This template is within the scope of WikiProject Merge, an attempt to reduce the articles to be merged backlog and improve the merging process. If you wish to help, you can edit the page attached to this talk page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.MergeWikipedia:WikiProject MergeTemplate:WikiProject MergeMerge
Template:Merge is permanently protected from editing because it is a heavily used or highly visible template. Substantial changes should first be proposed and discussed here on this page. If the proposal is uncontroversial or has been discussed and is supported by consensus, editors may use {{edit template-protected}} to notify an administrator or template editor to make the requested edit. Usually, any contributor may edit the template's documentation to add usage notes or categories.
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Only some of these templates have been protected. But since these templates should work similarly, please discuss any changes on this talk page first. Any user can edit the documentation, add interwikis and categories, since as usual the /doc sub-pages are not protected.
This template must be followed by a complete and specific description of the request, so that an editor unfamiliar with the subject matter could complete the requested edit immediately.
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I suggest not displaying the output of the parameter "reason=" on the article page when this template is placed. The documentation doesn't include 'reason' as a parameter, yet this merge template will use it; a feature that some editors exploit. This is contrary to the merge process, which requires a discussion to be started on the talk page (Step 1; preferably of the intended target for the merge), not to add a reason in the template. This process is in place because it encourages the creation of a place for discussion to be coordinated, without the reason for the merge being separated from the discussion it is intended to provoke. To give an example, as of this version the 'reason' is display in the template at Fulwith Mill Lane, unnecessarily duplicating the case on the talk page. In other cases, editor neglect to start a case on the talk page. Klbrain (talk) 20:05, 2 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It has been suggested that this page be merged with a page that has not been specified. If you are the editor who added this template, please specify. (Discuss)
becomes:
It has been suggested that this page be '''merged''' with a page that has not been specified. If you are the editor who added this template, please specify. ('''Discuss''')
Nope, I just noticed that there are many more examples of split templates than there are for merge templates that are relevant for this TPER. These are just examples, feel free to ignore them; i just wanted to show the usual template formatting in these cases. I've sprinkled a couple of merge template examples too. FaviFake (talk) 22:32, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Oh I just realised what you meant. I didn't notice I said "Merge from" twice. The second one was supposed to be "Merge and Merge from", but I forgot to remove the first "from". You still got all three though! FaviFake (talk) 11:01, 13 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Template-protected edit request on 2 September 2025: Add example text for template page
This template must be followed by a complete and specific description of the request, so that an editor unfamiliar with the subject matter could complete the requested edit immediately.
Edit requests to template-protected pages should only be used for edits that are either uncontroversial or supported by consensus. If the proposed edit might be controversial, discuss it on the protected page's talk page before using this template. Consider making changes first to the template's sandbox and test them thoroughly here before submitting an edit request. To request that a page be protected or unprotected, make a protection request. When the request has been completed or denied, please add the |answered=yes parameter to deactivate the template.
Currently the template page shows the template with an error and a missing parameter:
It has been suggested that this page be merged with a page that has not been specified. If you are the editor who added this template, please specify. (Discuss) Proposed since {{{date}}}.
I propose adding example text so that it says:
It has been suggested that this page be merged with another page. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2025.
(The date is dynamic. "another page" is unlinked, which I think is done automatically.)
Good idea. A suggestion / correction: The words "another page" are not linked automatically, but they will be linked if you move the <noinclude> stuff into the {{Pagelist}} invocation, as in {{Merge from}}. I think it would be better to render the words as a link, even if it's a red link, because it gives a clearer impression of how the template will look in real life. — Chrisahn (talk) 20:35, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, my idea of putting the dummy page name into the {{Pagelist}} invocation doesn't work as well as I thought, because the logic here is different than in {{Merge from}}. I noticed that you found a clever solution though. I implemented two other solutions, and I picked "Title of other page" as the dummy page name. See the history of Template:Merge/sandbox. But the effect is basically the same, it's a matter of taste. Feel free to revert my revisions, choose the code you prefer. I'd say the sandbox code can then be copied into the live template, but I don't know what the standard procedure is in such cases. Do we have to run more tests? Notify some project page? — Chrisahn (talk) 22:33, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I think this change should also be applied to the main template as well. Sometimes, merges don't have a defined target, and i think a lack of parameter should be treated nicely, rather than as an error. FaviFake (talk) 18:10, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I expressed myself terribly; what I meant to say is: i think the {{merge}} template shouldn't show the error, even when used outside of its own template page, to accommodate cases where the destination is being debated. So it would say thi even on article pages:
It has been suggested that this page be merged with another page. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2025.
I think the template should display an error if someone uses it and forgets to specify a page. Yes, sometimes a suggested merge has no target (yet), but I think that's pretty rare, and it's more likely that the user simply forgot. — Chrisahn (talk) 20:40, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Good idea. Unfortunately, these templates haven't been converted to Lua modules yet, and adding this parameter would make the template code even less readable. But there are (were?) far worse templates, it shouldn't be too difficult to add it. — Chrisahn (talk) 20:45, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Anyway, let's take one step at a time. Let's first finish this edit request, then maybe open another one about the error message / notarget parameter. Or maybe make the templates more consistent first? Or translate them to Lua? — Chrisahn (talk) 20:48, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
These templates are rather inconsistent in this respect. {{Merge from}}, {{Merge to}}, {{Merge}} – three very similar templates, three different ways to deal with missing parameters... I haven't checked other related templates. — Chrisahn (talk) 20:43, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I don't they think they should be merged. I merely observed that they handle missing parameters differently, and it would be nice to make them more consistent in this regard. Merging them would be quite a different beast. :-) — Chrisahn (talk) 21:09, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I wrote "sometimes a suggested merge has no target (yet)", but that's not the point when {{Merge}} is used without a parameter. I don't know these templates very well, and I didn't really know what I was talking about. Template:Merge#Which merge template should I use? says: "To merge at least two pages together at an unspecified location, use {{Merge|OtherPage}}". So using {{Merge}} only makes sense if there is at least one other source page. The missing parameter is a missing source, not a missing target. A notarget=yes parameter might make sense for other merge templates, but not for {{Merge}}. {{Merge}} has a named target parameter, but it's optional. — Chrisahn (talk) 22:51, 2 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
