Wikipedia talk:About the sandbox/Archive 1

Sandbox space

Each user (for example rishi) has a user space, which consists of, among others, pages of the form User:Name/page. Is there a similar sandbox space, for pages of the form Wikipedia:Sandbox/page? Or in other words, given that one can create these pages: are they treated similarly to Wikipedia:Sandbox? Ican't think why they shouldn't be, but it isn't meantioned anywhere, and it has obvious implicaitions for policy ---- Charles Stewart 15:51, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I expect they'd be deleted since they add clutter to the Wikipedia namespace and make it harder to search for something. You can have a sandbox in your user space however, like User:Angela/Sandbox. Angela. 16:12, Aug 27, 2004 (UTC)

Ah, thanks Angela! I missed your comment at the time you wrote it, but better late than never.... Another question: is Category:Sandbox a sandbox category? I presume so, but I can't find any ruling to this effect. If so, or if not, I propose to add the fact to this page ---- Charles Stewart 19:12, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

test.wikipedia 403?

why is test.wikipedia.org 403 forbidden? --Smooth Henry 20:26, Feb 8, 2005 (UTC)

I found the same problem test.wikipedia.org displays a 403 forbidden error message Wikipedian231 13:24, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

The test wiki was taken offline a few months ago, because it was an extra burden on the developers, and was considered a disproportionate risk to the security of the servers - it always ran the latest unstable MediaWiki code, so that new features and bug-fixes could be tested, but this had the side-effect of it having new bugs as well, potentially serious ones. I've taken out all reference to it in this page, because there's no promise that it will come back, and the fact that it used to exist isn't very interesting. - IMSoP 14:49, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The site is back up and running again. 95j (talk) 19:14, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

User sandbox: how to

The description says that members can create their own sandboxes but it doesn't say how. Suggest instructions would be helpful here. ---- CPES 20:06, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Almost a full year has passed since CPES wrote that and still nothing seems to have changed. Maybe I haven't searched well enough, but I can't find any information on how to create one's own sandbox. It would be very helpful. --x-Flare-x 10:28, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

I found it out myself. Sandboxes are created the same way as any other subpage. --x-Flare-x 07:39, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

Why would you need to create your own sandbox? --Little girl 9 (talk) 02:50, 23 August 2009 (UTC)Little girl 9

So you can test changes without being edit conflicted or having them removed by cleanup bots. Graham87 04:22, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

cleaning bot

How about the bot clearing the sandbox everyday rather then every 6 hours. that way people could see any interesting things that pop up.Wikipedian231 15:52, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

There's always the edit history. ::Travis Evans (talk) 04:27, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

I really do like this idia, it whould be great to see what people are saying in there! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.183.162.178 (talk) 17:02, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

What is the cleaning bot?

I'm running a wiki, how do I run a sandbox cleaning bot like here? 219.102.32.92 22:50, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)

One would have to use some form of software that does program writing, and create a bot program that works with the operating system and browser. Wikipedia:Bot_policy. Computer programming. --209.244.43.122 (talk) 22:50, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Wikipoetry?

For about a day there was something about poetry in the sandbox. Now it's gone. How does one make it again?--1 black hand 14:07, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

The old revision can be found in the edit history. By now, that poetry would be in a sandbox archive. Readded by 1 black hand here. --209.244.43.122 (talk) 22:50, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Sand box origins

one other similarity between real life sand boxes and wiki sand boxes that isn't mentioned.... Whoever can guess what it is gets a cookie. ;) (hint: thats not a tootsie roll) —Preceding unsigned comment added by ThaDanimal (talk • contribs) 05:57, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

The first wiki sandbox page was created at Ward Cunningham's wiki place in 1997. Here is a snap shot of that page from the Internet Archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/19980115043939/http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiWikiSandBox —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.24.95 (talk) 05:24, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Games

Is absolutely anyone allowed to start their own game connected to the sandbox? Simply south 22:49, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

I'd assume you could try, though I haven't seen any guidelines about it. You may also want to check Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge for other games such as chess and hangman. Also, you wouldn't be able to add a link to a new game in the sandbox header unless you're an Admin, it's protected. Timrem 01:54, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

If the sandbox is about testing, then I, hereby, suggest that something would be written into the code to prevent the protection template from lasting f/ more than ten minutes, or so.

Dear programmers,

Is that technologically feasible?

Thank You.

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 16:21, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean, but I have two guesses so I'll explain both.

First, if you are talking about the sandbox header being protected, it is because it's meant to explain the sandbox, not be a part of the sandbox. If people were to mess with the header, others might not understand what the sandbox is all about.

Second, if you are talking about a template you saw in the sandbox (such as {{vprotected}}), it was probably just added by an experimenting user and doesn't really mean the sandbox is protected.

This link can be used to reset the sandbox to its standard state. Otherwise, the Sandbot will automatically reset the sandbox every twelve hours.

If that didn't answer your question, feel free to explain in greater detail what you mean. Also, you may want to consider changing your signature, as currently it contains a lot of useless code at the end. If you need help with that, feel free to ask. Happy editing! Timrem 16:49, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

header If it is protected, then that's good, certainly; but, it is, frequently corrupted, despite that.

{{vprotected}}) Twelve hours is a long time f/ someone to figure that out; ten minutes, @ least regarding that specific code, would assist new members enormously.

sign There is no uselessness about it. You got to my page? Why have you not read about the two weeks' effort @ an alternative solution? That signature is the best solution that I could find, thus far. I'm eager for a more global, & permanent, solution.

Thank You for your efforts thus far; however, each of us have our perceptions, & reasons. I need to do what I can to make this website easier, rather than as difficult as it frequently is.

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 17:19, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I wonder whether I correctly comprehend "If that didn't answer your question, feel free to explain in greater detail what you mean." I sincerely expressed my objectives. Thank You.

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 13:20, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

I just wasn't sure which protection template you were talking about in your original post, that's all. Timrem 13:32, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

Please, If you have suggestions f/ one, or more, of the three issues, please offer them. Actually, the signature issue includes several other issues, as well, & it's much more personal, about me, also. Please read about it on my page.

Thank You.

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 21:58, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

How often does it update?

