Wikipedia:WikiProject Inline Templates

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Welcome to WikiProject Inline Templates. This collaboration is dedicated to improving Wikipedia's inline neutrality- & attribution-cleanup, dispute, and footnote templates. This page and its subpages contain their suggestions and various resources; it is hoped that this project will help to focus the efforts of other Wikipedians interested in the topic. If you would like to help, please join the project by adding your name to the list of participants. Membership merely signifies your interest in inline templates and members are under no obligation to do anything; however, the to-do list is a good place to actually starting helping out.

Note that "inline" is used here in the sense of "within text" rather than "directly from another server".

Purpose

Description

A project to centralize the creation and management of inline superscript templates such as {{Citation needed}}.

Goals

Protect templates from well-meaning reformatting attempts that are known to cause problems in various browsers
Develop a "meta-template" from which all of these templates are derived, so that layout problems with them can be fixed in one place
Ensure consistency between all of these templates, as to their formatting, naming, content and mouseover (tooltip) messages
Provide a talk forum for discussion of problems with the templates, or other needs with regard to them
Provide a proposals area for the organized creation of new templates of this sort instead of today's random creation of often redundant inline templates
Possibly provide an ITfD mechanism, the way WikiProject Stub sorting has provided the SfD mechanism
Actually identify and categorize all of the templates of this sort
Ensure that the Template messages documentation is updated with regard to these templates
Write a guide to their usage (possibly stand-alone, or possibly as part of the MoS)
Improve each template's documentation

Scope

Inline superscripted cleanup and dispute templates such as {{Citation needed}} and {{Clarify me}}
Reference citation inline templates such as the {{Ref}} and {{Note}} family of templates
Recommendations on improvements to Cite.php-style reference citation mechanism (<ref ...>...</ref>, <ref ... />, and <references />)
Possible scope expansion into other inline templates such as the {{tl}} family of templates
Not formatting-and-function or typing-aid templates that happen to be used inline in article text but are essentially invisible to the user.

See archives of Template talk:Citation needed for some reasons why this project is needed.

Guidelines

Discuss ideas for new inline templates here before creating them, to avoid template overlap and Templates for discussion debates later.
Discuss changes to inline templates here before making them, to prevent inconsistency, browser incompatibility, and usability/accessibility problems.
Inline templates, where possible, should be built on the {{fix}} metatemplate, not coded from scratch, for maintainability.

Open tasks

List of inline templates

If you discover a "new" inline template, no matter how old it is, please add it to the "New inline templates" section below, so that it can be processed (checked for proper categorization, etc.)

^‡ = Only part of it is superscripted.

^‡‡ = Has a non-superscripted mode as well.

^‡‡‡ = Only part of it is inline.

Superscripted:

