Template:Category Orphan

This category is an orphan: it is not a subcategory of any other category OR its only parent-category is itself an orphan. As such it is outside the main category "tree". It might be appropriate to add a [[Category:]] to this page, or to move its pages to a different category that is part of the category tree.

This template adds the above text to a page. It is intended to be added to categories that exist outside the main hierarchy or "tree" of categories. Such free-floating categories cannot be navigated to by browsing from Category:Main category. This hurts their discoverability. Clear use of categories is also helpful in writing and linking new articles.

The use of this template on a category page only marks the page as an orphan. Different categories might be orphans for different reasons, and require different solutions. Some categories only need to have an appropriate and useful "super-category" added to be brought into the main category tree. Some category pages are not needed because the concept or group they describe is already covered by another.