CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs skin-theme-clientpref-day mf-expand-sections-clientpref-0 mf-font-size-clientpref-small mw-mf-amc-clientpref-0" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Wikipedia:Categories versus lists - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js skin-theme-clientpref-day mf-expand-sections-clientpref-0 mf-font-size-clientpref-small mw-mf-amc-clientpref-0";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"2657e64e-7dc8-42eb-9778-1ae4eefe139d","wgCanonicalNamespace":"Project","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":4,"wgPageName":"Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists","wgTitle":"Categories versus lists","wgCurRevisionId":1250620739,"wgRevisionId": 1250620739,"wgArticleId":6516133,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists","wgRelevantArticleId":6516133,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFMode":"stable","wgMFAmc":false,"wgMFAmcOutreachActive":false,"wgMFAmcOutreachUserEligible":false,"wgMFLazyLoadImages":true,"wgMFEditNoticesFeatureConflict":false,"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true}, "wgMFIsSupportedEditRequest":true,"wgMFScriptPath":"","wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":5000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":true,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgDiscussionToolsFeaturesEnabled":{"replytool":true,"newtopictool":true,"sourcemodetoolbar":true,"topicsubscription":false,"autotopicsub":false,"visualenhancements":false,"visualenhancements_reply":false,"visualenhancements_pageframe":false},"wgDiscussionToolsFallbackEditMode":"source","wgSectionTranslationTargetLanguages":["ace","ady","alt","am","ami","an","ang","ann","anp","ar","ary","arz","as","ast","av","avk","awa","ay","az","azb","ba","ban","bar","bbc","bcl","bdr","be","bew","bg","bho","bi","bjn","blk","bm","bn","bo","bpy","br","bs","btm","bug","ca","cdo","ce","ceb","ch","chr","ckb","co","cr","crh","cs","cu","cy","da","dag","de","dga","din","diq","dsb","dtp","dv","dz","ee","el","eml","eo","es","et","eu","fa","fat","ff","fi","fj","fo","fon","fr","frp","frr","fur" ,"fy","gag","gan","gcr","gl","glk","gn","gom","gor","gpe","gu","guc","gur","guw","gv","ha","hak","haw","he","hi","hif","hr","hsb","ht","hu","hy","hyw","ia","iba","ie","ig","igl","ilo","io","is","it","iu","ja","jam","jv","ka","kaa","kab","kbd","kbp","kcg","kg","kge","ki","kk","kl","km","kn","ko","koi","krc","ks","ku","kus","kv","kw","ky","lad","lb","lez","lg","li","lij","lld","lmo","ln","lo","lt","ltg","lv","mad","mai","map-bms","mdf","mg","mhr","mi","min","mk","ml","mn","mni","mnw","mos","mr","mrj","ms","mt","mwl","my","myv","mzn","nah","nan","nap","nb","nds","nds-nl","ne","new","nia","nl","nn","nqo","nr","nso","ny","oc","om","or","os","pa","pag","pam","pap","pcd","pcm","pdc","pl","pms","pnb","ps","pt","pwn","qu","rm","rn","ro","rsk","rue","rup","rw","sa","sah","sat","sc","scn","sco","sd","se","sg","sgs","sh","shi","shn","si","sk","skr","sl","sm","smn","sn","so","sq","sr","srn","ss","st","stq","su","sv","sw","szl","ta","tay","tcy","tdd","te","tet","tg","th","ti","tk","tl","tly","tn", "to","tpi","tr","trv","ts","tt","tum","tw","ty","tyv","udm","ur","uz","ve","vec","vep","vi","vls","vo","vro","wa","war","wo","wuu","xal","xh","xmf","yi","yo","yue","za","zgh","zh","zu"],"isLanguageSearcherCXEntrypointEnabled":false,"mintEntrypointLanguages":["ace","ast","azb","bcl","bjn","bh","crh","ff","fon","ig","is","ki","ks","lmo","min","sat","ss","tn","vec"],"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q59342512","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false,"wgMinervaPermissions":{"watchable":true,"watch":false},"wgMinervaFeatures":{"beta":false,"donate":true,"mobileOptionsLink":true,"categories":false,"pageIssues":true,"talkAtTop":true,"historyInPageActions":false,"overflowSubmenu":false,"tabsOnSpecials":true,"personalMenu":false, "mainMenuExpanded":false,"echo":true,"nightMode":true},"wgMinervaDownloadNamespaces":[0]};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.discussionTools.init.styles":"ready","oojs-ui-core.styles":"ready","oojs-ui.styles.indicators":"ready","mediawiki.widgets.styles":"ready","oojs-ui-core.icons":"ready","skins.minerva.styles":"ready","skins.minerva.content.styles.images":"ready","mediawiki.hlist":"ready","skins.minerva.codex.styles":"ready","skins.minerva.icons":"ready","skins.minerva.amc.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","mobile.init.styles":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["site","mediawiki.page.ready","skins.minerva.scripts","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","ext.popups","mobile.init", "ext.echo.centralauth","ext.discussionTools.init","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.entrypoints.languagesearcher.init","mw.externalguidance.init","ext.checkUser.clientHints","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.discussionTools.init.styles%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cmediawiki.hlist%7Cmediawiki.widgets.styles%7Cmobile.init.styles%7Coojs-ui-core.icons%2Cstyles%7Coojs-ui.styles.indicators%7Cskins.minerva.amc.styles%7Cskins.minerva.codex.styles%7Cskins.minerva.content.styles.images%7Cskins.minerva.icons%2Cstyles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=minerva"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=minerva"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=minerva"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#eaecf0"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes, minimum-scale=0.25, maximum-scale=5.0"> <meta property="og:title" content="Wikipedia:Categories versus lists - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="manifest" href="/w/api.php?action=webapp-manifest"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="ext-discussiontools-replytool-enabled ext-discussiontools-newtopictool-enabled ext-discussiontools-sourcemodetoolbar-enabled mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-4 ns-subject mw-editable page-Wikipedia_Categories_versus_lists rootpage-Wikipedia_Categories_versus_lists stable skin-minerva action-view skin--responsive mw-mf-amc-disabled mw-mf"><div id="mw-mf-viewport"> <div id="mw-mf-page-center"> <a class="mw-mf-page-center__mask" href="#"></a> <header class="header-container header-chrome"> <div class="minerva-header"> <nav class="navigation-drawer toggle-list view-border-box"> <input