Character Limits in Headers?

Question

Found this on the error page for data error code 822:

On NaN undefined NaN Jan Terink wrote on DBE 822:

There is a 40 character limit on the header text. Exceeding that length will result in a 822 on the leading ='s and a 823 on the trailing ='s.

When and why was was this limit established? I find no reference to this limit in the help pages for biographies and there does not appear to be a help page for Headers. 

Answer 1

I have seen some much longer than that. Whole statements that were properly formatted with double equals at the start and end. I did not do anything about them; just let them stand though thinking that they were not needed. And no apparent error code was seen.

 Data Doctor Walt

Answer 2

This is my technical limit, that I set up. There is no special reason for it, just a limit, that I set up.

If you think it is too short, let me know with an example or two and I will see to extend it. But there are headings containing whole paragraphs and that is not good for computers or nice to see. Content of heading is also used for inpage links and having them too long is not good for anything.

Comments

I appreciate the limits. So many categories also have long sentences within heading coding and it is not necessary. I usually change them to bold text.

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Thanks for the clarification, Aleš.

It makes a lot of sense, but I would hope that data doctors would be encouraged to use discretion.

For example, a data doctor (I believe-- the edit comment made reference to this db error code) recently removed a citation from a header and moved it to an unanchored location under the header.

The citation only lengthens the header text in Edit mode, but looks okay in normal view.  Including a citation in a header may not be ideal, but it is technically not disallowed.

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Jillaine, due to your response, and in looking at examples, I checked the code and I do not set the limit of 40 characters for 822 suggestion. Maybe that was used 2 years ago, but is no longer the case.

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Thanks, Aleš. Well, just know that at least one data doctor is making changes to profiles based on that code/limit.

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Can you give examples. I can't do anything if you say at least one. I need a profile(s).

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will send you via PM.

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Based on the example, the suggestion was correct and the data doctor did what is correct. The way it was written is incorrect. 

==Children==<ref>Rev. John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family, being an account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, RI, New York 1902; p 17</ref>  

This is not recognised as a heading. It is rendered as 

Beuests to daughters Elizabet and Mary. The will disposes of a considerable amount of plate. (Original will among unrecorded papers at Portsmouth Town House.)
==Children==^[17]

• Richard Cornell Born: About 1628, Saffron Walden, Essex, England ⇒

• Sarah Cornell Born: About 30 March 1623, Saffron Walden, Essex, England ⇒

and Children does not become a heading and is not in TOC. To make inline reference a part of heading, you would need to do it like 

==Children<ref>Rev. John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family, being an account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, RI, New York 1902; p 17</ref>==
 and that would render to 

[spremeni]Children^[17]

• Richard Cornell Born: About 1628, Saffron Walden, Essex, England ⇒ 

which would be kind of correct, but again, I don-t recommend using inline citation or images or templates in Headings. That creates huge URLs for linking to section Like 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Briggs-237#Last_Will_.26_Testament.07UNIQ363fdaf650b583c3-nowiki-00000031-QINU.0716.07UNIQ363fdaf650b583c3-nowiki-00000032-QINU.07   

for the previous heading.

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Ales, thanks for the clarification.  Usually under a children header, it would say 'Children of xx and you are:' followed by the reference or 'Children are:' followed by the reference.

Answer 3

The Help section on headers does not specifically address length of headers. However, brevity is clearly implied. Only four "main headlines"  ("level two"--surrounded with double equal signs) are "recommended," and two of those, Biography and Sources, are "required." The rest are "level three"-- surrounded by 3 equal signs-- "sub-section headlines," and are exemplified on the page with just one or two words. In "Tips" the page strongly implies that facts and their citations belong in the narrative, not in the headers. See   https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Biographies#Proper_order