{{according to whom}} a.k.a. {{whom}}, {{says who}}, {{who says}} and several others ⇒^{[according to whom?]}
{{anachronism inline}} ⇒^{[anachronism]}
{{attribution needed}} a.k.a. {{views needing attribution}}, {{attrib}} & many others (after many merges) ⇒^{[attribution needed]}
{{awkward}} a.k.a. {{awk}} ⇒^{[needs copy edit]}
{{by whom}} – a grammatical variant of {{who}}, a.k.a. several others ⇒^{[by whom?]}
{{citation broken}} ⇒^{[full citation needed]}
{{citation needed}} a.k.a. {{fact}}, {{cn}}, {{needs citation}}, {{uncited}}, etc.; ⇒^{[citation needed]}
{{cite quote}} ⇒^{[This quote needs a citation]}
{{clarify}} a.k.a. {{clarifyme}}, {{clarify me}}, {{huh}}, {{what}}; see also {{clarifyref}} and {{clarifyref2}} – subst'd variants that provide a |reason= that describe how to provides better reference citations ⇒^{[clarification needed]}
{{contradict inline}} (should probably be merged with the next one) ⇒^{[contradictory]}
{{contradiction inline}} (should probably be merged with the previous one) ⇒^{[contradictory]}
{{dead link}} ⇒^{[dead link]}
{{disambiguation needed}} a.k.a. {{ambiguous link}} a.k.a. {{dn}} ⇒^{[disambiguation needed]}
{{disputed inline}}, a.k.a. {{disputable}}, {{debatable}} ⇒^{[disputed – discuss]}
{{dubious}} a.k.a. {{DisputedAssertion}} ⇒^{[dubious – discuss]}
{{elucidate}} ⇒^{[further explanation needed]}
{{episode needed}} a.k.a. {{episode}} ⇒^{[episode needed]}
{{failed verification}} ⇒^{[failed verification]}
{{lopsided}} ⇒^{[unbalanced opinion?]}
{{medical citation needed}} a.k.a. {{MEDCN}} ⇒^{[medical citation needed]}
{{unreliable medical source}} a.k.a. {{MEDRS}} ⇒^{[unreliable medical source?]}
{{non sequitur}}
{{nonspecific}} ⇒^{[not specific enough to verify]}
{{note}}
{{note label}}^‡
{{OR}} a.k.a. {{or?}} ⇒^{[original research?]}
{{page needed}} a.k.a. {{pn}}, {{page number}}, {{pageneeded}}, {{pagenumber}} ⇒^{[page needed]}
{{POV statement}}, a.k.a. {{fixPOV}}, {{POV inline}}, {{POV assertion}} ⇒^{[neutrality is disputed]}
{{primary source inline}}, for signalling that a non-primary source is needed ⇒^{[non-primary source needed]}
{{ref}} ⇒^[1]
{{ref label}}^‡ a.k.a. {{footnote label}}
{{registration required}} ⇒(registration required)
{{request quotation}} a.k.a. {{request quote}}, {{quote request}} ⇒^{[need quotation to verify]}
{{rp}}
{{season needed}} a.k.a. {{episode needed}}, {{seasonneeded}}, {{episodeneeded}} ⇒^{[season and episode needed]}
{{specify}} ⇒^[specify]
{{synthesis inline}} a.k.a. {{syn}} ⇒^{[improper synthesis?]}
{{technical inline}} a.k.a. {{jargon inline}}, {{technical statement}}, etc.
{{unreliable source?}} a.k.a. {{verify credibility}}, {{vc}}, {{rs}} ⇒^{[unreliable source?]}
{{update after}}^‡‡ a.k.a. {{old fact}}, ⇒^{[needs update]}
{{vague}} ⇒^[vague]
{{verify source}} a.k.a. {{verification needed}} ⇒^{[verification needed]}
{{volume needed}} a.k.a. {{issue needed}}, {{issue}} ⇒^{[volume & issue needed]}
{{weasel inline}} a.k.a. {{weasel word}}, {{weasel-word}} & others ⇒^{[weasel words]}
{{where}} ⇒^[where?]
{{who}} a.k.a. {{who?}}, {{weasel-name}}, ⇒^[who?]
{{who2}} – variant of {{non sequitur}}
{{year needed}} a.k.a. {{year}} ⇒^{[year needed]}

Meta-templates:

{{fix}}‡ — used to create other such templates, consistently

Deprecated (no longer used):

{{ref num}} (use {{ref label}})
{{rf}}

Noteworthy for features:

{{vague}} — has feature where optional parameter becomes the mouseover/tooltip message

Needed:

{{daymonth}} (for missing day, e.g. "November 2006" when not appropriate), to go along with {{fulldate}} and {{year}} ({{date}} and {{day}} already used for something else)

Related software functions in Cite.php that aren't templates:

<ref ...>...</ref>
<ref ... />
<references />

Non-superscripted:

{{as of}}
{{edit conflict}} a.k.a. {{ec}} ⇒ (edit conflict)
{{harvard citation}}
{{TBD}} ⇒ ^{[to be determined]}
{{wikicite}} (deprecated; see above)

Similar but out-of-scope (for now?): A number of templates are, technically, used inline, but for purposes very different from those that concern this project (at present).

