Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Userboxes/Archive 2008

Userbox content
A request for comment has been opened to discuss what could be deemed inappropriate content in userboxes. All users are invited to comment at: Requests for comment/Policies/Userbox content. Thanks. - Mtmelendez (Talk) 05:54, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

An alternative model to Userboxes
I was dissatisfied with the Userbox format - it seems to waste space and usually doesn't really link anywhere useful to bring people together. So I've tried formatting my page in a different way, using Icons that can link to arbitrary places (using the 'imagemap' tag). The concept is explained as an "Icon Corner", and the target page as a "Club". Of course, Clubs would be pretty much useless unless links to them are widely adopted either from new Icons or existing Userboxes. As you may see from the design of my own page, once the icons and clubs are designed, placing them on a user page is quite straightforward. Does anyone think it's a good idea either to adopt the Icon Corner format or to link existing Userboxes to Clubs? Mike Serfas (talk) 06:41, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Please?
I made a userbox called Template:USERBOXE CITIZENDIUM, to tell people that the user also contributes to Citizendium. However, im not finished with the userbox and i want someone to finish the userbox. Please?.

Here is what the userbox looks like for why.

Mythdon (talk) 04:32, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Help!!!!!!
I've made a userbox for WikiProject The Twilight Zone and I don't know how to create a template. The prototype box is on my page. Any help would be appreciated. Shinerunner (talk) 01:35, 29 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi there. Actually I don't think you need much help! Your user box looks just fine. The way to make it so that anyone can use it on their own pages, is to put it on its own page. All you need to do is create a new user subpage for it, perhaps User:Shinerunner/Twilight and then copy your complete box coding onto that page. To then put it on any page (including on your own user page) just use the code: and the box will appear. To have a look at an example, see this page I created: User:Ahunt/XCski Let me know if any of that doesn't make sense! - Ahunt (talk) 02:15, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the help, I've got the template made. Shinerunner (talk) 22:50, 29 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Super, glad that I could help! Now you will just want to add it to the Twilight Zone project talk page so that other members of the project can find it and use it on their own user pages! An example of one way to do this from another project can be found at WikiProject_Aircraft/Participants. - Ahunt (talk) 00:37, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

College Football
Hey, why aren't there more boxes like this:

 RC-0722 communicator/kills 16:58, 8 February 2008 (UTC)


 * We rely on people like you to create them; it's easy, just go to this site and set it up, and then find the appropriated userbox in one of the following categories; it may even be that the one you're thinking about is already created, and it will also be found in one of these categories (in your case, Sports):


