Template repository

A newer proposal in the same spirit can be found at the page Global templates.

This is an idea for something that doesn't exist yet. If you want to help develop this idea, please edit this page.

and now you know me, TIM Middleware

Idea
To develop a set of "starter" or "default" templates (template templates, you might even say) that new wiki installs can copy and use.

Motivation
Pretty and clever templates are very difficult to write from scratch, and copying them from Wikimedia wikis is often very difficult because of extreme template nesting and hindered by licensing concerns. Good templates can enormously improve the look and navigability of a wiki.

Availability of public domain pedagogical templates will encourage wiki authors to build effective Open Educational Resources for a future wherein Open Distance Learning supported by OER would build the inclusive main stream education system all over the world.

Requirements

 * Templates should be public domain.
 * Templates should be self contained, not calling other templates (or: maybe a maximum of one meta-template?).
 * Templates should have clearly defined dependencies, which can be pulled in along with them.
 * Templates should have usage and modification instructions.
 * Templates should not rely on ParserFunctions (or: they should indicate if they do)[most of the nontrivial mediawiki.org/wikipedia templates use much deeper nesting].
 * Templates should aim to be easy to read and understand even without usage instructions.
 * We should also write some useful CSS that templates use, and ship it with the templates, rather than having manually coded CSS in each one. ( may be of interest.)
 * Images - use sparingly for easier re-use?
 * use public domain images if necessary
 * Use PNGs rather than SVGs for easier re-use (PNG uploads are configured by default, SVGs are not)
 * Maybe offer multiple versions of templates? one with SVG, one with PNG, one with no image.
 * Commons images? (Can you say instant commons)?

Guidelines for template writers

 * Don't try to make the most extensible template ever; don't keep everything as variable for the user to provide, e.g. alignment of boxes, just pick an alignment and hard-code it.

Distribution
Ways that people can get the templates:
 * Possibly bundled - included by default?
 * An extension?
 * Special:Export This will always work, but it's not so much fun for a large number of pages, and it may require exporting metatemplates separately. Also images still have to be manually copied, unless hosted in Wikicommons.

Corresponding Existing MW Templates
This is a list of existing MW templates that would probably be included along with their required dependencies.

Dependencies
There needs to a difference between whether the dependency is required for the template itself or rather the template documentation. If it is for the template documentation, is it necessary?


 * Warning
 * One variable.


 * Ambox
 * AKA cleanup/article message box. Could be same as warning?
 * No variables


 * Tip
 * One variable


 * User welcome
 * For user talk pages
 * No variables (put names external to template)?


 * Edit request
 * For protected pages - put on talk page
 * No variables - acts as a "tag" and people put their request below.


 * Inline
 * aka "citation needed"
 * no variables.


 * Licenses
 * no variables.


 * Ratings
 * Like WikiProject talk page templates
 * a small number of variables.


 * Userboxes
 * No variables.


 * Pedagogical templates
 * to develop Open Educational Resources (OERs)


 * Documentation
 * no variables; include { {SUBJECTPAGENAME} }/doc, and allow editing it

Template dependencies
These are templates and images that exist solely as variable dependencies for the above Templates. Without these, the above templates would not work.

Variables
TBD

Images

 * http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ambox
 * http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Indication_icons
 * http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:I_icons
 * http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Question_marks
 * http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Help_icons