DrewUniverse
commented
2 weeks ago I am beginning the investigation by creating a new template for testing. Unlike the current Location template, which is static (doesn't update after being added to a location article), this one will be designed with the goal of staying synchronized across all location articles. If it is successful, we can apply the concept to all the categorical templates.
Investigation for how to create better templates, and thus automation.
Originally, I created templates that acted as "starter skeletons". New articles that fit a category, like Locations or Player Characters, would be injected with this template to place all the layout framework, allowing editors to focus on actual content instead of wrestling with layout code.
However, every time we find a way to improve the layout, we then manually have to update every location article to match. There are also a few cases were editors altered the layout without making suggestions to change the style guide. I'm wondering if there's a way we can make layouts more automated, in such a way that we just change the "core" layout in a template and have that reflect automatically on every location article.
We really need to keep the layout synchronized between any two location articles, boss articles, and so on.
How to investigate: Google search, and checking the MediaWiki knowledgebase directly.