Wikipedia:Do not write articles using categories

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an essay on Wikipedia:Categorization and Wikipedia:Overcategorization.

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.

Shortcut

WP:DNWAUC

This page in a nutshell: Do not use categories to mention every aspect of the topic covered

As mentioned in the general guideline, categorization is primarily used to navigate between similar articles. Categories do not have a references section.

Categorization

[edit]

Albert Einstein is a notable individual for many reasons. Categorizing every aspect of his character and achievements may not be very useful and sometimes even trivial.

Here are a few examples to better illustrate the point. Below is some information about Einstein in no particular order, according to his biography on Wikipedia:

Albert Einstein was a male.
Albert Einstein played the violin.
Albert Einstein considered himself a pacifist and humanitarian.
Albert Einstein is a known vegetarian.
Albert Einstein was heterosexual.
Albert Einstein was not involved with the construction of the atomic bomb as he was considered a security risk.
Albert Einstein promoted nuclear disarmament.
Albert Einstein was offered the post of second president of the then newly created state of Israel.
Albert Einstein changed citizenship.
Albert Einstein's portrait was printed on Israeli currency.
Albert Einstein's parents needlessly worried about his language development.
Albert Einstein did well in school.
Albert Einstein survived both World Wars.
Albert Einstein was not drafted during WW2.
Albert Einstein observed a solar eclipse.
Many buildings, awards, and even astronomical objects are named after Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein's first name starts with an 'A'.
Albert Einstein's last name starts with an 'E'.

When categorized based on above traits, the categorization does not help anyone navigate related topics easily. The information presented above is clearly encyclopedic but trivial when it comes to categorization.

v t e Wikipedia categorization
Guidelines	Categorization Category names Categories, lists, and navigation templates Overcategorization Categorizing articles about people People by year Categorization/Sorting names Categorizing redirects User categories Overcategorization/User categories
Help pages	Basic help for readers Basic help for editors FAQ for readers FAQ for editors Container categories Categorizing portals Category classification templates Template index/Category namespace PetScan
Discussions	Categories for discussion Categories for discussion/Speedy Categories for discussion/All current discussions
Projectspace essays	Categories are different from articles Categories versus lists Categorising fictional characters by attribute Do not write articles using categories Overcategorization/Intersection of location and occupation Wiki workflow WikiProject Plants/Description in year categories
Userspace essays	DexDor/Terminology categories DexDor/Categorization of award recipients Alan Liefting/On categorisation Coder Dan/Categories gracefool/What is a category? Kbdank71/Wikiproject notification
Category:Wikipedia categorization Category:Contents WikiProject Categories

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Do_not_write_articles_using_categories&oldid=1114538564"

Categories:

Categorization

See also