The text at wp:sand says "this page is automatically cleaned every hour" (actually at Template:Please leave this line alone (sandbox heading)). When you edit the sandbox the comment says "this page will automatically be cleaned every 12 hours". In fact, user:Sandbot is resetting it three or four times an hour. The comments should be brought into agreement with each other and with practice. I can understand why it went from twelve hours to one, but more often seems excessive. Is it a spamming issue? -- Randall Bart 23:45, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

It's possible to make the bot run manually by clicking the "Click here to reset the sandbox" link at the bottom of them message – and this is, in fact, the source of most of the reset edits. Trying to give an accurate interval between resets is therefore rather difficult, as they happen irregularly whenever people happen to click that link – Qxz 18:22, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

This is a rather old comment, but for the record I've clarified this in the header. --ais523 12:05, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Okay... so... how often is it REALLY cleaning? ... too funny. --Kuzetsa (talk) 17:20, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Need article-namespace sandbox

Is there anything like a "sandbox page" in the main namespace (article namespace)? I'm debugging a template which uses ParserFunctions to cause it to appear differently depending on which namespace it is in. Of course, I'm having trouble with the conditions when it is placed in article namespace. I could create a page named something like Page for testing templates which use ParserFunctions but if there is a better alternative, I'd like to use that.  :) —DragonHawk (talk) 23:59, 9 January 2007 (UTC) 84.84.77.50 17:21, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if you figured something out, but if not you may want to check out the Wikipedia Test Wiki. You'd have to copy over any templates you're using, but you'd be able to test in the article namespace. Happy editing! timrem 03:46, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Redirect Vandals

If someone puts a redirect on the sandbox page it causes much confusion since newbies will be lead to a random page and put off. Should we do something about that? Ossie 22:30, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Just fix it the same way any other vandalism is fixed – by reverting the change. It's not currently possible to prevent a page being turned into a redirect without protecting the page, which obvoiusly can't be done with the sandbox. (Though it is possible to prevent a page being moved while still allowing it to be edited, and in fact this has been done with the Sandbox) – Qxz 18:20, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Ok. We should probably put in a feature request for the techies then Ossie 22:19, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

- If protection is the only way to stop this, then lets protect it! - going to nminate if i can work out how. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.197.0.32 (talk) 12:44, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

No, that defeats the point of the sandbox - anyone should be able to edit it. Graham87 02:12, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Can you get done for vandalism on the sandbox? 90.192.30.68 (talk) 19:14, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

What's the point of the sandbox?

Seriously, people can test their work by simply clicking "Show preview." There's no need for a sandbox at all, I think it just creates more of a nuisance in the end. LeviathanMist 12:41, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

• Yeah - I've kind of always wondered the same thing myself - can anyone explain?--h i s ^{s p a c e} _{r e s e a r c h} 17:30, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

It here so people can work over longer periods of time and make changes and try stuff without bieng bothered by someone else updating —Preceding unsigned comment added by JD12fh (talk • contribs) 16:47, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

The sandboxes exist for reasons usually not thought of such as edit histories, being able to view it in saved form, categories and interwikis, transcluded items, new bots testing, and to a lesser degree edits by newbies and practicing savings things like ~~~~. Preview just is not the same as saving. User sandboxes have additional uses such as preparing an article over a long time, lists of links, notes, and filing something for others to review. Using preview for anything other than making sure one's edits to a page are correct is a bad habit and can result in unwanted edits being saved. --209.244.43.122 (talk) 22:50, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

The above reasons are valid... Especially "preview doesn't show the same as saving" has given me problems in testing in the past. Sandboxes and subpages (examples include: Special:MyPage/Sandbox) are very usefull. Any case, when editing a page, there's even a server-generated notice advising editors to use a sandbox for testing. In short, "that's just the way it is" --Kuzetsa (talk) 17:14, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand how people can edit "without being bothered by someone else updating", because the sandbox is updated much more often than regular articles. Saving an edit on the sandbox isn't practical, as you would have to look through pages and pages of the edit history to retrieve it. It would make more sense to just edit the page and click on "show preview" as mentioned above. If you really need to save an edit that you are working on, why not just copy it to your user sandbox so it won't be overwritten by other users? --24.7.210.33 (talk) 21:49, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

* For testing, please use the sandbox instead.

How do I insert a table of contents

--74.116.33.159 15:12, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Section#Table of contents, Help:Contents --209.244.43.122 (talk) 22:50, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

If you're talking about in a normal article, you don't. Wikipedia does it automatically. All it needs is a certain number (I think it's 4) of level two headings, such as == This is a level two heading == —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sauronjim (talk • contribs) 12:33, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

If for some aesthetic formatting reason, you want to force a table of contents to appear somewhere, use __TOC__ (that's underscore underscore TOC underscore underscore; two on each side, TOC in caps). You can also use the code __NOTOC__ if you have an aesthetic reason for not wanting the table of contents to appear. However, be extremely specific about your uses of these, as you don't want to screw around with the standard formatting much, unless you have a good Wikipedia:IAR reason!

Peace and Passion ☮ ("I'm listening....") 22:16, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Why archive sandbox?

Isn't it a waste of server's space? Springbreak04 06:43, 14 July 2007 (UTC) I think so too —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.116.250.16 (talk) 14:58, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Because servers archive everything. A:-)Brunuś (talk) 14:35, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Advertising

Lately people have been advertising websites on the sandbox —Preceding unsigned comment added by Franky210 (talk • contribs) 17:36, 17 July 2007 (UTC) it isn,t a waste of space becuase sandbox can be hacked to make other websites on the same archive but i t could crash ure server i f it shuts down and you lose all your sites.it also trashs data. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.75.123.62 (talk) 19:08, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the Sandbox

but that was exactly my point about the Medical Articles. Real Doctors use Wikipedia, but REAL PATIENTS use it a whole lot more. There's more of us, you see? And some of us don't even have health insurance, let alone immune systems anymore. Product Labelling: "Do Not Use In Cooking" means uh what? Disregard, eat anyway. Excuse me, I need some Trans-Fat right now. Drat, nothing in my cream cheese but anti-penicillin mold 99% pesticide. Thank you for your time. ~ Otterpops 08:15, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

SVG Sandbox

Can we use Image:Sandbox.svg to test SVG images? MediaWiki's SVG implementation is unpredictable and does not match Firefox's capability, so it has become necessary to upload different versions of the same image many times. (By the way, is there any possibility of a "edit this image" tab for SVG images? It would be appreciated.) And whenever you feel like it, you can delete whatever I have put there, whether you agree with my idea or not. Marco Polo 14:54, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't see why not - or you could install MediaWiki on your own system if you felt like it. This is a regular talk page so the only time comments should be removed is either when they are archived or they are vicious personal attacks. Graham87 01:21, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I was referring to Image:Sandbox.svg. —Marco Polo 21:36, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Can you make a second personal sandbox?

Can you make a second personal sandbox? —Preceding unsigned comment added by JD12fh (talk • contribs) 16:48, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

A registered editor can make as many personal sandboxes as he/she wants to. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 00:20, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Nice to know, but how (exactly) does one create sandbox sub-pages (one per project-in-progress...)? It would be nice to give sandbox sub-pages user defined names. Also, can sandbox pages be viewed or edited by other users? If so, is it possible to restrict or control which users can do what? This would be helpful if I have a project-in-progress and I want to invite specific people to see and contribute before it goes global. Of course, if there is a project in progress, it can be counter-productive to have unknown users jumping in and making edits before the page concept is fully realized.

