 | This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
 | This page dates from 2004, when it was still possible to find subpages being used in articles, which is now impossible. For current policy on the use of subpages in other namespaces, see Wikipedia:Subpages. |
One of Wikipedia's rules to consider:
Subpages are pages separated with a "/" (a forward slash) from the main page, e.g. "The Beatles/Penny Lane". The main advantage of subpages is that they make it easy to group related topics together without having to establish context for each of them. However, this is also one of their core problems. Subpages tend to get neglected and not follow style guidelines, and there are often far more subpages for a particular article than necessary. Many of the problems with subpages are specific to an encyclopedia, and subpages may work perfectly for other wikis.
Subpages were used on Wikipedia during most of 2001. A long debate then took place over whether they should or should not continue to be used. Larry Sanger, then editor of Wikipedia, took the position that they should be removed entirely. He wrote: "I think we've discussed subpages quite a bit--certainly enough to air the issues and give people a chance to state their views and change their minds--and in view of this, I've decided to get rid of them. (...) Finally, and probably as importantly as anything else, my well considered opinion is that the arguments in favor of getting rid of them are much, much stronger than the arguments in favor of keeping them. I predict yer gonna thank me in a year. (Maybe not all of you. :-) )"
His prediction turned out to be true, as subpages were then increasingly weeded out and replaced with redirects to standard article titles or deleted entirely. Many Wikipedians now have a strong aversion against subpages, so please do not be surprised if you see comments like "AAAHHHHHH SUBPAGE!!!! KILL KILL KILL" in the recent changes comments. However, due to inertia, some subpages still linger on Wikipedia, and new ones are occasionally created.
When you come across a subpage in the main article space, please move it to an appropriate title, e.g. "The Beatles/Penny Lane" to "Penny Lane" or "Penny Lane (Beatles)" if disambiguation is necessary. Do not forget to establish context. A page with hundreds of subpages (like the old Atlas Shrugged) may need more reorganization and summarization of different subpages into individual articles.
There are two exceptions for this rule. See Wikipedia:Subpages in the user and talk namespaces.