User:Jeffrey Smith/Userbox/Request

If you don't want to remove your political/religious/etc. userboxes (as suggested by Jimbo), then I wonder if you might consider simply not linking to the existing userbox templates, and instead making your own in your userspace. You can use subst to include a copy of an existing userbox by using instead of.

You can also use the &#123;{Userbox}} formatting template to make your own userbox (use of this and related templates is described on Wikipedia:Userboxes). In particular, you're encouraged to take advantage of the versatility available in making your own userbox by creating more personalized and specific userbox content (rather than relying on the generic userboxes you used to use). You can use your own userboxes directly on your user page, or you can create a subpage for each userbox and use the subpages as you would templates. Keep in mind that your new userboxes, along with everything else on your user page, must comply with User space guidelines, as well as with our policies on civility and no personal attacks. If you choose to make a userbox as a subpage template, you'll also need to make sure it won't be speedy deleted under the criteria for speedy deletion of templates. If you need help with any of this, feel free to ask me.

Using your own user page for userbox content instead of using Wikipedia's template system helps to put user-related content back where it belongs. By using your own userboxes instead of the generic ones available, you can express yourself more specifically and independently. If you agree with my request, take a look at Userfying userboxes, a proposed policy which seeks to migrate userbox contents out of the Wikipedia Template namespace and into the User namespace. If you want to show your support, you can add to your page &#123;{User:Ashibaka/Userbox/Migration}}, which is&mdash;most appropriately&mdash;a userbox in the User namespace. &mdash; Jeff | (talk) | 10:11, 7 February 2006 (UTC)