Template talk:Weather box/Archive 6

RfC - Colours to be used in the weather box
We need to come to a consensus as to the colour of both the precipitation and temperature.

Currently we have available the following:

There has been some discussions on this at Template talk:Weather box, Template talk:Weather box/Archive 4, Template talk:Weather box/Archive 3, Template talk:Weather box/Archive 3, Template talk:Weather box/Archive 3 and Template talk:Weather box/Archive 3. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 17:15, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * General, all above templates look bad (especially after new changes) and are bad examples. Most of articles about places on Wikipedia show basic informations in weatherbox, mainly North America have excessively extended templates. For example, typical standard (blue) weatherbox and non standard (green) in concrete examples:


 * Good look depends on the location of place / climate and the amount of data in a weatherbox. Furthermore, there are new proposal - compromise, change the colour of cold temperatures from blue to violet. This proposal was supported by few users, but the debate has stalled. I support new proposition: change the colour of cold temperatures from blue to violet. I am very much against for pastels (weatherbox is not a Christmas tree and reflective vest) and green rain/snow. Subtropical-man (talk) 17:46, 2 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Comment: Definitely oppose: 1) pastel temperature colours – too biased towards warm desert climates as even a temperate 10 °C seems to have a rather chilly colour, and up until 37.8 °C, the lowest frequency colour is orange. 2) sub-freezing temperatures coloured violet – using Winnipeg as an example, −57.1 and −48.8 °C, and even more so −48.8 and −35.8 °C, are clearly differentiated under the blue scheme, and are not under violet. 3) green snow. Green precipitation and rain are understandably natural, because rain allows landscapes to become greener. Snow does not, and at least in my view the blue colouring of snow for most tables does not blend too much with total precip/rain and precip/rain/snow days, and especially so if precip/rain are coloured green. In addition, green snow (assuming precip/rain is also green), is a particularly bad idea in places with winter maxima in precip; see for an example of what I am talking about. GotR Talk 18:08, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * On a side note, Subtropical-man does argue a valid point – blue precip/rain works poorly in places with clear summer or winter maxima in both precip and precip days, c.e. Vancouver, BC or Winnipeg, MB. GotR Talk 18:08, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Rain - green, snow - blue because can not be green snow? and also sunshine - yellow, temperature - a large range of colors. How many colors we use in weatherbox? For precipitation/rain/snow - better use blue and change only the colour of cold temperatures from blue to violet. For cold temperatures (frost) more fit violet than blue. This will solve the problem everywhere, also in Vancouver, BC or Winnipeg, MB. Subtropical-man (talk) 18:18, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I understood no part of your most recent post. GotR Talk 18:22, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Nor did I. It seems contradictory.  Is subtropical-man the only one opposed to green for precipitation (assuming my understanding is correct)?  Thegreatdr (talk) 19:28, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Effectively so. As I alluded to previously I only really object to green colouring in places with annual mean temp < 0°C. GotR Talk 20:07, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * No there are other users opposed to green colouring, not just subtropical-man. There is one archive where another user removed green colours in USA weatherboxes. I have a similar thought too. I dislike green colouring in places with annual mean temp < 0°C but also places where it is extremely dry (maybe less than 20-25 mm), or if the climate is cfc (subpolar oceanic), ET, EF (basically where precipitation does not contribute to making the landscape green). Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:21, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * It is true that pastel colours are biased towards warm climates, moreso if the climate is consistently hot throughout the year and I strongly oppose using it in continental climates. Pastel colours would actually work well in climates where the temperature remains constant although standard temperature colouring does well too. It does not matter whether the snow colour is green or blue though I prefer both colours because I do agree that it does not blend too much with total precip/rain. Blue colouring is good for typical Mediterranean climate like the Barcelona weatherbox but I do agree that it does not work well for Vancouver, Winnipeg or Toronto and I am strongly opposed to placing blue colour for precipitation in these templates.Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:16, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * For precipitation/rain/snow - better use blue and change only the colour of cold temperatures from blue to violet. For cold temperatures (frost) more fit violet than blue. This will solve the problem everywhere, also in Vancouver, Winnipeg or Toronto. Subtropical-man (talk) 19:27, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * But you still have the issue of the blue colours of blending in with the precip/rain/snow days. I would prefer to use green for precip/rain (snow colour doesn't matter for me) and keep the standard temperature colour because it covers a larger range than the pastel option. But since this issue usually occurs in many weatherboxes in North and South America (record highs and lows and humidity are common in these weatherboxes), it would be better to make precipitation/rainfall green and use standard precipitation colours. I prefer to use blue in climates such as oceanic climate (using green on London or Ushuaia for example was a bad choice because it gives a false impression of a dry climate), polar climates (eg. Antarctica and the Arctic), Mediterranean climate (typical Csa or Csb but not the ones like Vancouver which is a marine west coast), subarctic climates (eg. Murmansk). I do agree that green colour is desireable natural as moderate amounts of rain make the landscape green but blue colour has its merits as well, just in different ways. Yes I also agree that the good look depends on climate and amount of data in it.Ssbbplayer (talk) 21:58, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

For example, the weatherbox shown below has blue colours for record lows, precip/rain/snow and precip/rain/snow days. There is too much blending of these colours and similar to one user's opinion on how blue creates a false impression of a chilly climate for non-arid areas, these colours do create a false impression of a cold climate. Using green helps eliminate these problems if test edits were conducted.

