Wikipedia talk:Userboxes/Archive 9

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Naming a userbox

Actually is it a must that a userbox name must be either "Template:User <name>", "User:<username>/<name>", or "Wikipedia:<page>/<name>"? Or I should simplify my question like this: Must there be the word "User" in front of the pagename? One of Wikipedia:WikiProject Userboxes work is to ensure that userboxes are named like this. --אדםוןד ואודס (talk) 08:05, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

To your second question: All userboxes in the template namespace should begin with User to distinguish them from templates that are to be transcluded in mainspace. In the user and project namespaces, I would say that it doesn't matter.

To your first question: Yes. It could be User:<username>/userboxes/blah/blah/<name> or whatever, but your scheme applies anyway. –Pomte 08:34, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh thank you very much, at least I'm comforted. Because once when I moved a few userboxes which were only used by the creator, to new names having the word "User", he reverted my moves and accused me for vandalism. He got to be claiming ownership of the templates right? --אדםוןד ואודס (talk) 18:52, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Next time, you can refer them to Wikipedia:Userbox migration. All unencyclopedic userboxes should be moved to userspace. –Pomte 01:48, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

I was only talking about naming the userboxes as "Template:User <name>". But in my case which I was accused of "vandalising his profile", I actually moved one of his boxes from "Template:<name>" to "Template:User <name>", as I find it suitable for anyone. And I've also moved other boxes from "Template:<name>" to "User:<his username>/User <name>". I even went into his userpage to fix the template inclusions to avoid redirection. But he reverted all my edits and accused me for vandalism! --אדםוןד ואודס (talk) 04:18, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

It wasn't vandalism, and you're right about the improper sense of ownership. By the migration, the userboxes belong in userspace anyway. On the one hand this doesn't seem like a big deal, but on the other hand userboxes are really unorganized and every bit helps. –Pomte 04:31, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Just a coupla boxes

2 suggestions. First, for those (like moi...) who make more posts on talk pages than edits on pages:

{number}This user has made {number} editorial comments.

where {number} is an auto-generated variable, like the "#posts" boxes". And

This user created {article}.

because I find the dark grey of the existing box makes links too hard to read. Trekphiler (talk) 03:57, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

You can make these noncontroversial userboxes at any time. I wonder though how often you plan to update {number} in the first one. –Pomte 04:34, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

I thought I saw an automatic counter, like this somewhere... I wouldn't want to do it manually...

As for the 2d, I'm using it now (in white & yello, tho). Trekphiler (talk) 12:06, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

"offensive userboxen"

Can we just get a concensus here to delete any userbox that endorses any political, moral, religious, philosophical, ethical, epistemological, metaphysical, societal or other point of view? And stop worrying about what's "disruptive" and what's "undisruptive"? WilyD 15:15, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Get a consensus to delete all opinion userboxes? Highly unlikely. Been there, tried to do it, I have better things to do with my time now. -- Donald Albury 01:13, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Can someone else give their opinion on this one?

I find it rather offensive with the whole barefoot and pregnant theme of the userpage I found it on, but I'll bow to other's opinion...here's some more

This user believes that the world would be a happier, safer, and saner place without feminism.

File:Apicofwtc.jpg

This user views Islamic fundamentalism as the greatest threat to world peace today.

wow, this guy likes to fan the flames:

• User:Tedius Zanarukando/Userboxes/User longhair4women
• User:Tedius Zanarukando/Userboxes/User shorthair4women
• User:Tedius Zanarukando/Userboxes/User notrousers4women
• User:Tedius Zanarukando/Userboxes/User trousers4women
• User:Tedius Zanarukando/Userboxes/User hosiery
• User:Tedius Zanarukando/Userboxes/User barelegs

JW	This user is opposed to the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Legotech (talk) 04:30, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Could be offensive but you can make any template you want ,if you think they should be deleted say that on their talk pages and talk to their authors--B.C ^{say what ?} 22:06, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Those are clearly offensive. I don't even know how they could be considered! Superstarwarsfan (talk) 03:51, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

The Jehovah's Witnesses Opposition one is particulary offensive and the Islamism one. People should respect other people's religions. Bubblesmiles (talk) 02:15, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

How can anyone be that offensive and still live with themselves? AlmightyClam 17:32, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Free will just won't go away. I haven't read the offensive content on the page being discussed, nor do I have any intention of doing so. However, this site, Wikipedia, is based on free speech and dissemenation of information to whom ever is interested. Just change the channel and look at something else. (Dddike (talk) 00:02, 8 March 2008 (UTC))

Of the three displayed on this page, not one is offensive. He is in disagreement with Jehovah's Witnesses. That's his right. He thinks feminism is damaging to society; that's fairly easy to argue. Perhaps fundamentalists should be changed to radicalists, but that's his choice. Quit worrying about political correctness or fairness or whatever and just get on with your life. --AtTheAbyss (talk) 13:55, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Userbox content

A request for comment has been opened to discuss what could be deemed inappropriate content in userboxes. All users are invited to comment at: Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Policies/Userbox content. Thanks. - Mtmelendez ^(Talk) 05:53, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Guideline status

I've removed the guideline tag for this page. After some history checking, I found that WP:UBX was tagged as a policy and then a guideline immediately afterwards by User:Jc37 ([1] & [2]), the rationale for the first policy tagging being "Wikipedia:Userbox policy was merged to this page in December 2006 (almost 9 months ago)." He fails to mention there that Wikipedia:Userbox policy was always just a proposal that didn't gain consensus, right up to its merge with WP:UBX, and was never an actual policy or even a guideline. If this page is to become a guideline then consensus will need to be established for that, so I'm beginning a new discussion to that end. Equazcion •✗/C • 03:05, 21 Jan 2008 (UTC)

• Note: there was previous consensus for this. However, please feel free to further discuss, as "consensus can change". that said, reverting the tag is probably not a productive way to attempt to change consensus. - jc37 10:41, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
  • You assert this, but you haven't actually demonstrated that there was ever a consensus to have this as a guideline. —Random832 18:39, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Discussion

Should Wikipedia:Userboxes be a guideline? Equazcion •✗/C • 03:05, 21 Jan 2008 (UTC)

Yes, after we're done restructuring it. –Pomte 10:46, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I want it to be at least a guideline (I would prefer it to be a policy). If we are going to change it, I want to see it be more restrictive. -- Donald Albury 11:37, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Should be a guideline, after the results of the RFC are weighed in. - Mtmelendez ^(Talk) 13:55, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I think it can be divided into two (i.e. 1. Userbox Policies & 2. Userbox Guidelines), because the Wikipedia:Userboxes contains both policies(rules) and guidelines(advisory). --SMS ^Talk 14:53, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Request

Could someone tell me on my discussion page how to make a userbox Welsey M. Curtus WMC 02:44, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

What do you think of this?

This user prefers the metric system

Superstarwarsfan (talk) 03:53, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

This user does not prefer the metric system

And of course this Superstarwarsfan (talk) 03:55, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

This user loves userboxes!

