Template talk:TrainsWikiProject

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[edit] Abridged template proposal

This template is, I think, too big compared to some other project membership templates that I've seen recently. I'd like to propose shortening it to something like the following:

This article is part of WikiProject Trains.

We could, while we're at it, follow the lead of {{Chemistry}} and integrate the portal DYK date template to display something like:

	This article is part of WikiProject Trains.
?	A fact from this article appeared in the "Did you know" section of Portal:Trains on June 26, 2006.

but I'm not as keen on that. I'm more partial to the first option shown here, unless we can come up with something that looks better... Slambo (Speak) 13:58, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I actually like the template in its present form. Check out Template:WPMILHIST for another "take" on message box templates for talk pages.--Lordkinbote 17:03, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

So, if we reduce the size of the image and the amount of text to look more like that one, then add in the "missing" items we get something like this...

	This article is part of WikiProject Trains, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to rail transport on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
	See also: WikiProject Trains to do list
???	This article has not yet received a rating on the quality scale.
DYK	A fact from this article appeared in the "Did you know" section of Portal:Trains on June 26, 2006.

If the optional parameters are not used on a specific page, it would look like this...

	This article is part of WikiProject Trains, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to rail transport on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
	See also: WikiProject Trains to do list

It's still smaller, but the other items are available if they're needed. I like the assessment aspect (which is also included in the Chemistry banner) and think it would be helpful here, but I worry a little about the size of the associated categories getting a bit large (just take a look at the number of articles identified so far on the recent changes monitor list). Slambo (Speak) 18:15, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Looking through some of the other assessment categories, I see lists that are one page long (the FA-class categories) up to as many as 27 pages long (the unassessed categories), so this shouldn't be a concern for us. So, are there any objections to implementing the third/fourth examples shown here? Slambo (Speak) 11:04, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

I like them!--Lordkinbote 15:27, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

I've got a mockup with the optional parameters to make it behave like is shown here at User:Slambo/Template test 4, with sample output testing on User:Slambo/Template usage test. Is there anything else that should be included? Slambo (Speak) 19:38, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Testing complete, reusing that testing location for another template. Slambo (Speak) 13:12, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I am a new joinee on this project and could not find this template anywhere on the project page or the talk page till very recently. I like the fourth listed option the best. It gives sufficient yet succinct info to enthusiasts and they can get more info from the links. -- Lost 04:14, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Okay, so it's now implemented with the class and portaldykdate parameters. See Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Assessment for more on the class parameter. I'll be adding a usage statement here soon. Slambo (Speak) 15:08, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

I just want to confirm whether I should use the subst prefix before the template or not, while adding this to the various talk pages? -- Lost 17:44, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

While I was writing this comment, Slambo was writing the answer on the project page :) -- Lost 17:46, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Further enhancements, subprojects

There are a number of subprojects of WikiProject Trains. Looking around again, I see that the Military History project incorporates this information into their project banner through the taskforce parameter. We could easily do similar here, and I've got a sample working copy at my template test page and template output test page.

I know that the Trains in Japan project already built a banner, so I've tried to integrate it into my test template. It would be switched here through the use of the Primary parameter. Specifying Primary=Japan produces something very similar to {{Trains in Japan}}, but also enables all of the rating and DYK parameters so they can be displayed there too. The advantage here is that we would have only one template to maintain, and the main portion of the template output would list the appropriate text for the specific project, and we don't have to setup and monitor a second set of ratings categories and still only display one project banner on the articles' talk pages.

Thoughts? Slambo (Speak) 18:36, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

A minor clarification, just to note what might be a potential issue here: the military history template ({{WPMILHIST}}) links to "task forces" of the WikiProject proper rather than "subprojects". It's a rather subtle difference, admittedly (and I'm not sure what the exact relationship among the various rail projects is, so it may be more or less of a problem); but the essential distinction is that the task forces, while somewhat autonomous in function, are fundamentally an integral part of the overall project, and are therefore bound to its project-wide internal policies. There is thus no question of different task forces using, for example, varying interpretations of the various rating classes (which might become a more significant issue if/when you introduce importance ratings).

(In general, it might be worthwhile to consider if such an organizational model might not be something which the rail projects might find worthwhile; but that's an issue rather broader in scope than the question of template modifications.) Kirill Lokshin 18:53, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

They don't have to change. Going through a few Australian rail articles, I discovered {{WP Australia}}. They include the main Australia WikiProject as the primary but list "This article is supported by WikiProject FOO" for whatever subproject is appropriate (see Talk:Epping railway line, Melbourne for an example). So, any objections to implementing a similar tactic with the rail subprojects? Slambo (Speak) 20:28, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Smaller size soon to be available...

I've been following the discussions at Wikipedia:Mini Talkpage Template pretty closely. The proposal has now reached a consensus that talk page templates like this one should implement small as an optional parameter; if it's set to yes, then it should display in a smaller format like can be seen on Talk:Leonardo da Vinci. I expect to implement this parameter here by this weekend (although with my obligations to display NTrak modules at Trainfest this weekend, don't hold me to a specific deadline date). Slambo (Speak) 14:04, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Done. Adding small=yes will make the template use a smaller display format similar to the others described above. Slambo (Speak) 17:22, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

The small size is now being used on Talk:TGV. As you can see there, we need to work out shorter text for a few of the parameter outputs. Any suggestions? Slambo (Speak) 12:21, 9 November 2006 (UTC)