Guidelines:Redirects

Overview Redirects are a means for us to direct people to pages that they may be looking for. For example, redirects are often used for subjects that go by multiple names throughout the history of the series, such as the historical name Series:, which links to Series:. Titles and aliases can also exist as redirects in this way. Not all redirects are valid, but a guiding principle for justifying a redirect is often whether it is an official term. Fan-made names may sometimes be significant enough to warrant search redirects if they are popular or historically prevalent.

How to Create Redirects
Redirects generally require target pages to redirect towards, so the standard way to create a redirect is as follows:
 * ARTICLE NAME

For instance, a redirect from Series: to Series: might look like this:

It is not possible to use redirects in tandem with the Term or Plural templates.

Broken Redirects
Broken redirects are redirects that point to a page which does not exist. Sometimes redirects are broken when pages are moved, and very rarely broken redirects are intentionally created for future use. Both of these are bad practices and should be avoided. In the case of a broken redirect, you should assess whether the redirect is valid. If the redirect is valid, then the page it is linking to must be created as soon as possible. If the redirect is not valid, you should determine whether the redirect should be deleted or whether it should be pointed elsewhere. If you are unsure, feel free to ask any staff member.

A list of broken redirects can be found here.

Double Redirects
Double redirects are created when a page is redirected to another redirect page. This creates a redundancy and can lead to navigational issues. To avoid this, you simply have to ensure that both redirects are pointing to the same target. Double redirects are often created when pages are moved, so it is important to check what links to a page that you are about to move and make the necessary adjustments beforehand.

A list of double redirects can be found here.

File Redirects
File redirects are created to redirect users to other files for two reasons:


 * 1) The proper name of the file is invalid as per limitations of the MediaWiki software. Special characters such as,  ,   can cause errors in the database), so files that should normally contain these characters are uploaded as something else (such as with escape characters like   and  ) and then redirected to manually.
 * 2) When files (such as models and sprites) are identical between games and are thus redundant to have two copies.

In each case, it is important to use the proper name of the redirect in its appropriate contexts. For instance, it is preferable to link to File:MM3D ??? Artwork.png over the actual file located at File:MM3D ？？？ Artwork.png. Similarly, though they are identical in both games you should link to File:MM3D Green Rupee Icon.png over File:OoT3D Green Rupee Icon.png in contexts related to (such as in the Media template or on listing pages).

In the second case of file redirects, you should move or ensure that the base game (the first game the file can be found, such as in the case of both  and ) is used as the originating file and redirect subsequent game files to that designation.

To create a file redirect, simply use the File Redirect template. In the first field, specify what game it comes from. In the second field, specify what file type the file is. For example, this is how to redirect File:MM3D Ocarina of Time Icon.png to its identical file at File:OoT3D Ocarina of Time Icon.png:

A list of file redirects can be found here.

Plural Redirects
Plural redirects exist to allow readers to search for subjects in the plural form. For instance, if someone were to search, it wouldn't help for them to land on a search page and have to manually direct themselves to the Series: article. When redirecting to singular forms of articles, you should include the Plural Redirect template, which leaves a notice about the purpose of the redirect and categorizes it appropriately.

A list of plural redirects can be found here.

Search Redirects
Search redirects are used to direct people from popular or useful names to their proper places. These are often used for game subtitles (such as "Ocarina of Time" directing to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time). Search redirects are used for partial omissions of names, such as when grammatical articles are excluded from full titles. Sometimes search redirects are used for common typos as well, though these should only be used for substantial cases. To mark a search redirect, simply make use of the Search Redirect template, which properly categorizes the redirect page.

A list of search redirects can be found here.

Soft Redirects
Soft redirects are used to direct people to other sites when our range of coverage doesn't fit the subject (such as in cases where characters from other series need to be mentioned). To create a soft redirect, simply use the Redirect template.

A list of soft redirects can be found here.

Synonymous Redirects
Synonymous redirects are when a subject's name is outdated and known as something else, but is still valid as an official term. These are marked by the Synonym template, which transcludes and hides the lead of the article (allowing editors to use the redirect name with the Term and Plural templates) while marking the redirect accordingly. It is important to follow up on the creation of a synonymous redirect with a null edit (simply editing and saving again) to ensure that it will work with the corresponding templates.

A list of synonymous redirects can be found here.

Temporary Redirects
Temporary redirects are used to temporarily direct readers to other articles during critical periods of time, such as when an invalid term is required to direct people to popular pages, or when redirects need to direct to other related pages in order to best direct people to the content they wish to see (such as directing a game's subtitle to a recent remake of the game in question). To create a temporary redirect, simply tag it with the Temporary Redirects category.

Translation Redirects
Translation redirects exist to direct people to articles of another name in English. For instance, Series: is known as Marine in French versions of games that she appears in, so the Marine page may be created as a redirect to Series:'s page in order to direct them to the content they are looking for. To make use of a translation redirect, simply mark it with the Translation Redirect template.

A list of translation redirects can be found here.