Wikibooks:Duplicate modules
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Wikibooks:Community Portal : Wikibooks:Utilities : Wikibooks:Pages needing attention : Duplicate modules
This is a list of duplicate modules that have been created mostly by mistake. They have to be merged into a single piece of work and one title has to be redirected to the other (or a completely new page is created) in accordance with Wikibooks:Naming conventions. After a pair has been merged, it can be removed from the list.
Although this page does not automatically update as does Category:Books to be merged, this page has nevertheless been kept because unlike the category page, this page allows editors to make comments about the books or modules to be merged.
If you disagree with a "merge" indication then you can remove it.
The creation of duplicate modules, and the wasted effort this causes, can be avoided by search for existing modules on the same subject.
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[edit] Mark current duplicates
If you find a pair of modules which appear to be duplicates, merge them! If you can't carry out the merge yourself, it is suggested that you put the following at top of each:
{{merge|Other module}}
or
{{mergeto|Other module}}
This marks the pages so that future viewers will see that it needs to be merged. If you know which way the merge should go, you can put the following at the top of the article where the merged material should end up:
{{mergefrom|Other module}}
[edit] How modules should be merged
Here is a suggested process for merging:
- Decide which module is the source, and which is the target. The target should be the module with the more appropriate title and content.
- Merge the content by copying/pasting from one window to another. Be sure not to allow any of the good content to be lost in the transfer.
- Upon completion, it is critical to place a redirect from the source page to the target page. For example, if you move the content of BSD bookshelf into Guide to UNIX/BSD, then you would put a redirect on BSD bookshelf. This preserves the edit history of the module and avoids the need to delete a module.
- You must explain in your edit summary for the target article that you have merged content from the source article. For example: "merge content from [[BSD bookshelf]]" in the Guide to UNIX/BSD module. This satisfies a GFDL requirement that the contributors to the source module be credited for the material moved to the target module.
The articles don't necessarily have to be merged at once. You can let others collaborate with the merging process, by placing a note at the top of the page below the {{mergeto}} mark.
[edit] Modules with subpages
Merging modules when some of them have subpages (Programming:Java and Programming:The way of the program, for example) is more difficult.
[edit] Alternatives to merging
In some cases it might work to move one module so that it is a submodule of another module. In this case, merging is not necessary. See Wikibooks:How to rename (move) a page. For example, the merger of Guide to UNIX and BSD consisted of moving BSD to Guide to UNIX/BSD. This type of merge might be called annexation.
Alternatively, you could also leave the two modules distinct (without a redirect), but complete the text of one of the pages so that it conforms to Wikibooks:Forking policy.
[edit] Modules to be merged
- How about merging Sun with The_Sun_(Astronomy) and getting the resulting thing into an "approved" namespace --SV Resolution 13:41, 23 August 2005 (UTC)
- See also Category:Books to be merged.