{{tl}}, {{tlx}}, {{cl}}, {{ul}}, etc.
{{sort}}, {{nts}}, {{TBA}}, etc.
{{day}} and the like; DAB and other hatnote templates; {{seealso}}/{{further}}/{{main}}/{{cat main}} and other self-ref tags; numerous shortcut templates such as {{Shamos 1999}}; numerous other shortcut templates such as {{wc}}, {{cuegloss}}, etc.; language formatting templates; and others that are technically "inline" but don't have anything to do with maintenance or sources, and are not superscripted.
{{sectstub}}^‡ (recently converted to inline style, but not actually used inline)
{{hcard-bday}} – technically inline or part-inline, but do not serve functions similar to the templates this project is concerned about.
{{cite}} family of ref. citation formatting templates

Problematic ones

{{issue}} – same functionality as {{issue needed|c=y}}, and name is too generic, because {{issue}} is entirely comic-books-specific (according to the doc page however the template itself is completely generic except for the category it adds).
{{citation needed}} and {{request_quotation}} – should the latter be merged into the former?
{{cref}}, {{cnote}}^‡ — possible duplication with {{ref}}
{{comic book reference}} — may have a stray period-space in it near end (flagged with HTML comment; needs testing)
{{who}}, {{who?}}, {{WW}}, {{weasel-inline}}, {{weasel-name}}, {{views needing attribution}}, and userspaced variant {{User:Xiaphias/who}} may need to be merged; discussion here
Cite.php's <references /> — indents for no reason, and worse yet indents to a depth that does not align with the :* indentation used by {{note label}} references. There are a pair of templates, {{refbegin}} and {{refend}}, related to {{reflist}}, which solve this misalignment problem, to an extent (see "Option 3..." at Template:Refbegin documentation for usage), in that they match the <references /> indentation. They are untested with {{note label}}, but work fine with "* Reference details here"-style manually-added general sources in the References section. Recommendation: Have developers modify <references /> to not indent, or at worst to match ":"-level indentation, and modify {{refbegin}} and {{refend}} to conform.

New inline templates

Please feel free to list new inline templates here (newest at the top, please). It is advisable to propose new inline templates at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Inline Templates before creating them, so as to ensure that there is consensus that they are needed and will not unnecessarily overlap in function with others. Once templates have been checked for standard {{Fix}} usage, categorization in Category:Inline templates, and other issues, they should be moved to the main list, above.

Created

{{AI-generated inline}}. Created December 2023 as an inline version of {{AI-generated}}. For text that was potentially generated by AI language models. ⇒^{[AI-generated?]}
{{globalize-inline}}. Created July 2020 as an inline version of the 2004 banner template. For individual statements that are inappropriately geographically restricted in viewpoint, and show inappropriate geographic bias.
{{is this date calibrated?}}. Created August 2018 to identify radiocarbon dates for which it is not clear whether a calibration procedure has been applied, leading to ambiguities of up to 4000 years.
{{better source example}}. Created June 2016, for self-sourcing examples.
{{contentious label inline}}. Created June 2016, for Wikipedia:Manual of Style (words to watch)#Contentious labels. ⇒^{[contentious label]}
{{verify quote}}. Created October 2015, to more specifically address quotation source verification than {{verify source}} or {{cite quote}} (often it's the transcription or the contextual excision that needs examination, not whether source can be verified). ⇒^[verify]
{{obsolete source}}. Created October 2015, to more specifically address a particular kind of WP:RS failure, than the vague {{better source}} or uncertain {{unreliable source?}}. ⇒^{[obsolete source]}
{{expand acronym}}. Created in August 2010, to flag acronyms and abbreviations. ⇒^{[expand acronym]}
{{romanization needed}} a.k.a. {{transliteration needed}}, an inline template requesting a romanized transliteration or transcription. ⇒^{[romanization needed]}
{{needs IPA}}. inline template for requesting IPA renderings. ⇒^{[needs IPA]}
{{Undue weight inline}} – inline template to flag undue weight issues. ⇒^{[undue weight? – discuss]}
{{speculation inline}} – inline variant of {{speculation}} ⇒^{[speculation?]}