 * If you need any more assistance, just check out the Userboxes project page. IdTakeABulletForYou (talk) 05:17, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Help!!!!
OK, I know how to make a userbox, but how do I post it without all the ?  RC-0722 communicator/kills 15:09, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Could you clarify your question? If you're trying to make your userbox permanent, you need to create subpages and paste the code into those subpages. so, from your userpage, just add a /(name of userbox here), and this will tell you the page doesn't exist. So you "Start the page" by pasting your userbox code. voila, you now have a transcludable userbox. (see User:RC-0722/Sampleuserbox for an example of as an example of one that hasn't been made yet) then you can add it as a userbox by using the code  . is that helpful? xenocidic (talk) 17:15, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks.  RC-0722 communicator/kills 16:11, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Standarize wiki text in categories.
I noticed that some categories use the   to display the userboxen and some categories still use tables and so forth (compare WP:Userboxes/WikiProjects (good) to WP:Userboxes/Interests (bad). I think we should standardize these pages to use the usbk format, but doing it manually would be a lot of work. Can we add this to the tasks and/or work on it, or suggest to me a way that it could be automated? xenocidic (talk) 17:42, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd have to agree that the pages need to be standardised, but I'm not sure of adding it to the tasks, etc....
 * On a related note, usbk has a rather interesting bug whereby the 'transclusions' column gets pushed over the UBX preview on small (less than 1024x768) resolutions. I've had a look at the template's source, but no immediate programming problem, or solution to the bug, has jumped out at me yet... I'll have to give it another look. — Dino guy  1000  19:32, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Looking closer, the bug was in usbktop, not usbk. I've fixed it now, though I have yet to check the appearance on 1024x768 or above. — Dino guy  1000  19:42, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
 * To fix things for all resolutions I'll edit usbktop to have fixed widths. That way everything falls neatly in line. Check for yourself. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 20:56, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually, all the columns had fixed widths when the problem was occurring, that's what seemed to be causing it in the first place. However, percentile widths *shouldn't* cause the same problem. — Dino guy  1000  21:06, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
 * That was apparently precisely the problem. Only the columns had fixed width. I fixed the width for the table as well, which will have the effect of activating side scrolling for those users with too small a resolution. Percentile widths would wrap everything down and make another kind of mess. Now I'll try and fix all the userbox pages to use the usbktop template. It will take me a while. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 22:08, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Percentile widths would cause only the Code column to wrap, since the word "Transclusions" won't (shouldn't) wrap, and userboxes can't wrap (or rather, can't be resized horizontally) because of their fixed width. And no matter how wide you make the table, there's always going to be at least one example where the "Code" column *does* wrap, so it's better to keep with the rest of Wikipedia and allow it to wrap at any resolution if it needs to rather than alienating users with low resolutions by forcing it to scroll the page horizontally. Along those lines, it would be acceptable to give the Result and Users columns fixed widths (since those columns should never need to scale), omit a width on the Code column altogether, and set a percentile width (along the lines of 99%) for the whole table. — Dino guy  1000  00:21, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * No width for the Code field would then have all pages all wiggly with the Code column dependent on the longest code string. A standard size would suit best up until someone with 640x480 complains significantly. The userbox pages using the template are now looking nice. Change resolutions and verify. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 00:48, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * No, if you specify a percentile width for the whole table, and fixed widths for the "Result" and "User" columns, and no width for the "Code" column, then, in the same resolution, all the tables will line up perfectly. This is the method used e.g. for most episode lists, and it works quite well. And it's not just 640x480 resolutions that it looks bad on, it's also 800x600 resolutions (which I happen to be using right now). — Dino guy  1000  00:57, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * OK, let me try and do that. I do it first on a test page to see how it looks. I'll let you know when I'm done so you can check how it results for you. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 01:10, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry. I tried implementing your suggestion but it results in the Transclusion word horribly overlapping the userbox. If you are able to do this so that it looks better go right ahead. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 01:27, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

(unindent) Could you give me a link to the page you tested it on? I'd like to have a look at your test myself and see if I couldn't improve it. — Dino guy  1000  19:15, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I have been testing it in my userbox testing page. Right now the first group is using percentile, the second group is using fixed widths, etc. The table formats are the same used in the current usbktop, usbk, and usbkbottom. Give it a try and let me know. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 20:11, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I've managed to edit your page so that the overlap problem does not occur on my 800x600 resolution. It's wierd, though, the problem is caused by the first column refusing to wrap (I had to insert a space in the parameter of one of the examples to eliminate overlap), but I have no idea if the same problem exists in any browser except IE, or if there's any way to force wraps except by inserting whitespace. On a related note, I also have no idea exactly how the column widths will behave on any other browsers - I'm particularly leery of the 1px width for the Users column. — Dino guy  1000  18:11, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
 * For all those reasons, and the uncertainty of what other users will see with their browsers and/or resolutions, I wanted to set all widths to be fixed, so that a side scroll bar appears instead of all that unpredictable wrapping. What do you think? ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 20:39, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Now that I've seen these problems firsthand, side scrolling doesn't seem to be such a bad solution, though I think we should continue to test and refine my proposed solution and see how it behaves on multiple browsers and in multiple resolutions. And of course, if someone comes along and points out some really obvious CSS property that makes this whole discussion moot, that'd be awesome (not that I'm holding my breath or anything). — Dino guy  1000  16:56, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I certainly agree that side scrolling is not a desirable thing. I just believe it's the least worst for now. I would love for someone to come up with a neat solution. In any case, what I did to all userbox pages was standardize them so that they all use the same usbktop, usbk, and usbkbottom templates. That way, whatever tweaking that needs to be done to improve the userbox table's appearances can be done in only one central place. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 17:17, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Fabulous work, Ray! - Ahunt (talk) 18:11, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Um...
I've joined but, nothing has happened. What do I do?!--Editor510 (talk) 17:06, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * What were you expecting to happen? =) This userproject seems a little dormant, I bet it had a lot of activity during the UBX migration, but presently not much seems to be going on. check out the list of tasks, or my 'suggested' task right above this section (standardizing categories). xenocidic (talk) 17:09, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Category
I have created some userboxes (User:ftbhrygvn/UBX) but no one uses them so I want to post it on WP:UBX categories but I can find a sutiable category. Please give some advice to me. Visit me at Ftbhrygvn (T alk |C ontribs |L og |U serboxes ) 05:14, 26 February 2008 (UTC)