Ssbbplayer (talk) 22:51, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
 * You wrote: "I would prefer to use green for precip/rain (snow colour doesn't matter for me) and keep the standard temperature colour because it covers a larger range than the pastel option" - you wrong. Violet have a large range, please see Template_talk:Weather_box (recent posts in this topic). There are very many shades of violet colour. Only need set range.
 * Secondly, your idea is inappropriate and illogical:
 * 1) rain is green and snow colour doesn't matter for you? but this is problem for us, other users.
 * 2) You wrote: "But since this issue usually occurs in many weatherboxes in North and South America (record highs and lows and humidity are common in these weatherboxes), it would be better to make precipitation/rainfall green and use standard precipitation colours. I prefer to use blue in climates such as oceanic climate (using green on London or Ushuaia for example was a bad choice because it gives a false impression of a dry climate), polar climates (eg. Antarctica and the Arctic), Mediterranean climate (typical Csa or Csb but not the ones like Vancouver which is a marine west coast), subarctic climates (eg. Murmansk)...." ble ble ble. See? it's complicated, this makes life difficult, your idea establish different standards for different types of climates. Why? just because you like the green colour? Just do one thing: change the colour of cold temperatures from blue to violet. One thing, and solves many problems. Subtropical-man (talk) 23:13, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

Weatherbox inserted by User Frietjes. Subtropical-man (talk) 23:43, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

I agree that the option to change the colour should be removed. I don't like the pastel temperatures. Changing the blue temperatures may be the way to differentiating it from the precipitation. 117Avenue (talk) 02:34, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

Based on the discussion so far, it looks like a consensus can be extremely difficult to reach, considering the varying sets of options. All of these ideas are valid but I think that some compromises are necessary to make as much sides agree. Green colour cannot be used in all weatherboxes because it is changing the standard. At the same time using standard colours in all weatherboxes is ideal because it is not changing the standard and thus not controversial. However, the obivous problem of blue colours is the blending and the false impression of a chilly climate (from one of the archives on this) it creates. I should show an example using violet colours and one using green colours because further comparison is need for any comments.

Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:00, 3 May 2013 (UTC)
 * These two above examples are clear: violet is better. Violet colour for cold temperatures and blue colour for all data about precipitations (precipitation mm / rain mm / snow cm / precipitation days / rainy days / snowy days) is the best solution from a practical point of view and by because of the appearance. Subtropical-man (talk) 15:25, 3 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The thing is that the appearance changes depending on the viewer. I find the violet odd and gives the impression of the climate being warmer than it really is. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 15:52, 3 May 2013 (UTC)
 * "The thing is that the appearance changes depending on the viewer" - yes.
 * "I find the violet odd and gives the impression of the climate being warmer than it really is" - wow?!? Strange thing. I think conversely.
 * By the way, this shades of violet come from pastels option, You can choose different shades of violet, see last post of New_proposal. Subtropical-man (talk) 16:13, 3 May 2013 (UTC)
 * If violet was used, it would reduce the blending of blue colours for temperatures below zero but using the existing blue colours scheme for precip/rain/snow colours, it would still have the problem of leaving a chilly impression for a place that is non-arid and not that cold in winter considering that most templates have precip and precip days below it. Furthermore, considering that the white font for blue colours begin at 90 mm (3.6 in) instead of 213 mm (8.3 in) for green, it does create an impression of a place that may be wet even though 90 mm in a month may be considered dry due to high evapotranspiration while 213 mm is considered to be high precipitation in many locations. I propose using an alternate blue colouring for precip/rain/snow (will still be blue), preferably a gentle tone. The precip/rain/snow days/humidity colour will stay the same (very rare outside of Canada and USA that all precip/rain/snow days are together) because they do not cause a lot of blending if precip days/humidity were placed together (eg. using green colours to illustrate this). That way, violet colours can be used to solve the blending of colours in cool but not cold climates like much of Canada, Northern and Eastern Europe and East and Northern Asia while the alternate blue can be used for warmer climates so that the rainfall colours make it look warm and not a cold one. It is either that or green colours will have to be used because I highly doubt that changing the colours on the precip/snow/rain days will do much to reduce the blending. Ssbbplayer (talk) 21:15, 4 May 2013 (UTC)
 * ble, ble, ble, again. So, 3*705+532-555:435=violet. Sorry, your suggestion is absurd, several standards for some types of climate? No, no, no - strong oppose. Subtropical-man (talk) 21:24, 4 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I've said it once before, and I'll say it again: assume good faith.  "Inappropriate", "illogical", "Ble ble ble" and "absurd" are not constructive arguments for or against anything.  And "no" is not a good reason to disapprove anything.  Use reasoning.  Thegreatdr (talk) 21:43, 4 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I've entered the conversation per the entry on the Meteorology project page. I don't know if this has been suggested (and would be surprised if it hasn't), but why not use variations of orange and red for high temperatures, blue and violet for low temperature, green for precipitation in general, and white with a black background for snow.  There's nothing wrong with green for precipitation -- radar displays, numerical weather prediction output from the Environment Canada and products for the Weather Prediction Center in the United States utilize green for precipitation, even though rainfall is clear.  So there is precedent for precipitation-related information being green.  Snowfall usually utilizes white or light blue, but I like the idea of blue (a cool color) for average and record lows.  Same with red and oranges (warm colors) for high temperatures.  I don't know if this helps resolve a deadlock or not, but it's my input since it was apparently sought out.  =)  Thegreatdr (talk) 21:43, 4 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Seeing that no particular "one size fits all" combination will resolve a deadlock (or work), why don't we set red lines, e.g. for the usage of blue rain/precipitation to be strongly discouraged in climates such as the North American prairie and locations in monsoonal belts, given precip/rain days per month generally rise in lock-step with the arrival of the monsoon? GotR Talk 21:49, 4 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Along the line of Guerrilla's comment, one could also set up a series of "votes" based on high temperature, low temperature, precipitation, and snow, and see if half those involved like any one option the best.  That might get this process moving along.  Thegreatdr (talk) 21:53, 4 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Instead of using subjective arguments, another user suggested me using measures of the contrast between colours stating "(the W3C's formulae are the best-known amongst web developers; here is a colour contrast evaluation tool that uses the W3C's specification. (It's not perfect, but it is objective.) Ideally, different colour schemes with reasonably good colour contrast would be used for different properties, to minimize the opportunity for confusion. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:40, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

