Forum:DEFAULTSORT for Persons
The category sorts should not all be under M for mini. A solution could be, that we use the magic word defaultsort(template) - {{DEFAULTSORT: value}}
For Persons, there are two meanings about the convention:
- first letter of the article like Mini:Silvio Berlusconi listed under S for Silvio Berlusconi - {{DEFAULTSORT: Silvio Berlusconi}}
- first letter of the family name like Mini:Silvio Berlusconi listed under B for Berlusconi, Silvio - {{DEFAULTSORT: Berlusconi, Silvio}}
I think it would be better to list Berlusconi under B, because his brother Paolo Berlusconi would be listed then near of him. Names often are based on a family connection and the category view should be clearly sorted. Wikipedia EN listed it on my way: [1] in the most articles --Cy 22:30, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
First of all, it seems to me that there must be a much better way than using a template to sort the Category lists for mini articles under the actual headword rather than under M for mini. The sort for all mini articles fuctions correctly in this respect (see Special Pages, All articles, namespace = mini). If this were to be done, we could then go on to consider whether more sophisticated sorting is called for. It may well be a good idea in the long run to sort proper names of people under their family name. However, if we do so, I would argue that there should be a systematic approach based on criteria such as the Category rather than on a template. (This appears to be the way it's done in Wikipedia.) If a template is used, then it has to be physically introduced for each name and variation thereof, especially if we are unable to get the REDIRECT approach to function properly. Another consideration here is that Wikia Search is by definition a search tool, not a library catalogue. Whereas Wikipedia users and collaborators may be quite happy about listing people in categories under their family names, I think most people carrying out searches would probably look for Tony Blair under T, Paris Hilton under P and Silvio Berlusconi under S. (This does not mean that there could not also be headings such as Berlusconi, Silvio with a REDIRECT to Silvio Berlusconi.) So my advice for the time being is, let's get our priorities right:
- First get the system to sort the minis in each category correctly.
- Second improve the effect of REDIRECT.
- Third solve the whole problem of upper/lower case to avoid multiple entries on the same term.
Once this has been done, we can then decide on further sophistications of how personal names should be listed.
Finally I would like to point out another constraint of Wikia Search as compared to Wikipedia. Whereas in WP, it is possible to search for a article by using one or more components of the full term (e.g. a search on Eurovision contest will turn up Eurovision Song Contest), no such facility is available for finding mini articles in Wikia Search. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that a mini article will not show up on the search results page unless the term, with correct upper or lower case, corresponds exactly with the heading of the mini article. That probably explains why there have been many variants on a given topic (many now corrected) with one article on say George Bush, another on George W. Bush, a third on george w. bush, etc., etc. In many cases, the articles themselves have substantially differed in their content. Using a template to list them all under the same heading (Bush, George W.) would cause further confusion.--Ipigott 10:42, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
- Who searches for Bush, George W. ? 69.143.226.129 22:44, 14 March 2008 (UTC)