"Decreasing template usage"
Is there actually a compelling reason to "decrease template usage" within this template? Templates are supposed to make things easier to read/understand and easier to change; it's not actually beneficial to remove some of them. In particular, changing the color templates to their raw colors makes it harder for anyone new looking to update the template to understand that they're supposed to be the regional colors. And then of course there's the simple fact that you're just making the template larger...
So was there actually a reason to make those changes? Tiddlywinks (talk) 12:42, 11 December 2013 (UTC)
- Pages have a limit on the number of bytes of template that can be transcluded onto them. If you use templates inside templates, they get counted twice for the template include size. Also, often by substituting templates the size of this template does become larger, but it is actually included as smaller as all subtemplates must be expanded when calculating the size on pages it is used on (and by substituting, for example,
{{sup/1}}, it cuts down on a huge amount of unused switch options). The List of Pokémon by wild held item page had actually become so large it could not be previewed, so this change was necessary. --SnorlaxMonster 13:06, 11 December 2013 (UTC)- Actually, it still cannot be previewed at its current size. Maybe the article will need to be rewritten, if possible, or the template again. --Super goku (talk) 20:00, 11 December 2013 (UTC)
Some modifications
1) The table is currently very wide. I think you could just separate the List of Pokémon by wild held item page into two pages, one for Gen I-II and one for Gen III onwards, since you can't trade Gen I-II with later Generations. Right now, the table takes up the whole width of the page (on my screen, at least). It'd be nice to decrease the table's width somewhat (especially to future-proof it for when it's necessary to add more generations), and the Gen I and Gen II columns easily account for the most width.
2) Having individual cells in columns for Generations where a Pokemon never actually existed is moderately confusing. It'd be better if the first cell actually displayed was just the first one where the Pokemon actually existed and could have a held item. I mocked that up in the sandbox, and that template is here in my userspace.
(I guess I can easily do the latter since the template isn't protected. But the former is a pretty big change I at least want to put up for comment, and I'd rather do both more or less together.)
Tiddlywinks (talk) 16:42, 11 December 2013 (UTC)