Disambiguation

Disambiguations are used to distinguish between entities that have identical or confusingly similar names. They are visible in search results and entity detail pages. Disambiguations should preferably be written in English and kept concise and to the point.

Never assume that something does not need a disambiguation! Just because a name or title seem really unique, that doesn't mean there might not be others named exactly the same.

And anyway it's always a good idea to put in a disambiguation for the next person who comes around and may have an author, work or similar they wish to enter into the database. A good disambiguation will help them select the right author, work or publisher, and prevent duplicate editions being made.

What to use disambiguations for:

It is always a good idea to write a disambiguation for an entity, but especially necessary if:

1. Two or more entities of the same type have the the exact same or very similar name.

2. Two or more entities of the same type have names that are homonyms or differ only in grammatical article, punctuation or plurality.
   
   Example: The Hive, Hive, Hives and "A Hive"

What not to use disambiguations for:

1. To provide a longer description of an entity, especially one that's not ambiguous. Use annotations to write descriptions like this.

Disambiguation content

For works

1. Different authors. If several author have works with the same name, the disambiguation should explain the difference, That is, the name of its author(s) and its work type.
   
   Examples:

   • Misery (Anton Chekov short story)
   • Misery (Stephen King novel)

2. Translated work. Often translated works can be ambiguous with its original, as well as other translations, the disambiguation should include the language of the translation, and possibly the translator. (see below)
   
   Examples:

   • Madame Bovary (French original) ← original work
   • Madame Bovary (German translation) ← translated work

   If the work has been translated to the same language by different translators, the language and the translator are good inclusions.
   
   Examples:

   • Madame Bovary (English translation by Alan Russell)
   • Madame Bovary (Eleanor Marx English translation) ^1(bad example, we should have one for each set of examples, and one to keep type of text consistent for a specific translated work)

3. Identically named work and type by same author. If an author writes several works with the same or similar names, the disambiguation should explain how they differ.
   
   Examples:

   • In Memoriam (Voltairine de Cleyre poem to Dyer D. Lum)
   • In Memoriam (Voltairine de Cleyre poem to Gen. M. M. Trumbull)

   If there is no useful distinguishing information available, quote the first words of the text. Examples:

   • Justice (Ambrose Bierce poem “Jack Doe met Dick Roe”)
   • Justice (Ambrose Bierce poem “She jilted me”)

4. Combinations. Often you will come across the situation where more than one type of ambiguity occurs, so, combine methods above, shorten wherever practical and separate with commas.
   
   Examples:

   • Esau (Philip Kerr novel, English original)
   • Esau (Philip Kerr novel, German translation)
   • Esau (Poul Anderson short story)

For editions and edition groups

If an edition or edition group requires disambiguation by author, the author name(s) should be listed.

Examples:

• Short Fiction (Philip K. Dick)
• Short Fiction (P. K. Wodehouse)

If an edition or edition group for the same author requires disambiguation by language, append the language to the disambiguation.

Example:

• Hamlet (William Shakespeare, English)
• Hamlet (William Shakespeare, German)

If editions are issued by multiple publishers, or multiple editions are issued by the same publisher, no further disambiguation is applicable.

For authors

For an ambiguous author, provide a brief description including: genre, language, occupation, nationality, era, etc.

For publishers

For an ambiguous publisher, provide a brief descriptions such as nationality, speciality, language, era, etc.