Template talk:Infobox magazine

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New ISSN field; comment on Final issue fields

Note that a new field, ISSN, was added since most periodicals have this identification. Default value will read "unknown" until an "issn=####-####" type parameter is filled in.

Dl2000 19:04, 18 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Removed the {{ISSN search link}} from the ISSN field since a) there are magazines with more than one ISSN, and the current search link doesn't handle that; b) the current search link seems to miss many magazines, and only one ISSN search engine is used. It would be better wait for a more comprehensive ISSN linking before reintroducing ISSN search linking e.g. for ISBNs, Wikipedia:Book sources allows search on many external sites. Dl2000 13:36, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Problem with ISSN field

Theorbtwo 00:11, 24 April 2006 (UTC) - Note that (some?) periodicals will have a new ISSN field for each "volume", this is often one per year. Also, some? periodicals seem to have an EAN+2 or UPC+2 barcode on the front, and the ISSN buried within. It may be more useful to list this EAN or UPC rather then the ISSN.[reply]

added

I added a language and circulation options. Im also going to put and outline of how to use this the main template page as people often don't check here and miss things! --Errant Tmorton166^(Talk)(Review me) 13:52, 31 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Company/Publisher

Who added the comment "The company parameter is also available for backwards compatibility. The publisher parameter should be used instead."? This is incorrect - the two are very different - the publisher of a magazine is a person; he works for the company. Stephenb (Talk) 11:49, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Restoration of {{ISSN search link}} in ISSN field

I've just edited {{ISSN search link}} to replace the old search engine with one from WorldCat that appears to be far more comprehensive and user-friendly (though I've yet to check how it handles multiple ISSNs). It seems to work fine, so I've put the {{ISSN search link}} template back into the ISSN field here.

This is my first attempt at making major edits to semi-complex templates (newbie coder here), so if anyone finds a single mistake in anything I've done on Template:ISSN search link or on this template, please rv it immediately and let me know. Even if you just don't like it, feel free to rv, but please let me know anyway; I won't challenge any reverts. But, hey, it seems to work, and it's much more simple than that German site's search engine was. All you have to do is enter:

http://worldcat.org/issn/xxxx-xxxx

...and boom, you're there. The hyphen is optional on Worldcat, but I didn't want to mess with whatever potential consensus may have been reached already regarding ISSN hyphens.

Anyway, hope this is a help, and not a hindrance... --Aaron 23:09, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Magazine circulation

Since this template automatically creates a redlink to magazine circulation if a circulation figure is entered, I redirected it to newspaper circulation, which is substantially similar. I proposed on Talk:Newspaper circulation that the two could coexist and language of the article adjusted to incorporate both. If anyone has an objection, please raise it there. --Dhartung | Talk 10:04, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tweak to background color

I'm considering slightly tweaking the background color, just an eensy bit darker, so white magazine covers don't blend in. ~ Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 08:44, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sure, let's try it. The colour should be reasonably neutral, though, since there are all kinds of cover images. Dl2000 01:59, 1 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

multiple issn numbers

How would I go about using multiple ISSN numbers in the template? This is handy, because multiple ISSN's might have been used over a magazine's life (because of name changes etc.). --LC 19:35, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

It is probably best to introduce this as an "issn2" parameter. It would be a bit of trouble to fix the current issn parameter, which only works for only a single ISSN due to its linking. The current issn parameter could then be made optional, or could be substituted over if issn2 is present. Dl2000 03:02, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

website optional?

hi folks, currently reviewing Beyond Fantasy Fiction, a mag from the 50s. A website doesn't exist. Doesn't it make sense to change the website parameter to optional? Best wishes, Johnnyw talk 12:41, 28 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I just noticed this with with Mother Earth (magazine). I think the entire row should be suppressed if there is no website provided. If that isn't acceptable, perhaps a special value like "none" could cause the row to be suppressed. I can make the template changes if people agree to them. Mike Dillon 02:50, 2 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. I'd like to suppress the entire line in case of no value. --Johnnyw talk 16:41, 2 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Now suppressed if empty. - X201 10:49, 3 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Explanation & Examples

