Template talk:Pfstart

A MediaWiki extension?
Wouldn't it be more convenient to have a single tag for the whole diagram? I.E. something like

+-+ +-+
 * oo|
 * s llll oo|
 * sszzttt l|
 * szoot l|
 * szoot l|

Writing an extension for this would not be that hard at all. 66.93.12.67 17:29, 14 July 2006 (EDT)
 * Feel free to write such an extension and post the source code. --Tepples 22:23, 14 July 2006 (EDT)

Block images, and the future of pfrow
After discussion with Digital in IRC about how to format something, we came to the conclusion that the current system isn't perfect. We are limited to the number of diffferent images that we can use that would result in a single character code (somewhere in the region of 40, I believe), and the currently remaining spaces in the alphabet don't leave much room for expansion. Adding 2 character codes for images would be impractical, as a benefit of the current system is that it's fairly easy to get a rough idea of the image while editing.

The diagrams also create a large amount of server load. Some pages have over 5000 block images, and each image comes with a link back to the page where it came from, which is undersireable, because people don't really need to know the history of an image which is only 10x10.

It's also somewhat inflexible. It is soemtime desireable to alter the width of the diagram (mostly making it narrower), which is hard to do cleanly. We have templates for the narrower diagrams, but it's impractical, and it's even more impractical to change the width of a diagram that has already been made. However, it is a very flexible system in the vertical direction, as it's easy to add an additional line.

Ultimately, any new system would need to address these things, while at the same time, provide the flexibility that we are used to with the current system. Suggestions are welcomed, but until a new system has been agreed on, and has been demonstrated to be reliable, the current pfrow system should remain in place. --Lardarse 11:06, 5 December 2007 (EST)