 * For the video gaming ones I would suggest Userboxes/Games/Computer_and_video_games - Ahunt (talk) 12:26, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Questions
Hi everyone, I just created three user boxes here, here , and here and because no one would use them if I just left them on my user page I wanted to post them on WP:UBX categories and I was wondering what user box topic that they should be listed under, any help that anyone could provide would be much appreciated. Thanks,--Mifter (talk) 02:24, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
 * The first two would probably go under Userboxes/Wikipedia. I would put the third one in Userboxes/Interests, since I couldn't ind anywhere better for it. --Crazed by Penguins (talk) 02:53, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok thanks a bunch for the info :). --Mifter (talk) 22:41, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Request for a userbox?
Can anyone make a Userbox for a cadet in the Combined Cadet Force? And if possible, distinguish between the Army, Navy, and RAF sections? Fieldmarhshal Miyagi (talk) 15:59, 15 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I assume you mean the UK Combined Cadet Force? I would think three different boxes would be best, how does that sound? - Ahunt (talk) 16:23, 15 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Anybody else? Sorry, haven't been in touch. Yes it is the UK Combined Cadrt force.Fieldmarhshal Miyagi (talk) 16:54, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I assume Ahunt is prepared to make these userboxes and was just waiting for a response =) If not, I can help you, if you can point me to the necessary creative-commons-licensed images you would like used. xenocidic (talk) 16:58, 21 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes indeed I was waiting for a response. As far as I can tell the logos are all copyrighted, so it will have to be a bit creative, but "can do". I'll drop them back here when done and then people can modify them if they like! - Ahunt (talk) 17:16, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Okay, here is what I have come up with. I couldn't find a non-copyrighted logo so I went with lettering instead. Each box has colours and wording in common and also distinctive to the element represented. They may need some serious adjustments, but at least we have a place to start from! Criticism and your editing of the boxes is very welcome. - Ahunt (talk) 21:27, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

I should add once the requester and everyone else is happy with them I can place them on the appropriate user boxes page, such as Userboxes/Military - Ahunt (talk) 21:30, 21 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I think the Marine section should be a similar colour to the navy, while the army section gets the gree colour.Fieldmarhshal Miyagi (talk) 20:28, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * How is that? - Ahunt (talk) 22:20, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Lacking any other feedback on the above userboxes I will post them on the Userboxes/Military page. Hopefully users will edit and improve them further once they are seen there. - Ahunt (talk) 16:56, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Video Game Userboxes?
I don't know if it's appropriate to have userboxes that go as far to say "This user has this game and loves it" but at least some that relate to videogames would be helpful... or if they are appropriate... I'm going to learn how to make userboxes this weekend, so I can make a few then, but otherwise, some such as "this user enjoys videogames" or "This user has a wii" or somethingRustyfence (talk) 02:14, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree that many people have gone too far in making a whole new userbox for every little change. Note that you can make a generic userbox that accepts parameters which then allows the user to be as generic or as specific as he/she decides. See User:Mistman123/Userboxes/PSP, for example. ~ RayLast  « Talk! » 02:23, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

I might be reading you wrong, but you seem to be under the impression that there are no video game userboxes ("at least some that relate to videogames would be helpful"). anyhow, they are all here if I misunderstood, disregard =) best of luck. xenocidic (talk) 04:41, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Userboxes/Games/Computer_and_video_games
 * Userboxes/Games/Computer_and_video_games/Favorite_game


