Forum:Template guidelines

In the process of working on the "meta-infobox" changeover project, I've come to appreciate just how lax-slash-nonexistent TSW guidelines on template creation seem to be. I would like to correct that by writing a MoS-ish page of community standards and best practices for creating templates on The Sims Wiki. I realize we have The Sims Wiki:Templates already, but that page goes more into how to use a template, not so much into how to create one, or in laying down expectations for templates that are created.

To start, I'm just coming up with things off the top of my head that I'd like to see addressed, in no particular order...
 * Guidelines about how templates should be named
 * Guidelines for parameter names (as in, currently TSW practice is to have all parameters lowercase, but afaik this isn't written down anywhere)
 * Standards for when templates should have "auxiliary" templates, or how complex templates should be before secondary templates are created
 * Expectations for when templates would or would not be appropriate to create
 * A brief explanation of the "meta-infobox" design, including instructions on how to create infoboxes using the new design.
 * Basic guidelines/standards for the main "types" of templates used on TSW; message templates, infoboxes, bottom-nav templates, in-line messages, user boxes, signature templates, etc.
 * Standards for template documentation and categorization
 * Standards for "includeonly" categories in templates

I should add that I don't know the "right" or "wrong" answers to any of these questions. I have created many templates on TSW and I feel that I am perhaps one of the worst in regards to not obeying any sort of agreed-upon standard from one template to the next. A templates guideline would be just as much for my own benefit, as for anyone else.

So, any thoughts on what should/should not be included in said guidelines? Any "rules of thumb" that you know of that aren't yet written down? --  LostInRiverview talk · blog  ·  contribs 06:04, February 6, 2018 (UTC)