Discovered

{{Not verified in body}}
{{Citation needed (lead)}} ⇒^{[not verified in body]}
{{Citation needed span}}
{{peacock term}} ⇒^{[peacock prose]}
{{importance inline}} a.k.a. {{trivia inline}} ⇒^{[importance?]} [formerly a.k.a. {{notability inline}}, {{notability-inline}} which now give an error, and {{notability?}} which now goes to the banner {{Notability}})
{{DjVulink}}
{{talk page stalker}} a.k.a. {{tps}} ⇒(talk page stalker)
{{full citation needed}} a.k.a. {{full}} – requests full citation ⇒ ^{[full citation needed]}
{{attribution needed}} – needs documentation and other WPILTizing ⇒^{[attribution needed]}
{{editorializing}} – inline template for Wikipedia:Manual of Style (words to watch)#Editorializing ⇒^{[editorializing]}
{{editorialising}} – different-spelling wrapper for the above ⇒^{[editorialising]}
{{registration required}} – adds a note that registration is required to access the contents of a link. ⇒(registration required)
{{SCICN}} ⇒^{[scientific citation needed]}
{{SCIRS}} ⇒^{[unreliable scientific source?]}
{{subscription required}} – adds a note that subscription is required to access the contents of a link. ⇒(subscription required)
{{R}} – a wrapper around <ref name="..." />
{{Not a typo}} a.k.a. {{typo}} a.k.a. {{Proper name}} a.k.a. {{As written}} – wraps an intentional typo. For example, this is used on the Celsius page to show examples of bad formatting of temperatures.
{{pronunciation needed}} – slightly wordy request for pronunciation info. ⇒^{[pronunciation?]}
{{archive inline}}
{{swatch inline}}
{{relevance inline}} a.k.a. {{off-topic-inline}} ⇒^[relevant?]
{{self-published inline}} ⇒^{[self-published source?]}
{{spam link}} a.k.a. {{linkspam}} ⇒^{[spam link?]}
{{example needed}} ⇒^{[example needed]}
{{examples}} ⇒^{[example needed]}
{{Pronunciation}}
{{coord/display/inline}} – one of several subroutines of {{coord}}
{{zh}} – Use this template to show a Chinese name, word, term or phrase in a line of text with various readings.
{{ISBN missing}} – an in-line request for the ISBN of a published source. Similar in use to {{Year missing}} and {{Page needed}}, etc. ⇒^{[ISBN missing]}
{{Circular ref}} ⇒^{[circular reference]}
{{Quantify}} ⇒^[quantify]
{{Link note}} ⇒()
{{Password-protected}} ⇒(password-protected)
{{Subscription or libraries}} ⇒(subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries)
{{Subscription or membership required}} ⇒(Subscription or UK public library membership required)
{{Closed access}} ⇒
{{Open access}} ⇒
{{KIA}} ⇒ †
{{DOW}} ⇒ (DOW)
{{Executed}} ⇒
{{POW}} ⇒ (POW)
{{Surrendered}} ⇒
{{WIA}} ⇒ (WIA)

Deleted

{{Click inline}} – deleted per this TfD and the previous one about {{click}}
{{External links inline}} – inline template to flag external links that may fail WP:EL or WP:NOTLINK. (Template deleted September 12, 2011)
{{Fact-now}} – pointless wrapper for {{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Inline warning}} — used manually to provide a custom cleanup note
{{dlw}} – redundant with and replaced by {{webarchive}}, {{waybackdate}}
{{Ent}} – use Cite.php or {{ref}}/{{note}})
{{inote}}
{{hcard-geo}} and {{hcard-geo-title}}
{{InlineXbeg}} and {{InlineXend}} – created in June 2008, in response to an inline template talk page discussion, here. a pair of templates designed to mark extended passages for attention with only a single tag at the end (avoiding chopping text to pieces).
{{Wayback}} – deprecated in favor of {{webarchive}}, {{waybackdate}}

Internal templates for this WikiProject

Talk page banner

{{WPILT banner}} – "This template is within the scope of WikiProject Inline Templates ..."