Editing Encyclopedia:Article titles (section)

==Precision==
{{Anchor|Precision and disambiguation}}<!--Required to avoid breaking links on this page and others, including redirects-->
{{Shortcut|WP:PRECISION|WP:PRECISE|WP:OVERPRECISION}}
{{Redirect|MOS:PRECISION|the precision of numbers|MOS:UNCERTAINTY|the precision of geographical coordinates|WP:OPCOORD|the precision of statements about dates|WP:PRECISELANG}}
Usually, titles should unambiguously define the topical scope of the article, but should be no more precise than that. For instance, [[Saint Teresa of Calcutta]] is too precise, as [[Mother Teresa]] is precise enough to indicate exactly the same topic. On the other hand, [[Columbia]] would not be precise enough to unambiguously identify the [[Columbia River]].

Exceptions to the precision criterion may sometimes result from the application of some other [[WP:NAMINGCRITERIA|naming criteria]]. Most of these exceptions are described in specific Wikipedia guidelines or by Wikipedia projects, such as [[Wikipedia:Primary topic|Primary topic]], [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)|Geographic names]], or [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)|Names of royals and nobles]]. For instance:
* [[Bothell]] is already precise enough to be unambiguous, but we instead use [[Bothell, Washington]] (see [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)|Geographic names]]), seeking a more natural and recognizable title which is also consistent with most other articles on American cities.
* [[Energy]] is not precise enough to unambiguously indicate the physical property (see [[Energy (disambiguation)]]). However, it is preferred over "Energy (physics)", as it is more concise, and precise enough to be understood by most people (see [[Wikipedia:Primary topic|Primary topic]], and the concision and recognizability [[WP:NAMINGCRITERIA|criteria]]).
* [[Leeds North West]] is precise enough to be unambiguous, but [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (UK Parliament constituencies)]] specify the addition of the qualifier in [[Leeds North West (UK Parliament constituency)]] with a redirect from [[Leeds North West]].
* [[M-185]] is precise enough to be unambiguous, but [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (U.S. state and territory highways)]] specify adding the qualifier [[M-185 (Michigan highway)]] with a redirect from [[M-185]].

===Disambiguation===
{{Anchor|DAB}}{{Shortcut|WP:QUALIFIER|WP:TITLEDAB}}
{{Hatnote|This policy section should be read in conjunction with the [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Naming the specific topic articles|disambiguation guideline]].}}
It is not always possible to use the exact title that may be desired for an article, as that title may have other meanings, and therefore may have been already used for other articles. According to the [[WP:PRECISION|precision criterion]], only as much detail as is necessary to distinguish one topic from another should be used. For example, it would be redundant to title an article "Queen (rock band)", as [[Queen (band)]] is precise enough to distinguish the rock band from [[Queen (disambiguation)|other uses of the term "Queen"]]. This may result in acceptable inconsistencies; the article on chickens is found at [[Chicken]], but the article on turkeys is at [[Turkey (bird)]] to disambiguate it from the country [[Turkey]].

As a general rule, when a topic's preferred title can also refer to other topics covered in Wikipedia:
# If the article is about the [[Wikipedia:Primary topic|primary topic]] to which the ambiguous name refers, then that name can be its title without modification, provided it follows all other applicable policies.
# If the article is not about the [[Wikipedia:Primary topic|primary topic]] for the ambiguous name, the title must be ''[[WP:D|disambiguated]]''.

When deciding on which disambiguation method(s) to use, all [[WP:CRITERIA|article titling criteria]] are weighed in, as follows.

====Natural disambiguation{{anchor|NATURALDIS|NATDIS}}====
{{Shortcut|WP:NATURAL|WP:NATDIS|WP:NATURALDAB}}
Using an alternative name that the subject is also commonly called in English [[Wikipedia:SOURCES|reliable sources]], albeit not as commonly as the preferred-but-ambiguous title, is sometimes preferred. However, do not use obscure or [[WP:NOTNEO|made-up names]].
* ''Example'': The word "French" commonly refers to either the people or the language. Because of the ambiguity, we use the alternative but still common titles, [[French language]] and [[French people]], allowing natural disambiguation. In a similar vein, [[hand fan]] is preferable to [[fan (implement)]]. Sometimes, this requires a change in the [[WP:ENGVAR|variety of English used]]; for instance, [[Lift (disambiguation)|Lift]] is a disambiguation page with no primary topic, so [[Elevator]] is the title of the article on the lifting device.