type="checkbox" id="main-menu-input" class="toggle-list__checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false" aria-labelledby="mw-mf-main-menu-button"> <label role="button" for="main-menu-input" id="mw-mf-main-menu-button" aria-hidden="true" data-event-name="ui.mainmenu" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet toggle-list__toggle"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--menu"></span> <span></span> </label> <div id="mw-mf-page-left" class="menu view-border-box"> <ul id="p-navigation" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--home" href="/wiki/Main_Page" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--home"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Home</span> </a> </li> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--random" href="/wiki/Special:Random" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--die"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Random</span> </a> </li> <li class="toggle-list-item skin-minerva-list-item-jsonly"> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--nearby" href="/wiki/Special:Nearby" data-event-name="menu.nearby" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--mapPin"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Nearby</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul id="p-personal" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--login" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Wikipedia%3ACategories+versus+lists" data-event-name="menu.login" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--logIn"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Log in</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul id="pt-preferences" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item skin-minerva-list-item-jsonly"> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--settings" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:MobileOptions&returnto=Wikipedia%3ACategories+versus+lists" data-event-name="menu.settings" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--settings"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Settings</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul id="p-donation" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--donate" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en&utm_key=minerva" data-event-name="menu.donate" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--heart"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Donate</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul class="hlist"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--about" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" data-mw="interface"> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">About Wikipedia</span> </a> </li> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--disclaimers" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer" data-mw="interface"> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Disclaimers</span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <label class="main-menu-mask" for="main-menu-input"></label> </nav> <div class="branding-box"> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page"> <span><img src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" alt="Wikipedia" width="120" height="18" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"/> </span> </a> </div> <form action="/w/index.php" method="get" class="minerva-search-form"> <div class="search-box"> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"/> <input class="search skin-minerva-search-trigger" id="searchInput" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"> <span class="search-box-icon-overlay"><span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--search"></span> </span> </div> <button id="searchIcon" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet skin-minerva-search-trigger"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </form> <nav class="minerva-user-navigation" aria-label="User navigation"> </nav> </div> </header> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <div class="banner-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="pre-content heading-holder"> <div class="page-heading"> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-namespace">Wikipedia</span><span class="mw-page-title-separator">:</span><span class="mw-page-title-main">Categories versus lists</span></h1> <div class="tagline"></div> </div> <ul id="p-associated-pages" class="minerva__tab-container"> <li class="minerva__tab selected"> <a class="minerva__tab-text" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists" rel="" data-event-name="tabs.subject">Project page</a> </li> <li class="minerva__tab "> <a class="minerva__tab-text" href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Categories_versus_lists" rel="" data-event-name="tabs.talk">Talk</a> </li> </ul> <nav class="page-actions-menu"> <ul id="p-views" class="page-actions-menu__list"> <li id="language-selector" class="page-actions-menu__list-item"> <a role="button" href="#p-lang" data-mw="interface" data-event-name="menu.languages" title="Language" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet language-selector"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--language"></span> <span>Language</span> </a> </li> <li id="page-actions-watch" class="page-actions-menu__list-item"> <a role="button" id="ca-watch" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Wikipedia%3ACategories+versus+lists" data-event-name="menu.watch" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet menu__item--page-actions-watch"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--star"></span> <span>Watch</span> </a> </li> <li id="page-actions-edit" class="page-actions-menu__list-item"> <a role="button" id="ca-edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit" data-event-name="menu.edit" data-mw="interface" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet edit-page menu__item--page-actions-edit"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>Edit</span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav>  <div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="content"> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><script>function mfTempOpenSection(id){var block=document.getElementById("mf-section-"+id);block.className+=" open-block";block.previousSibling.className+=" open-block";}</script><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><section class="mf-section-0" id="mf-section-0"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238436933">.