User:Andrewa/wrong article

See User:Andrewa/wrong page for related issues

Unfortunately, this page has become something of a battleground, see User talk:Andrewa/wrong article

Various opinions
This essay was created by to clarify the distinction between between a page and an article, which  seemed to me to misunderstand. It was not intended to discuss issues such as this one here. But that seems a lost cause.
 * In that diff I literally say "page", not article. A DAB is not an article (and I never suggested it was) - it's a page - and in the context of a user searching for an article landing on a dab page they are landing on the wrong page. --В²C ☎ 20:57, 24 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Reply at User talk:Andrewa/wrong article. Andrewa (talk) 19:58, 25 July 2019 (UTC)

Taken to a dab page (which is never the sought article)
''This section is disputed. See User talk:Andrewa/wrong page for some background and continuing discussion.''

Normally, a user wants to find an article rather than a DAB page, and arriving at a DAB is not arriving at the sought article. However if the DAB is properly written, one mouse click will then take them to the article they want. But that's not much if any better than landing on a wrong article with a properly written hatnote.

While it's technically correct to say a DAB at the base name will almost never take a reader to the wrong article, it's also accurate to say that taking a reader to a DAB page is almost never taking them to their sought destination. While it is in the article namespace, a DAB is not an article (arguably, a distinction without a significant difference), does not look like one, and can be relatively short (though many DAB pages are longer than many articles).

Disagreement over Primary Topic
The basic problem of Primary Topic is, deciding what it is. Even if Wikipedians are unanimous over the Primary Topic (and often we are not), others may and often do disagree.

And without this unanimity, misunderstandings are inevitable. Some users will inevitably end up at the article at the base name if they want an article on the topic which they consider (or even assume) to be the primary (or even the only) usage of the term.

While it is inevitable that some users will end up at the wrong article whenever an article title is ambiguous, it is also inevitable that all users taken to an ambiguous base name will not be taken to the article they seek if a DAB is at that base name. That's why when we know the majority searching with that term are seeking a particular article, like Paris for "paris" or The Americans for "the americans", readers overall are best served by having that primary topic at the base name.

A stronger argument against primary topic is that uncertainty also affects editors. If an article is at an ambiguous name, Wikilinks may be created for other uses of the name, in ignorance. In the case of New York, these numbered thousands. Those following these wikilinks will inevitably load the wrong article.

If on the other hand, the destination of the ambiguous name is a DAB, any user wikilinking it receives an automated warning, reducing the likelihood of such links going uncorrected. The damage of any undetected mislinkings is also reduced, as those following them load the DAB rather than the wrong article.

But improving reader experience is generally a higher priority than making editor tasks easier.

Use of Google
Many (some say most) users end up at an article found through Google web search.

Unfortunately Google web search can be a rather blunt instrument. Often it omits disambiguation pages completely, even if at the exact name at which the search is directed. On the plus side, it provides the first few words of the article lead of each ghit, which should generally indicate the correct article, regardless of its name. Google also often links to a specific Wikipedia article, reproducing more of the content more prominently than other ghits, but exactly which article is sometimes hard to predict.

Change of Primary Topic
Whenever the destination of an article title is changed from one article to another, links are broken. This will inevitably lead to the wrong article being loaded by those who follow these links.

If on the other hand the destination becomes a DAB, all those following these links will now load a short page that (ideally) leads directly to the correct article. In addition, further links to the base name are unlikely to be created.

Wikilinks
Wikilinks to the base name are broken by changes of Primary Topic.

Delay in finding the right article
An article may be long (unlike a DAB page), so loading the wrong article, even if there is a hatnote to a DAB page or to the right article, may be inconvenient, especially to users of slow connections and/or mobile devices.

Not finding the right article at all
In extreme cases, loading the wrong article may lead to the user not finding the right article at all.
 * If there is no hatnote or other obvious link to the right article.
 * If they expected to find the content they seek at the title of the article they loaded, and wrongly conclude that as it isn't there, Wikipedia doesn't cover that topic at all.