User talk:Happy-melon/Templates

I have created this draft of a complete rewrite of Help:Template because I feel that the current version is horrifically cluttered, poorly laid out and structured, repetitive, out-of-date and overly technical, among many other faults. I don't honestly think I've left out anything that is both relevant and not an ad nauseam repetition. I would love to hear comments from other editors about how this draft could be improved and whether it represents an improvement on the current version. Happy ‑ melon 19:57, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

''Please be aware that I intend to license my work on this rewrite into the public domain, so it can be moved to http://www.mediawiki.org if desired. Please do not edit this draft unless you are similarly prepared to release your contributions into the public domain.'' Happy ‑ melon 19:57, 25 January 2008 (UTC)


 * It looks like you have left out relevant content, so it does not seem suitable for replacing the page Help:Template. However, your page can be used as a summary, and/or as a supply of material for merging in.--Patrick (talk) 10:35, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I fear that "as a supply of material for moving in" are the words which have caused Help:Template to fill up with poorly structured repetition for so long now. What features do you think I've left out?? I will be glad to include them in my revision.  Happy ‑ melon 11:39, 26 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Merging in does not mean that the page gets even larger. Some parts of you may replace corresponding existing content, if they are an improvement. Some notes, to start with:
 * note the new preprocessor, see also my recent edits of Help:Template
 * in User:Happy-melon/Templates newlines are not shown at the left, and the result on the right is due to using out2 different from text2.
 * Patrick (talk) 14:26, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Also in the section Braces and brackets the right column contains errors.--Patrick (talk) 14:34, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Which illustrates that although tables with "If you type .. you get" look nice, they are more cumbersome for editing. An item in the "you get" column can e.g. interfere with the table syntax.--Patrick (talk) 17:28, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Perhaps it would be best to substitute the  syntax, so these wierd examples do not necessitate fixes like this.  It's also one less template that needs to be copied if/when this goes live.  Happy ‑ melon 22:45, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I see that you have fixed one example. However, where possible it seems better to have "live" examples, demonstrating how something is rendered instead of just telling it.--Patrick (talk) 10:16, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Category inclusion
Not sure if this fits here, but thought I'd suggest this. In earlier versions of w:en:Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup, there was this text:


 * Note: Many cleanup templates listed below need their own minor cleanup. They add tagged pages to a category, as well as lists with examples. To disable this, replace:

... with ....

It was deleted on 2007-10-16T02:59:52, for unclear reasons. I think it should be standard for templates that assign categories, so that we can use them as examples, etc., without having to put the page where the example template sits into the template's categories.

I realize your rewrite is meant to be more explanatory than policy, but I thought it might be useful. If this is not the appropriate place for it (and if you think it is good practice), do you have a suggestion for where it should go?

I do think your rewrite is much clearer and easier to follow than the current page. Libcub 04:32, 21 February 2008 (UTC)