User:StuffOfInterest/Userboxes

Reasoning
This archive contains userboxes which I use on my own page. They are included here so that others may link to those boxes without having to paste in the entire set of code for the box. For more on the history of why this is happening see the userbox war section down below.

Please do not edit the boxes in this archive. If you would like a different version then copy the box to your own user space and modify it to your taste. You can then open it up for others to use as well.

Userbox listing
On the left you have the userbox as it will be displayed. On the right you have the code to include that userbox on your own page. For some boxes a category is also suggested for the user categorization project. Just adding the box code will not add you to any categories.

Additional users with box archives
Other editors are welcome to add a link to their own collection here. I do reserve the right to change the look to match my desired format or maybe even drop the link if I don't like your collection.


 * Ashley Y (various)
 * BigDT (religious)
 * CharonX (various)
 * User:Hunterd link 1, User:Hunterd link 2, User:Hunterd link 3 (miscellaneous userboxes... most plagiarised, but some originals. (esp. Stargate ones)).
 * Ibaranoff24 (various)
 * Java7837's Userbox Archive
 * Joe Sewell (various, with more being added as time goes on)
 * MiraLuka (various)
 * Reaverdrop (atheist, wikipedia philosophy, personal interests)
 * Richard0612 (various, currently WIP)
 * PyroGamer (various, currently WIP)

Userbox war
For months there has been a war going on over the use of and policy surrounding userboxes. The current method being used by people wanting to purge these boxes is the T1 CSD. If you see a userbox disapear without going through TfD please take a look at Deletion review. There is a good chance you'll find it listed there and in need of a vote one way or the other on bringing it back.

This war comes down to two poles with many views in between. On one end are those who think that any point of view can be expressed in any format (userbox, paragraph, etc) on a user page using any facility avaiable (templates, images, etc) in Wikipedia. On the other end are those who think that everything in Wikipedia, including user pages, should be NPOV. Naturally, many others fall somewhere in between those views. Being that the great founder hasn't set out an absolute policy it has been left to the community to try and devise one on its own. Some people have tried to interpret various writings and create policy out of it without concensus. Others have gone on personal crusades to shape the world to their own view. Groups are trying to keep the freedom they thought was implicit with the environment, and many are just trying to find solid ground in this shifting mess. Nobody knows where it is going to end but there is sure to be a lot of damage done as a matter of course.

OK, now that I've complained enough it is time to offer a solution. First, a simple statement. Concensus will never be reached. Although a majority do seem to support userboxes in the form they currently exist it isn't enough of a super-super-majority (80%+) to push through a concrete policy. This leaves it to Jimbo to dictate a policy. If I were Jimbo for a day this is what I'd likely propose.


 * 1) A library of userbox construction code using the    constructor template will be created in Userboxes.  If people want to use a userbox they can copy the constructor code to their user page.
 * 2) The library will not be restricted on contents as long as the boxes do not represent a personal attack.  It is OK to say you are for or against something.  It is not OK to say someone else can not be something.
 * 3) All add/changes/removes to the userbox list will go through discussion pages in the library area so there are no edit wars on the actual library pages.
 * 4) Where possible, all userboxes will be substitued to the library code by automated bots.
 * 5) Userboxes will come out of template space.  All userbox related templates other than the    constructor template will be deleted after they have been placed in the library and substituded on user's pages.  If a template is only included on one user's page it can be subst'd and deleted without putting it in the library.
 * 6) If a user wishes to share a userbox by turning it into a sub-page of their user page and thus allowing it to be transcluded on other user's pages this is allowed providing it is transcluded on the providing user's page and not part of a library being kept in a puppet or repository account.  It may also be listed in the Wikipedia:Userboxes library with both code and a link to the transclude page.

Not what you were expecting, was it? At this point I don't expect to see Jimbo come out and say, "all userboxes are OK to live in template space". I'm just looking for a working solution that will put the war to bed but still let people express the opinions they wish on their user pages.

For reference, it was this edit on 27 May 2006 where Jimbo stated: "There is a middle ground, I agree. The middle ground is to let people do as they will in the user space, and merely use reason and argument to teach people over time why one ought not use Wikipedia userpages for political or other campaigns.... while at the same time saying, no, really, the template namespace is not for that, that we do not endorse this behavior. This is the solution that the Germans have put into effect with great results."

And in this edit, CharonX explains how the German solution works with: "Ok, here's the way it was organized on the German Wikipedia: There are almost non "userboxes" in the template (in German Vorlage) space, except for the standard "This user speaks XYZ" boxes and similar. All POV, interest, etc. boxes are part of the userspace - distributed amongst various userpages. I have grabbed a userpage at random of an admin called Davidshilling, note the userboxes? Click at the Babel-Vorlagen link and you will see a few userboxes. Any user may use these boxes on his or her page (he even provided a nifty copy&past link for that). If you check his userpage and view the source you will also see that some of the displayed boxes originate from other users' pages. Basically the German Wiki kept allmost all userboxes outside the template (Vorlage) space, inside the userspace. And since they are inside the userspace they are allowed to be POV, controversial, or whatever (yes, I firmly believe that there will be an editor found that feels offended by other users stating that he enjoys eating junk-food). A major collection of German userboxes offers the user Libro."

Note: I've stuck the six point proposal out for general discussion here.

(Updated 11:49, 1 June 2006 (UTC))