Wikipedia

Wikipedia:Userboxes

(Redirected fromWikipedia:Ubx)

For the WikiProject collaboration on userboxes, seeWikipedia:WikiProject Userboxes.
A userbox is a small rectangular box that looks like this. More examples below.
Userboxes can come in many different styles and colors.
Userboxes can have one or two sideboxes.

Auserbox(commonly abbreviated asUBX) is a small colored box (see examples to the right) designed to appear only on a Wikipedian'suser pageas a communicative notice about the user, in order to directly or indirectly help Wikipedians collaborate more effectively on articles.

The first userboxes were introduced to support theBabelinter-language effort by indicating the skills of users in other languages.

Be mindful that, like anything else you add to Wikipedia, userboxes you add will likely be public forever, even if you later have your user page deleted. (Like other Wikipedia pages, your user page will be regularly archived in the database dumps and may be archived by third parties, such as theInternet Archive.)

Using existing userboxes

Userboxes belong on their users' pages. In some cases, it may be considereduncivilto place userboxes on other users' pages without their permission (especiallyin a mean-spirited way—such as accusing a user ofracism,sexism,homophobia,transphobia,etc.). However, userboxes may be placed on non-mainspacetalk pages by anyone. (See alsoWikipedia:Talk page.)

The{{clear}}template can be placed after the plain userbox if text is added on a new line immediately after it.

A gallery of existing userboxes can be found atWikipedia:Userboxes/Galleries.

Syntax

The standard syntax for adding a userbox to your user page (also known astransclusion) is:{{username_of_box}}.

If you do not have any userboxes on your user page yet, you want to begin using them, and you want to add them down the right side of your user page starting at the top, then edit your user page and, at or near the top of the source for your user page, add{{Userboxtop |}},add the transclusion(s) for the userbox(es) you wish to include, and add{{userboxbottom}}just after the last userbox transclusion. Please see the#Grouping_userboxessection for other ways of grouping and placing userboxes.

Optional substitution

You may decide tosubstitutethe template code onto your user page using the syntax{{subst:username_of_box}}.The use of "subst:" will ensure that the template is always displayed in its form when you add it to your user page (i.e. it will not reflect subsequent edits to the template). This method will lead to large amounts of code on your user page.

Creating a new userbox

Shortcuts
If you wish to offer an idea for a userbox, do so on theideas page.

If you have designed a userbox that you would like to make available to others, you may wish to first display it on theNew Userboxes talk pagefor community comment.

Namespace

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See also:Wikipedia:Userbox migration

Thenamespaceyou place your userbox in matters. Userboxes mayonlybe created or displayed in theUser,Project(Wikipedia), orTemplatenamespaces.

So which prefix is best for your userbox:User:,Wikipedia:,orTemplate:?

Since content inUser:space represents individual editors more than the community, they are traditionally given more leeway than in other namespaces. Thus, userboxes inUser:space may not be as directly collaborative in nature as those inTemplate:orWikipedia:namespaces, which are expected to adhere more tightly with certainpolicies and guidelines,especiallyNeutral point of viewandWhat Wikipedia is not.This should also be considered beforemovinga userbox from userspace to any other namespace.

User:
To host a userbox in the user namespace, create asubpageof your own user page orUser:UBX.
Wikipedia:
Userboxes in the project namespace are generally forWikiProjectortask forceusage. Simply create it as asubpageof the WikiProject (e.g.Wikipedia:WikiProject Spaceflight/Userbox).
Template:
In the template namespace, userbox names must begin with "User"(e.g.Template:User BrazilorTemplate:User en).
Please remember to addnocat = trueand wrap the category inincludeonlytags(seethis example diff) when using theTemplatenamespace. Otherwise, your userbox will automatically be categorized, causing inconvenience toWikiElves.

If you are uncertain if your userbox is in the correct namespace, consider presenting the userbox at theNew Userboxes talk pagefor community comment.

Userboxes and category use

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Main page:Wikipedia:User categories
See also:Wikipedia:Overcategorization/User categoriesandWikipedia:User categories § Syntax for including a user category in a userbox

A userbox can be coded to autocategorise any user pages whichtranscludethe userbox into one or moreuser categories.However,do notuse autocategorisation without good reason.

