Wikipedia:Category types

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Consensus for its implementation was not established within a reasonable period of time. If you want to revive discussion, please use the talk page or initiate a thread at the village pump.

The basic idea is to label categories so that people understand the different ways we use categories. The language is written for the users of wikipedia to help explain the use of the category, while at the same time it indirectly helps editors know how the category should be populated. There are templates for each of the following:

Topic Categories[edit]

Topic categories are high level categories containing both articles and subcategories. Typically, these do not contain any articles about specific instances of the topic. An example of this type of category is Category:Film. This category has articles and subcategories about the topic of film, but does not have any articles about individual film productions. Topic categories can be labeled with {{Topic category}} shown below:

This is a "Topic category" about Film.

This category can be used to find articles and subcategories about the topic of films and filmmaking.

For an index of Films see Category:Films.
To find more media topics, try Category:Mass media.
See also: Category:Television

Index Categories[edit]

Index Categories are the "Primary" category talked about at WP:CI. An index category contains all the articles that are members of a class of articles defined by a topic. It is a master index of the topic. All members of one of these "X" categories are an "X". An example of this type is Category:Suspension bridges. Index categories can be labeled with {{Index category}} shown below:

This is an "Index category" of suspension bridges.

This category can be used to browse through all articles which are about individual suspension bridges.

To find articles about other types of bridges see Category:Bridges.

Sub-index categories[edit]

Sub-index categories are secondary index categories, a more specific means of browsing through smaller groups of articles. Articles put in sub-indexes could also be put in the index categories that are their parents (there is not yet broad consensus about this). An example of this type is Category:Bridges in New York City. Sub-index categories can be labeled with {{Sub category}} shown below:

This is an "Index category" of Bridges in New York City.

This category can be used to browse through all articles which are about individual bridges located in New York City.

This index is a Sub-index of Category:Bridges in New York which is an index of all all the bridges in New York State.

To find other articles about bridges in general see Category:Bridges.

Intersection categories[edit]

These categories are intersection of two (or perhaps three) other index categories. The articles placed in these categories should also usually be in the parent categories. This is often not currently the case in English Wikipedia. The template provides links to the parent categories. An example of this type is Category:American silent films. Intersection categories can be labeled with {{Intersection}} shown below:

This is an "Index category" of American Silent films.

This category can be used to browse through all articles which are about individual silent film productions made in the United States of America.

This index is a Sub-index of both Category:Silent films and Category:American films and contains all the articles that are common to both categories.
To find other groupings of American films, look in Category:American films.
To find other groupings of films, look in Category:Films by type.
To find articles about other topics related to filmmaking in general see Category:Film.

Here is another example for Category:Toll bridges in New York City:

This is an "Index category" of Toll bridges in New York City.

This category can be used to browse through all articles which are about individual toll bridges located in New York City.

This index is a Sub-index of both Category:Toll bridges in New York and Category:Bridges in New York City and contains all the articles that are common to both categories.

To find articles about other topics related to bridges in general see Category:Bridges.

Navigation categories[edit]

These categories only contain subcategories and are intended to help people navigate through the category structure. An example of this is Category:Films by type. Navigation categories can be labeled with {{Nav category}} shown below:

This is a "Navigation category" of films by type.

Each subcategory found here contains films of the same genre, type, director, etc...

For an index of all films see Category:Films.
To find articles about topics related to filmmaking in general see Category:Film.

Subject categories[edit]

These are low level categories mainly containing articles that are related to a single subject. Categories like this help users find articles that include a major section about the subject. Typically, they are eponymous categories and not part of any larger taxonomy. Subjects that are mentioned in just a few articles usually do not benefit by having subject categories. An example of a subject category is Category:George W. Bush. Subject categories can be labeled with {{Subject category}} shown below:

This is a "Subject category" for articles related to George W. Bush.

This category can be used to find articles that have significant sections related to George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.

To find articles about other Presidents of the United States, try Category:Presidents of the United States.
To find categories related to other people, try Category:Categories named after people.

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Wikipedia categorization]]