Superstarwarsfan (talk) 13:58, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

DWThis user is a Time Lord

Superstarwarsfan (talk) 14:06, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

comments

Wikipeeps, I just created this a few days ago...

V	This user firmly believes that the Visitors are not our friends!

input welcome! --Eaglestorm (talk) 03:32, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Keep it simple, guys

Good gosh—what a huge amount of material on a subject that is the virtual equivalent of a bumper sticker! Like bumper stickers, these user-boxes are meant to be something light-hearted and colourful. But there is no evidence of that here in all this po-faced jargon. Look, the first—and often the only thing—that a typical user wants to know is: “Is there a big bag of these things I can fish thru and get some that I like”. Instead of answering this in the first sentence, the article goes on and on and on thru what seems like FORTRAN seminars, and politically correct injunctions, until, right at the VERY end, we see a list of what we had wanted in the first place – a whole bag of these boxes we can paste into our Talk Pages. Hey, simple things first, guys. Myles325a (talk) 04:56, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Suggestion: article talk page template for article-specific userboxes

I know we have the various galleries that one could scan through to find userboxes to match their tastes, but I'm wondering if it would not be inappropriate to create an article talk page header template that can be used to identify userboxes for those interested specifically in the content provided by that article (this would be many TV shows and video games, among other uses). I'm thinking the language would be short "Userboxes are available for this topic" and making it collapsible to avoid spamming the talk page too much particularly if there are 3 or more variants.

My major concern is that is there any problem putting this type of meta information on the article talk namespace? I can that it can be potentially taken as bad form so I am checking first before even considering it. --MASEM 18:55, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Nice Idea! I don't think it violates WP:TPG. --SMS ^Talk 19:14, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

I was able to make a real quick version of what I was thinking of, example shown below (random UBX chosen to fill out)

Userboxes are available for this topic.
Text for user page	Additional parameters	Resulting userbox
{{User:Masem/userboxes/Portal}}		This user has had cake.
{{User:Scepia/Pac-Man}}		This user plays Pac-Man.
{{User:Tkgd2007/Userboxes/Rock Band Guitar}}		This user prefers to play guitar while playing Rock Band. +
{{User:Tkgd2007/Userboxes/Guitar Hero Easy}}		This user plays Guitar Hero on easy.

The template has support for up to 10 userboxes. --MASEM 20:07, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Great Work! do tell me if my help is required anywhere! --SMS ^Talk 20:15, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes! That's great! Superstarwarsfan (talk) 02:01, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I like this idea. The userbox listing pages are difficult to use as they load slowly and overload browsers due to all the transclusions. It's also hard to find what you're looking for. Being able to see the userboxes available for a specific topic directly at its article would be a great improvement. It's doesn't offer much benefit to the articles themselves, though, so this will run into a lot of friction. It should be kept as small and non-obtrusive as possible. Equazcion •✗/C • 02:09, 10 Mar 2008 (UTC)

Here's my version:

{User:Equazcion/sandbox |ubx1=User:Masem/userboxes/Portal |ubx2=User:Scepia/Pac-Man |ubx4=User:Tkgd2007/Userboxes/Rock Band Guitar |ubx8=User:Tkgd2007/Userboxes/Guitar Hero Easy }

Equazcion •✗/C • 02:16, 10 Mar 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't support this idea, sorry. Userboxes are so "unofficial" and there are so many of them, anyone can create more, and some of them are disputed but still very difficult to delete. There could become fights which userboxes are going to be at talk pages of disputed articles. Best regards Rhanyeia♥♫ 07:09, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Sounds good for now, although I do see the same potential for problems as Rhanyeia. I say we give it a trial run, and if the shit hits the fan go back to the way things were. --AtTheAbyss (talk) 12:16, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Help!!

I've created my first userbox User:Mjroots/Userboxes/Barnstaraward but there's something I've missed / can't find the instructions to :-/. How do you put the code in so that you add a wikilink to the article that you have the award for - similar to the FA and GA userboxes where you add the name of the article? Mjroots (talk) 12:46, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

The code for a wikilink is [[Article name|Displayed text]]. Hope this helps! --Crazed by Penguins (talk) 00:33, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

I feel a bit stupid now, since I just realized that's not what you were asking! You should be able to use {{User:Mjroots/Userboxes/Barnstaraward|[[Article name]]}}. --Crazed by Penguins (talk) 02:31, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

No problem, Bibliomaniac sorted that out for me. Now to finish off :-/. Mjroots (talk) 06:35, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

double help

Sorry, I don't think this article is very good - it is way to complicated and long - where is the quick start guide ? Did I miss it ? You could respond by saying lots of people have usrbxs, so whats the big deal, the problem is, you don't know how many frustrated people like me there are, cause people who find something hard usually don't complain. You could respond by saying we like it complicated, keeps the newbies out how about a poll box

• everyone who comes to this page, and is a registered user, the computer keeps a running tally of how many have a userbox.
• and, there is a question box you can check off, like instructions good/bad Cinnamon colbert (talk) 19:28, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Or you could go and look at the actual artcle. The link is at the top of the page nest to the tap 'discussion' The tap you want is 'Project page' Superstarwarsfan (talk) 02:03, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

what is

a good userbox for when your userpage gets vandalized?--AtTheAbyss (talk) 13:44, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

{{User:UBX/vandalized}} --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 11:26, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

thanks bro.--AtTheAbyss (talk) 12:15, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Please..

..Could somebody make me a Spice Girls box? I can't get the hang of it and there are so many good userbox makers...

Thank you :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.110.228.55 (talk) 18:48, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Here's a Spice Girls user box I made for you:

This user is a fan of The Spice Girls.

User:Youre dreaming eh?/Userboxes/SpiceGirls REQUEST

If that's not what you had in mind, just bring it to my talk page. I would have sent this straight to you, but you didn't sign your name.

Have a good one! Youre dreaming eh? (talk) 22:59, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Who used mine?

Is there any way to tell where the userboxes you've made have been used? I've made a few, and I'm wondering which of them have made it anywhere other than my userpage and the userbox gallery.

Thanks! Youre dreaming eh? (talk) 17:01, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Use Special:Whatlinkshere. - auburnpilot talk 17:05, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Some of the galleries have a Transclusions link that is the Whatlinkshere link. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:13, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Something special in the WP

Some suggestions:

This user created the article BVL-12.

This user is a member at plane.spottingworld

This user is a member at train.spottingworld

This user is a member at TrainSpottingWorld and PlaneSpottingWorld.

My thanks to BG7 for making these for me. Trekphiler (talk) 15:27, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

You have two problems here:

• You cannot use non-free images in userboxes. See the image section for more information.
• Image:PlaneSpottingWorld logo.png is not being used in a WP article, thus it is orphaned and will be deleted. See WP:NFCC #7.

--— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:48, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Response.

1. They are not non-free, i selected logos and it autofilled that for me - we have permission to use them for whatever purpose related to Train/Plane spotting worlds.
2. Well, I could write an article, but then I would break several policies as it would be POV and something I am connected to.