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--color-base,#202122)}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ombox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ombox-content{border:1px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ombox-style{border:1px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ombox-move{border:1px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ombox-protection{border:2px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.9em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-invalid-type{text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 10%}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{clear:right;float:right;margin:4px 0 4px 1em;width:238px}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output table.ombox img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}</style><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:HISPAGES" title="Wikipedia:HISPAGES"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Historical.svg/30px-Historical.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="38" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Historical.svg/45px-Historical.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Historical.svg/60px-Historical.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="140" data-file-height="177"></a></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><b>This <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Essays" title="Wikipedia:Essays">essay</a> is currently inactive or at one time had <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus" title="Wikipedia:Consensus">community consensus</a>, but is no longer relevant. It is retained for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:HISPAGES" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:HISPAGES">historical</a> reference.</b> <span style="font-size: 90%">It is an essay on <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_series_boxes" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes">categories, lists, and series boxes</a>. It has only been updated occasionally to remove criticisms that were resolved by newer functions added to Wikipedia categorization. It was last substantively updated 2007.</span></td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Essay on editing Wikipedia</div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238436933"><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Essay.svg/30px-Essay.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="36" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Essay.svg/45px-Essay.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Essay.svg/60px-Essay.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="35" data-file-height="42"></span></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><div style="padding-top: 6px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b>This is an <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Essays" title="Wikipedia:Essays">essay</a> on <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_series_boxes" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes">categories, lists, and series boxes</a>.</b><br><div style="font-size: 90%;">It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines" title="Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines">Wikipedia's policies or guidelines</a>, as it has not been <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus#Levels_of_consensus" title="Wikipedia:Consensus">thoroughly vetted by the community</a>. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In 2007, when Wikipedia was still in its developmental stages and growing rapidly, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Categories">categories</a> were decentralized to facilitate easier <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Index" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Index">indexing</a> of pages during <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Page_creation" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Page creation">page creation</a>. This system was also designed to distribute the workload of category maintenance among page maintainers. </p><p>However, the category system has since created more problems than it has solved. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Categories_become_editor_hangouts"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Categories become editor hangouts</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Categories_do_not_have_a_page_history"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Categories do not have a page history</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Deleted_categories_orphan_it's_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Deleted categories orphan it's contents and this action cannot be undone</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Deleted_pages_are_removed_from_categories"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Deleted pages are removed from categories</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_'red_links'"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Categories cannot include non-existent pages or 'red links'</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Adding_and_removing_categories_is_cumbersome"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Adding and removing categories is cumbersome</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Categories_are_not_modular"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Categories are not modular</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(1)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Categories_become_editor_hangouts" data-mw-thread-id="h-Categories_become_editor_hangouts"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Categories_become_editor_hangouts"></span>Categories become editor hangouts<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Categories_become_editor_hangouts"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Categories become editor hangouts" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-1 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-1"> <p>Editors have their favorite pages that they watch over and maintain. This includes maintaining the category tags on those pages. Each editor's views on categorization differ. So when you decide to add a large group of pages to a category, some of the watchdogs are bound to object to and remove that tag from their pages. This punches holes in the categories which can lead to edit wars when you try to fill those holes. By contrast, lists are centralized, so you usually don't have to worry about the watchdogs, because you link to their pages without altering their pages at all. In most cases, they won't even be aware of the link. