Template:Merge/doc

This system is for use by articles only.

• If you want to propose merging a category, you must do so at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion, using the specific templates available there.
• If you want to propose merging a template, you must do so at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion, using the specific templates available there.

A merge is the process of uniting two or more articles into a single article. It is done by copying some or all content from the source article(s) into the destination article and then replacing the source article with a redirect to the destination article.

Nominating articles for merging

Any editor can perform a merge. If merging is obviously needed and is not controversial, editors are encouraged to be bold and simply do it themselves by following the merging instructions below. You do not need permission or prior discussion to proceed, especially if the merge satisfies one or more of the reasons to merge articles. While bold merges may be reverted entirely, the process and the discussion after the revert often result in better articles.

If you have reason to believe that merging an article is controversial, nominate it for merging at AfD. If you want to nominate more than one article for merging into one or more destination articles, you can do so in the same nomination! The main reason that the merge backlog includes hundreds of articles is because the people who support the merge neglect to undertake this final step. Any editor, including the editor who originally proposed the merge, is permitted to perform a merge in accordance with consensus, as merging articles does not require intervention from an administrator.

While young or short articles and stubs that only differ in wording can be boldly merged immediately, longer articles that have been separate for a long time are usually discussed first, especially if they concern controversial topics. If you want to first gauge whether there is opposition to a potential merge or want to hear other editors' opinions before nominating the article, you can seek input through standard consensus-building venues, such as the destination article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Articles for deletion.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Merge in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Merge

For suggesting merging some or all of the contents of an article into another article or other articles. (For the examples below, say the current page is named "Example1".)

Template parameters

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Target	1	Where to merge to, i.e. first target page name, possibly including section name. Additional targets can be given as additional unnamed parameters. Example Example2	Page name	required
Month and year	date	Provides the month and year of the merge suggestion Example January 2013 Auto value {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}	String	suggested
Discussion	discussion discuss talk	Where to discuss merger. If a topic has already been created, please link its section. Default Talk page of the first merge target Example Talk:Example1#This article should be merged into Example2	Page name	suggested
Merge this section	section	If not null, the word "article" will be replaced with "section" Auto value y	String	optional
This is a demo	demospace	For demo only. If not null, avoids categorizing as "Miscellany proposed for merging". Auto value y	String	optional

See also

Splitting

• {{Split}}
• {{Being split}}
• {{Split section}}
• {{Split sections}}
• {{Split portions}}
• {{Split section portions}}
• {{Cleanup split}}
• {{Copied}}
• {{Split dab}}
• {{Split and dab}}
• {{Split article}}
• {{Very long}}

Merging

• {{Merge}} - DEPRECATED
• {{Merge to}} - DEPRECATED
• {{Merge from}} - new discussions use "afd" parameter
• {{AfDM}} - replaces "Merge to" for new discussions
• {{Afd-merge to}} - merges with consensus that have not been implemented yet, in the new system
• {{Being merged}}
• {{Merge portions from}}
• {{Cleanup merge}}
• {{Copied}}
• {{Merged-to}}
• {{Merged-from}}
• {{Old merge}}
• {{Duplication}}

Section moving

• {{Section move from}}
• {{Section move to}}