%%content{n}%% is a method of querying specific sections of a page, separated by a '=====' divider.
This is content{1}
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This is content{2}
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This is content{3}Using ListPages, specific section can be queried from a page instead of the entire thing - %%content{2}%% can be used to display the "This is content{2}" part above.
This function is currently not known to be used by any page on the wiki aside from the licensebox, and is, as far as can be discerned, de facto restricted by Licensing.
This was structured as part of the Licensebox framework in the original policy proposal, with the following justifications:
- Having an auto-generated license page is a Creative Commons best practice and is highly recommended for projects of our size.
- Now there's a one-stop-shop for "where did that thing come from" and "how do I use this thing under Creative Commons".
- By citing exactly where things come from on-page, licensing staff (or any staff, for that matter) wouldn't have to go digging in the forum pages to find sources.
- It provides a single place to grab a citation for people making derivative and adaptive works.
However, upon asking the current makeup of Licensing, it is revealed that almost no one remembers or knows of the Licensing Master List, its purported usefulness, or the monopoly of %%content{n}%% by the licensebox.
It is Technical Team's view that:
- The Licensing Master List has not fulfilled its promised function, or have done so in an oblique, niche way.
- As sections are order by numeric index, its use of %%content{2}%% necessitates complete exclusion of any separators before it, and as the licensebox is the last thing on the page, nothing after it as well, thus completely blocking it for any other usage.
- It represents a massive technical debt that returns little to no value to either users or Licensing staff.
This proposal seeks to deprecate this use in the licensebox and reacquire the function for the currently-dormant Page Preview component.
Proposed Changes
- Deprecating the Licensing Master List
- Remove "=====" from the template of Licensebox component.
- Modify Preview's use instruction to have "=====" above and below.
- Remove "=====" from extant licenseboxes when applying Preview Component.
- Append new rule to Technical Content Policy that brings use of Preview and %%content{n}%% under de jure Tech control.
- Modify pages such as Tales Hub and Series Hub to display blurbs queried from the Preview component.
The proposed layout for pages using Preview will look as follow:
Section {1}. Empty, reserved for potential future staff use.
=====
Section {2}. The Page Preview Component.
[[include component:preview text=Blurb from the article contents here.]]
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Section {3}. Standard article contents. This is where the majority of a page's data will be located, and is currently effectively Section 1.
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Section {4}. To be deprecated. LicenseBox content.
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Section {5}. To be deprecated. LicenseBox end.
Technical details
- Preview, if used, has to be the very first thing in the page, until otherwise changed for use of content{1}.
- Preview Component should be used on default category page only.
- Preview Component will be added to Unmodifiable Content.
- %%content{1}%% and %%content{2}%% will be restricted by Tech, with {1} being reserved portion and {2} being the section containing the blurb.
- %%content{4}%% up to %%content{8}%% can be used freely by members, while %%content{9}%% and above are reserved.
Preview Content Policy
Blurbs may be any text which accurately or usefully describes an article at a glance or in summary. However, there are limitations to ensure standardization and avoid issues with site technical policy:
- Blurbs must be composed of plain text (UTF-8) only, with no formatting, syntax blocks (e.g. [[div]]), custom CSS, or use of components.
- This precludes use of alternate Unicode codepoint ranges such as Gothic or Latin Extended-C as special "fonts" or a means of bypassing the plain text requirement. This also disallows use of the Private Use Area (PUA) generally. However, use of non-Latin scripts for conveying non-Latin characters is always acceptable.
- However, limited formatting for accurate representation of text may be permitted with Technical Team approval. For instance, use of superscript or subscript for strictly technical information (e.g. "H2O" or "21024 bytes"), or use of the "ruby text" CSS class for CJK-compatible text displays. Use of these features for "stylistic" reasons is not permitted.
- Blurbs must be at least one sentence or equivalent in length, and must not exceed 500 displayed characters.
- Blurbs should describe, summarize, or provide a hook for the article they reference. Off-topic or inappropriate blurbs may be subject to edits at the discretion of the Curation Team.
- Blurbs should not be disruptive, such as containing excessively many paragraphs. This is determined at staff discretion.
- Blurbs must be trivially parse-able by text-to-speech and accessibility systems.
- Blurbs may contain links when appropriate, e.g. to a series it's a part of, or to a sequel/prequel article.
Positives
- Allow ListPages to display blurbs and previews of pages through %%content{2}%%.
- Use of %%content{n}%% in ListPages, components and other systems will be possible.
Negatives
- Breaks Licensing Master List
- Prevent uses of %%preview%%, %%preview(n)%% and %%first_paragraph%%
- Due to current occupation of %%content{2}%%, using it to display Preview-Component'd blurbs will also display Licensing info for pages not using Preview component.
The discussion will last for 7 days.
Mainsite Mirror: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-16571205/discusion-tech-acquisition-of-content-n-reviving-the-preview