I've added a table to the documentation page for the template. It lists each field, what it does and is accompanied by an example entry. I saw something like it over at Infobox TV program and found it a massive help whilst adding info for a TV show so I thought I'd add one here to make life easier for people using the magazine template for the first time. I've cleared the example info out of the template example to make copying & pasting easier. Hope you like it, if not add some comments below. Have also archived the usage instructions on the talk page to avoid confusion.- X201 12:08, 3 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

needs updating

This looks primitive compared to the journal template, and the image isn't centered. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 23:18, 20 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. Anybody object to it being upgraded to look similar to {{Infobox Journal}} ? I think it should have a slightly different colour to the journals. Any suggestions? John Vandenberg 14:00, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I find the journal template to be one of the worst. The coloured bars are distracting and make reading it hard. I'm all for a tidy up and re-design but without the "Publication", "Indexing" and "Links" horizontal headers. - X201 14:38, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Im not a big fan of the coloured bars in the middle of that template either. Is that the only part of the Journal infobox that you dont like ? John Vandenberg 19:50, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Interwiki

Please add interwiki to id: [[id:Templat:Infobox Magazine]]. Thanks! Meursault2004 13:29, 26 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Done. - X201 13:56, 26 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Art Director and related fields

What about Art Directors, designers, and/or related titles? They often have at least as much of an impact on the magazine as the editorial itself.Jdfreivald (talk) 16:41, 5 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Price

What about pricing? In the Newspaper template there's a "price" category, I don't see why magazines shouldn't have it. And I agree with JDfreivald - section editors, art directors and such deserve an option to be listed in the infobox.Timbouctou (talk) 17:47, 28 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's policy not to. WP:NOT#DIR Item 4 - X201 (talk) 18:36, 28 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OK, and what about the "headquarters" category which is also included in the Newspaper template? Timbouctou (talk) 19:57, 28 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. A Headquarters field is needed, but I don't think it should be called headquarters. I think a headquarters field would lead people to put in the address of the company that owns the magazine, which for large magazine empires could be miles (or even continents) away from the magazine's intended market and the location that its published in.

How would you feel about a Publisher address field? (We could work on the actual title of the field). A publisher location field would cover cover the need for a headquarters field and be specific enough to not be confused with the owners address. - X201 (talk) 09:36, 29 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds alright, but I think a Based in category would be a better option. It's short enough to be understood in any context, most magazine articles already formulate it that way in the article's lead section - and it would simplify entering multiple locations for magazines that are published worldwide which have regional head offices. I'm not sure if a detailed address is necessary at all, perhaps stating the city/town and the country should be enough.

As for the price, if there's a consensus already that the price shouldn't be included, that's fine by me - but there are already examples of articles which clearly break the WP:NOT#DIR Item 4 rule. For instance, it clearly states that therefore prices of a product should not be quoted in an article unless the price can be sourced and there is a justified reason for its mention. Examples of justified reasons include notable sales of rare collectors items, prices relating to discussion of a price war, and historical discussion of economic inflation. On the other hand, street prices are trivia that can vary widely from place to place and over time. Therefore, lists of products currently on sale should not quote street prices. In addition, Wikipedia is not a price guide to be used to compare the prices of competing products, or the prices of a single product across different countries or regions. However, if you take a look at Wii launch or PlayStation 3 launch articles, you will find an extensive list of street prices across different countries for the same product. With that in mind, I should also add that magazine/newspaper price could be an important component in determening its target audience or place in the market - which is in itself an important characteristic of publications. Timbouctou (talk) 13:30, 29 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Problem with image_file tags?

I seem to have a bit of a problem utilizing the recommended image_file, image_size and image_caption tags, the example is here: La Civiltà Cattolica. Inside the box, above the image, "[[Image:" appears; the image_size tag doesn't seem to affect the image at all, and under the image (above the caption) the image size and caption tags appear! Lwangaman (talk) 00:52, 27 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This was a bug that happened in the wiki software a couple of months a go, looks like its back again. I'll have a look into it. - X201 (talk) 08:16, 27 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Whatever you've done is causing images to disappear from articles all over the place. I'm going to revert for not. -MrFizyx (talk) 15:13, 27 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]