 * Thanks, yes I was [under the impression there are no videogame userboxes.] I didn't see those, thanks Rustyfence (talk) 18:33, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Approval?
Do all new Userboxes have to be approved by an administrator before they can be used? Thanks. Almighty  Clam  17:35, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * No, although certain userboxes may get deleted from time to time because of their content. — Dino guy  1000  17:38, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Cheers. Almighty  Clam  12:25, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

request
Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but could someone make a userbox that says "This user is angry when they're beat to nominating a new article for speedy deletion"? Thanks. If, and when, it's done, please tell me. Thanks. Me  what do u want?  Your Hancock Please  —Preceding comment was added at 19:49, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
 * This seems to have already been done, either by yourself, or someone else. However, it is just the code of a userbox, if you want to create it into a permanent userbox, you could copy and paste the code into, say User:Mm40/angrycsd or something of the sort and then transcluding the box as usual. xenocidic (talk) 17:30, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

New Userbox
Made with the Userbox maker.--Editor510 (talk) 15:54, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Request for assistance
✅ I wanted to position a userbox in the upper right hand corner of a page, and then have a few blank lines, and then start the text of the page. I guess I want line feeds after the bottom of the userbox. I am trying this at User:Filll/AGF Challenge with minimal success. I have tried all kinds of things; blank lines  and   tags,   and   tags and   and   tags. I am clearly doing something wrong since I am sure this is easy. Can someone help me? Thanks.--Filll (talk) 14:16, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Is that better? will create a break to clear text beyond any floating elements, and I added a few blank lines. xenocidic (talk) 14:20, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Hey guys, check this out!
A little something I thought of. I took the idea from this:

Here is the raw code so you can make your own! Just change the image, colour and text, and if you like them then my talk page is available for comments!

Here's the code:

Question
Are there people who will design a couple userboxes for an editor who is inept at it? If anyone would like to help contact me on my talk page. Thanks.  M i k e P  (WHAT?) 23:37, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
 * One is filmmaker "loves films of José Mojica Marins", "and user lives in Loomis, California", or at least a template?  M i k e P  (WHAT?) 23:40, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The easiest way to create a new userbox is to first use the Userbox Maker to create a blank userbox page in your own userspace. Then go to an existing userbox that looks fairly similar to what you want, go to the actual page of that userbox and view the code by clicking 'edit this page'. NOTE, don't actually edit the page as it probably belongs to someone else, just cut and paste the code to the blank page you created in your own userspace. You can now tinker with the code and use the preview function to see how it affects the box. If you keep using preview rather than save you can undo any undesirable effects. When you are happy with it, save it (and I advise watching it as well) and drop the linking code into your own user page. Done and dusted. Editing the text and links in a userbox is fairly easy, it gets a bit more involved when you want to play with colours, etc, but you should be able to figure it out with a bit of trial and error. The hardest thing is if you want to put in a picture, as you absolutely must use a free image, there is no 'fair use' for userboxes. So your best bet is to go browse around wikimedia commons for something that suits. Hope this helps.--ThePaintedOne (talk) 09:41, 17 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Very helpful!  M i k e P  (WHAT?) 20:15, 17 June 2008 (UTC)
 * That's exactly how I design my boxen. Sage advice, Painted. xenocidic (talk) 20:17, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Trying to find a userbox
Are there any userboxes that state how many images one has upoaded to Wikipedia/the Commons? Just curious... PageantUpdater talk • contribs  04:37, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * If one existed you would thing it would be located on Userboxes/Wikipedia/Stats_and_tools, but there isn't one there. Would you like me to make one up? It would be fairly quick to do! - Ahunt (talk) 10:56, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
 * That would be great! I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to display that info if the box is available... :) PageantUpdater  talk • contribs  11:23, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * How is this one? I tried to find a very generic photo to represent all photos:

