Wikipedia:WikiProject Alien/Article categorization

The following is a detailed guide to Alien''-related articles. For the general Wikipedia categorization guide, please see Categorization.

The following categorization guide covers all articles related to the Alien and Predator media franchises. Generally, this applies to all editors, though it is mainly used as a tool to get all members of the Alien WikiProject together on one concrete system of categorization.

Please quote this guide based on the section (e.g. 1.1.7 to apply to section 1, subsection 1, number 7).

Scope
This guide covers all articles related to the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. This includes all articles related to the Alien vs. Predator crossover franchise. Though this guide is part of WikiProject Alien, the Predator franchise is included in its scope because the two franchises are so closely linked and share many of the same categories.

Explanation
Articles on Wikipedia related to the Alien and Predator franchises cover many topics including films, novels, comic books, video games, characters, and more. There are even articles for each franchise as a whole. This variety of subjects can be difficult for readers and editors to navigate through. The situation is made even more confusing by the fact that the two franchises are crossed-over in a variety of media under the Alien vs. Predator imprint. Properly categorizing these articles helps readers to better navigate through Alien and Predator-related topics on Wikipedia, and also helps editors to better perform article maintenance.

Main categories and parentage
Category:Alien (franchise) is the parent category for all Alien-related articles, as Category:Predator (franchise) is for Predator-related articles. However, these are themsevles subcategories of several larger parent categories such as Category:Science fiction by franchise, Category:Monomyths, Category:Media franchises, and Category:Categories named after films. The largest parent categories for most of these topics are Category:Fiction and Category:Films.

Subcategories
Subcategories are named after the franchise which they relate to. For example, Category:Alien (franchise) films and Category:Predator (franchise) films, or Category:Alien (franchise) comics and Category:Predator (franchise) comics. There are a number of subcategories which relate to specific areas of each franchise. Category:Alien vs. Predator is a subcategory specifically for Alien vs. Predator-related articles and has subcats of its own.

General rules
The categorization of articles should first and foremost follow the guidelines set forth in Categorization. Further elaboration in this guide is designed specifically for articles related to the Alien and Predator franchises, but does not supersede these guidelines.

How to categorize articles
Always use the most specific category or subcategory possible, and do not also categorize it in the parent category. For example, the article on the video game Aliens: Colonial Marines would belong in Category:Alien (franchise) games but not Category:Alien (franchise) as well. The game is part of the franchise, but the games category is more specific and appears as a subcategory in Category:Alien (franchise) already. For more information on how subcategories work, see WP:SUBCAT.

Articles that relate to the Alien vs. Predator franchise pose a special situation, but follow the same guidelines. The parent category for them is Category:Alien vs. Predator, which is a subcategory of both Category:Alien (franchise) and Category:Predator (franchise). Likewise, Category:Alien vs. Predator (franchise) games is a subcategory of both Category:Alien (franchise) games and Category:Predator (franchise) games, and Category: Alien vs. Predator (franchise) comics is a subcat of both Category:Alien (franchise) comics and Category:Predator (franchise) comics. To categorize an Alien vs. Predator-related article, place it in the most specific Alien vs. Predator category. For example, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem should be in Category:Alien vs. Predator (franchise) films. This automatically appears as a subcategory of both Category:Alien (franchise) films and Category:Predator (franchise) films.

Creating new categories
You may find that it is necessary to create a new category or subcategory for articles. However, a cat or subcat should only be created if there are already several articles which will go in it. Categories which will only contain 1 or 2 articles should not be created. If you find it necessary to create a new category, please start a discussion first at the WikiProject Alien talk page so that other project members can help determine whether a new category is necessary and make sure that it is properly linked to the existing categories and incorporated into the project.

Renaming, merging, or deleting categories
From time to time it may become necessary to rename, merge, or delete a category. This is not unusual and will probably happen as major work is performed on groups of articles. For example, most of the articles in Category:Alien (franchise) games, Category:Predator (franchise) games, and Category:Alien vs. Predator (franchise) games are currently in the process of being merged into the List of Alien and Predator games. When this project is complete it will likely be pertinent to delete the game categories, since they will only contain 1 or 2 articles. Alternatively, they may all be merged into a single category.

To nominate a category for renaming, merging, or deletion, follow the procedures at Categories for discussion. Please also leave a message at the WikiProject Alien talk page so that other project members will be alerted and can contribute to the discussion.

Categories
Following is a list of all current Alien and Predator categories and their subcategories. Each begins with the prefix "Category:".

Alien categories

 * Alien (franchise)
 * Alien (franchise) films
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) films
 * Alien (franchise) novels
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) novels
 * Alien (franchise) comics
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) comics
 * Alien (franchise) games
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) games
 * Alien (franchise) characters
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) characters
 * Alien vs. Predator
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) films
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) novels
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) comics
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) games
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) characters

Predator categories

 * Predator (franchise)
 * Predator (franchise) films
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) films
 * Predator (franchise) novels
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) novels
 * Predator (franchise) comics
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) comics
 * Predator (franchise) games
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) games
 * Predator (franchise) characters
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) characters
 * Alien vs. Predator
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) films
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) novels
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) comics
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) games
 * Alien vs. Predator (franchise) characters