User talk:(WT-en) JanSlupski/Projects/QuickBar

• Moved discussion from User talk:(WT-en) JanSlupski#Templates -- (WT-en) JanSlupski 21:29, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

Template policy

You might want to check out Project:Using Mediawiki templates and Project:Using Mediawiki templates before you stick your finger into that particular electical outlet. :-) -- (WT-en) Colin 18:37, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

Current policy is that Mediawiki templates are not to be used for content. I think your Template:QBline, Template:QBtitle, Template:QBimage, Template:QBbegin, and Template:QBend are on the wrong side of the line and your efforts may be wasted. Please discuss what you are planning and intending to do at Project:Using Mediawiki templates. -- (WT-en) Huttite 20:03, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

Having read your (WT-en) Goal for the quickbar template, I have further doubts. All the existing country articles already have perfectly good and working quickbars. They are in HTML, but that is the only issue, as far as I can tell. Apart from being an academic exercise in neatness, I see little point in implementing this now, since it will require a huge amount of retrospective work to fix what is already working quite well. The big question for me is once you have developed this new quickbar, what value will it be and where will it be used? -- (WT-en) Huttite 20:22, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

Right the only issue is that QuickBars are in HTML, and this is what I was trying to change. The neatness is maybe not most important, but from other side, this HTML is what new user is seeing at the top, while he first try to edit the article. Some of them may refuse to continue, because they know that they don't know HTML. Of course if the policy is ever changed, and new QuickBars are ever accepted, nobody would insist on changing all existing articles at once. But new articles could be added new way. And gradually some of existing articles would migrate as well probably. And sure. It is an acadmic exercise. I hope I didn't overuse your patience. -- (WT-en) JanSlupski 20:51, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

Goal info has been moved to (WT-en) Why section of (WT-en) QuickBar project page -- (WT-en) JanSlupski 20:57, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

I do not believe beginner users/contributors will be frightened by encountering HTML in the country articles. In all probablility (over 90% I estimate) they will first encounter an edit form window when they follow an edit link to a blank page - which is probably more frightening! By the time someone works out how to edit one of the 258 odd country articles with quickbars in them (they are the only ones that have them out of 32,940 articles.), I think it is highly likely they will have the courage to do so or wisdom not to touch it. From my experience with welcoming new users, they are far more likely to either create a new page or edit the section of an existing one. I have only encountered one instance when the user had a panic attack and deleted the HTML from the quick bar - they actually deleted the whole country page - then proceeded to re-enter it, apparently it by hand! A quick page revert and reassurance was all that was needed for a long term contributor to be born. I do not see the HTML quickbar as an issue.

Also your experiments are useful as examples to others about both the potential and limitations of the Mediawiki software. -- (WT-en) Huttite 21:23, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

vfd?

Sorry for making mess in Template: namespace. Just didn't have chance to experiment without it.

Delete these templates if you fell that keeping them is pointless.
Template:QBbegin | Template:QBtitle | Template:QBimage | Template:QBline | Template:QBend

-- (WT-en) JanSlupski 20:26, 21 Jan 2005 (EST)

Keep or delete?

Given (WT-en) Evan's recent endorsement of templates for restaurant and other listings other people may now have a different opinion of whether or not to keep these templates. I'm personally in favor of them since they offer a way of making quickbars more consistent and the markup seems less intimidating for users. Other opinions? -- (WT-en) Ryan 14:04, 3 April 2006 (EDT)

See also Template:Country Quickbar, which might actually be easier to use provided a default can be provided for values. -- (WT-en) Ryan 14:24, 3 April 2006 (EDT)