Basic standards for colours and wording
When I do edits, I follow the following conventions: These standards in my view reflect basic differences in climate across the globe well. I try to only use blue colours for liquid precipitation when its variation makes for no reflection on productivity or growth.
 * 1) Temperature colour will be pastel if and only if the difference between the hottest and coolest average monthly temperatures is under 11&deg;C or 20&deg;F.
 * 2) Precipitation colour will be green unless mean annual temperature is below 0 C
 * 3) “Rainfall” is used instead of “precipitation” if all mean monthly minima are above 0 C, unless snowfall has a median above zero.
 * 4) If rainfall is listed separately from precipitation, rainfall colour will be green at mean annual temperatures above -2 C

The pastel colour’s advantage over the standard is its better resolution of hotter temperatures, important in very hot climates where diurnal temperature variation|diurnal variations]] are small are seasonal variations negligible. luokehao (talk) 00:05, 5 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Hmm...interesting. Except for European locations, I rather sub-consciously followed your standards. When determining whether to use pastel colours, how do you factor in extremes?

GotR Talk 01:04, 5 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Usually, I factor in extremes only at the lower end. If the record low is less than -30 C and there are more than one month where the record low is below it, pastel colours will not be used. For higher temperatures, it does not matter that much for the upper end. However, overall, extremes do not play a huge factor in determining whether pastel colours are used when I determine whether to use it, only the average high and lows matter the most. Furthermore, if most weatherboxes in a country use standard temp colours, even if pastel colours can be used, I rather use standard temp colours because it is easier to compare the weather boxes in the same country than different colours as they have the same amount of info from the same source.Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:41, 7 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Comment True. Pastel colours work extremely well for hotter temperatures where the diurnal temperature is much smaller (eg. Caracas). Similarly, I follow most or all of the standard that Guerrilla of the Renmin uses albeit in a slightly different way because while I use non-standard colours, I usually use pastel colours in places where the difference between hottest and coolest monthly temperatures are low (hence is often used in tropical locations). Although if a country has a diverse climate but has a hot climate in general I just use pastel colours for all places within that country (eg. Mexico) to make it easier to compare weatherboxes, given that the amount of data will be the same in that country. Green is often used for locations where precipitation contributes to the growth of vegetation and I use blue if the precipitation has little effect on the growth of vegetation (usually if the climate is Cfc, or if the mean annual temperature is less than 0 C) or if the climate is very arid (no point in using green anyways). While I may not use the standard colours, I do agree that it reflects the basic differences in climate across the globe. In other words, I actually do follow these standards that Guerrilla of the Renmin and Luokehao uses. I prefer it given that one size does not fit all. I prefer using pastel colours if there are no extremes but I prefer using standard temperature colours if the extremes are included. Usually, in most cases, I use standard temperature colours and green precipitation/rainfall colours based on the conventions I usually follow. But it is a good and a concrete idea given that you quantify the temperature to decide which colours to use. Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:11, 5 May 2013 (UTC)


