Suggestion
I just wanted to note that there could potentially be something in the template about sourcing. Alenoach (talk) 04:56, 12 June 2025 (UTC)
Is this useful?
The point about sandboxes seems unnecessarily detailed, perhaps we should remove this: "It's perfect for working on bigger projects. Then for easy access in the future, you can put a link to it on your user page."
Also, should we keep of remove the point about "~~~~"? The signature process is done automatically unless you edit the wikicode, so I suspect it may confuse newcomers. Alenoach (talk) 13:42, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
Template-protected edit request on 2 April 2026
Change preform maintenance tasks to task center for easier navigation.~2026-19771-29 (talk) 20:05, 2 April 2026 (UTC)
Not done: no valid reason for suggested change. Zackmann (Talk to me/What I been doing) 04:51, 3 April 2026 (UTC)
Paragraph on signing
I suggest removing the paragraph on signing. This is because new users generally use the visual editor for discussions, which doesn't require manual signing, so saying to "Always sign your posts on talk pages" seems legitimately confusing for newcomers. The template was created in 2011; I believe at that time that signing needed to be done manually, so the paragraph is less relevant now than it used to be.
I made this implementation in the sandbox to show what the modification looks like.
Or otherwise, if you decide to keep some content on signing, I think the paragraph should at least acknowledge that signature is often automatic and not say "Always sign your posts on talk pages". And this part should clearly be removed: "(however, if you create an account, your IP address will be hidden and you will be able to build a custom signature that can link to your own user page)" (it's outdated since IP addresses are not shown any more).
I'm by the way also uncertain whether this is worth having or not: "It's perfect for working on bigger projects. Then for easy access in the future, you can put a link to it on your user page." Let me know what you think. Alenoach (talk) 00:15, 11 May 2026 (UTC)
- Alenoach, are you sure that "new users generally use the visual editor for discussions"? I rarely use VE, but at one point, VE was only available for mainspace, not for Talk pages, templates, project pages, or anything else. Has that changed? I did a test just now, editing the Germany article in VE, then switching to the Talk page at Talk:Germany. There was no 'Edit' tab at the top of Talk:Germany, only the 'Edit source' tab; I had no option to edit Talk:Germany using VE. So I switched from laptop to smartphone, and did the same thing using the native mobile app, but it came up with wikitext in both cases; no VE. Maybe what I am seeing has something to do with my preferences, which give me both tabs where possible ('Edit' for VE, and 'Edit source' for wikitext editing). What happens when you go to Talk:Germany and hit Edit? Does it come up in VE?
- In any case, I would be opposed to removing guidance about signatures even if it only applies to wikitext editors. Instead, just state what is required for each case. Regarding the use of the term IP, yes, that is outdated, and should be replaced by temporary account. Mathglot (talk) 21:49, 17 May 2026 (UTC)
- What I meant with VisualEditor in the context of talk pages is the "Add topic" button. Apparently it uses DiscussionTools rather than the VisualEditor.
- Maybe you're right that even among new users, a significant fraction uses "Edit source". I still think the advice as currently written, with the "Always sign your posts on talk pages", is confusing; though trying to describe precisely when signing is needed risks being verbose or overly technical. I'm unsure what to propose here. Alenoach (talk) 04:46, 18 May 2026 (UTC)
- Ah, yes, that makes more sense now. Can't we just say, Do this when you hit Reply, do that when you hit Edit section? Mathglot (talk) 06:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC)
- Maybe something like:
- "Sign messages you add to talk pages with the button "Edit source"."
- "Sign messages you add to talk pages when you use the source editor."
- "Sign messages you add to talk pages. [rest of the paragraph] This is done automatically when you click on "Add topic", but needs to be done manually when using the source editor."
- Alenoach (talk) 03:46, 19 May 2026 (UTC)
- Hi @Mathglot, do you have a preference regarding my previous comment?
- Also, do you have an opinion on whether this is worth keeping (if you're unsure as well, I'll just leave it as it is):
- "It's perfect for working on bigger projects. Then for easy access in the future, you can put a link to it on your user page."
- Thanks for your feedback! Alenoach (talk) 17:18, 28 June 2026 (UTC)
- Don't have time for a detailed review right now, but in general agree that there is too much about signing there now, although I wouldn't omit all mention of it, as unsigned posts by users using the source editor may still happen. Agree with dropping that last sentence you quoted.
- As a meta-issue (that should have its own section), this page should probably be redirected to Wikipedia talk:Welcoming committee/Welcome templates, as all Welcome template talk pages should. See the talk pages of User warning templates, which almost all redirect to WT:WARN for a precedent. Mathglot (talk) 17:55, 28 June 2026 (UTC)
- Maybe something like:
- Ah, yes, that makes more sense now. Can't we just say, Do this when you hit Reply, do that when you hit Edit section? Mathglot (talk) 06:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC)