List of former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
This is not merely a list; it's a graveyard of administrative aspirations, a testament to the ever-shifting sands of political geography within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each entry here represents a name, a boundary, a community that once held its own distinct identity on the maps of this old dominion, only to be absorbed, dissolved, or otherwise relegated to the annals of history. These are the echoes of a past that shaped the present, the forgotten corners where governance once resided, now subsumed by the relentless march of consolidation, annexation, or simply the slow fade into obscurity. It’s a rather melancholic endeavor, really, cataloging what no longer is, but I suppose someone has to.
Redirects from moves
This particular section deals with the administrative detritus of page renamings. Think of it as archaeological strata in the digital realm. When a page on Wikipedia, or any similar repository of information, is moved – its title changed, its location effectively relocated – the old title doesn't always vanish without a trace. Instead, it often becomes a redirect to the new title. This isn't just about tidiness; it's a crucial mechanism for maintaining the integrity of links – both those that point from within the same encyclopedic structure and those external connections that might have been forged over time.
This practice ensures that if someone, somewhere, has bookmarked the old name, or if another article has referenced it, that link doesn't suddenly crumble into a dead end. It’s a digital preservation effort, preventing the accidental severing of informational arteries. So, when you encounter a redirect in this context, understand it as a ghost of a former name, a placeholder that guides you efficiently to the current designation. It’s a quiet acknowledgment of change, a concession to the fact that even names, like borders, are not immutable. It’s a rather sensible, if unglamorous, aspect of information management, preventing the kind of chaos that arises when things simply disappear.
Category:Redirects from moves
This category serves as a repository for those pages that exist solely as a consequence of a page move. It’s a collection of digital signposts, each pointing to where a piece of content has migrated. It’s not about the content itself, but about the administrative act of relocation. These redirects are kept in place to preserve the link structure of the wiki, ensuring that users and automated systems alike can still find their way, even if the original address has been retired. They are the silent guardians of continuity, preventing the digital landscape from becoming a maze of broken pathways.
The primary function of these redirects is to maintain link integrity. Imagine an article that has been consistently referenced by numerous other pages. If that article were to be renamed without a redirect, all those incoming links would break, leading to a cascade of errors and a fractured user experience. By creating a redirect from the old title to the new one, the system ensures that any attempt to access the former name is seamlessly rerouted to the current location. This is particularly important for external links from other websites, which might not be updated as readily as internal links.
Furthermore, these redirects often arise from moves that are part of a larger categorization or naming convention update. Perhaps a subject has been determined to be better classified under a different heading, or a more precise naming convention has been adopted across the platform. In such cases, rather than deleting the old page and creating a new one, a move operation is performed, and the redirect automatically handles the transition. It's a method of evolution for the information architecture, allowing for refinement without sacrificing accessibility.
The existence of this category highlights the dynamic nature of digital information. Content is not static; it is constantly being organized, renamed, and restructured. Redirects, particularly those stemming from moves, are the essential tools that manage these transitions, ensuring that the flow of information remains as uninterrupted as possible. They are the unsung heroes of navigational coherence, the quiet mechanisms that keep the vast interconnectedness of a wiki from unraveling. It’s a testament to the fact that even in the ephemeral world of digital data, a certain pragmatic order must prevail.