Template talk:Biography

How is this intended to be used? It looks like it should be copied to a prospective article, then edited in place; but that's not how Wiki templates should work. Usually, Wiki templates are like a blank form, and you fill in the blanks (or variables) for the specific article or item. Am I missing something here??? Pharos 15:04, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

Never mind; I re-read the text on the Templates page, and realized that yes, it should be cut and pasted. However, IMHO, this is a waste of the true power of Wiki templates. By breaking this template into some pieces that are true templates would provide more flexibility: if a decision is made to change a group of items that depend on a template, the template can be changed once, and all dependent items are automatically updated. Wikipedia uses templates extensively (they have thousands), and with good reason. They're one of the most powerful features of a Wiki. Pharos 15:12, 14 March 2007 (EDT)


 * By all means, make up any templates you think would help and list them along with instructive descriptions on the templates page.


 * But depending on the application (or the intended user), page style guides can be more useful. True wiki templates are confusing to inexperienced editors, whereas a style guide can be pasted-in and customized by even a newbie. --Mr. Ashcraft 23:48, 14 March 2007 (EDT)


 * Another way this can be used is with "subst":  will paste the contents of the template to the page when it is saved.  I will add that to the instructions on the page; feel free to delete if you think it's more confusing that way. ~ MD "Webster" Otley (talk) 20:35, 22 December 2008 (UTC)