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(2)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Categories_do_not_have_a_page_history" data-mw-thread-id="h-Categories_do_not_have_a_page_history"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Categories_do_not_have_a_page_history"></span>Categories do not have a page history<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Categories_do_not_have_a_page_history"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Categories do not have a page history" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-2 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-2"> <p>When a category tag is removed from a page, and the link to that page disappears from the category page, there is no record at the category page of that link ever being there. So the only ways to spot link disappearances is either from memory, or cross-checking against a list of what was there, or seeing the category on the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Watchlist" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Watchlist">watchlist</a>, the last option is a <a href="/wiki/Special:Preferences" title="Special:Preferences">setting at "watchlist"</a>. Lists have histories, so by using <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Diff" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Diff">diff</a>, you easily monitor for deletions. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(3)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Deleted_categories_orphan_it's_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone" data-mw-thread-id="h-Deleted_categories_orphan_it's_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone"><span id="Deleted_categories_orphan_it.27s_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone"></span><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Deleted_categories_orphan_it's_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone"></span>Deleted categories orphan it's contents and this action cannot be undone<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Deleted_categories_orphan_it's_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Deleted categories orphan it's contents and this action cannot be undone" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-3 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-3"> <p>When a category is deleted, it can't be undeleted and restored. All the tags leading to it will have been removed. The information contained in the tags cannot be rebuilt as easily as a page can. It would require going through the page history of all of Wikipedia to refind the deleted tags. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(4)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Deleted_pages_are_removed_from_categories" data-mw-thread-id="h-Deleted_pages_are_removed_from_categories"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Deleted_pages_are_removed_from_categories"></span>Deleted pages are removed from categories<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Deleted_pages_are_removed_from_categories"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Deleted pages are removed from categories" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-4 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-4"> <p>When a page is deleted, it disappears off the category system, and most people aren't likely to notice unless they are specifically looking for it (but they usually use search when they look for specific topics), so this could hurt readers who are forced browse incomplete categories. With lists, when a page linked to is deleted, the link turns red. If the article was important, those who monitor the list are alerted to the problem and can take measures to repair the damage done to the subject area. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(5)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_'red_links'" data-mw-thread-id="h-Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_'red_links'"><span id="Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_.27red_links.27"></span><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_'red_links'"></span>Categories cannot include non-existent pages or 'red links'<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_'red_links'"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Categories cannot include non-existent pages or 'red links'" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-5 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-5"> <ul><li>Categories can't include page names that don't exist yet. <i>Lists can</i>. <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Red_links" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Red links">Red links</a> are useful as gap indicators and as task reminders (to create those articles).</li></ul> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(6)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Adding_and_removing_categories_is_cumbersome" data-mw-thread-id="h-Adding_and_removing_categories_is_cumbersome"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Adding_and_removing_categories_is_cumbersome"></span>Adding and removing categories is cumbersome<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Adding_and_removing_categories_is_cumbersome"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Adding and removing categories is cumbersome" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-6 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-6"> <ul><li><span typeof="mw:File"><span><noscript><img alt="Light bulb icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Dialog-information_on.svg/20px-Dialog-information_on.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="20" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48"></noscript><span class="lazy-image-placeholder" style="width: 20px;height: 20px;" data-src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Dialog-information_on.svg/20px-Dialog-information_on.svg.png" data-alt="Light bulb icon" data-width="20" data-height="20" data-srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Dialog-information_on.svg/30px-Dialog-information_on.