- Ahunt (talk) 13:17, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

I should have added the explanation that you substitute the actual number of images you have contributed for the number in the code (in the sample above it is the number "2"). - Ahunt (talk) 14:49, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
 * That's awesome! Is there any place you can file this so that others might use it as well?  Good work!  I particularly like the "and Commons' because all my images are uploaded there ;) PageantUpdater  talk • contribs  21:11, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Glad that you like it! It is listed at Userboxes/Wikipedia/Stats and tools and also Userboxes/Wikipedia/Miscellaneous You can always check to see where it is located by clicking on "transclusions" or going to the actual userbox page and then clicking "what links here" - Ahunt (talk) 23:20, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Art Userboxes
I don't know whether anyone has mentioned this before since I'm quite new to the project, but I wanted to put some userboxes of some of my favourite pieces of art, or artists, so maybe it would be a good idea to put an "Art" section in, like the Music or Science section? Ehm1883 (talk) 17:11, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Sharing boxes
I made these boxes 1 2 3 4 5. Are they acceptable to share and if so how is the best way? Also, where can I find a template to place UBXs vertically on the right side of page or in a creative manner? Thanks.  M i k e P  (WHAT?) 00:46, 19 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Most people make up userboxes and then list them on the appropriate page found from list at WP:UBS


 * Arranging userboxes on a page is explained at Userboxes


 * You can note that there are already very similar Winamp and VLC user boxes already in general use listed at Userboxes/Software, but if you think your are sufficiently different you can list them on that page right under the original boxes.


 * The best strategy is usually to check and see if there are any publicly advertised userboxes that say what you want already at WP:UBS and if you don't find one then make up a new one. - Ahunt (talk) 14:17, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Notice
I'm going to make some Pink Floyd The Wall related boxes, one for each song, if it takes me to WikiRetirement. :-)

Happy...userboxing?

-- Editor510  drop us a line, mate  19:55, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Bot to fix transclusions
My bot, Bot0612 has recently been approved to work on updating the transclusions of userfied userboxen. If anyone wants anything like this done, just drop me a line and I can start working on it.  RichardΩ612  Ɣ ɸ 21:28, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Is this interesting for a userbox?
How about a userbox displaying your IQ?- Blankboy1 my talk page 17:42, 14 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I think someone beat you to it! Two IQ userboxes are already found at Userboxes/Education - Ahunt (talk) 18:00, 14 July 2008 (UTC)


 * How about one displaying a Wikipedian's year group (if they go to school in a country where they have year groups of course), and one for the 11+ exam as well? Blankboy1 my talk page 17:38, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Please Help ???!!!
Where should we make UserBoxes ? In "User:" in "Wikipedia:" or in "Template:" ???

2020 (talk) 14:47, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

e.g.

A good question! The wikiproject is supposed to move all userboxes from other spaces, like "template" to "user" spaces. So please make new ones as user pages. Please see WikiProject_Userboxes - Ahunt (talk) 15:16, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
 * It's a little more complicated than that. Generally, putting userboxes in the Template: namespace is discouraged, but there may be a few cases where it's acceptable (I'm not sure what these might be, though). Many WikiProjects have project-specific userboxes, for example to denote membership, that they keep as a subpage of their project page (and thus, those infoboxes are in the Wikipedia: namespace); in addition, at least a few projects make a habit of similarly locating userboxes which deal with project-specific interests - see for example Userboxes/Anime and manga. Anything you're not sure about should go in the userspace, and if it really bothers enough people, someone will make a copy or propose a move to a more appropriate namespace. Hope this helps some! — Dino guy  1000  20:34, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Easy answer : )
 * See WP:UBX. - jc37 08:14, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Redlinks
Erm, I put up some wikifauna boxes here, and they redlinked in the transclusions thing, so they were removed. How do I fix this, because I damn well know that these pages exist.-- Editor510  drop us a line, mate  17:05, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
 * UPDATE:It seems to automatically think that it's a Template: file.-- Editor510  drop us a line, mate  17:08, 18 August 2008 (UTC)


 * I tried a number of different fixes, but the only one that worked is using the standard page format for that section, then the links display correctly. - Ahunt (talk) 18:05, 18 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Okay I spent some time on the page and reformatted it to the standard format we use on other Userbox pages. It took quite a bit of tweaking to get the boxes to all work right, but it is all sorted out now. They are all in the same format and all display correctly with no redlinks showing! Whew! - Ahunt (talk) 17:52, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Userbox request by Shy Guy Gunzel
Hay, I look like to request a Manly Warringah Sea Eagles userbox, for more info check out the page. I ask this simply because I do not know how to create one. Anway, I'll use this Userbox as an example:

