User talk:ManuelGR/Centralized development status proposal

This seems like a good idea. I would have preferred colon convention ("Template:Ada Programming:Development" instead of Template:Ada Programming/Development) because slash suggests subpages, but there is no "Template:Ada Programming" that it is a subpage of. (see below --Kernigh 08:01, 24 January 2006 (UTC)) However, slash convention seems useful.

Many books are linked from at least two places (such as Miscellaneous bookshelf and Template:Miscellaneous bookshelf). Thus, I would find centralised stages useful. If there are no major changes to these templates soon, then I will create Template:Guide to X11/Development (for Guide to X11) and some others. --Kernigh 19:06, 23 December 2005 (UTC)


 * I don't mind whether we use slash or colon for the convention of the templates. I proposed slash because this is the convention used in es: but given that there we are using the main namespace, the superpage does indeed exist. But using the main namespace has other problems, so I think Template: should be used and consequently colon can be useful for avoiding the confusion with the subpage convention used in the main namespace. I would like to know what other people think about it before changing the template. ManuelGR 18:40, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

The colon convention used for templates seems to conform better with WB:NP. There is a problem with your solution. As Kernigh points out, stage information is used in at least two places such as Miscellaneous bookshelf and Template:Miscellaneous bookshelf. Trouble is, Miscellaneous bookshelf would use while Template:Miscellaneous bookshelf would use. I haven't looked very hard, but I don't see an good way to use stage information from a single place that would also give you a choice between and. The following would work:


 * |&amp;nbsp;

where the Template:Book_name:Development is something like:



However, this is undesirable in two important respects.


 * 1. It requires the user of the template to supply a parameter for .  One possible but somewhat ugly cure would split your template into two versions:  a three parameter version as above and the following two parameter one:


 * &amp;nbsp;


 * 2. It requires a more complicated Template:Book_name:Development that some contributors won't get right.

Well, perhaps it's best just to apply the KISS principle and stick with your proposal (though I still favor the colon convention in templates for compliance with WB:NP). --JMRyan 23:39, 23 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I had preferred colons, but the problem is that the syntax to include "Template:Ada Programming:Development" would be, which would cause confusion with the syntax for transcluding pages outside the "Template:" namespace. For example, I when I created , it used the Wikibooks, not Template, namespace. (I moved "Wikibooks:Template messages:toc" to Template:Template messages. --Kernigh 04:59, 30 January 2006 (UTC)) In fact, if someone created "Template:Cookbook:Development", the syntax  would probably fail because Cookbook is now a namespace.


 * However, "Template:Cookbook/Development" continues to seem bad because of the mixed colons and slashes... --Kernigh 08:01, 24 January 2006 (UTC)