 * It would only make sense to use the term rainfall only if no measurable snow has been recorded in the time period (for example, if it snowed in 1977 but the normals is 1981-2010, rainfall is used because snow is not recorded in that period) otherwise, precipitation will be used. I also use record lows to determine if snow is possible. This is what I use when determining whether rainfall or precipitation will be used.Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:21, 5 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I like this sort of color scheme...it's close to what I was thinking. If I had a choice, I'd pick the scheme in the bottommost panel with more primary colors.  When I think "pastel", I think of off whites, pinks, light blues, very pale yellows.  Even the top box really doesn't quite fit that definition, as it uses bolder colors for extremes.  Thegreatdr (talk) 20:25, 5 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Strong oppose for this idea, most of users is opposed to using pastels. Subtropical-man (talk) 09:19, 5 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I prefer the bottom one (standard temperature colours, green precipitation) but that is because of the climate itself. If it had abundant precipitation but the climate is Cfb (except in the Americas where green is more desirbale due to the temperate rainforest being present), Cfc, Dfc, Dfd, ET or EF or if the mean annual temperature is below zero, I prefer using blue for precipitation instead. That way, more blue colours can be added meaning that most subarctic climates that I added, I can change it to blue colours. The top one is okay but I agree that most users are opposed to pastels. Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:06, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Pastels should not be the standard colour because of its limitations. It should remain optional. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:23, 5 May 2013 (UTC)


 * You can actually change the colours of humidity and the precip/rain/snow days line as well to green or to pastel. They will work though I would avoid using pastel because it does not work well with humidity values. Green is usually a better colour and works well in both lines though green works better in the humidity than the precip days one.Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:48, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * "though green works better in the humidity than the precip days" - yes, I have a similar opinion. Subtropical-man (talk) 20:26, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * At the same time pastels do not work well in precip days because the colour order is messed up. The way I see it, violet indicates a more wetter climate than yellow/orange. Technically, you can add it but it is not a good idea.Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:32, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Comment:Given that one size does not fit all, I prefer using those conventions listed above. This allows it to reflect the differences in climate and the colours are more representative of vegetation (how green it is) and evapotranspiration because some places can receive a lot of precipitation and have thick vegetation while others may be only covered with mosses and treeless. To ensure more blue colours are included, it should be used and expanded to the climates I mentioned above (because the conventions mean that a lot of the weatherboxes would have to have green colours in places where blue colour is more desirable such as Cfc, and ocean moderated ET climates like the subantarctic islands where the mean annual temperature is usually above freezing). Complicated since standard colours are not applied to every weatherbox but it is sorta like a standard as the procedure is used in the same way. The way I see it, it is more realistic. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:50, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * On a side note, if violet colours were used and precip colour remains blue, I suggest changing the precip/rain/snow lines to green or if there is humidity, precipitation and precip days present (eg. Belgrade, Hanoi), use green for humidity and keep the precip days blue or green for precip days and blue for humidity. This might reduce the blending. I prefer using those conventions above as it includes both precip colours and favours standard temperature colours.Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:50, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * "... This might reduce the blending (...)" - sorry, but you are trying to create some different standards, you create blending. I am against. I support only changes the color blue to violet in cold temperatures because it solves all the problems and create a single standard, and suitable for any type of climate. Instead some new standards? and if not violet? I prefer old standard - blue, unchanged. Also remember that the shades of violet included in the above examples come from pastels. To new weatherbox we can use any (whichever) shades of violet. Subtropical-man (talk) 18:05, 7 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I could care less about whether low temperatures are blue or violet -- either is fine with me. It makes sense to differentiate between rain and snow, by using some shade of green for rain (or humidity) and some sort of blue or white with snow.  You can use blue or white text on a black background, so that it looks different from what is used for low temperatures.  Thegreatdr (talk) 19:28, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Differentiating the precipitation lines is a good idea. I am fine with violet colours or blue for low temperatures. You can use the parameter humidity colour= "green" to change humidity colours to green though it might need some fixing. I am ok with any snow colour because outside of Canada and USA, snow (amount, not number of days with snow) is rarely used and measured. Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:44, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

