User:MDP23/Todo

Detailed Example of Bot's Function

There is a difference in layout of the archives pages between the new version and the old version, namely the page Reference desk archive is located instead at Reference desk/Archives. The following example shows the old system, where the archives are not a subpage, to show how the archiving process works without a bunch of redlinks. Since the layout to be proposed is located here, the bot could be set up to operate on those pages temporarily (and tested), and functionally moved to Wikipedia space only later.

This is an example of how the bot would work on the current desk working with a time frame of 10 days:

At 00:00 UTC on August 16, 2006, for the Miscellaneous reference desk the bot would:

~~Append = August 16 = to the bottom of Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous~~
~~Remove = August 9 = and {{Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 9}} from the top of Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous~~ Should work - but can't test a.t.m. - need to transcldue other pages on the test area to find out
~~Copy all text between = August 14 = and = August 15 = from Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous to Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 14~~
~~Copy the following archive navigation template at the top and create the new page Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 14~~

<noinclude> {{subst:Reference desk navigation |previous = Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 13 |date1 = August 13 |next = Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 15 |date2 = August 15 |type = Miscellaneous }} </noinclude>
~~Note:~~
Replace all text between = August 14 = and = August 15 = on Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous with {{Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 14}} and save the page (this depends on whether the pages will be transcluded or not, it is not functionally necessary for the archive as-is)

Append = August 14 = and [[Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 14]] followed by a numbered list of all questions asked to the end of Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/August 2006 and save the page. For August 14, this would look like:
 = August 14 = [[Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 14]] #A type of chair #World Trade Center Movie #edits #Maps from Nationalatlas.gov #Clitoral Hood Piercing #Guitar #Alexander Graham Bell #Cruise control on the 1998 ford windstar #Gangster Chronicles TV Series #Physics of a bullet #T.E.A.M. #Who would be richest? #My surname is Bencko. #Top Hats #pounds to dollars #The New York Pass

In addition to its normal daily tasks, at 00:00 UTC on the third of each month, the bot would need to create a new monthly reference archive page for each of the reference desks. After creating all six monthly pages, the bot would perform its normal daily duties.

For example, at 00:00 UTC on September 3, 2006 the bot would create Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/September 2006 as a new page containing the following text:

<noinclude>
{{subst:Reference desk navigation
|previous = Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/August 2006
|date1 = August
|next = Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/October 2006
|date2 = October
|type = Miscellaneous
}}
</noinclude>

Instead of the Template:Reference desk navigation template, the template at User:71-247-243-173/RDmonthly has been used recently and basically performs the same function. The example template in my name space User:Freshgavin/Sandbox/Reference desk/Archives/Archive header is also meant to be functionally the same, and is just place-holding to show how the pages of the reference desk would be arranged.

The RD design to be proposed (here), since it is not being used, is available for bot tests if anybody wants to give it a try. freshofftheufo ΓΛĿЌ 05:31, 4 October 2006 (UTC)