Wikipedia:WikiProject Aztec/Strategy

Use of Pre-Columbian template on articles

This discussion should arguably take place on the WP:Pre-Columbian project pages. However, it's not clear if there are many people watching those pages at this time so I will start the discussion here and move the discussion there once we have developed a consensus here among the participants of the WP:AZTEC project.

Here's the issue. We could put the {{Pre-Columbian}} template at the bottom of every article related to the Aztec civilization. This would include subsidiary articles such as Aztec mythology and Moctezuma II. It could arguably even include Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro. I started doing this but I have some reservations about whether this makes sense which is why I started this discussion.

A somewhat more narrow approach would be to only put the {{Pre-Columbian}} template at the bottom of the primary article on each of the Pre-Columbian civilizations (e.g. Aztec, Maya, Inca, Toltec, Olmec, Mississippian, etc.) but NOT at the bottom of any of the subsidiary articles.

What are your thoughts?

--Richard 04:11, 14 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think the {{Pre-Columbian}} template only needs to be placed on the primary articles, or at most those articles linked to in the template. I see the main purpose of the template as providing the reader with an informative outline and quick link between pre-Columbian high-level topics. Ancillary articles on specific sub-areas — people, places, events, aspects — will tie in to these primary or overview articles via other means, including perhaps other navigational/relational templates which could in future be developed for particular themes. Also, there are at least several hundred such 'subsidiary' articles (and many many more which need to be created!), and it would not seem practicable to cover all with this single template. As well as using appropriate templates to group thematically-related articles, we also need to have a hierarchy of well-considered categories, which will also aid in locating and navigating between articles.--cjllw | TALK 12:05, 14 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would say at least the articles linked to in the template. Apart from those, anywhere it seems useful. I don't think it will be easy to define exact rules for this. Also, I don't think the template is very intrusive when put at the bottom of the page, so I don't consider it a big problem. OTOH I would not go through the trouble of finding every page where it might be useful, this can be done gradually. Piet 19:15, 14 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]