Template talk:Ph:Reader

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Contents

[edit] Documentation

The original Template:Quick help (edit talk links history) was designed to work everywhere including help pages. For that reason it did not duplicate the links available as "help page footer" {{H:f Help}}, derived from m:Template:H:f Help like the similar "H:h" help page header templates.

A new {{quick help}} apparently mixes some links from its older versions with some links from {{H:f Help}}, and it's designed to be used on pages outside of the help namespace.

Therefore {{Ph:Reader}} reflects the last working old {{quick help}} state to be used on help pages already containing the standard help footer {{H:f Help}}.

[edit] Usage

If a template Ph:Whatever contains some Wikipedia specific info to be shown on page Help:Whatever it's fine. Otherwise displaying some general Wikipedia specific help links is an option:

#REDIRECT [[Template:Ph:Reader]] {{R unprintworthy}}

If later some Wikipedia specific info (e.g. links to relevant guidelines) for the corresponding help page is identified replace the redirect by this info. Don't edit the "general" Template:Ph:Reader shown on several help pages if the additional info is only relevant for a single help page.

[edit] See also

[edit] Discussion

Add issues below as you see fit, sign with ~~~~

[edit] Original Quick help only ever used on Help:Contents

As far as I know the quick help template was only used on Help:Contents. Certainly that was its original intended use. This is the edit when it was added (of course it has changed now - being a "live" link!). The new Help:Contents design doesn't use it anymore, so it became redundant (It has been merged with the sub-page links). I changed the template so the links from {{H:f Help}} can be used on non-meta pages. So, in my opinion, this is a new template which just uses the same name. What links should be included and whether we need a "footer" template at all (given we have many "infobox-like" templates) are areas which probably still need to be debated. Gareth Aus 07:35, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

It was "always" used on Help:Reader and Help:Editor with a redirect to Template:Quick help (edit talk links history).
I've mentioned this several (more than three) times on Help talk:Contents, and informed you (collective you) that somebody removed a link creating an ugly gap, filled by me pro temp with a link to "other languages". That should be replaced by something better - I was more interested in the layout than the content at this time, sometimes a long tip of the day sidebar Template:MediaWiki links was problematic.
Now you've decided that you want it for a slightly different purpose, and recommended to remove these redirects. Done, the redirects now go to Template:Ph:Reader for some "dummy" Ph-templates, easy to remember, like many dummy Phh-templates go to {{Phh:Reader}}. That's all, not very exciting, but certainly better than the "red X" GIF I used on some dummy Ph-templates.
The two differences between the Meta and the Wikipedia solutions:
  1. On Meta an empty Ph-template would be really invisible. Here it has its own section header plus enforced Ph-edit link.
  2. On Meta almost all Ph-templates redirect to m:Template:Ph:CheckUser, that inserts an edit-link for {{H:f Help}}. But our {{H:f Help}} brings its own edit-link. That's all, a minor difference for the best possible use if there's nothing specific to say.
You can now do with {{quick help}} whatever you like on other pages, mix relevant links as you need them. On help pages Ph:Reader can offer additional Wikipedia specific links, that makes sense in a section with title "Wikipedia specific help". Better than a "red X", or a terse "none". -- Omniplex 09:58, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Well I disagree that the template is better than simply mentioning no Wikipedia-specific content is available. Looking at Help:Editor and Help:Reader, I see {{Quick help}} was added on 13th January (by a bot). That is strange, as {{Quick help}} was only created on the 26th March, so my point that it was created specifically for Help:Contents still stands. Its inclusion seems to be an unintended consequence. I know you added the link to "other languages" on the old template - so what? Also, I don't know what is "strange" about proposing a truce to an edit war (as I did by removing the links in {{H:f Help}}). I also don't know why you keep reverting that page. You mentioned "...get more complete list of topics in a more readable style allowing copy and paste of "sections" from m:Template:H:f Help". I am trying to keep the links simple. How often are people going to paste sections from meta? In my opinion, not often.

At least I now have some idea of your ideas / motivations for organising things the way you have. Gareth Aus 12:16, 16 May 2006 (UTC)