Template talk:Oxford College Infobox

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WikiProject University of Oxford This template is within the scope of WikiProject University of Oxford, which collaborates on articles related to the University of Oxford.

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[edit] Shield

I must admit, I don't think the inclusion of the shield is an improvement across the board, the ones I've noticed also don't have transparency against the background colour of the box itself, which I find a minor irritation. In all cases I would prefer a section in the article with a picture of the shield and a note about why they are used. --Alf melmac 21:40, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree. In a few cases where there isn't much said about the shield, the infobox is a fine place to tuck it away, but in other cases there's a bit of a story to go with it and it's a shame not to have the picture alongside.
And what exactly is the use of the "Latin Name" field? In all the cases I've seen the Latin name is simply a direct translation of the English - or it's not there at all and the effect is pretty ugly. What's worse, the fact that all fields are required means the template is unsuitable for some colleges (e.g. those that do not have both a JCR and an MCR or equivalent). Could some of the fields not be optional as in Template:Infobox School2, for example?
As a more radical solution, I'd suggest we switch Oxford college pages to use the more general Template:Oxbridge College Infobox as used on the Cambridge pages - this would cut out a little bit of "template bloat"! Of course, the Oxbridge infobox template might need some improvements first to make it suitable - at present it shares some of the problems with the Oxford one and brings in some of its own....
--Casper Gutman 07:15, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
I completely agree about the shield. It's not a feature that adds to the infobox at all. Unless anyone rushes to its defence, therefore, I'll delete it. As to Latin names, I also feel they should be removed - they're not, by and large, of any interest.
As to combining it with the Oxbridge (i.e. - Cambridge) infobox, I'd be opposed. If we could make the MCR section optional, though, that would be an improvement.
--Lincolnite 20:21, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
Hmm, I'd have to agree about the merge - I don't think it's a good idea but I will spring vigourously to the defence of the Shield and the Latin Name. College crests are a fundamental part of college identities (they're all over everything) and I think the purpose of an article's infobox should be to encapsulate the identity and potted description of the item referenced. As for the latin names well it's just a nice touch. Ok so you only hear them during matriculation and graduation but the proper, original latin names are often quite different to the common english names or even the full english names, see New College, Oxford for example. Just my two pence worth... AulaTPN 13:13, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bottom lines

I've adjusted the definition of the bottom two lines so that they line up in the middle properly. I *think* that this was the original intention. Please let me know if it breaks anything elsewhere. It makes Merton College, Oxford look better... Thruston 09:12, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Map

There's been some discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject University of Oxford about the possibility of adding maps to the college pages. I wondered how people would feel about possibly adding these within the infobox as they I can't quite see how they'd fit elsewhere in the articles. I mocked up a view of one way it could look in my sandbox, for comments, but I'm not quite sure how the layout should look. Has anyone seen something similar in an infobox elsewhere? Casper Gutman 16:39, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Tried adding a map; see Jesus for an example. I think the map looks pretty good, but I felt it needed some visual separation from the rest of the infobox so added some HRs either side. I realise that's a bit of a kludge -- perhaps a subdivided infobox like template:Infobox UK place might work better for colleges using all the map/coat of arms options.... Casper Gutman 16:28, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
Just added the map for SEH and I think it works excellently. Genius stuff Casper! AulaTPN 20:44, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] heading style

As it looked much better, I have lifted the styling of Template:Durham College Infobox and applied it to our one, obviously replacing the purple for Oxford navy. I'm fairly sure there are no syntax issues based on the pages I've checked, but feel free to revert it if there are any. DJR (T) 16:47, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

The immediate issue can be eliminated by removing the automated "Oxford" section, which I shall do now. DJR (T) 17:03, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
Many (most?) A few of the colleges have been using the "Name" item for the usual common name of the college (e.g. "Jesus College") as used for the title of the infobox, and the "college_name" item for the full name of the college (e.g. "Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation") which should not, I feel, be used for this purpose but should appear in the infobox where the college name is listed with the other info.
Before this edit should be reinstated I feel it will be necessary to ensure the college articles make consistent use of the items "name" and "college_name" which could be renamed to something more obvious (e.g. "common_name" and "full_name"). Casper Gutman 19:43, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
BTW, what was the particular issue that was solved by using the college_name in the heading? I'm all in favour of improving the look of the 'box, but unfortunately I don't have time to sort the name confusion right now.... Casper Gutman 19:45, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
OK, the template now has two name parameters. One, called simply "name" has the common name of the college and appears in the header of the infobox. The second, called "full_name" will be used in the body of the table if it exists. If not, the "name" parameter will be used.
Incidentally, I also got rid of some white space around the picture code in the infobox, as it was creating unsightly spaces in boxes with no picture (e.g. Campion Hall, Oxford). Casper Gutman 10:44, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
Looks good but the fonts smack you in the face a bit. I've tidied up the corners and reduced the header fonts - hopefully this looks better - and lightened the background of the infobox. I'll work on making the links underline in cream instead of blue and try to eliminate the erronious space at the top of the picturebox. AulaTPN 14:47, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
Given that the infobox is about the college, it makes sense for the college name to be larger, so I have changed that bit back. DJR (T) 19:02, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Complicated Titling

I have reverted User:Djr xi's removal of much of the linking in the infobox title. I think that's far too significant a change for someone to make unilaterally without some form of debate first. Can we discuss here the relative merits of the full title versus the proposed cut-down version? Personally I prefer the full title as I don't think it's overcomplicated from a visual sense and no more complicated code-wise than the rest of the template. Plus I think it provides links to valid, relevant information and highlights the important distinction between colleges and pph's. AulaTPN 08:30, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree there's much to be said for having the College and Hall links there, and I almost reverted this edit myself. As stated above it highlights the differences between the two and makes those articles visible. It's important people understand what the Colleges and Halls are and their roles within the university, as evidenced by parts of the extensive discussion here. These links seem to me a useful way of ensuring all the relevant articles have links to these at the top. Perhaps I should have chosen the link colour to be further from white, to make it more obvious they're links. Casper Gutman 08:14, 25 May 2007 (UTC)
Must admit, after having to explain Oxford University Colleges and Oxford University to someone as to why that info was missing from the FA Oriel College, I think they have great value.--Alf melmac 12:54, 25 May 2007 (UTC)
I changed the colour used for the text of the three links to something a little less pale -- hopefully should be more obvious they're links now! I tried to model the colour on the gold used in the university logo (e.g. at http://www.ox.ac.uk/publicaffairs/crests/) but found that exact shade looked a bit dark so lightened it up a bit. Casper Gutman 15:04, 25 May 2007 (UTC)
Yeah reversion was fair enough. My thinking was that the title of the infobox should resemble the standard college title as much as possible, and colleges are known as Example College, Oxford. However, this is not that crucial, and with the links now coloured I'm quite happy with what has been done. DJR (T) 02:08, 26 May 2007 (UTC)