BG7 15:51, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Actually, they are non-free, and were uploaded under a claim of fair use. Under Wikipedia policy, you cannot use fair-use images outside of article space. Can you produce evidence that these logos are available under a free-license? - auburnpilot talk 15:54, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I can and will, and I suggest you speak also to User:Timtrent who will say the same. He also has no problem with them being in userboxes, and if it comes to it, then screw policy is what I say.

BG7 15:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

If you have permission from the copyright holder to release the images under a free license, it needs to be clearly stated on the image page, and the permission forwarded to WP:OTRS. The appropriate license and tag also need to be added to the image page. We will not "screw policy" for decorating a userpage. - auburnpilot talk 16:29, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

AuburnPilot is entirely correct here. We would like to help, but it is incumbent upon you to ensure the image is properly tagged and used. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:32, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

reset indentOk guys, point taken - sorry if I cam across a tad rude :D!

I have checked with the owner (the aforementioned user) and they are in fact GFDL rather copyright or whatever.

I can forward a copy of the email if you wish.

Thanks,

BG7 17:00, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I took a quick look, but it does not look like the logo was placed in the image directory on the site (the site logo is stored in a different place. Your best solution is to have the image loaded and tagged as GFDL on Plane Spotting World, then tag it as such here. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 17:27, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Ok, thanks. The logos are actually uploaded at the opposite sites (so the train logo is uploaded at Planes and vice versa), and the image itself is stored in the root, accesible via a URL. Also, we use Plane logo.png as the filename there, but i thought it was best to be more descriptive here!

Thanks for all your help!

BG7 17:35, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

They also constitute linkspam. --Rlandmann (talk) 19:51, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Request hour

Can somebody convert these to workable?

band-3This user likes Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble.

band-3This user likes Fleetwood Mac (with Stevie Nicks).

I'd use Stevie alone, but I do want to credit the band, & I can't use Fleetwood Mac alone, 'cause I'm not a fan of Peter Green's incarnation. Trekphiler (talk) 01:02, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

I did the first one and will leave the second as an exercise for the student. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 20:28, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

band-3This user loves Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble

Close, but no cigar. I meant Stevie with Double Trouble, not separately (which I could have done myself). Or is it impossible? (I.e., no article about the two together.) Trekphiler (talk) 02:28, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

the page doesn't tell you how to put an image in the box (in examples of code that you can crib

It should mention this, even if you just put Image:whatever like you do with other pics in with the rest of the stuff- 'border, 'id' etc. It also doesn't in a noticable way tell you how many pixels the standard size pic for the 'id' bit usually is/should be. Or did I miss that? Is it like 50x50 ? Or can I make it a little bigger? I find this page not very user-readable to non-techies, it doesn't explain things in a Ladybird Books style for those who know hardly anything about code etc- we need links to sites where we can find the hex codes for colours, and so on. special, random, Merkinsmum 01:53, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Size matter

This user created the article
Standard H-2.

This user created the article
Standard H-2.

Can you fix the difference in font size? I haven't a clue.... Trekphiler (talk) 02:30, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

They both use the default font size. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 03:03, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

I added a line break. Is that what you were hoping for/attempting to accomplish? - jc37 03:12, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

question

How do you make userboxes go down both sides of the page? U.S.A. (talk) 16:47, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Assistance

Would someone mind visiting my page and assisting me to understand how to code userboxes I have created on my Userbox page. I can't find simple instructions for newcomers to do this. Jagra (talk) 07:50, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I Just discovered Wikipedia:Userbox Maker and presumably that is what I need? From this I assume that a new page is created for each new userbox. Where I have been trying to make multiples on one page.

Any comments before I multiply Jagra (talk) 08:05, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Jagra (talk) 07:31, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

About fair use of image in user box

I'm not so familiar with copyright polices on Wikipedia. So, I wonder could I use part (e.g. half) of copyrighted image in user box? --Čikić Dragan (talk) 10:55, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

No. See WP:NFC, non-free (whole or in part) images can only be used in main-space articles. --MASEM 13:41, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

I must admit that it is 'outside the box', he he. But I don't think it's good enough to be in the Template namespace though, if you mean that. Cheers, Face 12:23, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Example userbox

Hi all! A few days ago, I nominated this userbox for deletion at WP:MfD, because I think its sole purpose is to encourage editcountitis. As expected however, it doesn't attract much attention, so hopefully this message will tempt users to go here and to state their opinion. It won't take long! Thanks in advance, Face 12:37, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

XBox Live Gamertag

Couldn't find a userbox to display an Xbox Live Gamertag. There's probably a market for one! Had a bash and created this, but it could use some finesse, if anyone could oblige me.

XThis user's Gamertag is xxxxx .

JMalky (talk) 11:54, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, just found one. It's much better. JMalky (talk) 12:11, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar?

Is there A UBX Barnstar. Trees Rock ^{Plant A Tree} 20:00, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Introduced by

Is there a userbox out there that details the user that introduced you to wikipedia. Alexsanderson83 23:00, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Profession userbox

Some userboxs in profession section refers to professional designations, (for ecample, CPA) and that using the userbox in one's userpage, when he is not one, might be constituted as claiming such designation which would be illegal. Thoughts? SYSS Mouse (talk) 18:45, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

It may cause problems for the user if he or she gets discovered by the relevant authorities in charge of enforcing such matters, but I don't think it's really an issue for Wikipedia as a whole. I doubt that Wikipedia can be held responsible for registered users pretending to belong to professions when they don't. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:45, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Putting user pages into categories automatically

I've designed a userbox called {{User:UBX/University Challenge}}. I'd like to be able to automatically put user pages that the userbox is used on into categories, but not other pages such as talk pages. I therefore used a parser function like this:

{{#if:{{NAMESPACE}}=User | [[Category:Wikipedians interested in University Challenge]]}}

However, it doesn't seem to work. If the userbox is placed on other types of pages (for example, "Wikipedia talk:WikiProject BBC"), those pages still get put into the category. Any idea why the parser function is not working, or what I can do to solve this problem? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 19:33, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

New boxes

I created these boxes 1  2  3  4  5. Are they acceptable to share and if so how tis the best way? Mike P ^(WHAT?) 00:36, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

If you haven't already done so, add the new userboxes to the appropriate subpages of "Wikipedia:Userboxes" (see the navigation box on the bottom of that page). You may also want to post messages on the talk pages of appropriate articles and WikiProjects. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:39, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Help

{{User Good Article}}

Does anyone know what one has to type to make a box like above but for helping to prmote an article to A-Class?--EnigmaMcmxc (talk) 10:59, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Go to the {{User Good Article}} page and click on "Edit this page" to see the wikitext code that was used to create the userbox. Copy the code to the new template page that you want to name the userbox, such as {{User A Class article}}, then modify it according to the instructions stated at "Wikipedia:Userboxes". — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 16:18, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Organizing userboxes

Umm... just a note, the third way of organizing userboxes/n uses the collapsible div, which was deprecated in favor of the collapsible table a long time ago - see m:Help:Collapsing. Might want to tweak that bit of the page to reflect that. Calvin 1998 ^(t-c) 20:55, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

How?

