Wikipedia talk:Automated taxobox system

This talk page can be used to discuss issues with the automated taxobox system that are common to the entire system, not just one of its templates. Discussions of this nature prior to 2017 can be found at Template talk:Automatic taxobox

Those familiar with the system prior to mid-2016 are advised to read Notes for "old hands".

Need to remove italics for Candidatus genus

At Template:Taxonomy/Protochlamydia I am trying to create a link of the form "Ca. Protochlamydia". However, the mighty taxobox system is insisting on italicizing the whole thing. Trying to use the template {{normal}} does not work, and a quick examination of the output HTML by inspect element shows that it's been filtered out somewhere. Trying to just type ''Ca.'' Protochlamydia or Ca. ''Protochlamydia'' gives the same result.

There are two routes (I think) to fixing this, given my limited 5-minute read of the call chain.

• It's easy and tempting to just change Module:TaxonItalics, but that comes with the issue of this module not being called for anything higher than a genus – Candidatus higher taxa do exist, and even there you are supposed to italicize the Candidatus while leaving the rest alone.
• The other route is to just directly do the formatting in the callers, which would require similar changes in multiple modules: Module:Autotaxobox AND Module:Automated taxobox. The caller logic would be basically changed to:

  local i, j = linkText.find("^Ca(%.|ndidatus) ")
  if i != nil then
    linkText = "''" .. name.sub(i, j-1) .. "'' " .. name.sub(j+1)
  else
    if italics == "yes" then   -- now an elseif would work here, but i want to make it resemble the original a bit more
      linkText = TaxonItalics.italicizeTaxonName(linkText, false, abbreviated=='yes')
    end
  end
  

  (Because we are supposed to leave the rest alone, there will be no need to call italicizeTaxonName even for a rank that ordinarily requires italics.)

Artoria2e5 🌉 11:53, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

Is this something that could perhaps be handled with a parameter for Candidatus taxa in taxonomy templates? I know I haven't worked much on implementing automatic taxoboxes for bacteria because the system can't handle Candidatus status well. Plantdrew (talk) 16:50, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

@Plantdrew: Hmm, good point. A |candidatus=yes added to Template:Taxonomy/* should cover anything that uses it (so everything above species?). Speciesbox still needs its own thing. Artoria2e5 🌉 11:11, 20 May 2025 (UTC)

Unfortunately, I think to do it properly will be more complicated than suggested by Artoria2e5. There are several places in which a fully automated system would need to handle a candidatus name:

1. In an automated taxobox, in the parent taxon rows, where names are abbreviated where appropriate
2. In an automated taxobox, in the target taxon row, where names are not abbreviated
3. In an automated taxobox, in the taxobox title, generated automatically from the taxon name or page title
4. In the page title, which is formatted by {{Italic title}} being added for genus level ranks and below
5. In the right hand table when a taxonomy template is displayed

3 and 4 can of course be handled manually.

There are also various checks, e.g. titles for a monospecific genus at the genus when {{Speciesbox}} is used for the taxobox, or ensuring the link in a taxonomy template matches the title of the template; these would need to be studied to ensure that they worked correctly for candidatus names.

However, the taxobox at Protochlamydia naegleriiphila seems ok, although the page needs to be moved to "Candidatus Protochlamydia naegleriiphila" (or "Ca. Protochlamydia naegleriiphila") for consistency. So is it just the right hand table when a taxonomy template is displayed which is the problem?

Peter coxhead (talk) 19:20, 20 May 2025 (UTC)

Change to system working

I've now completed a substantial overhaul of the internal working of part of the automated taxobox system. In particular, configuring ranks, both the rank names that are accepted and the ordering of the subset of ranks that can be checked for consistent rank order, is now done in a new module, Module:Taxobox ranks. (As a side-effect, {{Anglicise rank}} is now by-passed in some cases, so its transclusion count in future may not reflect the total number of taxoboxes and taxonomy templates.) As far as I can tell, everything is working correctly.

A major motivation for the change is that it has made generating the two tables at Wikipedia:Automated taxobox system/ranks fully automatic, whereas previously the ranks had to be separately listed in the first column of the first table, thus allowing ranks to be missed. The wikilink Wikipedia:Automated taxobox system/ranks#Rank table may be useful in discussions of accepted/acceptable ranks. Peter coxhead (talk) 08:03, 15 May 2025 (UTC)

High use notices on taxonomy templates

Some taxonomy templates now have {{high-use}} added to them; for example Template:Taxonomy/Otophysi. However, I don't think that the warning message produced makes sense for a taxonomy template: a change can't be effectively tested in a sandbox, because it's the effect on multiple taxoboxes that matters, and it doesn't make sense to me to create a test page for a taxonomy template – how would you force the automated taxobox system to use the sandbox version in order to compare with the live version?

I've made an interim change at Module:High-use/sandbox, which means that if you put {{high-use/sandbox}} in Template:Taxonomy/Otophysi, the warning message becomes:

This template is used on approximately 9,900 pages and changes may have wide effects on taxoboxes. To avoid major disruption, changes should be made cautiously, preferably after discussion at the relevant Tree of Life project.

This may not be the best wording, but I think something like it is better than a warning that includes links to a sandbox and a test page.

Comments please. Peter coxhead (talk) 18:30, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

I think that message is an improvement. Plantdrew (talk) 19:59, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

I agree, and the message does not change for other templates. Pending the outcome of this discussion, I will be glad to make the module sandbox go live. P.I. Ellsworth , ed. ^{put'er there} 01:23, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

A great idea. I have done a minor copy edit on the new message. – Jonesey95 (talk) 18:07, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

@Jonesey95: thanks for the revisions. Please all feel free to suggest or make changes to the message. Peter coxhead (talk) 19:43, 26 May 2025 (UTC)