MarioWiki:Notice templates

This article is under construction. Therefore, please excuse its informal appearance while it is being worked on. We hope to have it completed as soon as possible.

Notice Templates are an official notification that are used on necessary pages as means to bring attention to a certain problem, situation or maintenance issue. There are five different kinds of notices, with over 120 templates in total. Each and every one of them have a unique purpose for the pages that they are to be placed on. Most of these templates possess their own category that is included within the template, so the page that the Notice Template has been tagged on is automatically categorized. This is convenient in the way that users can easily find pages with the same issue or in the same situation. This page describes the general usage of each type of Notice Template in detail. A list of all Notice Templates and their subcategories (rather that the sections below), can be seen at Category:Notice Templates. Please note that not all templates are Notice Templates, with Navigation Templates being the other main group. A directory linking to these and other types of templates can be found at Help:Template.

Types of Notice Templates

Notice Templates are used on multiple namespaces where they have a large variety of unique purposes, from requesting additional images on an article to disciplining users for poor behavior. There are five kinds of Notice Templates. They are; Image, Talk, User, Image copyright tags, and the main, non-specific Notice Templates, which is everything that doesn't fit in the above sorts. This mainly includes templates that are reserved exclusively for mainspace, such as {{Rewrite-expand}}, though a small number of these templates are intended for use on MarioWiki pages. It also contains templates that can be used on multiple namespaces, such as the widely-used {{Delete}}. Please remember that that such templates (not including {{Delete}}, which is to be used wherever necessary), must not be applied to Userspace pages. We cannot stress enough how important this is, as the template would include the userspace page in the template's category. This is not accepted, as userspace pages are not thought of in the same way as mainspace pages. For example, let's say that a user is drafting a new article on their userspace and they put {{Construction}} on the top of the page. While this indicates that the page is being worked on, it also adds the page to Category:Articles under construction, which is kept for mainspace pages only and are not to be categorized under userspace pages (even if they are part of the project). Instead, the template's source, excluding the category, can be copied and pasted on the necessary pages.

Official Notice Templates give a clear indication to the condition and situation of the page where they are placed and should not be removed unless the page or the situation itself has either been; maintained and/or any faults corrected, a consensus has been achieved through discussion, or the template's informative notice does not or no longer applies to the tagged page. Some templates, namely {{New stub}}, are set to a timestamp that automatically alters the notice itself over a period of time. Such templates should not be removed unless legitimately necessary, because simply re-tagging the notice on the article will reset the timestamp, and thus defeating the purpose of those particular templates. If there is an issue, the timestamp can be resumed from the time it was removed/altered. Simply copy the exact timestamp code from a previous revision of the page.

Image Notices

Image Notices are restricted for use on files only, as they would not be suitable anywhere else. Though it is less common, some of these templates may be applicable to sound and video files. But as the greater number are used on images, they take precedence over the category's name. The primary purpose of these templates is to describe the file and clarify how it is currently being used. For example, the template {{Personal-image}} is an informative notice that tells us that an image is not intended for use on the main project, but is in possession by a particular user for personal use only (see MarioWiki:Personal Images). A different example is the extremely useful {{Aboutfile}}, which can be formatted through coding to neatly display information about a file. Another purpose for Image Notices is to bring attention to any faults in the file, and request a re-upload if a better quality or more fitting file is found. Please remember that all Image Notices are to be used on files only. There may be main Notice Templates that relate to images, such as {{MoreImages}}, but these should not be categorized as Image Notices.

Similar to the main Notice Templates, Image Notices, in most cases, should not be removed unless the template's notice no longer applies to that particular file. In some cases, this will be due to a re-upload. Others, the file may have undergone changes in how it is used, so the template's notice is no longer valid. Image Notices are recommended to be placed in the Summary section of a file.

Image copyright tags

Image Notices have a subcategory called Image copyright tags. These particular notices each act as a different license to give acknowledgment to any copyrights that Nintendo may hold over the images/media files, and highlight the fair use doctrine that allows us to use these files in the project's articles. When in the process of uploading files, a user can select from a drop-down menu the type of license to apply to the file, and the selected template will automatically appear in the License section of the file's page when uploaded. There is a specific license for most kinds of images, such as screenshots, box arts, sprites and character artworks, to name a few. If an incorrect license was selected at the time of upload, don't stress; it can easily be changed by editing the file's page as normal. Having said that, a license should only be added, correctly replaced, but never removed. Licenses acknowledge Nintendo's copyrighted content, and there is little to gain in removing them. Please see Help:License for additional information.