How exactly do i create a userbox? Can you put it in simple, step-by-step terms for me? Thanks.  Skeletal S.L.J.C.O.A.A.A.T.R.  04:41, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

It may be easier for you to point out which part of the instructions at "Wikipedia:Userboxes" you don't understand. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 23:38, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Ok. Thanks!  Skeletal S.L.J.C.O.A.A.A.T.R.  23:46, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

me too

i also was wondering as to a step by step guide as to how to add a userbox we might find and would like to place on our page..im kinda new to all of this.

Phillip.ludlow (talk) 21:23, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Adding is simple. The galleries list code next to the box, ie. {{User wikipedia}} - just add the code directly to your userpage by editing it, and it shall appear. Ian¹³/t 21:41, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

proposed move userboxes to User:Box

I have proposed using User:Box for all userboxen. So far, it's received positive feedback, but hasn't attracted much attention. Additional comments appreciated (at Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#user boxen diffused). —EncMstr (talk) 01:39, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Destroy All Humans! Userbox

I created the following Userbox for Destroy All Humans! fans.

Destroy All Humans!This user LOVES Destroy All Humans! and contributes to the Destroy All Humans! Articles.

--SWJS: The All Knowing Destroy All Humans! Nerd(Cortex Scan) 19:14, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Question for where to put

Not sure where to put these:

Code	Result
{{User:Nefariousopus/Userboxes/Protip}}	PTThis user knows that to defeat the Cyberdemon, they must shoot at it until it dies.	Usage
{{User:Nefariousopus/Userboxes/DivideBy0}}	${\frac {a}{0}}$OH SHI–	Usage

Im thinking the first one could go in games but its also a meme, along with the second. Any suggestions?

--N_efariousO_pus 07:38, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

What do I do?

What the next step after I post my new userbox on Wikipedia_talk:Useboxes/New Userboxes? What is the way that my images are in Userbox gallery? Thank you for answering. Neweco (talk) 03:00, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Look at the subpages listed at "Wikipedia:Userboxes#Gallery", and see which one your userbox fits best in. Then add your userbox to that subpage. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 14:36, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

No guns needed

I'm now going on a long wikibreak, but thought I'd offer my latest creation on my way out the door:

This user has no penis compensation issues requiring gun ownership.

  Caution: The "penis compensation issues" wikilink is not safe for the workplace. --Art Smart ^Chart/Heart 15:04, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Scroll box

How do I get a scrolling box for my userboxes?--Thanks, Ainlina(box)? 19:10, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Not sure if this will work, but you could try enclosing your userboxes in the following wikitext: <div style="height: 200px; overflow: auto; padding: 3px; border:1px solid #084C9E;">[Your userboxes go here]</div>. You can, of course, play around with the height of the box (currently set at 200px) and the border thickness and colour. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 16:47, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Notice: A redirect is needed to this article.

I have found that searching userboxes does not redirect me to this page. Wheras user boxes does. Can someone please add a redirect to here from searching userboxes? I am not willing do this myself (through fear of making a major mistake). Thanks. A Prodigy^Talk 15:16, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

I had a look at the page. It can't be done, because the page has been protected against creation by an administrator. The reasons why this was done are here: "m:User talk:Pathoschild/Archives/2006/11#Undelete Userbox & Userboxes". It seems there is a general policy against creating cross-namespace redirects; in other words, it is against Wikipedia policy to create a redirect from the article namespace (which "Userboxes" is in) to the Wikipedia: namespace (which "Wikipedia:Userboxes" is in). — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 15:51, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Ah OK. Never mind. Thanks for taking the time to explain the root cause(s). A Prodigy^Talk 15:55, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Images in Userboxes

I was going to post this as a response but, I've decided to post a new section with a little helpful guide for making userboxes on this page so people dont have to lurk moar to find out. Any questions you can post here or on this talk page.

Basic code for one

<div style="float: left; border: solid #000000 1px; margin: 1px;">
{| cellspacing="1" style="width: 238px; color: #000000; background: #ffffff; text-align: center;"
| style="width: 45px; height: 45px; background: #000000; text-align: center;" |(Picture link goes here)
| style="font-size: 8pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em;" | (Information goes here)
|}</div>

Hex color codes are here

Shorthand (for the simple Userbox Function) are here

A good size for the picture is 30px. Otherwise it starts getting larger than normal boxes.

Example:

This user remembers the Fifth of November.

And here's the code for it

<div style="float: left; border: solid #ff0000 2px; margin: 1px;">
{| cellspacing="1" style="width: 238px; color: #ff0000; background: #000000; text-align: center;"
| style="width: 45px; height: 45px; background: #000000; text-align: center;" |[[Image:V for Vedetta Mask.jpg |30px]]
| style="font-size: 8pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em;" | '''This user remembers the [[V_for_vendetta|<span style="color:red;">Fifth of November</span>]].'''
|}</div>

I wont go into detail about all the little things like float, margin, width, etc... All you have to do is change the numbers, preview it, and you'll see what they do.

Hope this helps someone/anyone out.

--N_efariousO_pus 06:11, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Helped me out immensely! Been looking for a "simple" answer on how to make these - thanks! :) Parkerhawn —Preceding unsigned comment added by Parkerhawn (talk • contribs) 17:19, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Very Bizzare

For some odd reason, on my userbox the last two categories are not in bold font. I have checked the coding, and all of it is perfect, and I have erased the coding and started from scratch but the problem still occurs. Does anyone know how to fix this? Samantha555 (talk) 04:09, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

What is your userbox, and what "categories" are you referring to? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 05:22, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I meant to refer to the template for my userboxes... Two of the categories are in light font. You can see it yourself if you go to my userpage. Thanks! Samantha555 (talk) 06:09, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I see. This may be a quirk of your computer's browser. On my laptop, your template doesn't display properly at all. I can only see the last two categories, and they appear fine. But the other categories can't be seen at all. Sorry I can't help more; perhaps another editor can advise you. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 06:17, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

That is really strange, because I just checked on my friend's computer and it looks fine. Very wierd, but thank you for trying! Samantha555 (talk) 08:18, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it is odd, isn't it? I had a look at your page on my desktop computer, and in this case only the last item ("Films") shows up. The rest of the template is just blank, although if I click on the "show" links your userboxes appear. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 10:38, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Very strange indeed. I fixed the font issue, but now I'm worried that people won't even be able to see it! Samantha555 (talk) 21:08, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

New userbox by me

I have made a new userbox using http://www.yerich.net/userbox/

How do I put it on the user boxes page, I have it on my user page already Yosef1987 (talk) 11:11, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

Look at the "Gallery" section and the navbox at the bottom of "Wikipedia:Userboxes" and decide which category or categories your userbox would fit best in. Then edit the relevant pages to add your userbox to them. You should also list your userbox at "Wikipedia talk:Userboxes/New Userboxes". To inform other editors about the userbox, you can also post messages on the talk pages of relevant articles and WikiProjects. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:45, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

