MicroWiki:Templates for discussion

On this page, the deletion or merging of templates and modules, except as noted below, is discussed.

How to use this page

What not to propose for discussion here

The majority of deletion and merger proposals concerning pages in the template namespace and module namespace should be listed on this page. However, there are a few exceptions:

Stub templates

Stub templates and categories should be listed at Categories for discussion, as these templates are merely containers for their categories, unless the stub template does not come with a category and is being nominated by itself.

Userboxes

Userboxes should be listed at Miscellany for deletion, regardless of the namespace in which they reside.

Speedy deletion candidates

If the template clearly satisfies a criterion for speedy deletion, tag it with a speedy deletion template. For example, if you wrote the template and request its deletion, tag it with {{Db-author}}.

Policy or guideline templates

Templates that are associated with particular MicroWiki policies or guidelines, such as the speedy deletion templates, cannot be listed at TfD separately. They should be discussed on the talk page of the relevant guideline.

Reasons to delete a template

The template violates some part of the template namespace guidelines, and can't be altered to be in compliance.
The template is redundant to a better-designed template.
The template is not used, either directly or by template substitution (the latter cannot be concluded from the absence of backlinks), and has no likelihood of being used.
The template violates a policy and it can't be fixed through normal editing.

Templates should not be nominated if the issue can be fixed by normal editing. Instead, you should edit the template to fix its problems. If the template is complex and you don't know how to fix it, consider asking an administrator.

Templates for which none of these apply may be deleted by consensus here. If a template is being misused, consider clarifying its documentation to indicate the correct use, or informing those that misuse it, rather than nominating it for deletion. Initiate a discussion on the template talk page if the correct use itself is under debate.

Listing a template

Step	Instructions
1: Tag the template	Add one of the following codes to the top of the template page: For deletion: `{{subst:Tfd}}` For deletion of a sidebar or infobox template: `{{subst:Tfd\|type=sidebar}}` For deletion of an inline template: `{{subst:Tfd\|type=inline}}` For deletion of a module: `{{subst:Tfd\|type=module\|page=name of module}}` at the top of the module's `/doc` subpage. For merging: `{{subst:Tfm\|name of other template}}` For merging an inline template: `{{subst:Tfm\|type=inline\|name of other template}}` Other values for `\|type=` are available, see Template:Template for discussion#Display on articles Note: If the template is protected, create a new post on its talk page. If the template nominated is inline, do not add a newline between the TfD notice and the code of the template. For templates designed to be substituted (ususally marked with {{always substitute}}), add `<noinclude>...</noinclude>` around the TfD template to prevent the deletion notice from being transcluded. Do not mark the edit as minor. Multiple templates: If you are nominating multiple related templates, choose a meaningful title for the discussion (like "Unused navigational boxes"). Tag every template with `{{subst:Tfd\|heading=discussion title}}` or `{{subst:Tfm\|name of other template\|heading=discussion title}}` instead of the versions given above, replacing `discussion title` with the title you chose (but still not changing the `PAGENAME` code).
2: List the template	Follow this link and create a post for your nomination. Add this text to the top of the list: For deletion: `{{subst:Tfd2\|template name\|text=Why you think the template should be deleted. ~~~~}}` For merging: `{{subst:Tfm2\|template name\|other template's name\|text=Why you think the templates should be merged. ~~~~}}` Use an edit summary such as `Adding [[Template:template name]]`. Multiple templates: If this is a deletion proposal involving multiple templates, use the following: `{{subst:Tfd2\|template name 1\|template name 2 ...\|title=meaningful discussion title\|text=Why you think the templates should be deleted. ~~~~}}`
3: Notify users	Please notify the creator of the template nominated (as well as the creator of the target template, if proposing a merger). It is helpful to also notify the main contributors of the template that you are nominating. To find them, look in the page history or talk page of the template. Then, add one of the following templates to the talk page of the talk pages of the template creator (and the creator of the other template for a merger) and the talk pages of the main contributors: For deletion: `{{subst:Tfd notice\|template name}}` ~~~~ For merging: `{{subst:Tfm notice\|template name\|other template's name}}` ~~~~ Multiple templates: There is no template for notifying an editor about a multiple-template nomination: please write a personal message in these cases.

Consider adding any templates you nominate for TfD to your watchlist. This will help ensure that the TfD tag is not removed.

Discussion

Anyone can join the discussion, but please understand the deletion policy and explain your reasoning.

People will sometimes also recommend subst or subst and delete and similar. This means the template text should be "merged" into the articles that use it. Depending on the content, the template page may then be deleted; if preserving the edit history for attribution is desirable, it may be history-merged with the target article or moved to mainspace and redirected.