[Foundation-l] Template Overkill

[Stephanie Daugherty]

While i generally agree that its too much templates do have their
place. The interface for using a template needs to be easier (see all
the recent wysiwy* traffic), but used right they can even make the
text easier to edit.

The problem therefore is to make sure they are used right, and that
problem isn.t just template overload, its also a symptom of a bigger
and closely relatef problem of too much need and no better
alternatives.

In the end, on a per-project basis maybe we could look at restricting
template creation somehow to try to stall template creep where we can.
A template creation process that takes a few days would help the
problem on a lot of the larger projects and if making a new template
takes a request for template there is a good chance that someone will
be pointed to an existing one.

Further. It mightactually be a good thing in some projects if template
space were limited with respect to number of templates per project.
This could force some cleanup as well as competition to eliminate
overlap if done intelligently. Numbered slots like the editfilter
maybe?

Grouping templates into pseudonamespaces by context might be more
practical than limiting their number globally. The rationale here is
that most of the templates serve very specific purposes rather than
being for general use. Putting them into namespaces or even into
packlages so that the namespace is kept clean of special purpose
templates could cut the clutter.
As an editing aid and subtle reminder to keep the top namespace clean,
after breaking the non-essential ones into packages, start listing the
ones thatare in the "global" context on the edit screen. We wont have
the problem of too many templates for long if that is done as people
will get sick of looking at a long list

On 12/28/10, WJhonson at aol.com <WJhonson at aol.com> wrote:
> Most of the templates in our project, imho are just more clutter.
>
> The number of people who know how to use any particular template, can
> probably be counted with a box of marbles.  However when others see the
> templates, they just shy away, they don't bother to try to learn them.
>
> If we want to make things easier for editors, we should scrape templates
> entirely.  What they add to the project is not worth, what they detract.
>
> W
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