Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 12:09, 12 July 2017

Icon

Why does this template have a broom icon? It's not a cleanup template. - Rocket000 02:52, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

I just thought the same. So I looked around for some tool icons. I found some but they didn't look good in that box. --David Göthberg 10:54, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Wording

This template can be used on any kind of how-to guide. That means that it is often used on how-to guides that describe brand new practices or processes, already before they become common.

Thus I changed the wording in the box from:

This page is a how-to guide detailing a common practice or process on the English Misplaced Pages.

To instead be:

This page is a how-to guide detailing a practice or process on the English Misplaced Pages.

As I see it the purpose of this box is to say two things: "This is a how-to guide" and "This is not a policy or guideline". Currently the second part is only implicated, which might be a good thing since listing everything that a page is not could be a long list.

The text now feels a bit short, but perhaps that is a good thing?

--David Göthberg (talk) 21:54, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

How-to when placed on a user page generates the How-to category

However, user pages should not be categorized. Problem occurs when articles are copied to user pages for editing. 69.106.253.194 (talk) 04:24, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for spotting this. I added code to prevent categorization outside the Misplaced Pages: and Help: namespaces. —TKD  08:07, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

New code

I have just updated the code of this template. Here's what I have done and why:

• I made the image link to the image page again. That icon is not public domain. For pretty much all other licenses we must attribute the author and provide a link to the license text. So unlinking non-PD images is probably illegal.
• I moved the documentation to a /doc subpage, since this template is semi-protected. Having a /doc subpage allows IP-users from other language editions of Misplaced Pages to add interwiki links, and allows anyone to update the documentation.
• I made the box appear without the shortcut box on the template page, thus simplifying the code. Instead I added an example in the documentation showing the shortcut box.
• This template still only categorizes when on Misplaced Pages and Help pages.
• Since this template is used in Misplaced Pages space I added the {{cat handler}}, which automatically suppresses categorization on several pages in Misplaced Pages space where we only list and demonstrate templates. I also added the "nocat = true" parameter, if anyone wants to suppress categorization when on some other page. (And for backwards compatibility I retained the old suppression method that this template already had.)

--David Göthberg (talk) 09:12, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

how-to needs sort-by feature for category

Misplaced Pages:Producing maps with xplanet desires to sort their page in the Misplaced Pages how-to category by "xplanet" as in "Category:Misplaced Pages how-to|xplanet". I was going to add the {{how-to}} template and remove the separate category, but the {{how-to}} template doesn't have an optional sort-by parameter for the Misplaced Pages how-to category. Would you please add an optional sort-by parameter for the Misplaced Pages how-to category called by the {{how-to}} template. Thanks. -- Uzma Gamal (talk) 11:13, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

I have attempted this change. {{How-to|sort-by=xplanet}} should set the category key. -- John of Reading (talk) 12:46, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

Requested move 11 July 2017

It has been proposed in this section that Template:Misplaced Pages how-to be renamed and moved to Template:Misplaced Pages help page. A bot will list this discussion on the requested moves current discussions subpage within an hour of this tag being placed. The discussion may be closed 7 days after being opened, if consensus has been reached (see the closing instructions). Please base arguments on article title policy, and keep discussion succinct and civil. Please use {{subst:requested move}}. Do not use {{requested move/dated}} directly. Links: current log • target log • direct move

Template:Misplaced Pages how-to → Template:Misplaced Pages help page – See section on talk page NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 14:04, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

Elaborate on proposal and reasons

Proposal - To rename Template:Misplaced Pages how-to to Template:Misplaced Pages help page (I just created that page as a redir that points here), and change text from

Old - This page is a how-to guide. It details....

New - This help page details.....

note both links point to the same thing

Reasons

1. The target pages are generally in the help namespace, or at least a strong argument could be made for moving them there
2. The relevant policy is Misplaced Pages:Policies_and_guidelines#Role which includes a bullet point that implies 'how-to' is a synonym for 'help page'
3. Widespread adoption of the 'how-to' synonym dilutes the distinctions between the various namespaces. We don't have a 'how-to' namespace, but we do have a 'help' namespace. Note the blurry clumping of various pages in this recently created project guideline
4. Template:How-to is already used for an entirely different purpose but it is easily confused with the how-to synonym for wikipedia help pages.
5. The Help namespace lacks a generic template using some derivation of "help". This change would fix that

NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 17:29, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

Survey

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Misplaced Pages's policy on article titles.

• Support as proposer NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 17:29, 9 July 2017 (UTC)
• Support simple is always the best way to go....they are help pages....mostly in the help namespace.--Moxy (talk) 21:33, 9 July 2017 (UTC)
• Strongly support, including moving more "how-to" material into the "Help:" namespace, provided it is not one-sided WP:ESSAY material that doesn't actually reflect consensus. I'd already been thinking along similar lines to this proposal's deeper aspects. More detailed comments in the Discussion section. — SMcCandlish ☺ ☏ ¢ ≽ⱷ҅_ᴥⱷ≼  01:15, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Discussion

Don't have a problem with a rename....would need to change the wording used on our administration pages. I assume you are implying that the catagories would need to be changes as well. Lots would need fixing. Also need to be aware that the help namespace has lots of info pages. Ping me if this goes through. ...I will do my best to help cleanup in the aftermath of a rename.--Moxy (talk) 21:10, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

yeah, that is the gist after the cleanup ongoing maintenance should be simpler. NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 12:29, 10 July 2017 (UTC)

Some rationales behind my Support: For one thing, use of "how-to" is cognitively dissonant with WP:NOT#HOWTO. And, yes, it does have a "dilution" effect on the proper namespace for such material. The "Misplaced Pages:" namespace is far too cluttered and could use some further subdivision, but even just moving stuff to the already-extant proper namespaces is a great start. Not worried about categorization; there's nothing at all wrong with, e.g. WP:MINE being in a category for Misplaced Pages help pages as well as categories like Category:Misplaced Pages essays about verification. In the WP:P&G scheme, all help/information pages have the status of essays. I guess the real cat. question is whether to merge all or just some of Category:Misplaced Pages how-to essays into Category:Misplaced Pages how-to, and then merge the latter into Category:Misplaced Pages help; the last two of these are clearly redundant, and the distinction between the first two seems dubious.  — SMcCandlish ☺ ☏ ¢ ≽ⱷ҅_ᴥⱷ≼  01:15, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

From a housekeeping point of view, the lousy onesided essays are crap wherever they are. If they are already marked as some form of help page, moving them from wikipedia namespace to help namespace won't change fact they are still crap. But going to Help: prefix instead of the same WP: prefix shared by our real rules and guidelines might lessen their tendency to confuse the unwary. And of course they are always subject to quality review and tweaking no matter where they live. I guess I'm saying this namespace consolidation effort can't be expected to also bear burden of quality control editing. Its hard enough to climb K-2 without trying to do all the peaks in the range in one season. NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 01:58, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

If they're particularly crap, they should be nominated for deletion or userspacing. WP:MFD is generally very sympathetic to userspacing a) stuff that is contradictory to established policy or consensus (other than counter-essay to essays, like WP:NOTBLUE to WP:BLUE), and b) half-developed crud no one can really make much sense of, especially if it's single-author. If it's strongly anti-policy or total nonsense it may just get deleted.  — SMcCandlish ☺ ☏ ¢ ≽ⱷ҅_ᴥⱷ≼  02:43, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

Sure... whoever realizes somethings crap should list at mfd. Just saying consolidation in the proper namespace is one task, where crap may or may not be recognized at the time since quality control is a different task than consolidation. NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 02:57, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

• Requested moves