Where the "its" image is, put the Sea Eagles logo. Where the pink is, make it that part maroon red, like the colour that they use, and the writing has to be in white and has to say "This user supports the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles". If anyone is kind enough to take up this challenge, I thank you. Shy Guy Gunzel (talk) 06:14, 8 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi there. This can easily be done, except that the logo you mention cannot be used in a userbox. That is a copyrighted logo and under copyright laws these can only in "fair use" situations. On Wikipedia this means to illustrate the article on the subject. As a result you will need to have something else in the ID section of the userbox. If you can indicate what would be an alternative, then I can create a userbox very quickly for you. - Ahunt (talk) 11:42, 8 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Oh right. How about this one? Shy Guy Gunzel (talk) 12:00, 8 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately if you click on the image and read the copyright data it is copyrighted as well. Any image that contains a copyrighted image is going to also be copyrighted. Any other thoughts? - Ahunt (talk) 12:10, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Okay to get around this problem I used the free image of the team jersey and created this box:

How is that? -Ahunt (talk) 12:56, 8 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I have added this box to Userboxes/Sports/Rugby_League - Ahunt (talk) 13:02, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Awesome! Thanks a heap! Shy Guy Gunzel (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 05:46, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Userboxes/Politics
All political userboxes are in clear violation of multiple Wikipedia policies:
 * User page
 * Userboxes
 * What Wikipedia is not
 * Conflict of interest
 * Wikipedia is not a social networking site

And, of course, any political ramblings on userpages or talk pages.

I don't care if they're liberal or conservative, they have no place in Wikipedia. I'm very politically opinionated, but I recognize that Wikipedia isn't the place for propaganda (in the past I have had political content in my user space, but it's not there anymore).

That means, I don't care about what you think of any the following:
 * Religion
 * The death penalty
 * Abortion
 * Family values
 * LGBT issues
 * The cause of climate change
 * George W. Bush
 * The United States presidential election, 2008
 * etc. etc.

What I'm saying is, don't be provocative. It's fine to make a statement: "I am straight"/"I am gay" (but not a directly political statement: "I am a Democrat"/"I am a Republican"). But it's not okay to say "I believe a marriage should consist of only a man and a woman".

So what am I saying?

I'm saying get rid of every single political userbox. I was tempted to speedy every political userbox, but I thought I ought to discuss it first.

This is really important. Political statements distract from the task at hand: writing a great encyclopedia, and they can infuriate users.

--Josh Atkins (talk - contribs) 20:04, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Josh Atkins, I agree with what you have written here. Even Jimmy Wales has indicated that he feels that userboxes can be divisive and detract from the project:

"I wonder if you might consider simply removing your political/religious/etc. userboxes and asking others to do the same. This seems to me to be the best way to quickly and easily end the userbox wars.

"Userboxes of a political or, more broadly, polemical, nature are bad for the project. They are attractive to the wrong kinds of people, and they give visitors the wrong idea of what it means to be a Wikipedian.

"I think rather than us having to go through a mass deletion (which is what is likely to happen if the userbox fad doesn't go away), it will be better to simply change the culture, one person at a time."--Jimbo Wales 10:53, 21 January 2006 (UTC)


 * There is also some good information worth reading in the discussion at User_talk:Jimbo_Wales/Userboxes. Jimmy Wales was very clear in 2006 that he didn't want to go through a mass deletion of userboxes, but would rather convince people to remove divisive ones one at a time. - Ahunt (talk) 22:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes, my understanding of the eventual consensus was that any userbox which does more than merely state the user is a member of a religious or political organisation, should be deleted. (And even those which merely state that memebrship may or may not qualify for MfD.) - jc37 01:28, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm Mfd-tagged several of the more-vulgar political userboxes, leaving in place those which merely state membership (although they are undesirable). Another policy to cite which these UBXs violate is WP:Civility; saying "...oppose[s] the GLBT lifestyle, same-sex marriage & gay adoption" or "homosexuality is immoral" (or, indeed, going on about your support for LGBT issues) is a clear violation of this policy. --Josh Atkins (talk - contribs) 16:05, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree that boxes like those are pretty clear - they violate policy and detract from contributions to the encyclopedia, which is supposed to be the reason that we are here. Aside from the political and religious ones I even question some adversarial software boxes like these ones:


