On wikimedia projects that are not Wikipedia (Wikia in specific comes to mind) I often find myself using templates that have not been defined on that installation. The English Wikipedia (which I am most familiar with) has many very usefull templates, especially the {{citeFoo}} templates, but numerous others as well. Trying to 'import' one is a bit of a pain though. Many templates depend on other templates, and it is not often very clear how (as a fun exercise for the reader, try to import the {{convert}} template to a new wiki, and see how easy it is!). I was wondering if it might be a good idea to include a standard template library to Wikimedia installations, containing a set of utility templates along with the Wikimedia distribution. I'm cross-posting foudation, for possible discussion if this is desirable, and wikitech, for possible discussion if this is feasable.

Yes, a good basis for a fork, a version which is Wikipedia ready, in so far as possible, including all extensions, basic templates and stylesheets, and items that a standard Wikipedia installation is dependent on.

Fred