Perhaps, also, there is another mechanism to move a project in progress to a common area outside of the main wiki where a small group can collaborate on a project before it is exposed to the entire body of wiki editors to hack at. Comments and suggestions welcome. Enquire (talk) 22:26, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

You can have as many personal sandboxes as you like, and they can have whatever names you like. Just type the title, click search, and use the link to create the page. There is no facility to make a page only editable by invited users on Wikipedia, but most people don't edit sandboxes of other users without good reason. Graham87 01:34, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but if I do that, it will create a page in the main Wiki space. I wanted to create pages within my personal sandbox. How can I do that?!? Also, I understand that I cannot prevent users from editing any page, but what I was asking was, is there another class of Wiki pages between a personal sandbox and the main Wiki? Kind of like a "half-way-house" where a group of people can edit a page, maybe a project page, at least a page that is not discoverable through the main Wiki search function. hmmm, I am assuming, of course, that my sandbox is not search-able ... is that true? If so, I am looking for a group or project sandbox that is not search-able. Enquire (talk) 19:11, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

If you type User:Enquire/Sandbox 2 or anything beginning with "User:Enquire/" into the search box, it will create a sandbox in your userspace (see Wikipedia:User page). Every page on Wikipedia, including user sandboxes, can be found through the search function on Wikipedia, and can be found with Google unless the {{NOINDEX}} template is used on the page. As for a user sandbox that other people can edit, create it in your userspace and invite other people to go there and edit it. Graham87 11:52, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

Thank you Graham, this is exactly the information I was looking for. And yes, I did want to include the {{NOINDEX}}. I understand that means that now my sandbox is not search-able by either Wikipedia or Google, right? I presume that also applies to other search engines, nes pas? Are there any other templates that may also be appropriate for sandbox use? Thanks again, I think I have achieved what I wanted. Enquire (talk) 07:16, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

I just realized that I had copied , but on looking again, I see it is actually {{NOINDEX}}. However, when I searched Wikipedia:Help I found __NOINDEX__ ... that is "NOINDEX" immediately preceded and followed by two underscore characters "_" ... so it seems that there is more than one way to avoid being searched... What differences are there between these templates / commands? Which is preferred? I suspect the template includes the __NOINDEX__ command, correct? Also, what is the "tl" immediately before the pipe in {{NOINDEX}}? Are there other options to this template, if so, what are they? Thanks again [User:Graham87|Graham]]. Enquire (talk) 07:30, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Your sandbox can still be found through the Wikipedia search, even if you use a noindex command. However someone would have to deliberately search in the user namespace to be able to find it; 99.9% of people will have no reason to do that. The command __NOINDEX__ is a magic word; the difference between it and "{{NOINDEX}}" is that the latter command will add the page to Category:Wikipedia noindex pages and is activated through a template. The category for pages using NOINDEX is for tracking purposes, and you may or may not want to use it; the category contains nearly 600,000 pages, so no-one will comb through every single page in there to look for your sandbox. The "tl" in my previous message stands for "template link" and it provides a link to a template rather than actually using it. The "tl" function is a template itself, and you can see it at Template:Tl. Graham87 08:12, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Also, the __NOINDEX__ or {{NOINDEX}} commands will block a page from all search engines, not just Google. However, it will not stop Wikipedia mirrors and forks from scraping the page and displaying it, and the scraped version may be indexed by search engines. Graham87 08:22, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

The only reason I used the <nowiki>...</nowiki> tags was to avoid the unintended consequence of making this talk page "NOINDEX" ... so you can ignore the <nowiki>...</nowiki> tags as relating to my question (which relates only to the commands / templates between the <nowiki>...</nowiki> tags).

My question, then, is: what differences are there between:

• __NOINDEX__
• {{NOINDEX}}
• {{tl|NOINDEX}}

I am assuming that the latter two templates include the __NOINDEX__ command, right? What are the differences between using any of the three in a page? Also, I assume it does not matter where on the page they occur, though I suspect most people would place (one of the above lines) either at the top or the bottom of the subject page, right?

Finally, you may want to troll through this talk page to ensure that none of what has been written on this talk page has the unintended consequence of making this page "NOINDEX" ... or you can tell me if there is a problem and point out the instances that need attention. Incidentally, I noticed you typed "</nowiki<>" and not "</nowiki>" ... are these end-tags interchangeable, or is it intentional to avoid unintended tag interpretation or ... ???

Thanks again for your help. Enquire (talk) 21:48, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

I used the nowiki tags to make Wikipedia print out my examples as plain text, rather than have them incorporated into the page. If you take that into account, you'll see that I've answered your question about the different types of noindex tags above. "</nowiki<>" was a typo on my part which I've now corrected; it might confuse machines that try to read this page because the "<" and the ">" should never be beside each other in a tag. Graham87 04:53, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

I understand why you use ..., but my question still stands; what differences are there between:

• __NOINDEX__
• {{NOINDEX}}
• {{tl|NOINDEX}}

I am assuming that the latter two templates include the __NOINDEX__ command, right?

Also, since these commands/templates are now scattered in this talk page, I am wondering if we have inadvertently made this talk page into a "NOINDEX" page... just wondering. My main interest is in understanding the differences or similarities of the above three commands/templates. Thanks again. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Enquire (talk • contribs) 23:55, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

I answered that question two messages above this one. To put it another way: __NOINDEX__ means that a page isn't indexed by search engines but that command has no additional functionality, {{NOINDEX}} adds a tracking category, and {{tl|NOINDEX}} provides a link to the Template :NOINDEX and doesn't do anything else. I'm pretty sure we haven't accidentally made this page NOINDEXed with these messages, but I'll feel free to fix it if I find that we have caused that problem. Graham87 01:22, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

ArticleViewHeader

I heard that on the HRWiki, their sandbox uses the ArticleViewHeader hook to make the sandbox have no header when editing the page. It uses a page called MediaWiki:Sandbox as the header, and if I'm not mistaken, then if we create that same page here, it will make the header show up without it actualy being transcluded on the page. I think it is worth a shot. Soxred93 has a boring sig 19:02, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't seem to be any risk in an admin going ahead and being bold. It would be nice to not have to depend on a template that often is erased to give instructions to those editing the sandbox. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 00:19, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Does that require extensions to WikiMedia not implemented in Wikipedia? If so, an admin won't be enough, you'll need a Developer. --Thinboy00 @180, i.e. 03:19, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, the page mw:Sandbox is in fact a real (editable) sandbox, and the header for it comes from mw:Template:Please leave this line alone and write below (this is the coloured heading), so the above suggestion isn't going to be trivial to implement. But it is true that HRwiki, which uses MediaWiki software, does have a protected (and invisible) sandbox header, so either they have done local customization or there is an extension out there that could be implemented (or something else). -- John Broughton (♫♫) 21:05, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Note: the above posting to WP:VPT. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 21:05, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Which headers to use?

