Category talk:Articles containing how-to sections
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There is a need to keep track on these kinds of articles. I'll be adding a lot of links here shortly.. some articles are a mix of encyclopedic content, some parts describing the issue as it is, other parts telling the reader what to do. While the how-to content may be entirely usefull and valuable, it may introduce an unwanted style change in an otherwise descriptive article. Should the category be renamed, feel free to suggest some alternatives. Santtus 12:35, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Defrag does NOT
The page on defragmentation does NOT contain a how-to. It doescribes how a defragmenter works. This can only be considered a how to if you are trying to *program* a defrager. I'm going to remove the link. Fresheneesz 19:38, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] bode plot
A section I wrote in bode plot describes "how to" draw a freehand bode plot. That might qualify for being in this category. Fresheneesz 19:46, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Guidelines for editing?
What would be a practical way to help editors in editing out the how-to content? Suppose that a text is changed from style a)
-first open the regulator valve
to the style b)
Proper procedures for operating a <unspecified device> include -opening the regulator valve - ...
How much is accomplished? The resulting text still has a relatively bad style, even though it does not instruct directly. Should a complete rewrite be done instead? Santtus 12:23, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] How-to future uncertain in Wikibooks
Discussion copied from template talk:move to Wikibooks, under the heading "Be careful about strong recommendations to move to Wikibooks"
There is a movement within Wikibooks to cull a considerable amount of content off of Wikibooks, and the How-to guides are one of the items being debated strongly. I'm just warning that any strong warning about moving the content to Wikibooks should also be met with a jaundiced view that it might as well be deleted altogether in a more permanent manner. Certainly for this reason alone, you should not automatically delete templates like the How-to template. This was a very, very, very bad idea and should be reverted as additional instructions specific to "how-to" guides may be important in the future.
Mind you, this isn't saying that deletion of all how-to guides on Wikibooks is inevitable, but I am giving fair warning here that it might happen, and other non accredited college course specific textbooks may also be deleted in the future. BTW, yes, this includes kids books and perhaps even high school textbooks. It is not a pretty picture right now at Wikibooks. Adding this template may just be simply putting the equivalent of a speedy delete template from Wikibooks on the article. --Robert Horning 20:04, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
- I agree with your concerns on the future of Wikibooks, and I understand the need to communicate this through this template. On this basis I'd agree that two separate templates are needed. I'd hope that the issue with how-to content in Wikibooks would be settled as quickly as possible, so that more informative warning may be used instead of the current. I feel that this issue should become clear in about week, or if not, I'll rephrase the template to include the warning in a subtler fashion. Santtus 21:47, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
- Don't count on this being resolved in the next week or so. This is an issue that may be resolved in about a year or so. I'm serious. It takes a week sometimes for Wikibooks participants to clear their throat. Still, it is important for the Wikipedia community to know that this is an issue on Wikibooks, and that proposing a move of content to Wikibooks may simply result in its out right deletion. If you don't think that is the best approach, join in the policy discussions. Of course, much of this is because Wikipedia deletionists have become quite active on en.wikibooks lately. --Robert Horning 15:32, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
- Just a further note: this was a bit of an overreaction on Robert's part, and as far as I know he didn't mention the changes to this template on wikibooks. We don't have a policy like WP:POINT, though if we did, this would probably fit the bill. --SB_Johnny|talk|books 11:38, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Clarification about moving things to wikibooks
The main problem on the wikibooks side with moving articles or fragments from wikipedia is that stubs don't get developed as quickly on that project as they do on here. IOW, we're much less likely to have someone searching around for something, seeing a stub, and developing it into a book (in part because writing books takes a lot more effort, and in part because our community is just smaller than wikipedia's).
If anyone's interested in giving us a hand, there's curently a proposal (b:Wikibooks:Request for enabling special:import) on the table to enable special:import on wikibooks to make transwikis easier. Aside from making it easy for admins to import articles, this would also ensure that at least one admin is aware that the material has been brought over, and that page histories are moved as well in compliance with the GFDL. Any support would be appreciated. --SB_Johnny|talk|books 11:38, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
