Template:Distinguish/doc

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This template renders a hatnote intended to inform the reader, of the article invoking it, of the existence of one or more articles whose title(s) bear(s) a strong resemblance to the reader's (then-)current article; it is used in the cases where the distinction between the titles is so obvious that the reader needs no further explanation. For cases where an explanation is required, use {{For}} and {{About}}.


Usage[edit source]

{{Distinguish|Foo}}

{{Distinguish|Foo|Bar|Gaz}}

{{Distinguish|text = custom [[text]], and [[foo]], a common example term}}

When to use[edit source]

This hatnote is generally used when readers have misspelled their desired title, and the error would be apparent by simply displaying the alternative term without further explanation. For example, consider a reader looking for the punctuation mark who instead ends up at coma:

Coma

Readers are presumed to recognize that they actually wanted comma by merely looking at the spelling, and this case generally requires no further explanation.

However, {{distinguish}} is not suitable when the difference is not readily apparent without additional details. Consider a reader looking for a game they believe is named Reversi:

Red x.svg Reversi

In the above hatnote, it is not generally apparent how the suggested Reversis is different from Reversi, which is also a game.

Green check.svg Reversi

Using {{about}} instead of {{distinguish}}, the difference is explained upfront without requiring the reader to click through and differentiate the terms on their own.

{{Distinguish}} should only be used when the ambiguity exists for a portion of the readership that is sufficient to warrant a hatnote. Care should be taken to avoid trivial uses.

This hatnote can also be used to distinguish from multiple articles:

Redirects[edit source]

External links[edit source]