There are several headers being applied to the sandboxes. Should we use one universal template that detects which page it is on and applies correct options such as no sinebot and interwikis,[1] or multiple templates for every page type. --209.244.31.53 (talk) 04:21, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Associated passage

We need to agree upon the best for each kind of sandbox and place a copy of it here. 209.244.31.53 (talk) 21:55, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

As in: <!-- Hello! Feel free to try your formatting and editing skills below this line. As this page is for editing experiments, this page will automatically be cleaned every 12 hours. --> Clark89 (talk) 05:23, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

Trigger-happy cleaner bots

Templates {{X1}} through {{X9}} are meant for testing purposes. The text on these pages states: "this page is automatically cleaned every 12 hours." More often, though, the bots clean within one minute, like here:

• Saved at 21:44, restored at 21:45: [2]
• Saved at 21:48, restored at 21:49: [3]
• Saved at 21:59, restored at 22:00: [4]

The short lifetime of the saved versions makes testing almost impossible.  --Lambiam 22:46, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, I suspect this is why the page WP:About_the_Sandbox at the bottom suggests creating subpages on one's user namespace for testing things out. --Kuzetsa (talk) 06:31, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. This leaves the question: given that they are not practically usable for testing purposes, why do we have these nine templates? In the meantime I've come to realize that subpages such as {{X9/doc}} are left alone by the cleaner bots.  --Lambiam 13:04, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

user namespace subpages / acceptable "sandbox" convention

Am I to assume that user namespace pages (such as under my own userpage User:Kuzetsa)) are allowed to have a "reasonable" sandbox / scratch space in the form of a subpage? It's been a few months since I quoted an old version of WP:About_the_Sandbox and the "create your own subpage" note at the bottom persists. If anyone can give me a more deffiniative answer than guessing on such matters... please do so in the form of sending me a message on my talk page (new section please) ...and please note that I understand that user pages are meant solely to cover a wikipedia-editor's life as a wikipedian, and nothing else --Kuzetsa (talk) 13:11, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I've replied there. Graham87 15:30, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

... For the record: Graham's answer was yes, subpage-style sanboxes are considered acceptable --Kuzetsa (talk) 06:27, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Sandbox header policy

Many registered users remove the header when using the sandbox for testing, otherwise very editors few change the header in any way (following the non-specific statement of "please leave this line alone"). Is removing the sandbox header allowed at any time on a sandbox page? 209.244.43.122 (talk) 17:21, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

There's no policy against it - you won't be blocked for it. A bot comes in and puts the sandbox header back every few hours anyway. Graham87 03:30, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

What I am trying to say, is the header important enough to the sandbox that it should be replaced every instance it is removed (usually clearing the entire page for testing), replaced just when it someone adds or deletes characters from it (probably vandalism), or is this time and effort better spent on something such as recent changes patrol? Once the header is removed it could be missing for several hours while many newcomers find the sandbox page and no information. Or, consider just replacing the header on the main sandbox page because that is where thousands of sandbox links go to.

In other words, does the header matter? Should the header be there or is the current situation of it occasionally being removed and then replaced by a bot good enough? Should there be a policy against removal? 209.244.43.122 (talk) 19:23, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

I think that if an editor passes by the sandbox and finds that there's no header there, they should put it back. Patrolling the sandbox shouldn't be a high priority - if someone adds "I eat poop" someone will replace it a minute later with "the quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog". Patrolling actual articles is more important. Graham87 02:03, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

merged from related thread:

Currently the sandbox header is restored as part of the general clearing of the sendbox every three hours by ClueBot II. People often seem to delete the header. Would it be desirable / possible for someone to set up a bot to restore the header whenever it gets removed? It needn't reset the rest of the page - just reinsert the header. Thanks, — Alan^✉ 09:20, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Re the above -- also the header from the sandbox talk page, from which this page is now prominently linked, needs to be restored quickly if removed. It is difficult to find this page if the header is removed. — Alan^✉ 12:16, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

User:SoxBot IV is another Sandbox clear-bot; in its RFBA User:MBisanz raised the point that a bot designed to restore the header could end up in an edit war which would make the page impossible to edit. ~ AmeIiorate _{U T C} @ 12:40, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure I quite follow the logic of that objection -- maybe someone can explain it to me? It seems to refer to the situation only in the presence also of a vandalbot. But then surely we just block the vandalbot? And a vandal-bot, if not blocked, could in and of itself create edit conflicts for normal users, regardless of whether there was a header-restoring bot or not.

But aside from this, to throw another suggestion into the mix. Is there currently, or could we ask for, anything in MediaWiki that lets you add a header within the interface on a page-specific basis? Then there would be no need for a bot at all, simply for the purpose of keeping the header visible. — Alan^✉ 16:02, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Louise Brill

If I am to start a new page on a person, does it need to be fully created in the sandbox before it can be released into the mainstream?... and can I use any photographs that are available on the internet...(clearly not ones that show her bottom or anything!)

Maxload11 (talk) 06:06, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

You don't need to use the sandbox at all, if you don't want to. You may use pictures if they don't have copyrights in place, or under fair trade - see Wikipedia guidelines. Good luck with the article!--Dark Green (talk) 15:30, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

IF you're looking to start your first article, you may want to check out this tutorial first: Wikipedia:Your first article. Cheers --Superflewis (talk) 11:30, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Archived discussion moved from WT:SB

See /Use of sandbox talk

Category:X1

It was suggested in an XfD discussion that Category:X1 should be noted in WP:SAND as a "test" category.

I'm neutral on it, but I thought it should be noted, at least. - jc37 19:26, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Same here. 70.171.224.249 (talk) 21:35, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Vandalisim!

Someone put a long scream on the sandbox critisizing wikipidia's NPOV policy. To be honest I think one day Wikimedia should create Wikisoapbox. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ipatrol (talk • contribs) 16:13, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

=O Warn them about it, or whack them with a trout. Remember to sign your talk page posts with four tildes. 70.171.224.249 (talk) 18:07, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Edit conflict

Every time I use the sandbox, I always end up in an edit conflict which results in me losing all of my work. It's really annoying and if there is anything we can do to help that it would be great. ~ Her Holy Jamoley Highness Rebel Queen Pokeynut 03:11, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

My suggestion to you would be to stop making edits if it bugs you that much....or you could copy+paste when you finish —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.221.242.253 (talk) 13:15, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

This can happen if you have the same page (in your case sandbox page) opened for edit in more than one window / tab. Also, if you are inputting a large amount of information over a long period of time, you can also run into this problem if the Wikipedia server gets "out-of-sync" with your client (browser). The best way to avoid this is to click on "Save Page" periodically (don't just rely on "Show Preview" to see how you are progressing). Another way is to do long edits on notepad and save on your own drive (actually, I use Notepad++). That way, you will always have a copy of the work-in-process on your computer. Then copy and paste into the wiki editor, do a quick preview to check and then save. Enquire (talk) 08:00, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

There's not too much too be done about this, because it's usually just for tests and not "work." If there's something that you are test-editing and it's important, the best thing you could do would be to create your own sandbox in your userspace. That, or use someone else's. Cheers. – Alex43223 ^{T | C | E} 04:19, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Uh you can't edit someone else's sandbox unless they give your permission. If you don't have permission that's considered vandalism. Reliable Forever^talk 19:40, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Per WP:UP#OWN, you don't need to ask permission to edit someone else's sandbox. I find your interpretation that that would be vandalism very strange.--Atlan (talk) 20:52, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

