Template:Infobox Former Country/Categories/Suggestion box

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This is the suggestion box regarding possible additions to the categories generated by the Infobox Former Country template.

Please add your suggestions here.

[edit] Table

This table contains entries that are considered for implementation by developers.

Field	Value	Category	Examples	Condition
continent	continent + {government_type = Republic} = ...
	"Europe"	Category:Former republics in Europe	Weimar Republic	Possible
	"Asia"	Category:Former republics in Asia	Formosa	Possible
	"Africa"	Category:Former republics in Africa	Rhodesia	Possible
	"North America"	Category:Former republics in North America	Texas	Possible
	"South America"	Category:Former republics in South America	Great Colombia	Possible
status
	"Special territory"	Category:Former special territories		Possible
	"Dependency"	Category:Former dependencies	Philippines	Possible
	status + {empire = South Africa} = ...
	"Bantustan"	Category:South African Bantustans	Bophuthatswana	Needed
	status + {empire = South West Africa} = ...
	"Bantustan"	Category:South West African Bantustans	Rehoboth	Needed
	status + {empire = Holy Roman Empire} = ...
	"Vassal"	Category:States of the Holy Roman Empire	List	Needed
	"Despotism"	Category:Former dictatorships	Congo Free State	Possible
	"Theocracy"	Category:Former theocracies	Tibet	Possible
	"Military government"	Category:Former military governed territories	Occupied Germany	Possible
	"Special government"	Category:Former special territories	Saar	Possible
era	"New Imperialism"	Category:Former countries during imperialism	Empire of Japan	Possible
	era + {status = Colony or Protectorate} = ...
	"New Imperialism"	Category:Former colonies during imperialism	German East Africa	Possible
year_start year_end	1991<year	Category:Former countries of the Post Cold War era	Serbia and Montenegro	Possible
	1701<year_start>1800	Category:Former countries established in the 18th century	Great Britain	Possible
	1801<year_start>1900	Category:Former countries established in the 19th century	United Kingdom	Possible
	1901<year_start>2000	Category:Former countries established in the 20th century	Weimar Republic	Possible
	1701<year_end>1800	Category:Former countries disestablished in the 18th century	Great Britain	Possible
	1801<year_end>1900	Category:Former countries disestablished in the 19th century	Austrian Empire	Possible
	1901<year_end>2000	Category:Former countries disestablished in the 20th century	Austria-Hungary	Possible

[edit] Add your suggestions here

Add suggestions for new categories here, stating what infobox parameters would be required:

[edit] era = New Imperialism

Something for the period 1870s-WWI. A large number of colonies would fall under this category. This would include all colonies from the Scramble for Africa, Indochina, the expansion of the US into the Pacific, and probably a few others. States formed during this era may also qualify (eg. German Empire, China's Manchu Dynasty, Empire of Japan) - 52 Pickup 18:09, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

This categorization is considered as possible. A suggestion for a category name could be "Former countries during New Imperialism". I think it's a very good label, but there is something about it that makes it difficult to quantify into a complete categorization sollution. -- Domino theory 21:25, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Maybe just the colonies can be placed here as a clearer categorisation. A similar one could possibly be done for colonies of other eras (eg. Age of Discovery) - 52 Pickup 10:25, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] era = Interwar period

While Category:Former polities of the Cold War covers most of the longer-lasting states that arose after WWII, there is no category that accurately covers the longer-lasting nations that arose during 1918-1939. Not all of these were short-lived (less than 5yrs), so Category:Short-lived states of World War I isn't really adequate for some countries (eg. Weimar Republic, states formed by the division of the Ottoman Empire). I'm still seeing if there are enough to justify the creation of a new category, though. - 52 Pickup 13:17, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

This categorization is considered as needed. I suggest "Former polities of the Interwar period" as a category name to include also the entities that were not states like the Saar and Danzig. Doing so also matches the eventually succeeding Category:Former polities of the Cold War. -- Domino theory 21:25, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Good name. - 52 Pickup 10:25, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Under "status" or "government_type"?

This is a confusing area. For example, what is the government type of colonies? In many cases, a certain value can fit in both but sometimes one proposed status is the true status while another is the government type. One clear example is the Confederation of the Rhine which functioned as a confederation (government_type) but was a client state (status) of France.
Confederation should be a government_type option. Under Confederation#List of entities considered to be confederations, all of these should have "government_type=Confederation". The same can be said for Federation (Federation#Defunct). - 52 Pickup 10:25, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

The status variable signifies the relationship and dynamics between entities, like the members of a federation, or between and empire and its colonies. The government type signifies the relationship between the population and its government, in how the leaders are appointed and how they in turn are governed. -- Domino theory 23:56, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

I have added a new feature to the template where status will be displayed in place of government_type if the latter is omitted. If government_type is left blank it will also display "Organizational structure" rather than "Government" as a label. -- Domino theory 23:03, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Very good. Actually, we might be able to solve some of our categorisation problems by better use of the subdivision infobox. I'm working on uprgading its features to match those of this infobox (including the auto-movement of text to the bottom, as in my SFRY tests). Perhaps, via different categorisation rules for the subdivision infobox, we can manage things better as a whole. - 52 Pickup 15:10, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] era = Post Cold War

I've seen this used in some places for former states that have formed after the end of the Cold War. A small category, but I think a valid one. - 52 Pickup 10:37, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

It might not be that large, but I think it's a valid categorization. I would consider it contemporary, including Serbia and Montenegro for one. -- Domino theory 00:05, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Categorization based on start and end years

I'm considering the options suggested by that categorization is possible by start and end years. Regarding short-lived polities I think this is relatively unproblematic, set a reasonable period of existance like ten years and call all entities that qualify short-lived. What has to be considered is the length of period that can be considered "short-lived".
It would be possible to do the same with states according to which era they existed, but I can foresee a couple of problems with this. Not every entity may qualify just based on years of existence, and the difference between formal and informal as regards to when a period begun or ended.
It might be better to establish categories based on tangible facts like being a country established during the 18th century, or dissolved during the 20th. There are two factors that separates from the established and disestablished by year categories, and that is longer periods of time and the inclusion just of former countries. -- Domino theory 13:34, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

That's a good idea. Then setting status="short-lived state" can be done away with. The definition of a short-lived state will vary (even if we set a guideline), so setting a hard limit within the infobox itself is safer. It also frees up the status field to say something else to describe these states. For longer living entities, setting categories based on centuries is probably the way to go. Much simpler to maintain. - 52 Pickup 15:14, 24 November 2006 (UTC)