Note: This is under discussion at Help talk:Moving a page #How long to keep a category redirect - please comment there. This "no redirects" policy has been in practice though not a formal policy, but may need to be changed. --Chriswaterguy 04:22, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
Category pages are never used as (long term) redirects.
This is because:
- if an editor adds a category tag and chooses the name of a redirect, it will look like they've got the right category, but they haven't (because the category will not show up as a redlink).
The only circumstances where a category redirect may be permissible are:
- where a link has been posted to elsewhere to the old name of a category. In this case the other site should be politely requested to change the link.
- for a short period of time after moving a category.
This is why you should always post links to redirect pages, not directly to a category. (See Appropedia:Spreading the word#Important notes when notifying anyone about Appropedia pages)