WP:UP#OWN refers to user space and I think it is fair to say that the commentary applies primarily to the user page itself and the user discussion page. I think it understood that it is impolite, at the very least, to edit someone else's sandbox page, unless invited. The sandbox is intended for users to test and experiment and editing someone else's sandbox page uninvited is akin to writing on someone else's notebook or diary. Of course, users may develop something in their sandbox, then invite others to contribute or comment... Enquire (talk) 08:00, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

What is appropriate and what is not

I've seen a lot of "vandalism" on the sandbox, but wondered if it was actually vandalism. The sandbox is for editing tests, but does this mean there is no limit to what can be placed there? Is it possible to vandalise the sandbox, when the user warning system directs people in level 1/2 to make editing tests there? Thanks, Matty (talk) 06:48, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

no, it is not vandalism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Estemshorn (talk • contribs) 15:11, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

I would believe its not vandalism. I mean its just a practice space for people who are new to this--KingRatedRIV (talk) 13:38, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

It is if it is mean and inappropriate.Etineskid (talk) 00:59, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

Stupid non-noinclude instruction of the template:X1~X9

I was testing macro template in {{x1}}/{{x2}}/{{x3}} and the cumbersome instruction of "If you defined parameters such as {{Template sandbox|First|Second|name="Named"}}" just ruins the layout of the macro structure. When I use the <noinclude> to include this part, the restoration bot is triggered and revert all my testing within 1 minute. What's the purpose to "include" such thing in a template? -- Sameboat - 同舟 (talk) 13:57, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Header moving to MediaWiki namespace

It might be better to have the header in the MediaWiki namespace, to cause it to be where it is now with edit window material appearing below it, or onto the edit page above the edit window. This has been suggested at the village pump and Wikipedia:Huggle/Feedback. When source of header

{{Please leave this line alone (sandbox heading)}}
<!-- Hello! Feel free to try your formatting and editing
skills below this line. As this page is for editing experiments,
this page will automatically be cleaned every 12 hours. -->

is tampered with the header on the page may disapper. Therefore the header name and invisible message. Bots have been used in the sandboxes for at least several months to restore sandbox or append header above content every time it is touched, users are always frustrated and confused about the sandbox being reset so often.

As for having it on the edit view only will remove need for anything foregin (no preview) to be in the way at top of the page, making test edits-particulary practicing with a full article-a better experience. Clark89 (talk) 23:47, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Yes, this was what my post was about at WP:VPT. Is it possible to have the header be a system message at the top of the page? Note that I'm not just talking about an editnotice here, because the header should be visible when reading the page normally.--Aervanath lives in the Orphanage 15:57, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

It might be possible by creating a MediaWiki namespace page with the header in it, then editing a main css or script page adding the new page to it coding a transclusion to the sandbox pages, but I am not sure. I placed this section to ask if we should if we could, and wait for the WP:VPT to give wether it is possible or not, but noone responded. Clark89 (talk) 19:07, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

• Support I think this is a great idea, but the devs will steadfastly refuse to do anything without overwhelming consensus, but people aren't interested in the sandbox enough for that to happen. --Thinboy00 @187, i.e. 03:29, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
• Support I also think it's a great idea. The header gets removed far too much, and could confuse some users, so I think moving it would be a good fix. Also, although it would be simpler to add it as a notice just above the edit box, it's definitely needed when viewing the page, as well. Hopefully others will get on board. – Alex43223 ^{T | C | E} 12:06, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
• Support I have already made an {{editprotected}} request, which I include below for archiving purposes. Iceblock (talk) 17:10, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

Taken from Template talk:Please leave this line alone (sandbox heading) (Section Special:ExpandTemplates)

{{editprotected}}

If you don't like edit conflicts, you could try Special:ExpandTemplates. You can't create templates there, though. Iceblock (talk) 05:58, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

I mean, that the above text be added to the template. Iceblock (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 05:59, 29 January 2009 (UTC).

Quoting Wikipedia talk:About the Sandbox#Edit conflict:

Every time I use the sandbox, I always end up in an edit conflict which results in me losing all of my work. It's really annoying and if there is anything we can do to help that it would be great. ~ Her Holy Jamoley Highness Rebel Queen Pokeynut 03:11, 3 October 2008 (UTC) My suggestion to you would be to stop making edits if it bugs you that much....or you could copy+paste when you finish —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.221.242.253 (talk) 13:15, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

• There's not too much too be done about this, because it's usually just for tests and not "work." If there's something that you are test-editing and it's important, the best thing you could do would be to create your own sandbox in your userspace. That, or use someone else's. Cheers. – Alex43223 ^{T | C | E} 04:19, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Uh you can't edit someone else's sandbox unless they give your permission. If you don't have permission that's considered vandalism. Reliable Forever^talk 19:40, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Per WP:UP#OWN, you don't need to ask permission to edit someone else's sandbox. I find your interpretation that that would be vandalism very strange.--Atlan (talk) 20:52, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

There is a need for this. Iceblock (talk) 21:11, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

The problem that the sandbox makes one end up in an edit conflict was presented on 8 October 2008. The IP address was permanently blocked on 16 October 2008.

Iceblock (talk) 11:36, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

(End of included request) Iceblock (talk) 17:10, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

Header Missing

Hi! I just visted the Sandbox and the Header is missing somone probably edited the Do Not Edit This Line. Etineskid (talk) 00:57, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

Just revert them. Maybe warn them about it too. --Thinboy00 @014, i.e. 23:20, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

no date on references

2/14/09 what does it mean when their is not date on references on a paper? what does that tell you about the writer? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.193.42.164 (talk) 01:22, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

What is a sandbox?

What is a sandbox, it's a sandpit! --203.36.108.27 (talk) 00:48, 17 February 2009 (UTC) A sandbox in this case is a place to test out stuff. Look in a dictionary to see all the meanings. 93.186.164.125 (talk) 19:56, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Sandbox for the user talk

Is there a sandbox for the user talk, or is this the sandbox for the user talk? Coffee Kitten (meow) 02:52, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Nope, there isn't one; the user talk and Wikipedia talk namespaces function identically. This is not a sandbox - it's an unofficial place to discuss the sandboxes. For the Wikipedia talk sandbox, see Wikipedia talk:Sandbox. Graham87 05:45, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Got it, thanks! :) Coffee Kitten (meow) 07:31, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

What then might the purpose of that page possibly be? Would it be supplementary to this one? Why not simply use that page to discuss the sandbox? I am, &c, J№. HANCŐCK (talk) 15:56, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Inappropriate things

Hello. I've always wondered if you could put inappropriate stuff on certain pages. If you can't has there been anyone that's done it and gotten away with it? Please answer this question.!!!!!!!!!!!Also tell me the words I am not allowed to use so I know if I accidently write them I won't get into alot of trouble.Italian4life 97 (talk) 22:21, 6 March 2009 (UTC)Toni Bell March 6th, 2009

You are not allowed to put inappropriate things on pages - see Wikipedia:Vandlism. Wikipedia is not censored, so profanity is allowed in context; also see Wikipedia:Words to avoid. Graham87 02:31, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

This is cool.

