Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge/PMGGUIDE

'''A merge is a process by which the content of two pages are united on one page for one or more of the following reasons:


 * Unnecessary duplication of content


 * Significant overlap with the topic of another page


 * Minimal content that could be covered in or requires the context of a page on a broader topic'''.

'''A copy paste merge creates "attribution dependency". To license the content from the originating article you must, at minimum, provide a direct link to the original article in the edit summary of the page where content is being placed. You should also place the Copied tag on the originating article as well as the target article.'''

Merging should be avoided if the articles are sufficiently distinct to stand on their own and the resulting article will be too long or "clunky"; the separate topics could be expanded into longer standalone (but cross-linked) articles; the topics are discrete subjects and deserve their own articles even though they may be short.

If you need direction for making a new merge proposal see Proposed mergers. On Wikipedia, articles may be boldly merged without any proposal taking place, though it is recommended where the merge is expected to be controversial. If you boldly merge an article and it is reverted, this should be considered part of the BOLD, revert, discuss cycle and not undone until discussion takes place—do not edit war.

Listing and Delisting
A merge is listed once a tag is placed on the article, such as Merge or Merge to. Removing the tag delists the article. Never remove a proposed merge tag unless you are intending to delist the article and only do so when all issues have been addressed. If the proposer of the merge did not start a discussion for the merge, and it is not obvious why the articles should be merged, it is acceptable to remove the tags. If the reason for the merge is obvious, you can either merge the articles boldly, or start a new discussion.

Editors should always close a proposal uncontroversially. Complex cases can be referred to the project's talk page. Merging an article where there was a consensus-based decision to do so at an AfD discussion that has been closed by an administrator is not controversial, and may be undertaken with no further discussion or closing procedure.

Stale merge proposals
If there has been no discussion generated after a reasonable amount of time then the merge proposal is stale. If there are no active AfD, ANI, or other dispute resolution discussions involving any of the affected pages (see below), stale merge proposals with no discussion after six months should be immediately delisted if any of the following apply:


 * The merge has been completed already.
 * Either the target or destination article has been deleted.
 * Either the target or destination article is a redirect to a different topic. (This does not include redirects for capitalization, spelling or formatting)
 * The merge discussion doesn't name both articles to be merged. (Close the discussion as void due to confusion about what articles are involved)
 * The tags propose a merge from a very narrow topic to a very wide topic, or vice versa (Example - merging Killdeer, North Dakota to United States)
 * The tags propose merging a biography to another biography without justification. This almost never makes sense, and there is a strong burden of proof on the proposer.
 * The article qualifies for speedy delete. Redirect it to a logical target if there is one, otherwise nominate for speedy deletion.
 * The article faced an articles for deletion discussion while the merge tag was on the page and not a single user proposed the merge in the discussion. Be sure to check the article history to make sure the merge tag was there during the deletion discussion.

If the articles listed for merge meet the above standards then you may simply remove the tags as a stale merge/old proposal with no consensus. No merging takes place. Otherwise, you may participate in the discussion if you have an opinion on the merits of the proposed merge, or consider closing the discussion according to merge discussion closing procedures.

Merging content
To carry out the merge, be sure and follow the steps as laid out by Merging.

Editing and merging during disputes
Editors should not merge content during an AFD. AfD participants should not work "around" consensus by beginning a merge process on their own, before discussion. While preservation of content is a good consideration, copying may be contentious and may create additional steps and administrative work if undoing any copying is necessary. Such a merge also causes an attribution dependency breakage between articles that may require the merging of article history that would be lost if the source page is deleted. AFD participants may offer proposals and negotiate with the other participants during the discussion. If needed, editors may ask the closing admin how to rescue the content or what additional steps that need to be taken.

Using reference merge
Any editor may add contents and references if the prose used is completely original. In this manner the merged content is not merely copied and pasted but all original content makes use of the available references (see EDITATAFD). Rather than merging, the content can be rewritten. In this case, there is no attribution problems as the content is new. However, one should exercise extreme caution BEFORE undertaking such a controversial merge. While it is not strictly prohibited, Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge recommends that all editors refrain from such tasks in the spirit of collaboration. Unless there is a strong case for the merge specified by deletion policy it is preferred that editors wait until the discussion period is complete.

Closing merge proposals to begin merging
From Help:Merging

If there is clear agreement with the proposal by consensus, or if there is silence, after the debate has been open for at least two weeks, proceed with the merge. Before merging, it is recommended that you refer to this, which applies to merge targets as well as redirect targets.