  • Most userboxes refer to a single isolated characteristic of the user; unless the characteristic directly relates to the user'sability or willingness to collaborate on certain areas of or topics within Wikipedia,a user category should not exist for it and the userbox should not be used for categorisation.
  • Users of the userbox can be located using theSpecial:WhatLinksHeretool from the userbox template. Networking between editors with similar interests or views is best done using aprojectspace essaywith a signup section for editors interested in networking.
  • If there is a good reason for the user category, first create the category pages and include a description that explains its purpose and scope.
  • User categories must besub-categoriesofCategory:Wikipedians.
  • Names and descriptions of user categories are subject to the same rules and restrictions asuserbox content.

Userbox content

Content restrictions

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  • All userboxes are governed by thecivilitypolicy.
  • Wikipedia is notan appropriate place for:
    • Propaganda, advocacy, or recruitment of any kind (commercial, political, religious, or otherwise)
    • Opinion pieces, particularly on current affairs or politics
    • Self-promotion or advertising

Simply:If content is not appropriate on other parts of auser page,it is not appropriate within userboxes.

Caution about image use

Wikimedia Commons has alarge range of iconsfor use within boxes. However, if you select an image from somewhere else, make certain the image has a free license. Templates (which includes userboxes and topicons) on user pages may not contain any copyrighted content not under free license; so, for example, "fair use"images are explicitly forbidden. This is interpreted strictly and without exception. SeeWikipedia's fair use policy guidelinesfor more details.

Caution about colours

Please be mindful of thecolour contrastguidelines atWP:COLOUR– low-contrast colours present accessibility barriers to people with colour-blindness or other visual disabilities.

Content examples

The following section is not to be considered all-inclusive. As such, other word combinations (both appropriate and inappropriate) are obviously possible.

Typical userbox content:

Typicalverbs:

  • verbs of action: contributes (to), drives, eats, edits, plays, uses, watches
  • verbs of comprehension: reads, speaks, understands
  • verbs of preference: enjoys, likes, loves

Additional examples, using thelinkingverbis:

  • This user is <noun phrase>.
  • This user is a fan of <noun phrase>.
  • This user is a member of <noun phrase>.
  • This user is interested in <noun phrase>.

Another option is to allow changing the verb phrase usinga template parameter.This is especially useful in location userboxes:

  • This user {{{1|lives in}}} <location>.

To avoid the awkward third-person phrasing ( "This user" ), you can use "{{#titleparts: {{PAGENAME}} | 1 | 1 }}"(without the quotes) to insert the name of the user that includes it on their page (e.g."{{#titleparts: {{PAGENAME}} | 1 | 1 }} uses second-person phrasing"produces" Userboxes uses second-person phrasing ").

Potentially divisive words

Shortcut

Avoid verbs (often followed by the word "that") which may be used to suggest negative comparison and would thus be potentially divisive, such as:

  • believes, considers, finds, knows, prefers, thinks, wishes

Avoid negative verb phrases which can be potentially divisive, such as:

  • dislikes, despises, hates, loathes

Also avoid compound sentences which are positive and negative, such as:

  • This user likes <noun phrase>, but does not like <another noun phrase>.

Essentially:Express what you do like, rather than what you don't like. Express what you comprehend, rather than what you don't comprehend. Express what you do, rather than what you don't. Express who you are, rather than who you aren't.

Design: How to construct the box

There are a number of box types to select from when deciding to make a userbox. The most commonly used design is the "Standard box".It has one square shaped area on the left ("id label") and a larger rectangular space on the right ("info area").

For ease of use, userboxes are typically made using maker-templates that have a number of parameters.

Parameter Applies to Syntax and Comments on Value Types
border-c Bordercolorfor the overall userbox. CSS color stringas in#hexor a CSS named color. (E.g.#f00orredor#ff0000).
border-s Borderline thicknessfor the overall userbox. Unit-less numerical value for border size/width,equivalentto pixels,
but do not append 'px' to the number. E.g.border-s = 3.
id-c
Backgroundcolorfor theidlabel area of the userbox.
 CSS color string (hex or name)
id-s Textsizefor theidlabel area. Unit-less numerical value for font-size(do not append 'px')
id-fc Textcolorfor theidlabel. CSS color string (hex or name)
id-p Space/paddingBetween theidcontent
and the userbox border. 		This cell padding uses a CSS length value. Unlike the other unit-less values,
thismusthave aCSS length unitsuch aspxorpt.(E.g.id-p = 8px).
id-lh Vertical distance betweenidtext lines (line-height). It is recommended to use unit-less numerical values for line-height.
Optionally, CSS length unitscanbe used for this parameter.
info-c
Background color for theinfoarea of the userbox.
 CSS color string (hex or name)
info-s Textsizefor theinfoarea. Unit-less numerical value for font-size(do not append 'px').
info-fc Textcolorfor theinfoarea. CSS color string (hex or name)
info-a
⇦Horizontal text alignment for info area only.⇨
 A text string of, one of:left,right,orcenter.
Do notenclose the key word in quotes. (E.g.info-a = center).
info-lh Vertical distance betweeninfotext lines (line-height). It is recommended to use unit-less numerical values for line-height. Optionally,
CSS length unitscanbe used for this parameter.
id Specifycontentfor the the id label. Free-form text (E.g.id = Co)
info Specifycontentfor the info area. Free-form text (E.g.info = Cobalt is Very Blue)