I totally didn't know they had this!!! Way, way cool. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.251.49.94 (talk) 17:05, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

this is fun, das ist spass, uno, one, einz —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.243.26.201 (talk) 21:00, 19 May 2009 (UTC) plz give info............ what is sandbox actually mean? why it is included in the wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.195.200.101 (talk) 07:45, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

See the Wikipedia article sandpit to find out what a sandbox is. For more on the origins of the Wikipedia sandbox, see this message. Graham87 12:02, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Chat room

is there a chat room or is this all thats offered? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bigphil3815673298776 (talk • contribs) 19:50, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Yes, there are chat rooms on Wikipedia; see Wikipedia:IRC channels. Graham87 01:26, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Need good help in Sandboxes

I'd like to nominate the Sandbox-Helps, like this one, for the Worst Help Award. That's internet-wide. For example: I know about and can edit a template well, but I cannot use the Template-Sandbox. Is there a template-doc-project somewhere? -DePiep (talk) 21:17, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Help for article Aaron L. Nelson

Hello, I am really trying to post article on Aaron L. Nelson. And I really need help getting it to post without deletion. Please help!!! Thanks.Aaron L Nelson (talk) 01:36, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

You shouldn't write about yourself per the conflict of interest guideline. Also, you don't meet the notability guideline for athletes, and Digg is not a reliable source. Graham87 03:59, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Mathematical Formulas

I am wondering how to put formulas into a sandbox, such as the square rooting symbol and powers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.237.91.23 (talk) 03:48, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

See Help:Displaying a formula. Graham87 06:15, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Template sandboxes not being cleared?

It appears to me that the template sandboxes, such as {{X1}}, are not being cleaned. Can someone look into this? -M.Nelson (talk) 21:10, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

ClueBot II (talk · contribs), the bot that normally clears the template sandboxes, isn't active at the moment. SoxBot should be replacing ClueBot II, but it isn't doing that. I've sent a message to the maintainer of SoxBot about this issue. Graham87 03:44, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Rude-ness

It says not be offenceive or anyhting on the sandbox main page, but the stuff there is quite, well not said nice-ly. --Mazi0y5 07:37, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

People like to ignore rules, so just revert or delete their edits on the sandbox when you see them. 70.171.224.249 (talk) 21:16, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Sandbox Glitch?

Because I use WP:Friendly I use the "tag" tab, but when I came across the sandbox the "tag" tab is not there. Is this a problem or was this "tag" tab removal intentional? Minimac94 (talk) 19:17, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Sandbox header

I wanted to bring up that there is an error in the Sandbox header. It says, "this page is automatically cleaned every 12 hours." SoxBot automatically cleans out the sandbox more often than that. Could someone correct? --NerdyScienceDude :) ^{(✉ click here to talk to me)} 23:51, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

SoxBot cleans the sandbox every 12 hours, and whenever the header is removed or modified. Mentioning the latter condition on the main template is like telling people to stuff beans up their nose. Graham87 11:44, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Is SoxBot's main purpose clearing the Sandbox? Sonic120 (talk) 03:18, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

No, see the tasks section of its user page. Graham87 16:45, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Sandbox restoration notice?

Could a page notice be placed for the sandbox that would allow for easy restoration of the page? (ie: without having to jump back in the history and find a restored version) Might be handy to have when someone's removed all the default content. EVula // talk // ☯ // 22:24, 2 February 2010 (UTC) There is a link that allows you to reset the sandbox. Sonic120 (talk) 04:41, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Done, at Template:Editnotices/Page/Wikipedia:Sandbox. Graham87 03:35, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Awesome, thanks. Similarly, I've created Template:Editnotices/Page/Wikipedia talk:Sandbox for the less-frequently-reset talk page. EVula // talk // ☯ // 05:01, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

I've noticed that the "This Link" links to editing an old revision of the page, when SoxBot reseted the Sandbox on February 3, 2010. Scrutinize (talk) 05:13, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

That's where it's meant to go. Do you have any other suggestions for either the location of the link or its format? Graham87 08:09, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

The heading template keeps getting deleted

Hey, people keep removing the heading template for the sandboxes. I've been putting it back, but is there any way to protect it from being removed?
-70.171.224.249 (talk) 18:49, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Unfortunately, no. Graham87 01:19, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Oh well. The sand box is still helpful though! LOL, right when I saved this I saw a Wikipedia error... :D 70.171.224.249 (talk) 21:06, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Now they have a link that allows them to reset the sandbox with the heading. Sonic120 (talk) 03:17, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

For the Main sandbox yes, but not for the others. 70.171.224.249 (talk) 23:49, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello

Please block this article a lot of vandalism and inventing information on boomerang 2 the same dried thing in wikipedia in Spanish please false information is 2 this business about boomerang´The user that invents this false information is an IP and a little so-called boy also dried Andresutz the same thing in wikipedia in Spanish but they right now have protected him. --Hugo Felix - Messages Here 20:13, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Which article are you talking about? Graham87 10:16, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

I think he is talking about Wikipedia:About the Sandbox. There HAS been plenty of vandalism on the "About the Sandbox" page. Semi or Full protection anyone?70.171.224.249 (talk) 21:41, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Add link to Sandbox in Ukrainian Wikipedia

add uk:Вікіпедія:Sandbox —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rkononenko (talk • contribs) 08:16, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

Done, but I linked to the Ukrainian page directly. Graham87 14:45, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

Sandbox problem

I have a problem with the sandbox, if i add a major text and click in the end of it to continue writting it immediate scrolls up and places the marker in the middle of the text. Is this something that happens to others? are Sandbox being eddited or something? or is it just me? --> Halmstad, Charla to moi 23:06, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

World changing question

Why can I no longer edit Wikipedia:Sandbox/Archive? It's the only place I've ever edited before. 70.153.230.228 (talk) 17:31, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Because it's protected. Wikipedia:Sandbox was moved to that title in January 2008. Graham87 04:05, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

{{editprotected}}

A similar move needs to happen again, as the current number of revisions exceeds 326338 (the number of revisions to Wikipedia:Sandbox/Archive) that caused the move to there as of 22:14, 30 October 2010 (UTC) per Wikipedia:Database reports/Pages with the most revisions.   — Jeff G.  ツ 20:24, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Why does it have to be archived? --Bsherr (talk) 22:20, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

There's no need for it to be re-archived again. It was only archived in the first place because of panic over [[the attempted deletion of the sandbox in 2008. Graham87 00:49, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

How come...

how come, when i create a sandbox file, it usually appears as something elese? this is very frustrating after i posted a long, drawn-out article and it came up as simply LOL. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.79.123.81 (talk) 22:28, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