New section needed

Editing existing userboxes (followed by instructions on how to do so) would be a good idea. Occasionally we see a box which gets up the nose a bit. Adoption backlog is a good example. The grammar grates something awful. Having zilch experience with userboxes, I know I could probably wade back through the archives and maybe find it. But, I think asking here will be quicker. Ta in advance. Kaiwhakahaere (talk) 00:09, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

Editing an existing userbox is no different from creating a new one, or editing any other Wikipedia template. Have a look at the instructions on how to create a userbox at "Wikipedia:Userboxes". Anyway, what is wrong with the wording of {{Adoption backlog}}? It seems fine to me. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 04:14, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

Oh really. The instructions on how to create a userbox at "Wikipedia:Userboxes" do not say how to edit an existing userbox, which is the very reason I posted this query here. The wording of the userbox example you gave a link for is fine, but the userbox that prompted my enquiry is currently on User:JamieS93. Note the grammar. It would have been helpful for you to tell me how to edit it, rather than pointing me to an article which does not say how to edit existing userboxes. Kaiwhakahaere (talk) 06:38, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

Ah. I think what you mean is you don't know what the actual name of the infobox is. Since the infobox is on JamieS93's user page, go to that page and click on "Edit this page". Then try and identify from the wikitext what the template name of the userbox is. For example, the "Welcoming Committee" userbox is {{User wikipedia/Welcoming Committee}}. Once you have found the template name, go to the template page (e.g., "Template:User wikipedia/Welcoming Committee") and edit it as you would any other Wikipedia template. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 07:49, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Jack. For the zillions of us (regulars and newbies) who are not familiar with userboxes/templates, that needs to be explained. Now. Please explain why {{Adoption backlog}} displays on the User:JamieS93 page with "There is currently 15 users.....", but on this page displays with "There are currently 15 users....."'? It was the dreadful grammar at User:Jamie which caught my attention. Kaiwhakahaere (talk) 08:19, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure why you're seeing the grammatical error on JamieS93's user page. When I look at the page the {{Adoption backlog}} userbox says, "There are currently 14 users ..." The person who designed the userbox inserted a parser function so that it can decide whether to use "is" or "are" depending on the number of editors requiring adoption, so it should work fine. If you aren't familiar with parser functions, you should familiarize yourself with how they work before trying to edit the userbox, as parser functions can be extremely complicated. It may be better to ask for help at the Help desk. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:58, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

How bizarre. Jamie's page shows up with the word are for me this morning. Yesterday, when I posted my query, the {{Adoption backlog}} I inserted displayed on this page with the words "There is currently 15 users.....". You made the next edit, moving my inline template to the top of the section, whereupon the text changed to "There are currently 15 users....."'. Weird, the spooks have taken over. No, I wouldn't fiddle with parsers, whatever they are. Kaiwhakahaere (talk) 22:41, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

Parser Functions are where all the fun in templates lies =) I'll have a look at this userbox in the morning, because I learned a better way to do the is/are. It probably also has something to do with the PAGESINCATEGORY function being on the fritz =) –xeno (talk) 00:46, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

See also m:Help:Magic words. - jc37 01:28, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

• I repaired the grammar error which only turns up at exactly 15 users (we forgot to error correct both parser functions). Thanks for bringing it to my attention Kaiwha =). For the record, if you're interested in learning about parser functions, feel free to peruse my classes on them and ping me with any questions. –xeno (talk) 01:05, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Oh, that's handy. Thanks. I've dabbled with parser functions sometimes with the guide of "m:Help:ParserFunctions", but that help page is hardly a model of clarity. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 04:12, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Cheers. Kaiwhakahaere (talk) 02:46, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Userbox for secure login

Is there a userbox for those who uses the secure login server, I can't seem to find any. Terra 18:41, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

I don't think one exists, but you can use {{Userbox}} to create your own. Gary King (talk) 18:55, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Oops?

I just added a new category 'Classical Latin and Greek Literature' but it hasn't yet appeared on the page. I am guessing that I have not followed proper protocol in some way. If anyone can explain what happened to my edit, and what I can do to fix it, please advise. My edit is located in the section titled Interests and Tastes, between subsections 'Animals' and 'Cars', but you have to press "Edit this page" to see it. Lucretius (talk) 03:32, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

I can see it. Sometimes, a change to an article may not appear immediately. Forcing your browser to reload the page usually helps. Do this by adding "&action=purge" to the end of the URL of the page, or if you have the clock gadget installed (under "My preferences"), click on the time. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 03:35, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your prompt response. However, the problem remains. I'll have another try tomorrow and see what happens then. I think there might be some kind of control or check mechanism involved that stops people adding new categories. We'll see. Thanks. Lucretius (talk) 03:53, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

awesome userbox

This is 1 i came up with. Add the {{}}s.

IDThis user is bad at userboxes right now. So that is why they can't change the picture :(

Userbox |border-c=#000 |border-s=1 |id-c=#fff |id-s=12 |id-fc=#000 |info-c=#039 |info-s=8 |info-fc=#fff |id=ID |info=This user is bad at userboxes right now. So that is why they can't change the picture :(

English Wikipedia

Is the English Wikipedia the only wiki site that has userboxes? Sailor_Moon (talk) 16:11, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

No, if you look at the left side of the screen on the Wikipedia:Userboxes page you will see a long list of interwiki links to the "Userboxes" page on other Wikipedia sites. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:45, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I still do not see it. Sailor_Moon (talk) 13:04, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

1. Go to the Wikipedia:Userboxes page.
2. While looking at the left side of the screen, scroll down until you see the "Languages" list. Those are all the other Wikipedias which have a Userboxes page. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 15:37, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Cars and Motorcycles

I propose that since so many people ride motorcycles, motorcycle userboxes may be added to or folded into the car section... and that section be renamed to Cars and Motorcycles. Currently there are a few motorcycle entries in the sports section, which is fine for motorcycle sports specifically, but those existing userboxes are misplaced IMO. They should really be in a Cars and Motorcycles section. Any thoughts or objection? Jbarta (talk) 18:47, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

What about renaming the section "Motor vehicles"? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 04:19, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like an excellent idea. Jbarta (talk) 09:45, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Usage user categories

So User:WPjcm removed a bunch of user categories from browser usage userboxes saying that WP:UBX implies that such userboxes shouldn't have categories. How should this be interpreted and what will we do about it? -- Mentifisto 02:37, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

It isn't implied but express. "Wikipedia:Userboxes#Caution about user categories" states: "Userboxes should not automatically include categories." I believe the rationale behind this guideline is at "Wikipedia:Overcategorization/User categories". — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 04:13, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Should we delete the categories then? -- Mentifisto 15:03, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure. Yes, the guideline exists but I'm not sure why. You may want to have a look at whether there is a good justification for it. If you feel it isn't, initiate a discussion here or over at "Wikipedia:Overcategorization/User categories" about changing the guideline. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:54, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Disambiguation/ Redirect

