Help:Categorization
Categories: WikiTree Help | Categorization Help | Navigation Help | Profile Editing Help
Categories are groups of profiles or pages.
For example:
When a profile has a tag such as [[Category:Madisonville, Louisiana]] in its biography, the profile will appear on the Category:Madisonville, Louisiana page. Here is more about how and why to categorize profiles.
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Benefits of Categorization
By grouping profiles that share something in common, categories can:
- help members organize ongoing research,
- help those with a special interest find profiles they may want to investigate or collaborate on, and
- help historians or genealogists researching a particular topic or location.
For example, you might be interested in collaborating with other genealogists whose ancestors served in the same military unit as your ancestor. Or someday a young family member might be interested to see all their ancestors who played baseball or worked on trains.
Categories also power our special MyConnections feature. This enables anyone to immediately see their ancestors and relatives in the group. Imagine being in a cemetery and seeing how you are related to everyone buried beneath your feet with one click. Categorization makes this possible.
As of June 2023, we have Category Activity Feeds to enable you to monitor all the edits to profiles in any category.
How to Categorize a Profile
First, research and write the biography. Categories are not a substitute for biographical text and sources, and once a person's story is written it's easier to know how to categorize them.
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While in edit mode, look for this category icon on the toolbar above the biography section: 
Clicking this icon will open a text box. In this space, begin typing a word that may be in the category name. Existing categories will appear as you type. If you see the one you want, just click it. The category tag will be added to the profile. When you save your changes, the profile will appear on the category page.
Always select the narrowest applicable category. That is, choose the most-specific, lowest-level category you can find. For example, put a profile in Category:Madisonville, Louisiana rather than Category:Louisiana.
To remove a profile from a category, simply remove the tag from the profile's text.
Examples of Ways to Categorize a Profile
Here are some of the ways you can categorize a person.
- Place they were born, lived, married, or died, e.g. Category:Abbotsford, British Columbia.
- Cemetery in which they're buried, e.g. Category: Hollywood Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
- Religious categories or congregation in which they participated, e.g. Category: St. Francis Xavier's Church, Madisonville, Louisiana.
- Migration path or ship they sailed on, e.g. Category:Migrants from Bavaria to New York.
- School they attended, e.g. Category:Armidale High School, Armidale, New South Wales.
- Occupation, e.g. Category:Attorneys or Category:Tanners. See Alphabetical List of Occupations by Name.
- Business or industry in which they worked, e.g. Category:Jahncke Shipyard, Madisonville, Louisiana.
- Military unit, e.g. Category: 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, battles they participated in, e.g. Category:Battle of Brandywine Creek, profession in the service, e.g., Category:B-29 Navigators, or honors received, e.g. Category:King's South Africa Medal.
- Historical event of which they were a part, e.g. Category:Antinomian Controversy or Category:Auschwitz_-_Birkenau_Concentration_Camp_Victims.
- Things that make them historically significant, e.g. Category:Founders and Settlers of Rhode Island.
- Family event in which they participated, e.g. Category:Nathan Baxter and Anna Dodge 1951 Family Reunion.
- Organization in which they were involved, e.g. Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society or Category:Gold Star Mothers.
- Maintenance categories for the genealogy that needs to be done on their profile, e.g. Category:Unsourced Profiles or Category:Family Brick Walls.
- Personal categories for your ongoing research or categorization that may only be of limited interest, e.g. Category: Durbin-702 Add Sources.
Profiles can be in multiple categories. This makes them easier to find. However, a profile should never be in more than one category in the same hierarchy.
Adding New Categories
If you would like to use a category but can't find it by searching or browsing click the "request a new category or advice" link that you will see next to the Edit Text box on the edit page of any profile.
Members can create new categories if they fit within an existing hierarchy and use our agreed-upon category naming scheme but if you have any uncertainty, use the link to start a conversation in G2G and you're sure to get help from Categorization Project members and other advanced WikiTreers.
Advanced Topics
For more information see Categorization Help, especially these pages:
Feel free to ask a question in G2G using the tag categorization. We are a community of members who help each other.
This page was last modified 09:53, 22 February 2024. This page has been accessed 133,904 times.