Hi WikiTreers,
Now that the definition of a Research Note Box is settled and we have style rules in place we can move on to standardizing their usage and improving their appearance.
First, regarding their appearance, here are two drafts:
Draft Design #1
This uses WikiTree's standard design for warning messages. Examples:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/James-1
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Franklin-6
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Coombs-3
You can see how it looks on other profiles by using {{Unsourced 1}} and/or {{Estimated Date 1}}.
Draft Design #2
The second uses one of WikiTree's standard feature box designs. It's right-aligned so that text can wrap around it. Examples:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Read-3
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/White-1
We may make it so that text doesn't wrap if you're on a narrow-width screen.
Try this on other profiles with {{Unsourced 2}} and/or {{Estimated Date 2}}
What do you think of these drafts? Do you have a preference between them? What do you or don't you like about them in particular?
Pending Changes
Here are some assorted notes on changes that we're likely to make to existing Research Note Boxes.
1.) {{Estimated Date}} will replace {{DateGuess}} and {{DateGuess2}}. "Estimated date" seems more accurate. It's how we've described them on the policy page. Along with the name change, the orphan category DateGuess will be replaced with an Estimated Date maintenance category.
2.) {{Uncertain Existence}} will probably replace {{Questionable}} and {{Uncertain}}. Questionable and Uncertain seem to be essentially the same; they both place profiles in the "Disputed Existence" category. Neither of the current template titles are clear enough (what is questionable or uncertain?). I like "Uncertain" because it parallels how we use the Uncertain data status indicator.
3.) {{Uncertain Family}} will probably replace {{Conjectural}} and {{SmallConjectural}}. Same explanation as above, i.e. the name needs to be clearer. And a maintenance category needs to be added.
4.) {{UnverifiedParents}}, {{Unverified Father}}, {{Unverified Mother}} are all being deprecated since we have a database status indicator for parents. However, I think we'll want to create {{Speculative Parents}} for when they are more than uncertain. See the page on Uncertain Parents.
5.) {{Uncertain Spouse}} will replace {{Unverified_Spouse}}, just for naming consistency. We don't have a database status indicator for spouses so the Research Note Box may be needed.
6.) Abby started a discussion on maintenance category naming standards. I think the Research Note Box template names should correspond to the category names. Depending on what's decided, this could mean:
a.) {{Needs Emergency Repairs}} (?) as a more generic replacement for {{Euro Aristo Repair Work in Progress}}.
b.) {{Needs Editing}} (?) to replace {{LongProfiles}} (?)
c.) {{Needs Research}} to replace {{Research_pending}} (?) I don't know about this one. The current description of this is "Research Pending: This profile was adopted and needs research. Please cite any sources/corrections." This wording sounds like a disclaimer, i.e. "Don't blame me for this junk, I just adopted the profile!" I can appreciate why a Profile Manager would want to put this disclaimer on there, but I don't think it's appropriate for a Research Note Box. If it is going to be a Research Note Box, what exactly is it for?
d.) {{Needs Citations}} could replace {{More footnotes}}. But maybe this should just be a maintenance category, not a Research Note Box. I don't think it meets the criteria for being "so important that anyone who sees the profile should see the research note, even if the viewing user is not a WikiTree member." Note that {{Citation needed}} is not a Research Note Box. I don't know what it is.
7.) We might want to create a Research Note Box for {{Common Error}}. See the comments from Sharon Ray and Chris Hampson on transcription errors in the previous discussion.
Do you have comments or suggestions for any of the above?
Onward and upward,
Chris