Whenever I type Wikipedia Userboxes into the search box instead of Wikipedia:Userboxes, the search results return saying that there is no such page. If someone could create a redirect page, that'd be great. I'd create it myself, but I don't know how. Laters! Resetti 4 Prez (talk) 00:01, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

 Not done. Unfortunately, it appears that it is against Wikipedia policy to create links across namespaces: see "/Archive 9#Notice: A redirect is needed to this article.". — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 09:14, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Ooh. OK, then. I'll just need to remember the : next time. *facepalm* Resetti 4 Prez (talk) 21:04, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Category confusion

Why is this page in Category:Wikipedian military people? I'd guess that it's probably a coding error but I can't view the entire page through the edit tab and so am unable to verify. Otto4711 (talk) 06:41, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

I have no idea! Anyone know? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 04:13, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

In the table examples, one of them involves the army. DeMoN2009 11:45, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

New USERBOX for Wright State University

WSUThis user is Alumni or attending Wright State University, Dayton

Hi, I have created a new UserBox using standard template. Later on I read that I have to use Education Institutions template. can some one palace this template in specific category and let me know how to add stubs Srinath66 (talk) 12:33, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Hi, Srinath. I'm not sure what you mean. Could you please clarify? Also, you might want to change the text to read "This user is an alumnus of or is attending Wright State University, Dayton.", "This user attends or attended ..." or "This user attends or graduated from ..." as these examples are more grammatical. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 15:29, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Question about the Gallery

About the gallery, when do the "new userboxes" get added to the gallery? Thanks. --The New Mikemoral^talk_contribs 23:39, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

You have to add them yourself. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 04:15, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

I see. Thank you. --The New Mikemoral^talk_contribs 23:58, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

 Done Okay I did it. Thanks again. --The New Mikemoral^talk_contribs 00:09, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

German-American Relations

Does anyone know where I can get a hold of the "This User Supports German-American Relations" Userbox? Zobango (talk) 22:46, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Nope. Do you remember where you last saw it? A Google search might help. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 19:15, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Did a Google search, and found it on a Wikipedia user's page. It's User:Gamgee/Userboxes/User USA-Germany. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 19:17, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

thanks i already found it —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zobango (talk • contribs) 22:57, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Bandwidth Issues

Doesn't Wikipedia already have to pay a lot of money for bandwidth? All these userboxes are just costing more money with no purpose. I'm sure if you paid the bills for Wikipedia you wouldn't want to pay for all the wasted bandwidth.

Mark Swingle Is Amazing (talk) 08:10, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

In fact that used to be a pretty hot rejoinder against all sorts of stuff until the Jimbo or the tech people (can't remember who exactly said it) said that the actual amount of serverspace/bandwidth is negligible. bibliomaniac15 17:14, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

What happens?

Do userboxes go through some sort of arbitration before they're allowed into Userbox "Gallery" articles? I created a couple long ago, submitted them at Wikipedia talk:Userboxes/New Userboxes (they're now in Wikipedia talk:Userboxes/New Userboxes/Archive 13), and that was that. Never heard another peep. It might just be me, but the procedure as to what happens next doesn't seem very clear.

I don't care whether the 2 I created are accessible for public use or not, but it strikes me that people have made a great many userboxes and they've just been buried within article archives and forgotten about, or end up being used solely by the creator when they were intended for public consumption. Gram123 (talk) 16:01, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

As far as I'm aware, there's no vetting process. Just insert the userboxes you've created into the gallery articles. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:12, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

This is true. You must put them yourself into the gallery, there is no one watching the "new userbox" page and copying them into the galleries. –xeno (talk) 17:19, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Basic Wu-tang userbox

I created this using the userbox maker because i couldn't find a wu-tang userbox anywhere

WCash rules everything around this user

Zobango (talk) 21:50, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. You might want to add a link somewhere in the text to "Wu-tang" so people know what the userbox is about. And add it to one of the subpages listed in the userbox gallery so others can find it! — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 06:46, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Why is substitution encouraged?

For what reason does the creation howto encourage substitution of {{userbox}} rather than just using it as-is? I can see no practical upside to this, and plenty of disadvantages. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 16:40, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. err, the only reference to subst I can find is about the userbox sampler thing? –xeno (talk) 16:53, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

WP:UBX#How to construct the box: "For ease of use, userboxes are made using maker-templates that have a number of parameters. Once the maker-template is saved, it is automatically transformed to HTML." That rather heavily implies that the point of {{userbox}} is to be substituted. For that matter, the userbox sample section doesn't make much sense either; it's not like raw HTML is any easier to understand than template markup, so why ask people to go substituting templates when they'd get the same result just tweaking the parameters of {{userbox}}? Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 17:07, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

That section has me quite confused. It needs to be simplified for dummies, and yes, the bit about HTML is unnecessary. –xeno (talk) 17:13, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

I don't read that passage as suggesting that the template should be substituted. I think it's simply trying to say that one can create a userbox simply by using {{userbox}} and specifying certain parameters, instead of actually specifying the HTML tags. It's sort of like how {{infobox}} saves editors from having to create infoboxes from scratch using HTML table tags. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:01, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

It's still unclear. I'd rather the whole thing were rewritten. I'll try to give that a stab at some point. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 18:14, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

I took out the line about HTML. It's entirely unnecessary: at some point, all wiki-text is converted into HTML. FWIW the userbox "sampler" seems something too complicated that a newbie reading this guide would ever use, so that could probably get the axe too. –xeno (talk) 18:16, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

On userboxes meandering back into templatespace

The below discussion was copied in here from WP:VPP

Look, I don't want to re-ignite the userbox wars or anything, but are we OK with this? I reverted a bunch of the page moves tonight and then I saw how many there were.... And the user seems to think policy is on his side... To be honest, I don't really care one way or the other, but I thought we had this settled back in 2006. –xeno ^talk 04:19, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Hello, said user here. I moved these templates into the template name space after consulting the policy on user boxes (WP:Userboxes#Which namespace?) for several reasons:

• Standardize the structure of the user boxes related to drinks;
• Give them names that actually are decipherable.
• Many of these boxes are on pages of inactive users, and I sought to place them in a community area
• Categorize them per their respective reference points (Soda under soft drinks cat, beer under beer cat etc..)

I was hoping to organize everything so it was all easy to find and use, beginning with the categorization (Category:Drink user templates) then reorganizing the Wikipedia:Userboxes/Food#Beverages section of the page so it included all of the templates I could find. I truly felt that I was working within the spirit of being bold and since the policy didn't cover the subject of moving the templates into other namespaces. I interpreted it that it was the contributors discretion as to the namespace templates belonged as long as they followed the guidelines put forth in the policy.