Let's vote
I'm finding it hard to follow this discussion. Since we're looking for consensus, let's vote. Throw your username under the option you like best. The option which receives 50% or more of the vote wins. The use of the word pastel is being thrown around a lot on here, which may be confusing the debate. I'm not totally sure we all are using the same definition for the word pastel. Semantics can be a problem in debates.
 * Precipitation / rain color
 * Green background, white text
 * Thegreatdr (talk) 19:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:05, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * GotR Talk 00:04, 24 May 2013 (UTC), unless annual mean temp ≤ 0 °C
 * Meganesia (talk) 11:37, 5 December 2013 (UTC) Green perfectly stands out against the BLUE-coloured lows, which can make people confuse a row with the other (such as myself)
 * Blue background
 * 117Avenue (talk) 04:04, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Subtropical-man (talk) 11:50, 16 May 2013 (UTC) - unchanged in weatherbox, current standard is ok
 * DJSasso (talk) 12:23, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:02, 10 June 2013 (UTC) All precipitation types should be one colour.
 * Snowfall color
 * Green background, white text
 * Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:05, 16 May 2013 (UTC) Note: I prefer precip/rain/snow colour to be the same in order to reduce confusion.
 * Blue background, white text
 * 117Avenue (talk) 04:04, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Subtropical-man (talk) 11:50, 16 May 2013 (UTC) - unchanged in weatherbox, current standard is ok
 * DJSasso (talk) 12:23, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * GotR Talk 00:04, 24 May 2013 (UTC), without any exceptions whatsoever
 * CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:02, 10 June 2013 (UTC) All precipitation types should be one colour.
 * Meganesia (talk) 11:37, 5 December 2013 (UTC) Snow is associated with cold - blue is perfect
 * Black background, white text
 * Thegreatdr (talk) 19:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Humidity color
 * Green background, white text
 * Shaded from tan to green background (at more moist ranges) based on percentage
 * Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:21, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Thegreatdr (talk) 19:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * GotR Talk 00:04, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Meganesia (talk) 11:37, 5 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Blue background, white text
 * 117Avenue (talk) 04:04, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Subtropical-man (talk) 11:50, 16 May 2013 (UTC) - unchanged in weatherbox, current standard is ok
 * DJSasso (talk) 12:23, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:02, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Yellow background, black text
 * Shading with goes from blue to violet background (at higher ranges)
 * Average High temperature color
 * Yellow background, black text
 * Orange background, black or white text
 * Red background, white text
 * Thegreatdr (talk) 19:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * 117Avenue (talk) 04:04, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Subtropical-man (talk) 11:55, 16 May 2013 (UTC) - unchanged in weatherbox, current standard is ok
 * Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:05, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * DJSasso (talk) 12:23, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * GotR Talk 00:04, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:02, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Shading which goes from yellow to red background (at hotter ranges)
 * Average Low temperature color
 * Blue background, white text
 * Slight edge here. Thegreatdr (talk) 19:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Meganesia (talk) 11:37, 5 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Violet background, white text (more info is here)
 * Subtropical-man (talk) 11:55, 16 May 2013 (UTC) - this is the best option and solves problems
 * 117Avenue (talk) 04:04, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:05, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * DJSasso (talk) 17:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * GotR Talk 00:04, 24 May 2013 (UTC), so long as values in the &minus;10 to 0 °C range are as mildly coloured as they are with the current standard
 * CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:02, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Let me know if I've missed any quantity, and please vote. It will be more constructive than circular arguments.  Thegreatdr (talk) 19:36, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

This vote is paused: Subtropical-man (talk) 20:18, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * 1) too early to vote
 * 2) worth waiting for more opinions by other users
 * 3) wrong wording - in the selections (errors in vote), you must otherwise formulate options of choice. Also, there is no options, for example: "no changes", "only one change: cold temperatures from blue to violet, without any additional changes", black text for Low temperatures etc. This vote is completely underdeveloped and incomplete.

More time is needed before the vote begins. Not good to jump to the conclusion too quickly especially if there is not enough opinions from other users and the wording is wrong. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:34, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Since two people have decided this (with none against), it is paused. Fix the wording then.  In my opinion, I don't see how these circular discussions are helping flesh anything out.  Have they, over the past six days?  It should not matter at all if this is a change, since the templates provided as examples don't seem to follow a common format now.  If there is any common ground, state it below so people understand what has been agreed upon.  How many people contributing into the discussion constitute "enough opinions" exactly?  Thegreatdr (talk) 20:37, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

