Wikipedia:Wikibreak

A wikibreak, wikiholiday, wikivacation, or leave of wiki-absence is a period when even a wikipediholic must be parted from Wikipedia, although presumably only temporarily.

The pain involved varies from Wikipedian to Wikipedian. Some find it easy to endure, whereas others find the separation agonizing. Often the latter find themselves grasping at any opportunity to go online "just to check what's happening".

The degree of coercion also varies. Some remarkable individuals are actually capable of taking a voluntary wikiholiday: they are to be admired for their strength of character. Some people have to enforce their departure for their own good. Others still are forced into it through circumstances beyond their control: it is often at such times that wikiholics discover their condition.

The wikibreak template
When taking a wikibreak, it is a good idea to inform your wikifriends that you are not active and indicate when you might be back. You can use the wikibreak template for this purpose. Let's say Example wants to go on wikibreak until Christmas. They would then place on the top of their user or talk pages, and it produces:

The wikibreak-in-house template
wikibreak-in-house produces:

The WikibreakSwitch template
To keep a template that you can switch on or off, or even convert into many of the others shown below, use where may be OFF, ON, LONG, etc.

The tmbox template
If your message isn't covered by any of the templates on this page, you can use the generic tmbox template to create a similar-looking box containing your text and one or two images.

The busy template
An alternative for those weaning themselves more slowly from Wikipedia is the 'Busy' template, which is designed for those who are being overtaken by "real" life (if you have one) work. Wikipediholics can use this template to assuage the guilt associated with long breaks from the Wiki. If Example were using this template, they would place either or  at the top of their user page:

A topicon is also available Template:Busy topicon. Use  to use it.

The off and on wikibreak template
There are times when one is having trouble being able to consistently make contributions for some reason. If you are inconsistently able to make edits, add Off and On WikiBreak to your userpage, which will produce:

The moving template
When you move to a new location there is no help for it; you have to stop editing until your computer is found or edit from public computers. Moving produces:

Name auto adjusts as well as width.

The at school template
When school beckons, use At school to get:

'''Note: This template uses parameters and has a syntax. Click here for a quick look.'''

The at school occasional template
When school beckons, but you still have opportunities to edit. (At school occasional)

The exams template
Another template for those who have exams coming up soon, to add it just add exams at the top of your user page:

Alternatively, you can use to specify the date that your exams finish. That will yield:

The sick/ill template
For those of us who are sick or ill and would thus be partially inactive, Wikipedians can use user health inactive to indicate this.

The terminally ill template
For those of us whose illness will sadly be likely to lead to their death and would thus be partially inactive, Wikipedians can use user terminally ill to indicate this.

The mental health template
For those of us who are struggling with mental illness or psychological problems and would thus be partially inactive, Wikipedians can use User mental health to indicate this.

Note: NEVER add this to a user page that isn't your page, as this is potentially libelous (not to mention cruel).

The stress template
User stress produces:

The vacation template
produces:

produces:

produces:

The out of town template
out of town produces:

produces:

The computer death template
Computer death produces:

The no internet access template
No Internet produces:

The no power template
No-power produces:

The storm break template
produces:

Grieving
If you are suffering a loss and you are grieving, you may use User grieving.

The bonked template
bonked produces:

The can be used when you have been wikibonked so much that you will have to leave Wikipedia.

The contempt template
User contempt produces:

The discouraged template
For those users who have been disheartened by the wikiprocess through failure, edit wars, bullying, and other acts of not assuming good faith towards the user. They may also be suffering from a sense of wikifailure. Wikipedians displaying Discouraged may periodically check their watchlist, but will not engage in editing. Wikipedians will typically return to their regular contributing activity once their faith in the wikicommunity has been restored or their existential wikistress has been resolved.

The frustrated template
User frustrated produces:

The personal issues template
Personal issues produces:

Semi-wikibreak
A semi-wikibreak is a Wikibreak taken by Wikipedians who are not fully on a wikibreak but are not fully editing. There are many possible reasons for a semi-wikibreak, such as:


 * busy at work or school
 * going on vacation
 * new puppy isn't housebroken yet
 * toilet got backed up
 * slow internet connection
 * family members needing more attention
 * kids need affection/cereal/ride to sports practice (Note: order may vary)
 * Super Bowl
 * AL/NL Pennant Race
 * Stanley Cup Finals
 * chase for the NASCAR Cup Series
 * March Madness
 * NBA Playoffs
 * FIFA World Cup
 * new xkcd strip
 * sharing computer with others
 * ran out of coffee/tea
 * reading paper-bound volumes (apparently called "books")
 * partying
 * computer is broken
 * tired of Wikipedia
 * sleeping
 * PSL
 * Indian Premier League
 * UEFA Champions League
 * finding cheap gas
 * visiting at the library

produces:

The retired template
We hope this never happens, but sometimes good things must come to an end. If you are retiring from Wikipedia you can use the retired template.

produces:

The Semi-retired template
Semi-retired produces:

The Almost retired template
Almost retired produces: