Talk:Charlotte

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Disambig

I believe all disambigs are, when possible, to be written in the singular form, e.g. "Edward", "Homecoming", etc. and then have a list of possible options that the name could refer to, right? Yet this page name was moved in 2015 from "Charlotte" to "Charlotte (disambiguation)", when the template already says it is a disambig page. – Darman (talk) 01:10, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

I'm not sure if you're using the right word when you say "singular form" as nothing is pluralized in either of the page titles "Charlotte" and "Charlotte (disambiguation)". But as for the title of a disambiguation page, it depends on the primary topic. The primary topic is the most important or most common subject occupying the name. A primary topic does not need a disambiguating term in parentheses while all other subjects sharing the name do. In cases where there is no definitive primary topic, the disambiguation page itself might be the page which does not need a disambiguating term, in which all other pages with the name do.

If there is no primary topic for the name Charlotte, then yes, this disambiguation page should just be titled "Charlotte", just like our disambiguation pages Maria and Gaspar. It has nothing to do with the fact that there's always a box at the top explaining that it's a disambiguation page. I would have moved this back right away, but I think that Charlotte de la Cruz could be considered the primary topic for the name Charlotte as she is the only major character with that name, as well as being a main protagonist in a series. Sol Pacificus^(Cyfiero) 03:55, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Yes, you're right in that "singular term" was incorrect. I could not think of how best to describe it. You do make a strong point with Charlotte de la Cruz. Even if I haven't read all the comics, I know she's a central figure in them, and I believe she is even referenced in passing in some Valhalla stuff. Could we move the redirect to her page instead? – Darman (talk) 04:15, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Yes, we should redirect Charlotte to her page. :) Sol Pacificus^(Cyfiero) 04:46, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

I personally don’t like the convention of primary topic and think we should have a stricter standardization. Either all disambiguating pages should be the primary topic or none of them should be, ie all pages should have (disambiguation) in the title or none of them should. I know this is not the practice on Wikipedia but we shouldn’t be beholden to their lesser ones. Lacrossedeamon (talk) 05:19, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

No, honestly I think Wikipedia's practice taking into account primary topics make perfect sense. We aren't abiding by it just to follow a precedent. Wikipedia's guide on disambiguation contains good examples as to why this practice is needed to avoid awkward titles. Sol Pacificus^(Cyfiero) 09:36, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

For example, it'd be really strange to have to title the article on apples "Apple (fruit)" in the hypothetical scenario that they decided "Apple (disambiguation)" should be the "primary topic" instead. A better argument might be made for the opposite scenario, for us to re-title Maria as "Maria (disambiguation)" even where "Maria" itself could serve for the disambiguation page since there's no clear primary topic for the name. My rebuttal against that is that while this may seem to simplify things for us, this minor and specific deviation from common wiki practice (observed in Wikipedia, Wookieepedia, and other wikis alike) can end up adding to the confusion should we ever have editors more familiar with the common policy. At the same time, it would make little functional difference to rename the disambiguation page "Maria" to "Maria (disambiguation)" while also making "Maria" a redirect to that page. Also just in case it wasn't just a slip of the tongue, using the practice set by Wikipedia is actually codified in our manual of style and isn't just a convention. So, it would require a whole forum discussion to amend. Sol Pacificus^(Cyfiero) 09:52, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

I mean it’s seemingly already causing confusion hence this discussion in the first place. As another example, earlier this week Contract (disambiguation) wasn’t appearing in search so I made it not knowing we already had a page for it that just didn’t state it was a disambiguation page in the title. Lacrossedeamon (talk) 12:19, 21 November 2023 (UTC)