Theidlabel andinfocontent area can include text, links, and/or images, using the usual Wikipedia syntax. Typically, theinfobox will contain a sentence with a link or two, while theidbox will contain a few letters, a symbol, or a 43px image.

Userbox types
Userbox sampling templates

To make it easier to quote the generation code for a userbox in a uniform format, a template{{Userbox sample compact}}has been made available, which produces a picture of the userbox along with the code necessary to create it. To use it, just give it exactly the same parameters you would give the{{Userbox}}template. You must usesubst:,or the template will not work properly. An example is shown below:

{{subst:Userbox sample compact|id=UBX|id-c=red|info=This is a '''[[WP:UBX|Userbox]]'''.}}

Produces:

{{Userbox | border-c = #999 | border-s = 1 | id-c = red | id-s = 14 | id-fc = black | info-c = #EEE | info-s = 8 | info-fc = black | id = UBX | info = This is a '''[[WP:UBX|Userbox]]'''. | float = left }}
UBX This is aUserbox.

There are not yet any similar templates available for userboxes created by the templatesUserbox-r,Userbox-2andUserbox-m.

Grouping userboxes

Using the Userboxtop template

As with theBabelbox, there is a box to group userboxes together. Just make a list of userboxes with {{Userboxtop|box-name}} at the top, followed by your list of userboxes, and{{Userboxbottom}}at the bottom. For example, the box to the right is created using the following list: 

{{Userboxtop}}
{{User WikiProject Userboxes}}
{{User:UBX/Rome}}
{{User:Nihiltres/Userboxes/Friendly}}
{{Userboxbottom}}

Using collapsible tables

If you wish to group your userboxes into expandable lists in the{{Userboxtop}}template, one way of doing this is by using collapsible tables with certain classes. Wikipedia's Mediawiki configuration attempts to make this happen through a combination ofECMAScriptandCSS.This method is accessible to users with ECMAScript (jScript/JavaScript) disabled, and should work in most modern browsers (it is the method used by{{Navbox}}).

Using the codes inHelp:Collapsingworks much better and simpler using normal wiki table markup!
{{Userboxtop|Example 2}}
<tableclass="collapsible collapsed"style="width: 100%; background: transparent; color: inherit;">
<tr><thstyle="background:lavender;">(Caption)</th></tr>
<tr><td>
(Place your userboxes here...)
</td></tr>
</table>
{{Userboxbottom}}

Include 'collapsed' if you want the box to start closed, omit it if you want the box to start open. You can also use multiple tables to get separate collapsible parts like in the example to the right.

You can now use{{Userboxgroup}}to create this kind of box.

Using the Babel grouping system

The Babel grouping system can also be used, e.g.{{Babel|sv|no-4|in Rome}},which generates:

However, it only works for user boxes with the "User" prefix, which must then be dropped for the arguments.

Also, boxes that need arguments of their own (such as {{User:UBX/Monty Python}} or{{User Translator}}) are difficult to use with the Babel system. They can be used by including parameters with magic word replacing the vertical bars and equals signs, e.g.{{Babel|fr-5|ja-2|Translator{{!}}fr{{!}}project{{=}}no}}(result below), but this behavior is not officially supported by the template, and may not work in all contexts and break at some point in the future.

Using tables

Another alternative would be totableyour userboxes: 

{| style= "margin: 1em auto;"
|+ example 6
|-
| {{User:AusTerrapin/Box:Jazz Fusion}} {{User_USAFo5}}
|-
| {{User helper}} {{User:The Raven's Apprentice/Userboxes/User Warm}}
|}

would produce the following:

example 6
This user enjoysjazz-rock fusion.
This user is aLieutenant Colonelin theUnited States Air Force.
This user helps outnewcomers.
This user preferswarm weather.

To center one userbox use this coding: 

{| style= "margin: 1em auto;"
|+ example 7
|-
| {{User:Saoshyant/Userboxes/User oops}}
|}

which produces:

example 7
This user tries to do the right thing. If they make a mistake, pleaselet them know.

See also

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