User:R'n'B/Disambiguation

Deciding to disambiguate
Disambiguation is required whenever, for a given word or phrase on which a reader might use the "Go button", there are existing Wikipedia articles about more than one distinct topic to which that word or phrase might be expected to lead. In this situation there must be a way for the reader to navigate quickly from the page that appears on hitting "Go" to any of the other possible desired articles.

There are three principal disambiguation scenarios, of which the following are examples:
 * The page at Joker is a disambiguation page, leading to all the alternative uses of "Joker".
 * The page at Rice is about one usage, called the primary topic, and there is a hatnote guiding readers to Rice (disambiguation) to find the other uses.
 * The page at Michael Dobbs is about the primary topic, and there is only one other use. The other use is linked directly using a hatnote; no disambiguation page is needed.

Are there multiple topics?
In Wikipedia, a title is ambiguous only if it might take the reader to articles on different topics. If a title refers to a single general topic, it does not need disambiguation, even if that topic might be broken up into several sub-topics. For example:
 * Rugby union in the British Isles is a general topic that encompasses subtopics such as Rugby union in England, Rugby union in Ireland, Rugby union in Scotland, and Rugby union in Wales. However, none of those subtopics by itself would likely be referred to as "Rugby union in the British Isles"; nor can we say that there are two (or more) different topics that could be referred to by the latter title.  A disambiguation page therefore is not appropriate in this situation; instead, we have a list article identifying the relevant subtopics that fall within this general topic.
 * History of France is a broad topic; although it could conceivably be covered in a single, very lengthy article, it is more convenient for both editors and readers to divide it chronologically into several articles. This title takes readers to a summary style article that contains links to the more detailed articles on specific periods. Again, an article focusing on only one of these chronological periods would not appropriately be entitled "History of France," so the title is not ambiguous.