Talk Notices

Template:Fakelink are specifically for mainspace discussion pages. Most of them are permanent, being intended to remain on the talk page indefinitely, others are to remain for a varying length of time, i.e. as long as necessary. A smaller group of Talk Notices, though they aren't subcategorized but significant enough to be collectively referred to, are the archive notices. The {{Talkarchive}} template can be used on archived material to remind users not to edit any unprotected content. This template is suitable for both main and user talk archives, where it provides a short notice about discouraging users from editing the archive, and also gives a link to the current talk page if the reader wishes to post any comments. {{Archive}} acts as a directory to all archives of that talk page. Though this template is a standard for mainspace talk, users are welcome to display their archives with this template, or if they wish, they are allowed to create a custom template within their userspace. However, this is only allowed if the template is used on all the archives.

Another small group of Talk Notices can be referred to as the talk page proposal notices. There are only two within the Talk Notice category; the first being {{TPP}}, which is to be put at the top of the talk page section above the proposed content, indicating that the proposal has not yet reached a consensus. It also invites the reader to join in the discussion. The other notice, {{SettledTPP}}, is to replace {{TPP}} once the proposal has concluded, typically two weeks from the commencing date. It gives a notification that the proposal has been settled and requests users to not edit the section's content (for historical references).

A common Talk Notice that worth explaining is {{Notforumtalk}}, which is to be used on mainspace talk pages to dissuade users from delving into discussions which would be best saved for the forums (in other words; discussions that are not aimed at improving the article). Removing any forum-like posts from mainspace talk pages is perfectly legitimate, but please remember to make a quick note of the action in the edit summary box to make it clear and to avoid any misunderstandings with other users. Normally, it is a matter of discretion when deciding to remove such discussions; so if there is any uncertainty, then it may be best to just leave the comments as they are.

User Notices

User Notices are Notice Templates which relate to userspace and user talk pages only. This includes templates that are issued to users via their talk page, such as warning templates. It also includes self-applied templates which act as a notice for a user's talk/userpage, such as {{Vacation}}. The ideal purpose of this notice is to indicate that the user is going to be inactive from the wiki for a while, and won't be able to promptly respond to messages. Another group of User Notices, the disciplinary, or warning templates all share the same basic purpose; to officially give a user forceful or cautionary advice about their actions or conduct. There are currently over ten templates in this sort, and while most of them pertain to a specific type of offense, others can being used for multiple offenses where a specific reason can be provided by the issuer. The templates in question can be further split into three groups for more specific explanations; warning, correction and alert templates.

There are four warning templates, which are used as progressive punishment to lead up to a {{Block}}. Different warning templates are issued to match the severity and type of offense, eg; any breaches of the Userspace Policy are given through {{Userspace}}, and repeated or more serious offenses are punishable with {{Warning}}. Every user has the right to warn another user, as long as the offense/action in question is concerning enough to merit a warning, and the correct template is issued to match that specific offense. Warning other users is a serious matter, and it must be treated as such. Issuing "fake warnings", or simply issuing unnecessary or excessive warning templates is not tolerated here. Also, if a user receives a warning that they don't believe they deserve, then they have the right to appeal it. Remember that warnings issued by Administrators will not be heard. Removing or altering a warning template without an appeal is a warnable offense in itself. Please don't do it, as it will only consequence in a greater punishment. Please see MarioWiki:Warning Policy for further information.

A step below the warning templates are a group of notices that specifically issued to request a user to correct a personal problem in order to conform to the rules while giving an official notification, rather than an informal message. Examples include {{Sigfix}}; when a user's signature violates any policies outlined in MarioWiki:Signature. If a user is over the limit with the amount of personal images they currently have, {{Personal-image-warning}} is issued. And {{Aboutfile-reminder}} is for when a user repeatedly formats the {{Aboutfile}} template incorrectly when uploading files. If a user is to not act in accordance to these notices within a reasonable amount of time, it may result in a warning template from the next level, and the Administrators will simply start deleting extra personal images or forcibly changing the user's signature, as an example.

A smaller group of User Notices are the alert templates. Their purpose is to notify a user about major changes regarding any recent activity that has taken place that may apply to them. {{Delete-reason}} is issued to notify a user if their page has been deleted or made a redirect. {{New stub-reason}} is issued when their newly-created page has been tagged with {{New stub}}, informing the user that they have a week to expand their article to an acceptable length or it will be deleted. {{AppealNotice}} is used only in the circumstances of an appeal, which will decide the reversal of an issued warning template. This is to be given to the issuer of the appealed warning, to inform them of the situation and request them to take part in the appeal process.

Please note that Template:Adminmemo is reserved for Administrative purposes only. As they use mainspace for hosting, User Notices should not be created without first asking the Admins for their opinion, or by reaching a public decision through a Proposal. Failure to do so may result in the template being deleted.