====Comma-separated disambiguation{{anchor|COMMADIS}}====
With place names, if the disambiguating term is a higher-level administrative division it is often separated using a comma instead of parentheses, as in [[Windsor, Berkshire]] (see [[WP:Naming conventions (geographic names)|Geographic names]]). Comma-separated titles are also used in other contexts (e.g. [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] uses a substantive title as part of the usual conventions for [[WP:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)|names of royalty and nobility]], not as a disambiguating term). However, titles such as [[Tony Blair]] and [[Battle of Waterloo]] are preferred over alternatives such as "Blair, Anthony Charles Lynton" and "Waterloo, Battle of", in which a comma is used to change the natural ordering of the words.

====Parenthetical disambiguation<span class="anchor" id="PARENDIS"></span><span class="anchor" id="PARENTHDIS"></span>====
{{shortcut|WP:NC()|WP:PARENDIS|WP:PARENTHDIS}}
Adding a disambiguating term in parentheses after the ambiguous name is Wikipedia's standard disambiguation technique when none of the other solutions lead to an optimal article title.
* ''Example'': The word "mercury" has distinct meanings that do not have sufficiently common alternative names, so instead we use parenthetical disambiguation: [[Mercury (element)]], [[Mercury (planet)]], and [[Mercury (mythology)]].

====Descriptive title{{anchor|DESCRIPDIS|DESCRIPTDIS}}====
Where there is no acceptable set name for a topic, such that a title of our own conception is necessary, more latitude is allowed to form descriptive and unique titles.
* ''Examples'': [[List of birds of Nicaragua]], [[Campaign history of the Roman military]], [[Pontius Pilate's wife]] (see {{Section link|WP:NCP#Descriptive titles}})

====Combinations of the above====
These are exceptional, in most cases to be avoided as per [[WP:CONCISE]].
* ''Example'': "comma-separated" + "parenthetical": [[Wiegenlied, D 498 (Schubert)]] (see {{Section link|Talk:Wiegenlied, D 498 (Schubert)#Requested moves}})
Commas and parentheses (round brackets) are the only [[#Special characters|characters]] that can be used without restriction to separate a disambiguating term in an article title. Colons can be used in the limited cases of [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (books)#Subtitles|subtitles of some creative works]] and [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (long lists)#Long (split) list naming recommendations|lists split over several pages]].

===<span id="Using minor details to naturally disambiguate articles"></span>When a spelling variant indicates a distinct topic ===
{{Shortcut|WP:SMALLDETAILS|WP:DIFFCAPS|WP:DIFFPUNCT}}
Ambiguity may arise when typographically near-identical expressions have distinct meanings, e.g. [[iron maiden]] vs. [[Iron Maiden]], or [[friendly fire]] vs. the other meanings listed at [[Friendly Fire (disambiguation)|Friendly Fire]]. The general approach is that whatever readers might type in the search box, they are guided as swiftly as possible to the topic they might reasonably be expected to be looking for, by such disambiguation techniques as [[WP:HATNOTE|hatnotes]] or [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages|disambiguation pages]]. When such navigation aids are in place, small details are often sufficient to distinguish topics, e.g. [[MAVEN]] vs. [[Maven]]; ''[[Airplane!]]'' vs. [[Airplane]]; [[Sea-Monkeys]] vs. [[SeaMonkey]]; ''[[The Wörld Is Yours]]'' vs. other topics listed at [[The World Is Yours]].

However, when renaming to a less ambiguous page name can be done without wandering from [[WP:CRITERIA]], such renaming should be considered:
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Passio_%28P%C3%A4rt%29&type=revision&diff=671807199&oldid=659081975 Renaming "''Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem''" to "''Passio'' (Pärt)"] for the ambiguity of the first expression with [[Passio Domini Nostri Iesu Christi secundum Ioannem]].
And a well-known concept may still be the primary topic for a variant or incorrect spelling, even if a much less well-known subject uses that spelling:
* {{-r|Cold war}} redirects to [[Cold War]], with the broad concept discussed at [[Cold war (term)]]
* {{-r|Gray Poupon}} redirects to [[Grey Poupon]]; an album of that name is at [[Gray Poupon (album)|''Gray Poupon'' (album)]]

In certain instances, plural forms may also be used to naturally distinguish articles; see {{section link|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (plurals)|Primary topic}} for details.