You'd need to give a bit more detail about what you mean - are you saying as soon as you save some content in the sandbox it comes up as "simply LOL"? Or do you mean that someone else quickly replaces your edits with something else? If the latter, remember that the sandbox may be over-written by another user at any time (as the header says: Content will not stay permanently; this page is automatically cleaned every 12 hours, although it tends to be overwritten by other testing users much faster than that.). If you want a longer-term sandbox you'd be better to create a user subpage; to be on the safe side create an account first (an anon user subpage might be trashed by another user of the same IP). Tonywalton ^Talk 00:24, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

hey how do you answer to questions like that in the talk page?? i didnt see the reply buttn sorry to bother yea —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.19.172.180 (talk) 00:19, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

By writing your reply under the original message; you indicate that it's a reply by indenting it with a single colon ":" if the message that you're replying to is not indented, or one more colon than the original message had if it is indented. See the talk page guidelines. Graham87 01:39, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

More specificaly, see Wikipedia:Indentation. Graham87 01:46, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Abuse

User:Last Emperor/Sandbox is on an already existing article Maharaja Surajmal Jat. The sandbox is categorised to many categories and has not been edited by the user for about three months now. I wonder is it not abuse of sandbox tool as such. Anyone can create an article similar to already on wikipedia with all povs throough sandbox and keep it live and categorised on wikipedia for indefinite period. Shyamsunder (talk) 09:09, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

You can take examples like that one to miscellany for deletion, but three months of inactivity is usually considered too short a timeframe by people who regularly comment on that page. Graham87 14:58, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

fawiki

hi, please add our interwiki, thanks. --ebraminio^talk 20:51, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Done. For future reference, the correct place for such requests is Template talk:Please leave this line alone (sandbox heading); You could also use the {{editprotected}} template. Graham87 06:01, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Sandbox cleaning bot

Hi all. I've opened a BRFA for User:TannerBot at Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/TannerBot. Pilif12p :  Yo  02:07, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Subpages allowed?

It seems that there are some subpages of the Sandbox that people have used for testing purposes (such as WP:Sandbox/foo). Is this allowed? — Train2104 (talk • contribs • count) 00:09, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

There's no specific rule against them, but I don't think that they matter that much in the grand scheme of things. Graham87 01:53, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

So there's no limit- from a practical or technical standpoint? VictorianMutant (talk) 06:44, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Nope. Graham87 14:02, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Hmmm...

Can't say jhavingg so many sandboxes is practical really, considering the lightness of their use. ResMar 04:19, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

New section

None of the sandboxes have a "New section" tab to practice or test adding a new section. I needed it to determine whether and how a template which adds its own heading could be added to a talk page via {{Please see}}). — Joe Kress (talk) 09:01, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

That's what the talk pages of the sandboxes are for. Graham87 13:56, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

How to play a game in the sandbox

How do I play in the sandbox? Wd930 (talk) 05:19, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

You don't; the sandbox is for test edits only. The Department of Fun might be more up your alley. Graham87 14:36, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Department of Fun

Department of Fun.
The Department of Fun said that there is a game played in the sandbox. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wd930 (talk • contribs) 00:27, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

The sandbox has edit conflicts when not clicking the save page button

Why does the sandbox come up with edit conflicts when waiting for a long time before clicking the save page button? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.217.81.5 (talk) 06:05, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

An edit conflict is when someone else has saved a revision to a page after you clicked edit, and before you clicked save. The sandbox is heavily edited, you could try a lesser used one, like Template:X1. 117Avenue (talk) 06:17, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

I always use "Show preview" which never has an edit conflict and shows the same result as "Save page" except for a few items. — Joe Kress (talk) 06:27, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't click "Show preview". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wd930 (talk • contribs) 22:07, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

But you should, rather than save, for to spare some hardware space. ;-) 77.186.165.29 (talk) 00:38, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanx for "putting back real message" to Graham. -- 77.12.213.85 (talk) 20:02, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

You're welcome. Graham87 01:15, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Categorising Wikipedia:Sandbox

Could we somehow add a category to Wikipedia:Sandbox without it being deleted? Currently the page is uncategorised. It could be added to Category:Wikipedia administration. McLerristarr | Mclay1 14:35, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

If they were, Category:Test–category would be better. 117Avenue (talk) 20:34, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

Category:Test–category is a test category, not a real category for test pages. McLerristarr | Mclay1 11:00, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Do so at Template:Sandbox heading using "includeonly" tags. --Bsherr (talk) 04:24, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. McLerristarr | Mclay1 11:00, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

I can't edit the page; it's fully protected. I'll make an edit request on the talk page. McLerristarr | Mclay1 11:03, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

I don't see the sandbox has being related to administration of Wikipedia. Perhaps there is a more appropriate category than this? — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 17:25, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps in Category:Wikipedia editing? McLerristarr | Mclay1 17:39, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Or maybe Category:Wikipedia tools? — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 18:57, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure it's a tool, is it? I thought that's just for bots and scripts and such. McLerristarr | Mclay1 02:44, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Category:Wikipedia editing aids? — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 09:21, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

That seems sensible. McLerristarr | Mclay1 09:35, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Bear in mind, Martin, that Category:Wikipedia administration, despite its name, is the top level project category. So to the extent that the sandbox fits into no subcategories of that category, that's where it belongs. But the others seem sensible. --Bsherr (talk) 19:10, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Does the sandbox really need a category?Ryan Vesey (talk) 03:18, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Is there a limit to how many times you can edit the sandbox?

Is there?--GoldenGlory84 (talk) 16:11, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Nope. Graham87 04:18, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

HELP!

I think i found something bad in the sandbox! I think its an advertisement! how do I get it out? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.254.41.98 (talk) 20:11, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

You can edit the sandbox the same way as you can edit almost any other page on Wikipedia. Graham87 04:18, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

Vandalism

Have just removed some offensive and racist comments from the sandbox.Cj005257 (talk) 21:27, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Thank you A person who has been editing Wikipedia since October 28, 2010. (talk) 22:44, 14 July 2011 (UTC)

Citing Sources

Can someone help me how to use <ref></ref> for citing??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.7.177.173 (talk) 09:26, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. Graham87 11:03, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

I can, I had some trouble right away too. The way I cite a source is I first start with either <ref> or <ref name="whatever I title it"> then you add the url followed by the words you would like to appear in the reflist [[www.example.example example title]] finally you add the </ref>.Ryan Vesey (talk) 03:14, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

the <ref name="whatever I title it"> is used when the reference appears multiple times. Then you can just put in <ref name="whatever I title it" /> that way you use the same number and it helps keep links consistent.Ryan Vesey (talk) 03:16, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Noindex, questions about

Is the noindex tag required in userpage sandboxes?

Does the noindex tag really prevent Internet search engines from finding content in userpage sandboxes?