I will do whatever the policy requires to insure that these templates conform to the standards of WP. --Jeremy (blah blah) 04:47, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Definitely not alright. --Izno (talk) 04:41, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Why? Could you point out the policy that states it isn't okay or explains why? --Jeremy (blah blah) 04:47, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

For the record, the user is acting in good faith and I'm not here with any ill feeling towards him. Userboxes are in desperate need of care, categorization, and cleanup. I just want to make sure that we're of the same mind we have been for the last little while; that stuff like Template:User is a vampire (and other minutia like their choice of soft drink) belongs in userspace. –xeno ^talk 04:51, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

At a brief glance at your respective talk pages, I'd say xeno has provided enough reason why this shouldn't happen. By all means, I agree that user boxen need to be cleaned up, but knowing what food you like, as xeno points out, isn't of immediate encyclopedic importance. --Izno (talk) 04:55, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

If you really want to delve into the long sordid history of the userbox wars Jerem43, start at Wikipedia:UBM#Other discussions. I think the WP:USERBOX guideline could definitely use some stronger guidance to help users who read it too permissively (right now it just has a remark about "what wikipedia is not" and I can understand how it doesn't fully explain the encyclopedic value bit). –xeno ^talk 05:01, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Is that like the physic wars? 8-) No, I do not wish to restart or revisit them, however I would like this to be better spelled out in the policy so some other ignorant welp such as my self doesn't make the same mistake. As I said to Xeno, I would like to see a separate namespace, (UBX: or the such) for user templates such as these (yeah I see where that has been proposed, but consensus can change...), or if that isn't feasible a coherent, written policy detailing what goes where. --Jeremy (blah blah) 05:18, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

As it was explained to me quite some time ago, templatespace is as much and as little "encyclopedic" as userspace is. It's not article space, and as such is shared by all the other spaces. What appears at WP:UBX (last I looked anyway) is the compromise after too many discussions to count. - jc37 06:21, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

---

^The above copied from WP:VPP

userboxes moving from user to templatespace con't

I'm copying this here because it appears the guideline needs to be more clear in that only certain types of userboxes should be in templatespace and that moving userboxes from userspace to templatespace is usually not a great idea. –xeno ^talk 07:10, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

The userbox policy currently states:

Userboxes may only be created or displayed in the Template, User, or Project Namespaces. Userboxes in the Template and Project namespaces are expected to adhere more tightly with policies and guidelines, such as neutral point of view and what Wikipedia is. Traditionally, content in User: space is given more leeway than in other namespaces, so userboxes in User: space might not be as encyclopedic in nature as those in Template: or Wikipedia: namespaces.

Template:

In the template namespace, userbox names must begin with "User " (e.g. Template:User Brazil)

User:

In the user namespace, you may create a subpage of your own user page or User:UBX.

Wikipedia:

Userboxes in the project namespace are generally for WikiProject or task force membership. Simply create it as a subpage of the WikiProject.

Setting aside userboxes in the "Wikipedia:" namespace, which is specified to be for WikiProject purposes, the guideline appears to give editors a wide discretion to decide whether to place userboxes in the "Template": or "User:" namespaces. The only criteria stated are that "Template:" userboxes should (1) have a neutral point of view; (2) not violate "Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not"; and (3) (possibly) be "encyclopedic in nature", though I am hard pressed to discern what this means exactly where userboxes are concerned – is a userbox that says "This user reads newspapers" more "encyclopedic" than one that pronounces "This user thinks that Michelle Obama rocks!"? Another difference between "Template": and "User:" userboxes is presumably that "Template:" userboxes are editable by one and all, whereas editors should refrain from editing "User:" userboxes without permission since they appear on another editor's user page. (I would assume that userboxes at "User:UBX" are exempt from this rule since that user was specifically set up to hold userboxes.)

I think it will be difficult to define any criteria based on the "encyclopedicity" of a userbox. My preference is for all userboxes to be moved into the "User:" namespace. If an editor does not mind other editors changing the userbox, then he or she can create it in "User:UBX". Otherwise, it should be created in his or her own user space. Thoughts? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 07:33, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Most userbox creators won't mind if you tweak their userboxen. If they don't like it, they can always revert and you can fork the userbox, or use some nifty code to give the original owner what he wants, and allow your improvements. My goal here isn't to ban all userboxes from templatespace (though I wouldn't mind seeing more trickle down into userspace), but to make it clear that we don't want to start moving userboxes en masse from userspace into templatespace. –xeno ^talk 07:37, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

A couple things.

First, a side-effect of the "push" of migrating userboxes into userspace, is that anyone can effectively edit a userbox. Editors are considered to be merely "hosting" the userboxes in their userspace, regardless of who created them. (This besides the fact that despite the fact that we give editors leeway in userspace, "their" userspace is not "theirs", per WP:USER.)

Second, the reason that the inclusion criteria is vague is because we simply can't really define it more tightly. If we do, we'll just end up with more IAR calls/justifications. So it's really a question of: Do we tighten up the policy and just have it "ignored", or do we have it adaptable enough to encompass the majority of situations? Somewhere in between, I think.

There have been quite a few proposals concerning this, but the general view was that being more precise than this was contrary to WP:BURO. I don't know if I entirely agree, but that was the stance. So anyway, at the time, I merged what little text we did have consensus on, and the rest of the pages were marked historical.

As for "encyclopedic", yes, I would agree that's an unfortunate term in this case. Especially since that's supposed to mean "supportive of collaboration between Wikipedians". Which could be several levels of how directly that may affect collaboration of editors.

If the goal here is to try to get a "new" consensus", good luck, but needless to say, such a discussion typically devolves into contentiousness.

If anything develops, please drop me a note/keep me informed : ) - jc37 08:33, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

I'm not fussed with the way the guideline is currently phrased, but it really doesn't provide much guidance as to whether userboxes should be in the "Template:" or "User:" namespace. I can see how Jeremy thought it was perfectly fine to do what he did. Perhaps Xeno would like to propose some alternative wording, because the present guideline certainly doesn't prohibit or even discourage userboxes from being moved from userspace into templatespace. Personally, I don't see why editors would have objections if everyone were requested to create userboxes in personal userspace or at "User:UBX". Jc37, what were the objections to that? Why did editors feel that the templatespace was appropriate for userboxes? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 09:42, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

It's kind of a weird history. A lot of people believed that a lot of userboxes shouldn't be here at all, because they don't help with the project, but they do politicize the atmosphere and make the wiki less of an encyclopedia and more of a MySpace. A lot of other people said that that argument was a bunch of donkey, and that they had a right to express their individuality. Then a few people noted that little colored boxes with a standardized layout don't express individuality so much as herd mentality, and that the user pages with the most personality here don't use boxes, but these people were ignored.

So, this dispute lasted months, and was incredibly acrimonious, and might have been a sort of turning point in Wikipedia culture. Somehow... I guess everyone was getting tired of fighting, but when someone just started moving them over to userspace, everyone was suddenly and mysteriously okay with that, except for Tron Guy (for real; he's also a Wikipedian), who insisted for another six weeks that this was the beginning of the end, and that intolerant admins would be around to delete the rest of his user page any day now.

