Wikiversity talk:Templates

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Discuss Wikiversity:Templates here.

Contents 1 Template:Policy 2 Getting Started 3 Bilingual comparative texts 3.1 Design considerations 4 Basic talk page template

[edit] Template:Policy

There really is no problem with Template:Policy. It was just chosen as a sort of prime example. CQ 21:41, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Getting Started

Morley brings up some good points:

1. There are several places within the Newcomers page to direct new contributors on how to get started. I'd like make the Templates page a comprehensive starting off point for page creation. That's what a template is, after all.
2. Start by identifying what a template is within this environment.
3. Proceed to a mini-tutorial in using a sample template to deploy a new page. Include step-by-step very-detailed can't-fail instructions.
4. Introduce the Index of available templates.
5. Don't know whether it's possible yet, now show how to switch the new page created above from the sample template to one of the user's choosing. In other words, help the new contributor to be immediately productive.
6. Go on to provide links on how to create new pages, edit pages, Wiki, etc. (A thorough list of relevant links).
7. Again, don't know whether this is possible, but show how to turn an existing page into a template.
8. Other points on perfecting and editing templates.

(That's from my user talk page)

I'm fairly new to templates other than the basic types (discussed on Wiki 101), myself, so I think it's good to set up this project from a Newcomer perspective. It might as well tie in closely with the MediaWiki Project as the mother project, since we're going to have to get into the nuts and bolts of MediaWiki to get the most from templates.

One important concept to touch on at the outset is distinguishing a page template from a template used to tranclude a small content element like a navbox or infobox. In the Getting Started section, I refer the reader to m:Help:Template at Meta. I don't see any use in duplicating that material here just yet. If we get some more participants showing interest, we might create a subpage, Topic:MediaWiki/Templates for Topic:MediaWiki in the future. For now I think we might work on {{Welcome}}. Thanks again for the input, Morley • CQ 19:52, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Are you/Morley simply referring to the boilerplate templates, eg Template:Learning project boilerplate? I think these can be helpful - but I would also like to encourage people to think independently and creatively about adding their own content. This should really be a wider-ranging tutorial, rather than just a step-by-step guide to modifying an existing boilerplate into your own page of interest (though we should have that too). As part of the bigger picture, I think we need to start at Wikiversity:Adding content, backed up with our "wikis for beginners" pages (like Wikiversity:Introduction), followed up by more on good learning materials, as well as collaborative learning projects. But perhaps I'm misinterpreting the proposal here.. Cormaggio 23:34, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Charley expounds: Looks like we need to expand and organize the master Category:Templates and some template classes (as in Subcategories) and template classes (as in learning projects).

This group might focus on an exploration of templates in the widest possible context, applied to Wikiversity real-life Wikiversity:Technical needs ranging from content object templates —

1. Category:Award templates - Barnstars and such
2. Category:Dynamic templates - like {{NowPlaying}} (on the Wikiversity podcasting station)
3. Category:Userbox templates - your basic Babelbox
4. Category:Navigation templates - immediate need for these
5. ...other small reuseable template categories (classes need to be addressed as div and table attributes like class=messagebox, class=infobox, etc.)...

to page templates —

1. Category:Boilerplates - uniform look and feel for Schools, departments, etc.
2. Category:Wikiversity policy - uniform look and feel for semi-protected pages
3. Category:Wikiversity translators - uniform look and feel for translator pages containing the same text in two or more languages for side-by-side comparison
4. ...stuff like that

As an extention of the MediaWiki Project, this subproject can help get us into the How it works and What we can do with it departments. Automated jobbies like this application of Mirwin's five day timer:

{{Countdown64}}
code:{{tl|Countdown{{#expr:({{subst:CURRENTDAY}}*24+{{subst:CURRENTHOUR}})-{{CURRENTDAY}}*24-{{CURRENTHOUR}}+24*5}}}}

... can be a boon to learning to hack MediaWiki from the application layer using goodies like Variables. We could also do things like figure out how to implement user authentication variables to facilitate quizzes, tests, workbooks, surveys, and other multi-part pages that offer both static elements (like test or survey questions) and varible elements (like each participant's answers and responses). Lot's of fun, interesting, useful things to learn by doing.

Is that a clear explanation? I'm not good at explaining myself. Can you help me? CQ 00:15, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

If anyone cases, I've got some other stuff like that on Test and Quiz--Rayc 01:03, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bilingual comparative texts

A Page template for bilingual comparative texts would be a handy tool for the Translation department.

[edit] Design considerations

Quinobi thinks the WV:BCT pages can be queued and w:archived via Learning projects conducted by the various language departments. CQ 17:59, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Basic talk page template

There is some discussion about {{btp}}, a basic talk page template to put on blank talk pages. One question is that a red link may be more useful as an indication that no discussion has been started on a resource, category, topic, etc. Placing a template on the page makes a blue link that may or may not be desirable, especially for users with poor connections and limited time. Please have a look at the suggested revision and share your thoughts here. Thanks. • CQ 15:51, 4 July 2009 (UTC)