It is possible that we need to do two votes:
 * first vote about some changes in weatherbox: colours of Precipitation mm / Precipitation days / Rain mm / Rainy days / Snow cm / Snowy days / Humidity and also black or white texts for this. You need one version of this complex coloring.
 * second vote for three options: "no changes", "only one change: colour of cold temperatures from blue to violet, without any additional changes" and consensus from first vote about complex coloring. Subtropical-man (talk) 20:48, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * What does no changes mean? You need to define that now, since I don't understand what that means.  Thegreatdr (talk) 20:51, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * "no changes" = unchanged, current standard, current weatherbox, blue precipitation/rain/snow (mm/days), no any changes in the code of weatherbox. Subtropical-man (talk) 20:55, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * What about in the temperature fields? Some examples above show differences in the color of the temperature rows too.  Thegreatdr (talk) 21:33, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Agree with deferring the vote. I am wondering what is the best way to avoid befalling "one-size-fits-all" yet preventing pointless edit wars – the "red lines" I mentioned previously (such as monsoonal climate/strongly seasonal precipitation) may or may not be enough. This ensures the results of our RFC/discussion are as productive as possible. GotR Talk 21:37, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * When you mean "one-size-fits-all" does this apply to every location on the globe or only in one country because both will have different advantages and disadvantages? Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:02, 9 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Why wouldn't this template be used everywhere? It is a template, after all.  Every project on wikipedia needs standards.  Thegreatdr (talk) 23:23, 9 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Ok. I must have misread it. It means that it should be standardized. Ssbbplayer (talk) 12:58, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
 * You need to define what is "high temperature" because I would assume low temperature is for values below 0 C. You are also missing green snowfall colours as well. A suggestion is define high temperature as any values greater than 37.8 C as the white text appears in the standard temperature colour scheme. Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:43, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * See if that's better. I previously thought it was understood.  Two weeks have now passed since this discussion started.  Thegreatdr (talk) 19:09, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Okay, other then that it looks like the proposal listed above is ready to be voted on. Been waiting for a while but I suggest that the vote should being since these issues can easily be resolved. My only concern is when to stop the vote because right now I find it difficult to notify other editors without being accused of canvassing. Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:15, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Check the wikipedia article on canvassing. As long as you aren't strong arming someone into a particular way of voting, it is not canvassing. Thegreatdr (talk) 19:46, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The vote should start now. Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:24, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
 * It's long overdue. We have two people for it and two against it, so there's no longer a consensus to halt it.  As the person who initiated the vote, I'll be bold and undo the frozen vote.  Thegreatdr (talk) 21:29, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I'd like to !vote. Is there a plainly-displayed set of options, like a "pick A B C" thing? I can't figure out what's where. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:51, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The options lie above, just under the section header. Sign your name under the option you like the best.  If you can think of something better, add the option.  Thegreatdr (talk) 23:03, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Verbal descriptions don't really help in picking color schemes. Couldn't you throw a subpage together or something? Sorry, that's probably a bit too much to ask. I'll let others decide. No worries. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 23:20, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I am guessing that you should let other users look at the suggested colours before voting instead of just reading verbal descriptions? Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:07, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I have no idea what that means. :) Don't worry about it. Really. I'm sorry I interferred. I'll let you guys decide. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 15:25, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Maybe we should show examples of some of the colours (eg. green precip colours, violet colour schemes). Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:34, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * It wouldn't be a bad idea. Examples of possible color schemes are in the previous section.  Thegreatdr (talk) 20:33, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Really, don't go to the trouble. It looks like you're making progress and will make great picks. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 03:20, 17 May 2013 (UTC)


 * It looks like a consensus has been easily reached for colors within the average high and low temperatures, though we'd like to see several more people vote, just in case the current consensus is false. =)  Humidity, precipitation, and snow are split.  Thegreatdr (talk) 20:36, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Subtropical-man, are you aware that you voted twice for average low temperature color? 117Avenue (talk) 03:21, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes I saw that Subtropical-man voted twice for average low temperature colour. He/she must choose only one. Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:50, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * In polls that are laid out like this it is common to !vote for two if you like two. There is nothing wrong with it. -DJSasso (talk) 17:02, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree. If people like more than one option, they can choose two if they'd like.  Thegreatdr (talk) 19:44, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Must have been a misunderstanding since both choices look so similar (both involve violet colours). Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:15, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, this is a mistake, I improved it. Subtropical-man (talk) 20:28, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

I decided that I wanted to take some time to think about this before (Polling is not a substitute for discussion) !voting. Eventually what I realised was that I really have no opinion about the colours but only that the precipitation/rain/snow all be the same. Be it green or blue. I also spent some time looking at the actual template. I have another suggestion. Leave the colours as they are. However, move the humidex line down to right below the wind chill. At the same time move the % humidity and sunshine lines up to be just under the humidex line. This would create a buffer between the temperature and precipitation so as to avoid the blending. Also the % humidity colours look odd. They should be in red to match the humidex. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 12:09, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * This sounds really good. Could someone please make a sample and paste it here? Also, some sort of arbitrary section break might be in order. I'm having trouble navigating this page. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 12:36, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I would keep the vote open. More people are needed to vote in order to get a clear idea of where most people prefer and thus where a consensus can reach. About the idea of a false consensus, it is true because by adding in more people, the results can change. Ssbbplayer (talk) 15:45, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Fair enough. Fine by me. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 16:26, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * It is possible to show more examples but I have to move the older discussions into the archives. This page is too large already. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:32, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Wrap up?
I'd like to participate here, but admittedly the discussion has grown far too big, and is barely readable. What is needed isn't more input, but instead a wrap-up of the proposals so that everyone can see where the current discussion is. If I understand it correctly, we have two main proposals: either change rain to green, or negative temperatures to purple. So that's it, why would we discuss about it during 2 more years?

Discussion about the pastels should be kept aside for the moment. I would argue it should be removed (if temperatures are nearly constant, then the infobox should show this fact), but this is not related with the rain / temperature blending issue afaik.