Archive a proposed merge
To provide clarity that the merge discussion is over and that a consensus has been reached, it may be important to close and then archive the proposal discussion. To close a merge proposal discussion, indicate the outcome at the top. If the merge is particularly controversial, one may take the optional step of requesting closure by an uninvolved administrator at Administrators' noticeboard/Requests for closure.

To archive a merge proposal discussion, a Discussion top template is generally placed between the header and the top of the discussion and a Discussion bottom template will need to be placed at the bottom of the discussion.

Here is an example of how to archive a merge proposal discussion:

Header
Hi, I would like to discuss...

You can also place the oldmergefull template at the top of the talk pages of the articles proposed to be merged.

AFD consensus to merge/redirects have been Admin closed and do not reguire further closing procedure. These may be merged and redirected with no further tasks required or associated with the merge.

Performing the merge
From Help:Merging

There are two basic types of merge; which to use depends on how much content of the source page you want to keep:


 * Full-content paste merge - most content, clean and fast
 * Selective paste merge - some content, clean but slow

Also remember that almost all article pages have a talk page. To avoid losing quick access to that historical discussion, a link to the source article's talk-page should be placed at the top of the destination article's talk-page, such as:

or use Template:Copied:


 * Actions which must be performed for both merge types


 * 1) After copying the content, save the destination page with an edit summary noting   (This step is required in order to conform with Wikipedia's licensing requirements.  Do not omit it nor omit the page name.)
 * 2) Delete all the text from the source page and replace it with , save the source page with an edit summary noting

Full-content paste merge
From Help:Merging

Performing a merge in this manner is beneficial when you want to include all the content from both articles in the article history of the final article.
 * 1) Open the source and destination pages in two separate edit windows/tabs.
 * 2) Cut/paste the entire content from the source page into the destination page and remove the mergefrom tag.
 * 3) Save the destination page, with an edit summary noting "merged content from article name " (This step is required in order to conform with Wikipedia's licensing requirements.  Do not omit it nor omit the page name.)
 * 4) Delete all the text from the source page and replace it with , note the merge (including the page name) in the edit summary, and save the page.
 * 5) Edit the destination page again and delete the redundant content, editing until it looks good and consistent. The destination can be tagged with In use temporarily to prevent edit conflicts.
 * 6) Save the destination page.  (Edit summary of "cleanup after paste/merge" is appropriate.)
 * 7) Optional: Check "What links here" on the source page for double-redirects.
 * 8) * Double-redirects will fail to link, and must be renamed to redirect to the current page name.
 * 9) * This is only necessary if an old redirect needs to be retargeted. If you do not to do this, a bot will usually fix it in a day or two.
 * 10)  Add  onto the talk pages of both articles. This not only helps clarify attribution at the destination, but helps prevent inadvertent later deletion of the source history. This step is optional but recommended.
 * 11) Do not ask for a history merge between the two articles. See this link for the reason

Selective paste merge
From Help:Merging


 * 1) Open the source and destination pages in two separate edit windows/tabs.
 * 2) Cut/paste the non-redundant content from the source page into the destination page.
 * 3) Be sure to remove the mergefrom tag from the destination page before previewing
 * 4) Preview and edit the destination page until it looks good and consistent.
 * 5) Delete all the text from the source page and replace it with.
 * 6) * Note that PAGENAME in the code above should be the title of the destination page.
 * 7) Save both, and note the merge (including the page names) in the edit summaries. (This step is required in order to conform with Wikipedia's licensing requirements.  Do not omit it nor omit the page name.)
 * 8) Optional: Check "What links here" on the source page for double-redirects.
 * 9) * Double-redirects will fail to link, and must be renamed to redirect to the current page name.
 * 10) * This is only necessary if an old redirect needs to be retargeted. If you do not to do this, a bot will usually fix it in a couple of days
 * 11) Add  onto the talk pages of both articles. This not only helps clarify attribution at the destination, but helps prevent inadvertent later deletion of the source history. This step is optional but recommended.

Performing a merge in this manner is beneficial when the source document includes a great deal of material that is not needed in the final article.
 * 1) Do not ask for a history merge between the two articles. See this link for the reason

Redirecting
Once the content is merged do not forget to blank the originating page and add:



Attribution of originating content
At minimum, attribution must be provided in the edit summary of the page into which content is placed. '''This step is required in order to conform with Wikipedia's licensing requirements. Do not omit it nor omit the page name.''' It is important to remember, once a merge has been made and the redirect set or even when a redirect is not set in place, to add this template on both the target and originating article talkpage and fill out completely:

See the Template:Copied documentation for instructions.