 * I realize that most people would argue that these should be taken humourously, but do they really contribute or just create animosity? - Ahunt (talk) 16:18, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I had those in the back of my mind too. Actually the IE one is on my user page. But I've tweaked it to say " thinks knows an explorer can't be better than a fox, and as a web developer has suffered much from the <=IE7 versions of the regime, but admires the Acid2-passing and wonderful IE8 (but doesn't use it)". (not bolded on my user page) I have one that says "This user respects Macs, but prefers Windows". I agree they were probably created to be humorous, but I also agree they don't really add much value. On the other hand, perhaps we should focus more effort on getting rid of the more offensive political/religious ones. I think this discussion is what leads people to add to their user page (that's not to say I don't respect the effort put in by everyone in this WikiProject). Nonetheless, good points Ahunt! --Josh Atkins (talk - contribs) 18:53, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Although in unedited form, I agree that all of the software UBXs you listed should be deleted. --Josh Atkins (talk - contribs) 19:13, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
 * If I were you I would just refocus your efforts ... too much headache for not much net improvement to the encyclopedia. – xeno  ( talk ) 19:14, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Good point. I guess there are easier ways to improve Wikipedia. Well my fault for starting this all off. --Josh Atkins (talk - contribs) 19:32, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Well I think it is worth addressing boxes like that, when you find them, but I would suggest a one-off, more low key approach, rather than a search and destroy campaign. - Ahunt (talk) 20:04, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Ditto. --Josh Atkins (talk - contribs) 17:25, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

New, from the makers of the increasingly popular Flavoured Userboxes...
The Apple Collection!

Hope you like 'em.

An offer, and a request
First, I'm interested in the programming (well, conditional categorization and whatnot) involved in userbox code. Can someone point me to a good resource for learning the syntax? (I've coded for 20+ years, so not worried about the basics)

Second, I've got Adobe ImageReady (well, all of CS2, really), and I finally got around to making an animated GIF icon. I'm offering my meager services for those who have a well-defined animation need for a userbox icon. My first efforts are: WikiProject Computing/Outreach/User Computer and Information Security task force and User:Jclemens/Computer security. Anyone interested? Jclemens (talk) 17:07, 22 October 2008 (UTC)


 * You can find the instructions for making userboxes at Userbox along with the coding, plus pretty much everything else you need to know. GIMP makes nice animated GIFs too, but of course it is free ;) - Adam
 * Thanks for that link, but that isn't what I wanted. I don't see how to do the conditional category inclusions, pluralizations of text based on input variables, and whatnot.  I've already got the markup sufficiently figured out. Jclemens (talk) 19:23, 22 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Ah, I see. There doesn't seem to be any central place that I have found describing that sort of thing. Whenever I want to do something like that I just dissect an existing userbox that does what I want to do and see how it works. - Ahunt (talk) 19:40, 22 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I might be able to help you out... could you provide links to some of the userboxes you're working on right now, as well as what specifically you're wanting to see for each one? I can then add the necessary functionality for you and hopefully you'll get the hang of it (if not, just ask; I prefer to do it this way because I'm far better at showing than explaining). — Dino guy  1000  19:41, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks--I have two questions, and both are illustrated in User:Jclemens/Rescues. I'd like to know the syntax for #ifeq:, which is obviously a conditional replacement function.  I'd also like to know how and work, as well as how and why to use them to include and exclude categories.  Jclemens (talk) 19:54, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Aah, okay. In these cases, it is better explained than shown (IMHO).
 * 's syntax is pretty straightforward (as is most of the ParserFunctions'): . There are a few things you should note: first off, each pf parameter is delimited by a pipe (|), and this can lead to bad behavior if you happen to be trying to work with pipes for some reason. In these cases, using ! may help you out. Secondly, whitespace immediately surrounding the pipes gets stripped out during parsing. Therefore,   will output exactly the same as  . However, whitespace around the outside of the pf will remain, so   might output as "sample textmore text", while   would output instead as "sample text more text". While I'm on the topic of pf's, it should lastly be noted that   is not a comparison function; it merely checks to see if the first parameter exists (that is, if it's defined and contains anything besides whitespace).
 * &lt;noinclude/> prevents the contained text from being transcluded onto pages that the template itself gets transcluded onto. This is how current template documentation practices work (see for example Navbox). &lt;includeonly/>, similarly, prevents the enclosed text from displaying on that page; however, it will display on any pages the template is transcluded onto. This is useful, for example, when the template in question contains a table row where the table isn't closed on the template itself. In these cases, leaving the transcluding template code "naked" can messa round with the display of documentation, so &lt;includeonly/> can be used to surround the transcludable code and prevent it from being displayed or rendered on the template page itself.
 * In terms of the conditional inclusion of categories, the simplest method by far is something along the lines of, if you're controlling categorization with a  parameter.
 * I hope this helps you out; as you learn more about MediaWiki markup, Help:ParserFunctions, and magic words, you'll find that you're able to do all sorts of neat tricks, such as namespace detection and detecting if a page is a base page or a subpage. If you need any more help with anything, please don't hesitate to ask me, either! ^_^ — Dino guy  1000  20:31, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

