Wikipedia:WikiProject Infoboxes/assistance
You can place your infobox related requests here in case you are not getting enough response on infobox talk page. Technical volunteers will try and resolve the requests posted ASAP.
About
editBackground
editThis page was started because large number of editors on Wikipedia don't come from technical backgrounds. For technical assistance, there were two options, WP:Teahouse and VP:TECH. Teahouse is too generic and VPTech becomes too technical sometimes.
Inspired from the success of GOCE, this initiative was started to give specific infobox related assistance to editors. This will enable smooth interaction between template editors and Wikipedia non-tech editors and still keep their watchlists out of clutter.
Links
editRequests
editCan't find simple guidance on adding maps
editWhilst answering a recent question posted at the Teahouse on how to add maps to an Infobox, I struggled to find any clear and simple advice I could give the new user. So I had to make it up from scratch for them. If you could point me in the right direction of a good 'how-to-do-it' document on this topic, that would be most helpful. Good luck with this new page! Regards from the UK, Nick Moyes (talk) 12:25, 12 April 2018 (UTC)
- I guess you couldn't find one because the question itself was too broad. If you choose a particular infobox, you have decent documentations that explain its use. If you want to add map out of infobox, you can use {{Location map}} and other similar templates. Otherwise, the option to use commons is always there (widely used for historic ones). I read your answer and it seemed perfect to me for such an open-ended questions. Thanks for supporting the initiative, if we get similar queries, it would be a good indicator to develop FAQs and maybe help pages on that topic. Let me know if any other assistance is required. I would be happy to help. Capankajsmilyo (talk) 14:30, 12 April 2018 (UTC)
- Yes, I'm sorry, I should have said that I was suggesting using something simple like Inbofox:Settlement as a commonly-used component in an article. The point I was trying to draw out is that I don't actually feel any of these template's documentations give decent guidance and support that is suitable to a beginners. What I wanted to find was a nicely-written, friendly and simple help page that clearly explains the broad principles of getting a dot on a map in an article - rather like I tried to write at the Teahouse. I'm afraid I find every one of the documentation pages for Infoboxes and the Location Map template far too complex and overwhelming to point any new editors towards without any form of additional guidance. They may be clear to the experts, but they're really not suitable for newcomers in my view, I'm afraid. Is this something your IBASSIST Project could consider developing? It would be a great resource to be able to point new editors towards from the help desk fora. Nick Moyes (talk) 22:09, 12 April 2018 (UTC)
- Well, I'm not that good at documentation, but I can develop a template that can be added to map section of docs of infoboxes. So, one can easily document the text in just one template and it will reflect in documentations of all the infoboxes. Would that be a good solution Nick Moyes Capankajsmilyo (talk) 05:45, 13 April 2018 (UTC)
- Firstly, apologies for the delay in replying. I appreciate your offer, although I rather wonder whether template documentation is already very complex, and this approach might serve only to make mapping seem even more so complicated. Although I've spent a lifetime mapping biodiversity data, my experience with maps on Wikipedia is extremely limited. But I am reasonably OK at writing instructions and explaining stuff. So, if you think there is a gap that could be filled to help new users put maps into pages, I would be willing to try to work with you - so just let me know. Pinging @Maproom: who also helps out at the Teahouse and does a lot with maps here, and who might have some thoughts. Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 20:08, 15 April 2018 (UTC)
- Other alternatives could involve adding some instructions to subpages of WP:Help or WP:MOS. User:Capankajsmilyo(Talk | Infobox assistance) 08:16, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
- Firstly, apologies for the delay in replying. I appreciate your offer, although I rather wonder whether template documentation is already very complex, and this approach might serve only to make mapping seem even more so complicated. Although I've spent a lifetime mapping biodiversity data, my experience with maps on Wikipedia is extremely limited. But I am reasonably OK at writing instructions and explaining stuff. So, if you think there is a gap that could be filled to help new users put maps into pages, I would be willing to try to work with you - so just let me know. Pinging @Maproom: who also helps out at the Teahouse and does a lot with maps here, and who might have some thoughts. Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 20:08, 15 April 2018 (UTC)
- Well, I'm not that good at documentation, but I can develop a template that can be added to map section of docs of infoboxes. So, one can easily document the text in just one template and it will reflect in documentations of all the infoboxes. Would that be a good solution Nick Moyes Capankajsmilyo (talk) 05:45, 13 April 2018 (UTC)
- Yes, I'm sorry, I should have said that I was suggesting using something simple like Inbofox:Settlement as a commonly-used component in an article. The point I was trying to draw out is that I don't actually feel any of these template's documentations give decent guidance and support that is suitable to a beginners. What I wanted to find was a nicely-written, friendly and simple help page that clearly explains the broad principles of getting a dot on a map in an article - rather like I tried to write at the Teahouse. I'm afraid I find every one of the documentation pages for Infoboxes and the Location Map template far too complex and overwhelming to point any new editors towards without any form of additional guidance. They may be clear to the experts, but they're really not suitable for newcomers in my view, I'm afraid. Is this something your IBASSIST Project could consider developing? It would be a great resource to be able to point new editors towards from the help desk fora. Nick Moyes (talk) 22:09, 12 April 2018 (UTC)