Transclusion
"Transclusion", for our purposes, is inserting one article into another via simple wikicode. This basically the same as using a template, since an article can be flexibly transcluded into as many other articles as desired.
Since transclusion leaves the original article(s) intact, they may be viewed independently with their original page title, which is important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Transcluding multiple short articles into a longer one carries the benefit of collecting related information — such as a FAQ — on a single page without having to wade through multiple pages. In addition, any edits done to the original article will be reflected on the compiled page, saving time.
In short, transclusion is a win-win situation when presenting the same information in multiple ways.
How to transclude
If the page is in the Main namespace, precede it with a colon like this:
- {{:PAGENAME}}
If the page is in another namespace, fully include its namespace + name. For instance, if you wanted to transclude "Linden Lab Official:Can my computer run Second Life?", you'd insert this on the destination page:
- {{Linden Lab Official:Can my computer run Second Life?}}
For a live example, see Linden_Lab_Official:FAQs_(Getting_Started) and click the Edit tab to understand how it's put together.
Advanced usage
Transclusion can also be partial — a section of an article rather than the whole thing. For more information on that and other subtleties, see Wikipedia's article on Transclusion.