New
Hello. I just joined, and I need some help. I know how to design a userbox;

but how do I add? I need some help on adding it and please, give me some tips on how to create a box! And how do I shorten the code? Please help. Thank you!

PS. Please respond on my talk page here.

PSS. Do not use the above userbox for any reason. That is a example of my skill.

Back to the MacMan32 02:11, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I just found out.

Why does my spacing look so weird?
Yes, it is at User_talk:GeorgeLouis. and, boy! does it look goofy! Yours in anguish, GeorgeLouis (talk) 02:59, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Oops. Actually, it does not look goofy now. I wonder what happened? In puzzlement, GeorgeLouis (talk) 03:01, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

TaDaaaaa!
I just made my first userbox:

Wow! I really like this Wikiproject! I will stay!

Thanks! If you want to reply to my userbox, reply ONLY on my talkpage. This talk article is big enough.

Back to the MacMan32 03:42, 2 November 2008 (UTC)`

Place Problem
I need help. I know how to make a userbox, and shorten the code by placing the box on my subpages, but how do I add them to the Userbox library/collection? Please respond.

Thank you, Back to Mac32 16:43, 2 November 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Backtothemacman32 (talk • contribs)


 * That is quite easy - it looks like you figured it out! - Ahunt (talk) 00:58, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Literature boxes
As you can see, I've been toying with the design/creation of userboxes for a classical literature theme (Latin and Greek). Some boxes feature quotes from Aristophanes, which are comic and often very crude, and they link to a sandbox for an explanation of the context. I would appreciate some advice as for example:
 * Are the boxes properly constructed - e.g. is the size OK?
 * Are there any problems with the use of foul language in this context?
 * How do I create a category of userboxes on a 'Classical Literature' theme?
 * If a separate category is created, can it include a linked subpage like my sandbox?

Thanks for any advice/help you can give. Lucretius (talk) 22:14, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Humor boxes
This is a request for help from any project members. There is a new page listing funny userboxes and there are lots of these that people have made for their own userpages, but haven't listed anywhere. If you are prowling around anyone's user page and see a funny userbox you can add to the listing at Userboxes/Wikipedia/humour. - Ahunt (talk) 14:26, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Did You Know userbox
I had two articles selected in rapid succession for the Did You Know feature on the home page. I was looking for and could not find a DYK userbox, like that for Good Articles. I tried my hand at creating a prototype DYK usebox, but do not know how to program the number of DYK featured articles. Can you point me to where I could figure this out? -- btphelps (talk) (contribs) 21:18, 27 December 2008 (UTC)


 * The easiest way is probably to copy the formatting in the box at User:Ahunt/Pictures. - Ahunt (talk) 21:58, 27 December 2008 (UTC)