Template talk:Japanese postwar 6×6 TLR

Doomed, I fear

I was about to add a 36x24 section, for the Yallu Flex (as well as others, yet to be written up). But I didn't; because I think that this template, like the one for Japanese sixes and semis, is doomed.

Take a look here. This collection -- Airesflex, Alpenflex, Beautycord, Beautyflex, etc. -- is a fairly impressive one but actually even this is very incomplete. There was a period when it seemed as if every Japanese person who could wield a screwdriver was constructing a 6x6 TLR. Or a Six, or a Semi. Or two or three of these.

I suggest breaking up these templates, well-intentioned and handsome though they are. For example, this one would be broken into two: 6x6 and 4x4. The job will have to be done at some time; and the earlier it's done, the less painful it will be.

But this is merely a suggestion. -- Hoary 21:02, 31 May 2006 (EDT)

For the moment, it is not yet oversized. I think that the navigational templates is an excellent way to "advertise" some pages that would otherwise receive nearly no traffic. The Mediawiki categories are useful, but they are a heavy system, unpleasant to browse. To split this template in 4×4 and 6×6 would not change much, the 6×6 models largely outnumber the 4×4 and 35mm models. If needed, we can rethink the template's layout, switching from horizontal to vertical.

But we cannot have one page per TLR model, as opposed to a TLR series or maker. For example we need to make one Yashica 6×6 TLR page, possibly linking to a couple of other articles (635, 124G). Only the Yashica TLR root page would appear in the template. Same thing for Minolta, we cannot afford to have one page for the Autocord I, one for the II and so on. --Rebollo fr 12:26, 1 June 2006 (EDT)

Well, categories needn't be unpleasant to browse. Unfortunately, they often are. Actually that's why I purposely didn't add Category:Japan to the new article on the big Fujis. See Category talk:Japan. Hoary 08:13, 2 June 2006 (EDT)

My biggest complaint about categories is that you can only index an existing page title. For example, if Wagoflex redirects to Walzflex, in the category there is no way to have "Wagoflex". In the new category Category:Japanese companies, names like Mizuho or Daido will never appear because they are redirects. I think this is a major flaw. --Rebollo fr 06:16, 4 June 2006 (EDT)