 | This is an essay on Wikipedia categorization. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Articles should be categorized by characteristics of their topic, not by characteristics of their title. |
Wikipedia articles should be categorized by characteristics of the article topic[1] (i.e. the subject of the article), not by characteristics of the article title.[2]
In Wikipedia a terminology category is a category whose title or position in the category structure indicates that it is for articles about terminology. Most terminology categories have a title ending in "terminology" (or "terms") and most[3] are below Category:Terminology (and hence below Category:Language).
Many articles have been placed in terminology categories inappropriately - often because of an editor categorizing the article based on its title being a term rather than categorizing the article by its subject. Category:Language also includes categories for articles about words and abbreviations; these categories sometimes have the same problem as terminology categories.
- ^ "The central goal of the category system is to provide navigational links to all Wikipedia pages in a hierarchy of categories which readers, knowing essential—defining—characteristics of a topic, can browse and quickly find sets of pages on topics that are defined by those characteristics." (from Wikipedia:Categorization#Overview as of 6 August 2013). See also Wikipedia:Articles about words.
- ^ This principle has been upheld by many CFD discussions - for example, Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Log/2013_February_11#Numeronyms.2FBackronyms.2FOrphan_initialisms and Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Log/2013_February_25#Category:Rainbow_Codes.
- ^ An example of a "terms" category that is/was not below Category:Terminology is Category:Terms_for_females ("This is for females regardless of their age. Terms are for groups of females (a group conceivably, but not likely, could have only one member). These terms do not include personal names.") - this category was CFDed at Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Log/2013_September_16#Category:Terms_for_females.