Calimo (talk) 19:04, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

Currently based on the vote so far, I see that there is strong support (majority of votes) for these proposals Also, because most users so far support violet colours, the only part is whether to use green or blue for precipitation colours. Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:19, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
 * 1) Red background, white text for high temperature values
 * 2) violet background colours for temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F)
 * 3) Blue snowfall colours

Precipitation colours–Part II
I have issues with the blue colouring scheme for warmer climates. The way I see it, the blue colouring is quite biased towards colder climates. Look at the examples below and then voice your opinions about your impression of the climate of this sample. This is because currently, the vote is split between green and blue precipitation colours and most of the discussion focused on USA and Canada weatherboxes, not enough on other places, especially where violet colours cannot be used for warmer climates in order to reach a consensus. Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:04, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Examples where temperatures are greater than 0°C (32°F)


 * "(...) especially where violet colours cannot be used for warmer climates" - you wrong, violet colours (in low temperatures) can be used for any climate. Violet appears only at cold temperatures, about 0°C (32°F) and below, in warmer climates - does not appear. Subtropical-man (talk) 16:12, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
 * That is what I mean. In warmer climates, it does not appear. Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:14, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes. In warmer climates, violet does not appear, so, in warmer climates - there are no changes. This does not change the fact that solves the problem of merging of colors - blue cold temperature and blue precipitation. Thanks to the changes, will violet for cold temperatures and blue precipitation/rain. Subtropical-man (talk) 16:21, 22 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Now that blending is reduced, the issue would have to be the blue colour itself but I have to wait to get opinions from other users about their impression when looking at the samples. Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:30, 22 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't see any temperature here - only precipitation, days and humidity. Why are you talking about temperatures?
 * It is definitely weird to have precipitation in green and humidity in blue. These two are very correlated, and should appear in the same colour.
 * Calimo (talk) 19:08, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I want to see how other users view the weatherbox and how the climate appears to them (need to get more opinions). I put in the temperatures to clarify that. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:58, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Agree. If precipitation is high, then humidity is high as well because the air is saturated with water vapour. So it would make sense to make them the same colour. I am pretty sure humidity colours can be set to green but the colour needs to be fixed and adjusted for humidity values. Ssbbplayer (talk) 21:07, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Both boxes look like some sort of Aw climate. What is it you want to know exactly? I think the main issue with this discussion is that it isn't focused enough because everyone's just writing random comments - that's because nobody really knows what we're talking about. You definitely don't need more opinion, you need more targeted ones - and you'll get this by asking precise questions. I can write 20 lines of comments if you want, but it's probably not going to answer your questions, and won't help the overall discussion. Calimo (talk) 08:10, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the advice. Maybe that is the problem. Ssbbplayer (talk) 13:06, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I should be asking questions whether to include green precipitation colours or not because the majority agrees on using violet colours for low temperatures, red for high temperatures, blue for snowfall, . This is because this is the only part that has not been resolved yet (humidity is not that widely used as precipitation, so I am putting aside for now). I will make it a simple question.

Inclusion of green precipitation/rainfall colours
My proposal is that instead of using blue colours as the default one, green colours should be the default one while blue colours will become an optional one. Voting for this has lead to a split vote between blue and green. I think narrowing the discussion solely on the inclusion of it will be more worthwhile. Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:24, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

/. Voting results (see): Of course, in any voting are losers and winners or there is no consensus, but further agitation or/and canvassing is bad. You must accept the results of the vote. For now, there is no sense continue the discussion/voting about this, maybe for few months. This is an attempt to push their own version against consensus/voting results. Subtropical-man (talk) 20:06, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I certainly agree that green should be the default colour for precipitation and rainfall - and "rain" should always be used where snowfall has not been recorded luokehao (talk) 07:09, 2 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree, considering that green colours is better at reducing the blending issue. Sometimes, violet colours do little to reduce blending of blue colours on certain weather boxes, especially where precip/humidity/precip days are significant and in many locations, especially those that are non-arid and not polar, the blue colouring gives the impression of a chilly climate or one that has unsettled weather all the time if sunshine data is not available. I prefer it as a default colour, given that it can be used well in most climates and using the same colours is desirable. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:59, 4 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Also, I strongly oppose using blue because unlike green where the white text (high precipitation values) begins at 213 mm (8.3 in), the white text (high precipitation values) for blue begins at 90 mm (3.6 in). While 90 mm of precipitation is a lot in cold places, in more temperate climates, 90 mm is moderate and in tropical places, 90 mm may be little. In contrast, 213 mm of precipitation in one month is significant in all types of climates. Green is therefore a better colour in showing when precipitation is significant more than blue and one that can be applied in most climates. Ssbbplayer (talk) 23:52, 8 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes use green for precipitation, rain and snow. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 18:56, 10 June 2013 (UTC) See below
 * for precipitation/rain colour - there is no consensus (voting result: 3:3:1).
 * for snowfall colour - there is a consensus - blue (voting result: 4:1:1)
 * for humidity colour - no consensus (voting result: 3:3)
 * for average high temperature colour - there is consensus - red (voting result: 6:0)
 * for average low temperature colour - there is consensus - violet (voting result: 5:1)


