Wikipedia:WikiProject X/WPX UI

The WikiProject X UI is a reimplementation of WikiProjects using a collection of templates, Lua modules and bots.

There is a MediaWiki extension, named CollaborationKit, aiming to ease collaboration workflows. This extension is currently not deployed on English Wikipedia. This page documents how to set up WikiProject X tools that are currently available.

Setting up WikiProject X involves multiple steps. Some of them may be technically complex. If you need it, you can request help at the WikiProject X talk page.

WikiProject layout

The WPX UI provides an opinionated layout for WikiProject pages. The easiest way to set it up is using the {{Load WikiProject Modules}} template.

When you place {{Load WikiProject Modules}} in your WikiProject main page, it will do three things:

• Render the project introduction.
• Generate a table of contents, with standard icons for each module.
• Load the WikiProject's modules, which generate the content.

Usage:

{{Load WikiProject Modules
 |title=WikiProject Name
 |image=[[File:Image.svg|150px]]
 |intro=A brief introduction for the WikiProject
 |color1=Color for certain element styles; defaults to #37f
 |module1=First module to appear under the header
 |module2=Second module
 |module3=Third module
 |moduleN=Nth module...
}}

Participation system

WikiProject X includes a participation system that includes a {{WikiProjectCard}}-based form used to add one's username as a participant in the project, and automated active and inactive participants lists.

If you used the {{Load WikiProject Modules}} template, your WikiProject main page will already have a box advertising participants. Otherwise, you can add it with {{WPX participants box}}.

The form will not work until you set up a FormWizard for it. You can see an example at MediaWiki:Gadget-formWizard/WikiProject Parenting/Join. You can use it as an example to set it up. You will need to request page creation. See an example request at MediaWiki talk:Gadget-formWizard/WikiProject Parenting/Join.

wikiproject.json

WikiProject X's Reports bot can update some WikiProject sections automatically. Its configuration is stored at Wikipedia:WikiProject X/wikiproject.json. You will need to add a JSON entry for your WikiProject with the desired configuration.

wikiproject.json is a protected page. You can request the addition of your JSON entry on its talk page. You should include the {{edit template-protected}} template in your request. An administrator will eventually make the edit on your behalf.

Modules

WikiProject modules are the sections on the WikiProject mainpage. They are implemented as structured subpages, and will often contain more thorough content than the preview that appears as the section on the mainpage itself.

Module creation

1. Make a subpage under the name of the module (eg Wikipedia:WikiProject Ghana/Discussions).
2. Use a {{WPX header}}.
3. Put some content under the header.
4. Figure out what should actually appear on the main WikiProject page.
   • Use <noinclude> tags around the rest of it. (Or <includeonly> if you wind up with something that should only appear on the main wikiproject page.)
   • Unless it turns out there is no rest of it, add a link of some sort to the subpage itself in the included part so folks can actually get to it. (we should probably make a template for this?)

Recommendations

• Use existing implementation templates if possible.
• Include links back and forth from the subpages.
• Keep the content that appears on the mainpage short. Under ten lines is ideal; pulling out random entries from lists or wrapping narrow content so it appears in multiple columns are good ways to do this.
• As a general rule, we recommend using the WPX templates for formatting, but there may be reasons not to. If this comes up, tell us! It might be something worth building in for other projects, too.

WPX formatting templates

Headers

The section header as it appears on the mainpage.

Usage:

{{WPX header
 |Name of Module
 |color={{{1|#37f}}}
}}

Note: By passing the color parameter as color={{{1|#37f}}}, this allows the color to be controlled through the WikiProject Module Loader.

Lists

A simple, one-entry list:

{{WPX list start
 |title=Name of list
 |intro=A brief description of the list
 |color={{{1|#37f}}}
}}
{{WPX block
 |largetext=The item in the list
 |smalltext=Optional additional information
 |color={{{1|#37f}}}
}}
{{WPX list end
 |more=The full title of the page
}}

This creates nice WPX UI style lists. Use this only in designing bots; do not expect humans to use this needlessly complex syntax.

If you are using multiple lists on the same page, it is recommended you use {{WPX multilist start}} and {{WPX multilist end}}. See Wikipedia:WikiProject Women's Health/Tasks for example.

The templates {{WPX article recommendation}} and {{WPX new discussion}} are specific implementations of {{WPX block}} used by bots.

Last updated

It is recommended to use the "last updated" element to indicate that the contents of a page are current (or to imply they're out of date).

Syntax:

{{WPX last updated
 |Full name of page
}}

Specify the name of the page in the parameter to ensure that you get information for that page.

Placement of the "last updated" element depends on the module type. Default is to put it directly beneath the header. For modules that are primarily collections of lists, the "last updated" element should be placed in the intro of each list, e.g. {{WPX list start|intro={{WPX last updated|Page name}}}}.

Action box

The "action box" element should be used to set aside action items from the main content. Examples of use include the participants box seen at the top right of Wikipedia:WikiProject Evolutionary biology and the "ask a question" box at Wikipedia:WikiProject Evolutionary biology/Discussions.

Syntax:

{{WPX action box
 |title=Box header
 |content=The contents of the box
}}

For buttons, use {{Clickable button 2}}. The most important button, signifying the beginning or continuation of a process, should include the parameter class=mw-ui-progressive. The parameter class=mw-ui-constructive should be used for buttons that result in an action. All other buttons should use class=mw-ui-neutral.

{{WPX participants box}} is a specific implementation of action box with no parameters required. It is automatically included as part of {{Load WikiProject Modules}}.