Template talk:Infobox company

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Infoboxes

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Companies Template‑class

This template is within the scope of WikiProject Companies, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of companies on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.CompaniesWikipedia:WikiProject CompaniesTemplate:WikiProject Companiescompany articles

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This template was considered for merging with Template:Infobox U.S. national banks on 2020 March 24. The result of the discussion was "no consensus".

Align the infobox?

Hello all, I aligned the infobox parameters on this infobox's documentation, meaning editors using this template will start with an aligned infobox, where all the parameters and their data line up. Another user in the conversation above reverted me, and has seemed to have a long-time preference against this. What should we do for Template:Infobox company/doc? -- $ɱ$ (talk) 14:07, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Support alignment. This makes it easier to read the values instead of just a wall of text-code. This is also pretty standard in a lot of infoboxes so nothing new is suggested here. Gonnym (talk) 14:17, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
This is somewhat lame. My personal preference is without all the extra spaces, but I wouldn't get upset about it! — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 14:31, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I don't have a strong preference either way. On one hand, we'd add unnecessary space if we align everything, and we should generally try to avoid creating overly long wikitexts when smaller wikitexts would work fine. On the other hand, the infobox template is marginally more readable when aligned, and the change is less than a kilobyte in length, so I'm not sure if the length drawback is or is not outweighed by the readability benefit. (Summoned by bot) — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 15:37, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The amount of bytes added by the spaces is negligible, only about the same data as one or two long references, and it immeasurably helps with readability and organization. $ɱ$ (talk) 18:31, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Is this visible only to editors who happen to view the source code at that place? If yes, I recommend that you Wikipedia:Assume good faith, thank the other person for their attempts to contribute to the Wikipedia:Prime objective enunciated by Jimmy Wales, trying to provide freer access to the sum of all human knowledge, and focus on things that seem more important in the long term. (I keep a diary with "to do" lists. This helps me distinguish between things that upset me but don't matter much to others from things that can really help others. Let others do whatever they want as long their actions do not substantively degrade the quality of information provided to the general public.) DavidMCEddy (talk) 16:15, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Yes it is only visible as source code, but when it allows for new articles to align, and then editors can easily see what's missing in infoboxes, it's a subtle change that really benefits everyone. I've never encountered opposition to such a beneficial change, but I suppose someone has to somewhere. And thus the RfC. $ɱ$ (talk) 18:29, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I'd like to voice a procedural oppose as this kind of discussion should be held in a forum that would affect all infobox-style templates. Furthermore, the discussion should focus more on accessibility than personal preferences on particular styles. Doing so for one template and one template only would not aim for wider improvement or even consistency, rather reinforce one style preference in one instance. Additionally, I would oppose the change (both for this case and for any large-scale discussion) as it makes infobox code difficult to read and edit on small screens, especially mobile devices, while having little no advantage in other cases apart from that some believe it to look nicer. IceWelder [✉] 17:58, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Every infobox can have its own formatting, this should not be a global change. And I'm sick and tired of people weaponizing "accessibility" as an issue. You aren't a medical professional, simply because you think it looks cluttered to you in one viewscreen doesn't make you an expert at helping format to advantage differently-abled people. It'd still look cluttered your way in mobile, too. $ɱ$ (talk) 18:08, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

And you still have the right to format articles you edit however you wish. This simply just guides more new articles towards a more orderly format. Especially as most longtime editors do most of their work on desktops/laptops. $ɱ$ (talk) 18:10, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Not to WP:BLUDGEON, but this argumentation does not make sense to me. If you believe that aligning parameters in infoboxes is an objective improvement, it should be consistent (or as consistent as possible) across all of them, and you provided no argumentation specific to this template. A wider audience would also generate more opinions from a more diverse pool of editors. Furthermore, please assume good faith when people talk about accessibility. As I noted in the previous discussion, I am speaking from my personal experience; I am not "weaponizing" the topic, nor did I ever claim to be a medical professional. I also said then that "perhaps this question should be elevated to a better forum, preferably with users with experience in accessibility". IceWelder [✉] 07:38, 20 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Agree to disagree. I see nothing in WP:ACCESS that supports your idea that there is an accessibility issue, and I'm still tired of people using this as a tool to get their way. Ignoring the dreamed-up hypothetical opinions of differently-abled people, the infoboxes are easier to read and edit when aligned, not harder. $ɱ$ (talk) 17:11, 21 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the wikitext aligned in documentation, personally, especially when there's hidden comments. It looks nicer that way, even if it's NBD. Plugging my personal style guide. SWinxy (talk) 22:40, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Just for reference Special:PermaLink/1166122651#Usage is the original /doc, with Special:PermaLink/1166119369#Usage being the proposed change, just in case anyone is wondering what "alignment" means in this context. Primefac (talk) 11:38, 20 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Support alignment It is immeasurably more easy to parse and edit when the options are aligned. :3 F4U (they /it) 18:36, 20 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Support alignment for ease-of-use. Makes sense, not sure exactly the reasons why anyone would oppose. HighKing⁺⁺ 14:11, 24 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Support alignment much easier to read. Frietjes (talk) 15:19, 24 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Definitely aligned much muuuuuuuuuuuch easier to read and parse. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 09:02, 28 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Support alignment as nominator, has a much-improved look and readability. I think someone can close this RfC now. $ɱ$ (talk) 02:25, 7 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Acronym?

I miss a field for acronym. Or should the trade_name be used for that purpose? fgnievinski (talk) 06:32, 11 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I find it doubtful that this is relevant enough for the infobox. It usually appears in the first lead sentence anyway. IceWelder [✉] 06:49, 11 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

But then folks end up squeezing the acronym at the end of the full name, separated by a hyphen or enclosed in parentheses. That name pollution would seem to go against MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE, which is to provide some form of semistructure data. fgnievinski (talk) 07:12, 11 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Parameter for slogan

Why is it not there? I think it should be added, but would like to hear input of others. PhotographyEdits (talk) 13:45, 22 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Slogans are principally for advertising, so I cannot see how it is encyclopedically useful. There used to be a slogan parameter but it was removed for good many years ago. Notable slogans can still be mentioned in the body. IceWelder [✉] 14:10, 22 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

>removed for good

That's not a thing per WP:CCC. But I don't see why notable slogans cannot be used in the infobox. The company name itself is primarily used for advertising, otherwise you could assign every company simply a long unique number or something. I don't really see a difference here. PhotographyEdits (talk) 14:29, 22 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This is a perennial topic. Please look in the talk page archives to see the current consensus and links to a dozen previous discussions. Notable slogans can be included in the body of the article, with references to reliable sources. – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:53, 22 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Change parameter location to headquarters

Can we please change the parameter location to headquarters as most companies have many locations of where they service. 149.19.40.233 (talk) 16:18, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

|location= and |hq_location= are aliases. |location= is not mentioned in the template's documentation. It appears in the TemplateData table as an alias. – Jonesey95 (talk) 17:35, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Add a new tracking category?

Can we add Category:Pages using infobox company with no logo for missing logos? - UtherSRG (talk) 19:36, 12 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]