How many of your personal userpage sandboxes include the noindex tag? --Kenatipo ^speak! 06:21, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

No, the noindex tag is not required in userpage sandboxes. It will prevent search engines from finding the Wikipedia article, but it does not control what mirrors and forks do (some of which index userspace. Personally, none of my userpage sandboxes include the noindex tag. Graham87 15:24, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, Graham. --Kenatipo ^speak! 23:29, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Lock "Please leave this line alone"

Is there a way to lock that line? With password or something like that? Then nobody can remove it ;) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.191.117.204 (talk) 13:05, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Nope. Graham87 14:21, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Random Question

If somebody were to add the {{sandboxnot}} template to the sandbox, could they get in trouble for vandalism?Ryan Vesey (talk) 23:15, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

I suppose so, if they did it persistently enough and someone actually noticed ... edits to the sandbox aren't closely scrutinised. Graham87 03:56, 10 April 2011 (UTC)

Type below this text line is out of date

People typically clean the page every thirty minutes or so (a bot cleans it every hour), but still it says that it's cleaned every twelve hours. This needs updating! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shrug-shrug (talk • contribs) 19:54, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Fixed, thanks for pointing it out. Graham87 05:18, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Changes not coming up right away

Whenever i save a change to and edit that i make i can not see what i have written on the page, douse anyone know why that might be? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.183.162.178 (talk) 17:05, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

It's because of recent server issues, and is filed as bug 27891. Purge the page if you experience the problem again. Graham87 05:41, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

From Template talk:Template sandbox 20th Jan 2013

The following sections are from Template talk:Template sandbox when I converted it into a sandbox ·Add§hore· ^{Talk To Me!} 04:52, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

TFD

This template was nominated for deletion, but consensus was to keep it. See Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/Not deleted/July 2005. Radiant_>|< 12:59, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Notice from User:FastLizard4

Sorry if you notice that this page dosen't have a history anymore. I was reverting page move vandalism, and forgot to move the talk page also. My mistake, and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
--FastLizard4 (Talk•Links•Sign) 04:14, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

No harm done! It's been taken care of.  :-) —David Levy 04:15, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Request to add ...

{{editprotected}} Request: I'd like to change the default state of this sandbox from

This sandbox is itself a template.  This sandbox is for experimenting with templates.
{{Please leave this line alone (template sandbox heading)}}

If you defined parameters such as <tt>{{Template sandbox|First|Second|name="Named"}}</tt>:
;First:{{{1}}}
;Second:{{{2}}}
;Name:{{{name}}}

----
<!-- Hello!  Feel free to try your formatting and editing skills below this line.  As this page is for editing experiments, this page will automatically be cleaned every 12 hours. -->

to

<noinclude>
This sandbox is itself a template.  This sandbox is for experimenting with templates.
{{Please leave this line alone (template sandbox heading)}}

</noinclude>
If you defined parameters such as <tt>{{Template sandbox|First|Second|name="Named"}}</tt>:
;First:{{{1}}}
;Second:{{{2}}}
;Name:{{{name}}}

----
<!-- Hello!  Feel free to try your formatting and editing skills below this line.  As this page is for editing experiments, this page will automatically be cleaned every 12 hours. -->

Reason: I want a beginning template experimenter to be able to enter a template into the template sandbox, and then invoke it from a normal sandbox by a {{template sandbox}}, without having all the welcome text from {{Please leave this line alone (template sandbox heading)}} displayed as a result of the invocation. To achieve that, it's currently necessary for the user to add <noinclude>...</noinclude> around the boilerplate text at the top of the template sandbox, ignoring the warnings that tell him not to alter that area.
Wdfarmer (talk) 23:46, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

 Not done, not because it's not a good idea, but because there's nothing I or any other admin can do. I suggest you talk to User:Uncle G, who runs the bot which resets the sandboxes - implementing this will require him to modify the text that the bot is instructed to replace the page with when resetting. Happy‑melon 16:00, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Someone has gone and done this use of <noinclude></noinclude> - very bad idea. Some people, myself included, have this template used in personal sandboxes, which means we lose the template and get whatever practice stuff someone has placed below the line when they do this.--Doug.^{(talk • contribs)} 04:15, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

(I added <nowiki>...</nowiki> tags to the above post to clarify its meaning. Wdfarmer (talk) 23:11, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Doug, my request would only prevent the introductory header of this template from being included. You would still get the template. With or without my request being implemented, you'd still get the "practice stuff" included. Wdfarmer (talk) 23:24, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Ha, thanks, I didn't realize that {{Please leave this line alone (template sandbox heading)}} was transcluded here. I have this page transcluded on a userspace template sandbox when what I really want is the header. I agree with you now that I understand this. However, this does need to be coordinated with the cleaning bot's owner (which doesn't seem to be operating, as I note below).--Doug.^{(talk • contribs)} 04:05, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

The User:SoxBot IV cleaning bot appears to be doing that job now. It has cleared the template sandbox including my requested changes, except that it includes the blank line before "If you defined parameters...". That's good enough for me. :) Thanks to the bots creator and owner, User:Soxred93. Wdfarmer (talk) 12:11, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Autocleaning is not working

This is not getting cleaned out automatically. Some things have been here for several days. I'm cleaning it out manually but if someone can get it to be automatic again, that would be great!--Doug.^{(talk • contribs)} 04:08, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

I noticed a bot on this today so this issue is likely resolved.--Doug.^{(talk • contribs)} 01:05, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, and it seems my Request to add ... has been implemented as well. I've tested it and I'm satisfied with the result. Wdfarmer (talk) 11:46, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Where can I add interwikis?

ko:틀:틀 연습장 is created, but if I add an interwiki to this (en:) template, it seems likely that it will soon be erased, by other users or by the autocleaning. --Acepectif (talk) 18:47, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Turn this talk into sandbox

Move page to an archive as subpage of Wikipedia:About the sandbox and then add sandbox header? --209.244.43.122 (talk) 16:50, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Missing parts

This template sandbox is missing a documentation subpage sandbox and a testcases page sandbox. 76.66.196.229 (talk) 09:48, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Strage effect "If you ..." part

Hi,
I have put the template on a sub-userplage: {{sandbox}}
Goal: to experiment and to have the "sandbox"-mode noted when someone checks a "What links here". OK so far.
But as I do not type any parameters to the sandbox, the page shows this:
If you defined parameters such as {{Template <br> sandbox|First|Second|name="Named"}}:

First

{{{1}}}

Second

{{{2}}}

Name

{{{name}}}

My questions: - First: The sentence is not complete ("If you defined parameters such as ..." then what?) - Second: I expect that the parameters are optional. So when I do not use them, I expect no extra output. After all, this is a children's playground. Let's not start about 'required parameters' when children are around, ok? ;-) - Third, the meaning, use and effect of the parameters is not easy to be understand or found. Some WP:-templates have this (green) explanation-on-the page, which is great to me. Eg: Template:fact.
Can these remarks be improved/added/clarified to the template(s), helping us all or am I just a bit too impatient in learning? -DePiep (talk) 15:31, 10 April 2009 (UTC)