| The goal of this page is to create neutral text succinctly describing the issues surrounding the use of plain text with date templates. An open invitation is extended to all who participated in the February through April MOSNUM discussions on this subject to participate and edit the following summary of the issues so that we are assured that the overview fairly covers the arguments of all POVs that were expressed. If there is substantial objection to language used on this page, let's work it out calmly on the talk page. Our job here is not to re argue the case, but to describe the arguments made as clearly as possible to people who are totally unfamiliar with date issues. |
What do date templates do? edit
- The templates emit a microformat date corresponding to the event. This allows browsers to enable inter operation with internet applications that understand dates. Currently Yahoo, and google calendar use microformats dates, and Google earth and timeline are using dates with Wikipedia content.
- Some calculate the age of the person.
What they don't do:
- link dates
- add categories based on date
- seldom if ever used more than once or twice in any article, and then only in the context of an infobox.
What are the plain text date templates and what do they look like in an article? edit
Equivalent numeric date templates omit the hyphen. In the following table click the N for documentation on the corresponding numeric date template.
| Date | Templates | Wikitext | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | {{birth-date}} N
|
{{birth-date and age}} N
|
{{Birth-date | April 3, 1903 }} |
| Death | {{death-date}}N |
{{death-date and age}}N |
{{Death-date | April 3, 1903 }} |
| other Start and End dates and/or time Space mission launch, decommissioning etc. |
{{start-date}} N |
{{end-date}}N |
{{Start-date | June 10, 1966 7:26pm }} |
How do plain text date templates differ from numeric date templates? edit
| wikitext | article | |
|---|---|---|
| Old | {{Death date and age|2008|1|11|1934|5|2|df=y}} | 11 January 2008 (aged 73) |
| New | {{Death-date and age | 11 January 2008 | 2 May 1934 }} | 11 January 2008 (aged 73) (default) 11 January 2008 (aged 73) (your preferences) |
Why is it believed an RFC is necessary? edit
- If plain text dates are allowed, a large number of articles will potentially be affected, and there is a lack of consensus whether the new templates help or hinder progress at WP. After thorough examination of the issues, there was agreement that the decision should not be made by a small minority of editors who have been following the discussion but should follow the general consensus of the wider wikipedia community. Preliminary thoughts on an rfc here
Birth and Death date and age templates edit
In October 12, 2007[1], "advice about dates in infoboxes" was added to MOSNUM suggesting the use of {{birth date and age}} and {{death date and age}}. At the time, the templates[2] performed 4 operations:
- date linking
- microformats (bday) support
- calculation of age
- format control- only d-m-y or m-d-y allowed
After date linking was deleted from the templates in June 2008[3], it was no longer clear whether the microformats and age calculation had widespread support for retain the advice. (1. Discussion with Tony1 in March whether age calculation was all that difficult, 2. RFC on date formatting questioned the value of metadata at Wikipedia).
There is some question whether what the initial contributor called "advice" had the status of a mandatory quality control style rule. Did the guidance mean that any infobox not using the template should be changed to add the template wherever possible? What about infoboxes that used OldSytledate template?