Step 3: Discuss the merger

Discuss the merger proposal in the new discussion section; make sure to follow proper decorum and standard talk page guidelines, which includes staying focused on the content, not on the involved editors, using threaded discussion formatting, not biting newcomers, and being clear and concise.
You may be able to evoke a response by contacting some of the major or most-recent contributors via their respective talk-pages. The {{mergenote}} template is available for this purpose, which must be "subst:"ed. For example, place {{subst:mergenote |SOURCEPAGE |Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merger proposal }} on the talk page of contributors to the source page; and {{subst:mergenote |DESTINATIONPAGE |Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merger proposal }} on the talk page of contributors to the destination page.
Alternately, you can contact the potentially interested editors by notifying them directly from the merge discussion page, which is simpler for you and less intrusive for them.
In many cases, a hybrid discussion/straw poll is used, but remember that polling is not a substitute for discussion. Example formatting:

* '''Merge''' - <insert reason for supporting merger here> ~~~~
* '''Don't merge''' - <insert reason for opposing merger here> ~~~~

Caveats

• If you are unable to merge the pages, or you believe that the merger may be controversial, you might want to add a listing to Wikipedia:Proposed mergers.
• When proposing a merger of pages within "Wikipedia" namespace (any pages that begin with the "Wikipedia:" prefix), do not include this prefix in the parameter.
• Because of technical limitations, the above templates are incompatible with cross-namespace mergers (mergers between pages from both the article and Wikipedia namespaces). Such instances are rare.
• Do not use the above templates to propose a category merger. This should be requested at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion, which uses a separate {{cfm}} template.

Step 4: Close the merger discussion and determine consensus

General advice:

• If you propose a merger, and nobody objects within 30 days, then it is unlikely that any editor will object to you boldly performing the merger.
• If you see a merger proposal that is older than 30 days, and nobody has objected, and you personally believe the merger is appropriate, then it is unlikely anyone will object if you boldly perform the merger.
• There is no required 30-day discussion period. If a consensus in favor of the merger is formed in less than 30 days, then anyone may perform the merger whenever they want. If the proposal is obvious (e.g., the mistaken creation of a second page for the same subject under a slightly different name), then a discussion need not even be held.
• Mergers do not need to be approved by an admin. If the discussion is contentious, however, you can post it at WP:Proposed mergers to get some help.
• If a page gets merged, and someone later objects, then a new discussion can be held. Mergers can be easily reversed if a consensus against the merger is formed shortly after the merger was performed.
• If there is a consensus against the merger, or, for older proposals, if there is no consensus or no discussion and you don't believe it is appropriate to merge the pages, then please remove the merge proposal tags, and, if necessary, close any discussion.

Shortcut:

• WP:MERGECLOSE

During discussion, a rough consensus to proceed with the merger may emerge. If enough time (normally one week or more) has elapsed and there has been no discussion or is unanimous consent to merge, any user may close the discussion and move forward with the merger.
In more unclear, controversial cases, the determination that a consensus to merge has been achieved is normally made by an editor who is neutral and not directly involved in the merger proposal or the discussion. If necessary, one may request that an administrator who is not involved close the discussion and make a determination as to whether consensus has been established; such a request may be made at the Administrators' noticeboard.
To close a merger proposal discussion, the {{Discussion top}} and {{Discussion bottom}} templates are used in the following manner:

== Merger proposal ==

{{Discussion top|result=The result of this discussion was to ... ~~~~}}

<Start of discussion>
.
.
.
<End of discussion>

{{Discussion bottom}}

In contentious cases, the discussion should be closed only by an uninvolved editor or administrator, who may be requested at Requests for Closure noticeboard.
After closing the merger proposal discussion, place the {{Old merge full}}template on the source page's talk page:
{{Old merge full|otherpage=<destination page>|date=<date merger was proposed>|result=<result of discussion>|talk=<merger discussion talk page section>}}

Step 5: Perform the merger

See § How to merge below. The main reason that the merger backlog includes more than ten thousand articles is because the people who support the merger neglect to undertake this final step. Any editor, including you, is permitted to perform mergers in accordance with consensus. Merging pages does not require intervention from an administrator.