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Dialog-information_on.svg/40px-Dialog-information_on.svg.png 2x" data-class="mw-file-element"> </span></span></span><span style="display:none">B</span> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:HotCat" title="Wikipedia:HotCat">Wikipedia:HotCat</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Gadget" title="Wikipedia:Gadget">gadget</a> that helps <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:REGISTER" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:REGISTER">registered users</a> easily remove, change, and add <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:CAT" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:CAT">categories</a> to Wikipedia pages (see others at <a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_categorization_tools" title="Category:Wikipedia categorization tools">Category:Wikipedia categorization tools</a>).</li> <li>Because of the category system's decentralized nature, adding or subtracting links is cumbersome and requires going to each page. This slows down category filling and category trimming, and can disrupt the brainstorming process that some editors use to create lists. Lists on the other hand can be built rapidly using cut & paste and text editing on the spot. Glossaries on the web can be captured and trimmed down to just the terms, then sorted using a command or program, then a macro applied to format them into links, and then pasted onto a Wikipedia page. Vocabulary and term lists are even easier to convert into Wikipedia lists. It's amazing how many of the links turn blue – Wikipedia's coverage is extensive, but pages often remain undetected or buried somewhere in an obscure category until a good list is made.</li></ul> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading3 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(7)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h3 id="Categories_are_not_modular" data-mw-thread-id="h-Categories_are_not_modular"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Categories_are_not_modular"></span>Categories are not modular<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Categories_are_not_modular"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Categories are not modular" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-7 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-7"> <ul><li>Categories aren't modular, lists are. So new lists can be created from parts of other lists, and subsections of lists turned into new pages when the list grows too large.</li></ul> <p>Likewise, categories can have advantages over lists: </p> <dl><dd><i>See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_series_boxes#Advantages_of_a_category" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes">Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes#Advantages of a category</a></i></dd> <dd><i>See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_series_boxes#Disadvantages_of_a_list" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes">Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes#Disadvantages of a list</a></i></dd></dl> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Lists_in_Wikipedia" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:List_navbox" title="Template:List navbox"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:List_navbox" title="Template talk:List navbox"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:List_navbox" title="Special:EditPage/Template:List navbox"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Lists_in_Wikipedia" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists">Lists in Wikipedia</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Style</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists_of_works" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists of works">Lists of works</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Stand-alone_lists#Style" title="Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists">Stand-alone lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Set_index_articles" title="Wikipedia:Set index articles">Set index articles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(lists)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (lists)">Naming conventions (lists)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Accessibility#Lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility">Accessibility/Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Pro_and_con_lists" title="Wikipedia:Pro and con lists">Pro and con lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:List_dos_and_don%27ts" title="Wikipedia:List dos and don'ts">List dos and don'ts</a> (information page)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Content</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Contents/Lists">Wikipedia:Contents/Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_list_criteria" title="Wikipedia:Featured list criteria">Featured list criteria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Lists" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists">WikiProject Lists</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Rationale</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_navigation_templates" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates">Categories, lists, and navigation templates</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Categories vs. lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lists_in_Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia:Lists in Wikipedia">Lists in Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lists_within_articles" title="Wikipedia:Lists within articles">Lists within articles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Listcruft" title="Wikipedia:Listcruft">Listcruft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Write_the_article_first" title="Wikipedia:Write the article first">Write the article first</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Existing lists</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_lists" title="Wikipedia:Featured lists">Featured lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Special:AllPages/List_of" title="Special:AllPages/List of">List of lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Special:AllPages/Lists_of" title="Special:AllPages/Lists of">Lists of lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_lists_of_lists" title="List of lists of lists">List of lists of lists</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Templates</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_index/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Template index/Lists">Template index/Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:List_templates" title="Category:List templates">Category:List templates</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Assistance</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:List" title="Help:List">Help:List</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Wikipedia_categorization" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Wikipedia_categorization_navbox" title="Template:Wikipedia categorization navbox"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Wikipedia_categorization_navbox" title="Template talk:Wikipedia categorization navbox"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Wikipedia_categorization_navbox" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Wikipedia categorization navbox"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Wikipedia_categorization" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Wikipedia categorization</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Guidelines</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorization" title="Wikipedia:Categorization">Categorization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Category_names" title="Wikipedia:Category names">Category names</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_navigation_templates" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates">Categories, lists, and navigation templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Overcategorization" title="Wikipedia:Overcategorization">Overcategorization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorizing_articles_about_people" title="Wikipedia:Categorizing articles about people">Categorizing articles about people</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:People_by_year" title="Wikipedia:People by year">People by year</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorization/Sorting_names" title="Wikipedia:Categorization/Sorting names">Categorization/Sorting names</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorizing_redirects" title="Wikipedia:Categorizing redirects">Categorizing redirects</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_categories" title="Wikipedia:User categories">User categories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Overcategorization/User_categories" title="Wikipedia:Overcategorization/User categories">Overcategorization/User categories</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Help pages</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Categories" title="Help:Categories">Basic help for readers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Basic help for editors</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ/Categories" title="Wikipedia:FAQ/Categories">FAQ for readers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ/Categorization" title="Wikipedia:FAQ/Categorization">FAQ for editors</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Container_category" title="Wikipedia:Container category">Container categories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorizing_portals" title="Wikipedia:Categorizing portals">Categorizing portals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Category_classification_templates" title="Wikipedia:Category classification templates">Category classification templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_index/Category_namespace" title="Wikipedia:Template index/Category namespace">Template index/Category namespace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:PetScan" title="Wikipedia:PetScan">PetScan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Discussions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion" title="Wikipedia:Categories for discussion">Categories for discussion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Speedy" title="Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy">Categories for discussion/Speedy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/All_current_discussions" title="Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/All current discussions">Categories for discussion/All current discussions</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Projectspace essays</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_are_different_from_articles" title="Wikipedia:Categories are different from articles">Categories are different from articles</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Categories versus lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorising_fictional_characters_by_attribute" title="Wikipedia:Categorising fictional characters by attribute">Categorising fictional characters by attribute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Do_not_write_articles_using_categories" title="Wikipedia:Do not write articles using categories">Do not write articles using categories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Overcategorization/Intersection_of_location_and_occupation" title="Wikipedia:Overcategorization/Intersection of location and occupation">Overcategorization/Intersection of location and occupation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Wiki_workflow" title="Wikipedia:Wiki workflow">Wiki workflow</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Plants/Description_in_year_categories" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Plants/Description in year categories">WikiProject Plants/Description in year categories</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Userspace essays</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/User:DexDor/Terminology_categories" title="User:DexDor/Terminology categories">DexDor/Terminology categories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/User:DexDor/Categorization_of_award_recipients" title="User:DexDor/Categorization of award recipients">DexDor/Categorization of award recipients</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/User:Alan_Liefting/Essays/On_categorisation" title="User:Alan Liefting/Essays/On categorisation">Alan Liefting/On categorisation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/User:Coder_Dan/Categories" title="User:Coder Dan/Categories">Coder Dan/Categories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/User:Gracefool/What_is_a_category%3F" title="User:Gracefool/What is a category?">gracefool/What is a category?