Template talk:Tilde

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[edit] Purpose

This is basic newbie info, everyone says it to somebody at least once.

I also know the neato trick of using five tildes to insert the date stamp alone, but I don't think we should tell anybody. --Xiong (talk) 16:40, 2005 Mar 14 (UTC)

[edit] Fixing signature to link to Talk page

What I want to know is: How many tildes to get a link to my Talk page? --Xiong 05:28, 2005 Mar 14 (UTC)

To get a link to your Talk page (User talk:Xiong), you would have to edit your signature on Special:Preferences, for example:
Signature: [[User:Xiong|Xiong]] ([[User talk:Xiong|talk]])
Use raw signatures (checked)
Will look like this:
Xiong (talk)
– ABCD 15:17, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Should this template be edited to include the above new information, or should another template be created with it? I think it's a good thing to know. --Xiong (talk) 16:40, 2005 Mar 14 (UTC)

You can also do {{User|Xiong}} and get Xiong (talk · contribs) HighInBC 03:44, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

I use the raw sig shown below. 
[[User:Will Pittenger|Will]] <small>([[User talk:Will Pittenger|Talk]] - [[Special:Contributions/Will Pittenger|contribs]])</small>
Will (Talk - contribs) 01:08, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Official Policy

Re the "it is highly recommended" bit - this is actually an official policy. I just can't remember the name of it. Alphax τεχ 14:41, Mar 18, 2005 (UTC)

May I take it you support this template? If you can find the official policy, you may want to edit the template to link to it. — Xiong (talk) 00:37, 2005 Mar 19 (UTC)

Welcome messages usually include this. The policy is [[WP:~~~~]]. Alphax τεχ 17:10, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing that. — Xiong熊talk* 03:00, 2005 May 1 (UTC)

[edit] Signature button

Should the text in this template not be changed to reflect the fact that editors can also use the signature button at the top of their edit box? --Mal 15:41, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

I think it should. Let them know there is a speedy way to sign their messages.--Crossmr 20:45, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Newbie friendly?

Any consensus about rewording this template to make it a little more friendly to new users? It seems a bit scolding in tone, as though they should have known to sign their posts (the "please remember to...." part). How about changing it to something like:

"Hello. In case you didn't know, when you add content to talk pages, you should sign your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~) at the end of your comment. This will automatically insert a signature with your name and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. Thank you!"

I just used this template for the first time and felt guilty afterwards because I felt like I was telling the user off, when it was clearly just a case of him/her not knowing the nuances/customs of Wikipedia. What do you think? Neil916 07:34, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

agreed it is a bit harsh. I updated it with your wording, and the signature button idea from above.--Crossmr 20:51, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bug in template

I noticed that the template includes {{TestTemplatesNotice}}. This is a mistake. {{TestTemplatesNotice}} claims that you can pass the page name as a parameter. However, {{tilde}} doesn't support that.

Actually, though, I think {{tilde}} should be changed to show the page where the recipient forgot to sign. I can make the change if we have a consensus. Someone might want to review the wording when I am done. Will (Talk - contribs) 01:10, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Typing the tilde character

The current wording, "On many keyboards, the tilde is entered by holding the Shift key, and pressing the key with the tilde pictured." is suboptimal. One would hope that any WP editor would know how to access the shifted characters on a keyboard, so spelling out the obvious just sounds patronizing.

Rather, the actual problem with typing a tilde is for those international keyboards where it's not merely a simple shifted character. It may require, e.g., using the "Alt Gr" key; or the tilde may be a dead key, requiring it to be followed by a space. Some keyboard layouts (e.g, Italian) may not even have a tilde explicitly marked anywhere.

Since we cannot possibly encompass all the weird layouts out there, I think it would be better to say instead something like, "If you cannot easily type a tilde on your keyboard, you may use the signature button instead." That makes it clear that we still expect posts to be signed, even if the writer has an uncooperative keyboard.

Hqb 09:15, 9 August 2007 (UTC)