Flag of Earth Peter Halasz (talk) ?

Subpages: /dia | /missing | /org | /pages | /photo | /quotes

Ideas: /rants | /ite | /R | /teletaxo

Subjects: /bot | /comp | /ee | /eco | /fringe | /micro | /sd | /zoo

Incubator: /ownimg | /teletaxotest | /self

I could never describe myself as a deletionist, but I am all for hiding information that isn't immediately useful.

So here's my proposal for a telescopic taxobox, allowing taxonomic groups which are currently missing to be simply hidden, rather than absent:

Normal view Expanded view Proposed template usage
 {{Taxobox
 | image = Pleorodeles_waltl.jpg
 | image_caption = In an aquarium
 | color = pink
 | name = Iberian Ribbed Newt
 | regnum = [[Animal]]ia
 | unranked_phylum = [[Bilateria]]
 | unranked_phylum_hide = true
 | superphylum = [[Deuterostomia]]
 | superphylum_hide = true
 | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
 | superclassis = [[Tetrapoda]]
 | superclassis_hide = true
 | classis = [[Amphibia]]
 | subclassis = [[Lissamphibia]]
 | subclassis_hide = true
 | ordo = [[Urodela]]
 | familia = [[Salamandridae]]
 | genus = ''[[Pleurodeles]]''
 | species = '''''P. waltl'''''
 | binomial = ''Pleurodeles waltl''
 | binomial_authority = ...
 | range_map = ...
 }}

The shrunk version is more readable. The expanded version is more complete. And this way little compromise needs to be made between them. A third click could perhaps hide the classifcation all together, and show just the binomial name.

I was hoping the mechanism could coopt the Hide/Show button from the Table of Contents box, but my attempts have so far failed (see /teletaxotest). A page that does does something similar (but hides the whole box, not just parts) is here: User:Essjay/CVU/IRC/Verifications

Which classifications would be hidden would be set per species or taxon. (see parameters ending in _hide in the proposed template usage above).

Anyway, I've pretty much given up on making this myself. I suspect it would need some extra Javascript that would have to be added to the main javascript file of the Wikipedia. But anyone else who wants to give it a go, please do.

Note: I have noticed that the metadata on images is collapsable, and maybe the javascript it uses can be hijacked. (e.g. see Metadata section on Australia_Cairns_Koala.jpg) but I haven't attempted to use this approach as yet.


More ideas and other thoughts like this at my rants page.

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