</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/User:Kbdank71/Wikiproject_notification" title="User:Kbdank71/Wikiproject notification">Kbdank71/Wikiproject notification</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="font-weight: bold;"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_categorization" title="Category:Wikipedia categorization">Category:Wikipedia categorization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Contents" title="Category:Contents">Category:Contents</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Categories" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Categories">WikiProject Categories</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </section></div> <noscript><img src="https://login.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&mobile=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&oldid=1250620739">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&oldid=1250620739</a>"</div></div> </div> <div class="post-content" id="page-secondary-actions"> </div> </main> <footer class="mw-footer minerva-footer" role="contentinfo"> <a class="last-modified-bar" href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&action=history"> <div class="post-content last-modified-bar__content"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon-size-medium minerva-icon--modified-history"></span> <span class="last-modified-bar__text modified-enhancement" data-user-name="Waddie96" data-user-gender="unknown" data-timestamp="1728656054"> <span>Last edited on 11 October 2024, at 14:14</span> </span> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon-size-small minerva-icon--expand"></span> </div> </a> <div class="post-content footer-content"> <div id="p-lang"> <h4>Languages</h4> <section> <ul id="p-variants" class="minerva-languages"></ul> <ul class="minerva-languages"><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Kategorier_versus_lister" title="Wikipedia:Kategorier versus lister – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Wikipedia:Kategorier versus lister" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Categorias_versus_listas" title="Wikipédia:Categorias versus listas – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Wikipédia:Categorias versus listas" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li></ul> </section> </div> <div class="minerva-footer-logo"><img src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" alt="Wikipedia" width="120" height="18" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"/> </div> <ul id="footer-info" class="footer-info hlist hlist-separated"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 11 October 2024, at 14:14<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Content is available under <a class="external" rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" class="footer-places hlist hlist-separated"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-terms-use"><a href="https://foundation.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a></li> <li id="footer-places-desktop-toggle"><a id="mw-mf-display-toggle" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Categories_versus_lists&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop" data-event-name="switch_to_desktop">Desktop</a></li> </ul> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <div class="mw-notification-area" data-mw="interface"></div>  <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-dmn8l","wgBackendResponseTime":136,"wgDiscussionToolsPageThreads":[{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Categories_become_editor_hangouts","replies":[]},{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Categories_do_not_have_a_page_history","replies":[]},{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Deleted_categories_orphan_it's_contents_and_this_action_cannot_be_undone","replies":[]},{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Deleted_pages_are_removed_from_categories","replies":[]},{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Categories_cannot_include_non-existent_pages_or_'red_links'","replies":[]},{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Adding_and_removing_categories_is_cumbersome","replies":[]},{"headingLevel":3,"name":"h-","type":"heading","level":0,"id":"h-Categories_are_not_modular","replies":[]}],"wgPageParseReport":{"discussiontools":{"limitreport-timeusage":"0.014"},"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.181","walltime":"0.296","ppvisitednodes":{"value":500,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":34166,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":817,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":14,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":19757,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 183.819 1 -total"," 45.41% 83.467 1 Template:List_navbox"," 45.39% 83.434 2 Template:Navbox"," 25.24% 46.396 1 Template:Historical"," 23.15% 42.548 1 Template:Essay"," 22.49% 41.350 1 Template:Mbox"," 18.04% 33.164 1 Template:Project_other"," 16.85% 30.968 1 Template:Short_description"," 9.15% 16.828 1 Template:Pagetype"," 3.81% 7.003 1 Template:Wikipedia_categorization_navbox"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.101","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":1649224,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-7587f976f-h9dc4","timestamp":"20241107192020","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script>(window.NORLQ=window.NORLQ||[]).push(function(){var ns,i,p,img;ns=document.getElementsByTagName('noscript');for(i=0;i<ns.length;i++){p=ns[i].nextSibling;if(p&&p.className&&p.className.indexOf('lazy-image-placeholder')>-1){img=document.createElement('img');img.setAttribute('src',p.getAttribute('data-src'));img.setAttribute('width',p.getAttribute('data-width'));img.setAttribute('height',p.getAttribute('data-height'));img.setAttribute('alt',p.getAttribute('data-alt'));p.parentNode.replaceChild(img,p);}}});</script> </body> </html>