This never happened, and most people forgot about the userbox wars (1/06 - 6/06, roughly). Now, the fact that the solution did everything right except for making any sense at all is becoming apparent to more and more people, and we'll see what happens next. I think keeping them in userspace is a great idea, because it keeps them off of the radar of those who are likely to complain. I think peace is worth a little bit of nonsense. -GTBacchus^(talk) 13:22, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks – that was fascinating! I think userboxes are here to stay, and do play a role in generating some sort of "Wikipedia culture" that encourages people to stick around and work on the encyclopedia. I don't see why anyone would object to userboxes being in the userspace rather than the templatespace. They are intended only for user pages, and there is no change to their functionality if they are in the userspace. Well, let's see if there's any consensus on changing the guideline. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 14:53, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

If you want enough of the history to make your eyes and ears bleed, you can find a lot of it in high concentration here and here. -GTBacchus^(talk) 15:08, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

• I've added upon Jc37's improvements, thoughts? –xeno ^talk 16:21, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Userboxes may only be created or displayed in the Template, User, or Project Namespaces. Userboxes in the Template and Project namespaces are expected to adhere more tightly with policies and guidelines, such as neutral point of view and what Wikipedia is. Examples of such userboxes are {{Template:User en}} and {{Wikipedia:VG/DAH!/userbox}} which clearly relate to building an encyclopedia. Traditionally, content in User: space is given more leeway than in other namespaces, so userboxes in User: space might not be as directly collaborative in nature as those in Template: or Wikipedia: namespaces (i.e. {{User:UBX/Vampire}}). Whereas userboxes are often migrated from templatespace into userspace based on their degree of relevance, userboxes should typically not be moved from userspace into templatespace.

• I can dig it. -GTBacchus^(talk) 20:57, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

I like this as a "start", but a couple suggestions.

First, the vampire example should probably be changed to something else. (I'm probably one of the more inclusionistic editors in regards to userboxes, and personally, I don't see much collaborative use from that userbox at all.)

Also, "other" usage for userboxes could perhaps be noted. For one thing, they can work decently as navboxes. (Something sometimes overlooked.) Linking to one or more pages of interest. I may have gotten carried away with Template:User Catbox, but it's been very useful to me : )

And finally, I really don't like the last sentence. We shouldn't be in the business of telling editors that they can't move something from usespace to another namespace. People move pages that they are working on in userspace to other spaces fairly often.

Perhaps instead re-point out the difference in namespaces, and "consider whether moving to template space would be appropriate, per these guidelines", or some such. - jc37 21:59, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

the vampire one was chosen because it's quite clear it belongs in userspace (which is where it is...). the line about not moving was to alleviate instaces such as the one described above where a user was making mass moves of non-encyclopedic userboxes back into templatespace. please rewrite something about this in. –xeno ^talk 23:22, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Honestly, I don't think it even belongs in userspace, but I suppose YMMV : )

Can we come up with another example which isn't quite so delete-worthy? : )

As for the sentence, you want one which says to not move (or create) userboxes which don't meet the criteria for other namespaces to (in) those namespaces? That would seem to be self-explanatory? - jc37 23:42, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

I'm fine with another example, go battynuts =). As far as the sentence, I just want the guideline to be more explanatory as I can understand why our well-meaning friend thought it would be OK to start moving stuff from userspace into templatespace. –xeno ^talk 00:45, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

That's what I was understanding, though I think in that case, they may not have actually looked at WP:UBX?

Anyway, I don't really disagree, and merged it to the text. - jc37 01:17, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

No, they did, but it just wasn't clear enough on what was supposed to not be in templatespace. What we have now is ok, I suppose. It's not like it occurs often. –xeno ^talk 01:22, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

My comments:

• I think the phrase "clearly relate to building an encyclopedia" still doesn't sufficiently explain which userboxes belong in the templatespace. Perhaps it can be explained what it is about userboxes like {{Template:User en}} and {{Wikipedia:VG/DAH!/userbox}} that relates to "building an encyclopedia".
• The proposed revision states that "userboxes should typically not be moved from userspace into templatespace". But if the userboxes in question "clearly relate to building an encyclopedia", why should an editor not do so?

— Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 06:56, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Those would be atypical cases =) –xeno ^talk 15:44, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Transclusion of sections

While we're here, is there a particular reason we're transcluding little bits of this page? Why not have it all-in-one? –xeno ^talk 01:01, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Combination of things. There's a lot on this page. And really the page could probably be split. But apparently it's better to have the information on display at one location. Especially since Userboxes are something which tend to be a focus for newbie editors. (Who might not be as experienced (or interested) in looking at other related guideline pages.)

On the converse, for quite a while, this page was in constant reversion/edit-warring/general disruption. And at various times needed protection. So it makes sense to isolate the "sections", to allow for continued editing of the not-currently-contentious sections. (It also helps to isolate the edit history by section.)

There's also the issue that some sections can be transcluded without the need for transcluding the other sections (the gallery, for example).

I guess the shorter answer is that (so far at least), it's helped minimise disruption. - jc37 01:17, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Fair enough. The only problem I noticed is that most people won't have the subpages watched, and thus changes might go by without people noticing them. –xeno ^talk 01:22, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

making and organizing userboxes?

I once wanted to make a userbox but did not understand instructions. I have just over 50 userboxes I would like to organize. Tables seem better than letting the boxes fill the page, but you have to specify width. Is there a way to specify a format userboxes can fill up the page no matter what width? I might try the collapsing & hiding, but I could easily increase my list of them by about 25% - 50%--maybe I will wait a few years.--Dchmelik (talk) 16:05, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Dchmelik (and others like him/her): There is a usable format for grouping userboxes provided by Wikipedia, which groups them in a similar fashion to the Babel userboxes. If you don't like that, you can create a sidebar to hold them inside of (see my userpage for an example). --Copb.phoenix (talk) 19:48, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Picture won't resize

I am trying to put a picture in a userbox I made, but it won't resize, I did put the code for the size in, but it won't work. Help? Decat2 (talk) 08:43, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Where is the userbox that you are working on? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 08:50, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Userboxes are potential security risks

Since "favorite animals" and "favorite sports teams" and "places I was born" are oftent standard "password recovery questions" used by financial institutions, for example, perhaps we should add a warning to the userbox page remind people that making such information public could present a security risk if others know one's wikipedia identity. Many people forget about such things when they see something 'cute' and forget that telling the world you "love cats" could be a problem if your bank will reset the password... Spectre9 (talk) 22:31, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like a good idea. Do you have a suggested wording? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 08:27, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

{{Template:Ubxdisplay/random}} to display a random userbox from a given selection

This is a way to display a random userbox from a given selection -

{{Ubxdisplay/random|User:Xenocidic/Stormy|User:Xenocidic/Pirate|User:Xenocidic/Escher|User:Xenocidic/Loathing}} results in:

This user really enjoys dark and stormy nights. ubxrand · view ubx ·

Neat, huh? I got the idea /algorithm from User:MZMcBride's userpage. See template for full documentation. –xeno^talk 02:39, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Picture?

Hi. I'm kinda new with the Userbox idea and I can't get a picture into a userbox that I'm working on. Here is a link of what I have so far: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Wii_Wiki/Temps And I need this seal to go in where [1] in the darker green square is. He is the link to the seal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fauquier_County_Seal.png Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!Wii Wiki (talk) 07:19, 17 July 2009 (UTC)