View source for Template:Dablinks/FAQ

This FAQ is linked from the {{tl|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.

==What's wrong with links to disambiguation pages?==
Links to [[WP:Disambiguation|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:

{{quote|{{!mxt|<nowiki>Captain [[John Smith]] is remembered for his role in establishing the English settlement of Jamestown.</nowiki>}}}}

They don't intend to create a link to the disambiguation page [[John Smith (disambiguation)|John Smith]], but to the article [[John Smith (explorer)]]. This is remedied using [[WP:PIPE|piped links]]:

{{quote|{{mxt|<nowiki>Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is remembered for his role in establishing the English settlement of Jamestown.</nowiki>}}}}

==Does every article that links to a disambiguation page get this template?==
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.

==How do I fix dablinks?==
Generally, with one of the following tools to help:
* Enable "Display links to disambiguation pages in orange" feature in your [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets|gadget preferences]].
*[[User:Anomie/linkclassifier|Link Classifier]] is a script that color-codes certain types of wikilinks in an article, such as redirects, disambiguation links, articles up for deletion, etc. By default runs automatically, but can also be set up to run on demand following the [[User:Anomie/linkclassifier#Usage|usage instructions]]. Disambiguation links will have a yellow background <span style="color:#0033cc;background-color:#ffff88">like this</span>. See the [[User:Anomie/linkclassifier#Legend| legend]] for other kinds of links. Note that Link Classifier has been testing extensively only in the [[mw:Skin:MonoBook|MonoBook]] skin, but may still work fine in the default [[mw:Skin|skin]] which {{as of|2020|lc=y}} and since 2010 is [[mw:Skin:Vector|Vector]].    
*[[WP:POPUP|Navigation popups]] with the <code>popupFixDabs</code> 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 [[Special:MyPage/skin.js|javascript config file]] and add the following line (but without any leading space). <pre>window.popupFixDabs=true;</pre> 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.

==What if there's no article to link to?==
Let's say your article links to [[John Smith (disambiguation)|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 [[WP:REDLINK|redlink]] [[John Smith (dancer)]]. (See [[WP:PRECISION]] in [[WP:AT|Article titles]] for how to best name a redlink.)

==But that link is ''supposed'' to go to the disambig!==
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 {{tl|otheruses}}. But in rare cases, an in-article disambiguation link is correct. For example: "'''<nowiki>Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is one of many people named [[John Smith]].</nowiki>'''" In this case, the link to the [[John Smith (disambiguation)|John Smith]] disambiguation page is intentional, so we mark it as such by making use of the (disambiguation) redirect: "'''<nowiki>Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] is one of many people named [[John Smith (disambiguation)|John Smith]].</nowiki>'''" This would no longer come up in the reports for the [[WP:DPL|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 (disambiguation)|John Smith]] and create a link with "(disambiguation)" redirecting to the desired (disambiguation)-lacking disambiguation page.

As a '''last resort''', include the {{tl|bots}} template at the top of the page, and deny access to the DPL bot that activates this text, like so: {{tlx|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.

==How do I get rid of the template?==
As soon as the number of dablinks drops below 7, you're free to tag or fix the individual disambiguation links and then remove the template. If the number of dablinks drops to 6{{clarify|reason=the history of the template documentation says that the bot ignores pages with 7 or more}} or fewer, DPL bot will remove it for you. [[tools:~dispenser/view/Dablinks|This tool]]{{dead link |date=September 2020}} will tell you how many disambiguation pages your article links to. This [[tools:~jason/ex/fixed_excessive_dablinks.php|daily report]]{{dl}} lists articles that are eligible to have their {{tl|dablinks}} template removed.

==This page has less than 7 dablinks, why is the template still there?==
If the number of dablinks drops to fewer than 6,{{clarify|reason=the history of the template documentation says that the bot ignores pages with 7 or more}} DPL bot will automatically remove the template. If the number of dablinks is less than 7, you can tag or fix the individual disambiguation links and manually remove the template.

==I still have questions about this template. Where can I leave a comment?==
Please visit the [[WP:DPL|Disambiguation pages with links]] project.