 * I would just point out that consensus is not necessarly obtained by counting the number of votes. However, thanks for pointing out the vote which I had forgotten about. Seeing as the voting section wasn't closed I have taken the time to put in mine. You may want to change your tally as the numbers have changed. Also consensus should be declared by a neutral party and not one of the participants.
 * You can't have snow a different colour from Precipitation (meteorology) as snow is precipitation along with rain. To have different colours for the same thing makes no sense and may confuse the reader. Also, the "Avg. precipitation days", "Avg. rainy days" and "Avg. snowy days" should be the same colour as the rest of the precipitation section. So if the snow is to stay blue then all the precipitation should stay blue. One last thing. There should be no optional colours. It was the addition of optional colours that lead to the problems in the first place. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:02, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

Precipitation is blue, the green should be removed. 117Avenue (talk) 03:24, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

In the discussion, you stated "Changing the blue temperatures may be the way to differentiating it from the precipitation". It is a valid point but it becomes less effective if snowfall/rainfall/precipitation/precip days/rainy days/snow days are all in significant amounts. This is because you still have 6 lines using the same blue colours. Look at the Halifax and Vancouver weather box and see what I mean. Using green colours is a much better method because you only have 3 lines using the same colours and precip/rainy/snow days rarely blend with each other. Ssbbplayer (talk) 14:20, 12 June 2013 (UTC)


 * I do not understand the rationale for making "Avg. precipitation days", "Avg. rainy days" and "Avg. snowy days" the same colour as the rest of the precipitation section. Ssbbplayer (talk) 20:20, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * The way I see it, while precipitation and Avg. precipitation days are related to each other (more precipitation means more days with precipitation), making precip and Avg. precipitation days the same colour would not be a good idea because it implies that precipitation is higher since there are more days with precipitation (and plus, some places receive heavy downpours of rain in a short time while others receive light rain, even though both places might have the same amount of days with precipitation). There are many factors that determine the amount of precipitation and using this is a poor explanation of how precipitation is determined (in addition to the blending of blue colours). I see "Avg. precipitation days", "Avg. rainy days" and "Avg. snowy days" and humidity more related to each other than to precipitation. Ssbbplayer (talk) 14:12, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

precipitation/rain/snow (mm) and precipitation/rain/snow (days) should have the same color - blue. Subtropical-man (talk) 14:28, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

I will put this discussion aside for now. It will be discussed again in the future. Ssbbplayer (talk) 19:13, 16 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Why? We seem to have general agreement. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 12:51, 19 June 2013 (UTC)


 * It seems like it is going forever. However, I just need to understand the rationale making "Avg. precipitation days", "Avg. rainy days" and "Avg. snowy days" the same colour as the rest of the precipitation section. I still prefer to differentiate the precip/rainfall/snowfall lines from "Avg. precipitation days", "Avg. rainy days" and "Avg. snowy days" given that these two areas are slightly different from each other. This is because I can define the rainiest place with the one with the highest number of rainy days or the one with the most precipitation in a year, which can yield different results. Furthermore, these 2 are slightly different given that the thresholds used to define a rainy day differs across countries meaning that even if both places have the same mean temperature, and same precipitation, one might have more rainy days than the other and vice versa. It would be not be correct to make them the same colours, given that they are different from each other though correlated to each other. Ssbbplayer (talk) 14:40, 19 June 2013 (UTC)


 * There was no previous discussion about changing the colour of the precip days. The discussion was for the temperature and precip amounts. We need a neutral person to look and see if there is consensus. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 21:52, 19 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes. I have no intentions of changing the colour of the precip days (it can actually be changed to green, none, or pastel, though all of these colours look bad), just trying to change the precipitation/rainfall/snowfall colours. I do agree a neutral person is needed to look and see if there is a consensus. It is easy since I think that most editors do not really care (and will not edit war to restore a previous version) if the colours were changed for a reason. Ssbbplayer (talk) 16:07, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Instead of explaining in words of why I would like to change the precipitation lines to green, I should show 2 examples of where blending of the blue colours is significant.

Addition of green colours

Again from the previous discussions, the purpose of adding in the green colours was to reduce the blending of the blue colours between precip/rainfall/snowfall and Avg. precip/rainy/snowy days because they are slightly different. The way how I interpret the information, Avg. precip days is more of a qualitative description of how rainy the climate is while precipitation is a quantitative description of how rainy a climate is because if a month has like 21 days with precipitation, its climate would be rainy since rain falls often. Conversely, a month with only 40 mm would be low and would not look rainy unless there are a lot of days with precipitation. I showed these examples because I needed to show that even with the violet colours (hence the removal of the temperatures), there is still significant blending of blue colours. Ssbbplayer (talk) 14:04, 24 June 2013 (UTC)