for that matter)
This is a wiki. Content becomes stronger as the community adds to it. The name of an author in a title does two bad things:


 * 1) It tells other authors "This is my turf. Don't edit this because it's mine."
 * 2) It credits the original author with all changes made by other users. Since many users will tend to improve an article far outside its original scope, the crediting of the original author with all revisions doesn't make sense.

Do not use all uppercase letters
Use initial caps on each word in a title except when this conflicts with place naming standards or grammar rules.


 * Correct
 * Census Records of the United States


 * Incorrect
 * CENSUS RECORDS OF THE UNITED STATES

Last advice
When giving a name to a page or a new article think about how native language speakers would search for that article. Use the same key words you would use in searching for the article in the title you give it, including variations of the locality name. Avoid ambiguous words or phrases.

Use ascending order of jurisdictions in naming a place
When adding place names to article titles, add jurisdictions in ascending order (smallest to largest).


 * Correct
 * Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland


 * Incorrect
 * Maryland, Montgomery County, Rockville


 * Example
 * Cemetery Records of Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland


 * Exceptions
 * Articles about FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

Avoid abbreviations, acronyms, and postal codes
Do not use abbreviations in naming a place.


 * Correct
 * Montgomery County, Maryland


 * Incorrect
 * Montgomery Co., MD


 * Example
 * Cemetery Records of Montgomery County, Maryland

Use the word "County" in identifying counties
Use the word "County" in identifying a county in an article title.


 * Correct
 * Montgomery County, Maryland


 * Incorrect
 * Montgomery, Maryland


 * Example
 * Cemetery Records of Montgomery County, Maryland

Ireland - County names in Ireland
In Ireland the word "County" nearly always comes before rather than after the county name


 * Correct
 * County Clare


 * Incorrect
 * Clare County


 * Exceptions
 * King's County and Queen's County

England, Scotland, Wales - County names in England, Scotland and Wales
For counties in England, Scotland and Wales, do not add the word "County" when naming articles. There is one exception: County Durham.

Country names in English
Use the form of a current country's name as it appears in the CIA World Factbook.

When a widely accepted English name, exists for a former country or empire, we should use it. For example, New Spain rather than Virreinato de Nueva España, Ottoman Empire rather than دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه or Osmanlı İmparatorluğu.

Browse by Country page, and Category:Countries
Use the CIA World Factbook to determine which nations are listed on the Browse by Country Wiki page, and in the Category:Countries. Only continuously inhabited places with indigenous populations in the World Factbook are eligible.

Countries which are not listed in the World Factbook should not appear on the Browse by Country page, or in the Category:Countries. However, they may be appropriate as part of another country's page/category, or on the List of extinct states page, or in the Category:Former Countries.

Country sub-divisions: as in the FHL Catalog
For places smaller than a country use the name as it would appear if it were in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog. However, normally write the name in order from smallest to largest jurisdiction, for example, Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Also, use diacritics as they would appear in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog, for example, Höfgen (AH. Meißen), Sachsen, Germany.

Administrative sub-divisions
Names of classes of places do what English does. In particular, when dealing with administrative subdivisions, we write of United States counties and Cook County, Illinois, or of Russian oblasts and the Moscow Oblast, but of Chinese and Roman provinces, not sheng or provinciae.

Also, use Jackson Township, Hamilton, Indiana, but use Cicero, Hamilton, Indiana for an incorporated municipality.

Ambiguous titles
On occasion the preferred name for an article, while correct, may be ambiguous. In these cases the practice is to either extend the article title with more specific information or add a term in brackets after the article title, so that the article name is unambiguous.

The preference for articles about locations is to be more specific by extending the place name, like a postal address. For topics, the preference is to add a location prefix.

Disambiguation
It is often the case that the same geographic place-name will apply to more than one place, or to a place and to other things of interest to genealogists such as a tribe or language; in either case disambiguation will be necessary. See FamilySearch Wiki:Disambiguation.

Special rules for templates
Spaces in the name are allowed, e.g.  . The first character (only) is not case-sensitive, so   and   are the same template, but   and   are not. The template name in general should be short. Many on Wikipedia are abbreviations.

Special rules for namespaces
Only a system admin can create a namespace. Namespaces should be created only after much discussion. The name should be a single word.

See also or Related Content

 * Help:Name a new article
 * FamilySearch Wiki:Page or article naming
 * FamilySearch Wiki:Naming conventions
 * FamilySearch Wiki:Naming Conventions for Geographic Names