Template talk:NYC Colleges

message: The template should not contain external links to other website, as that is not the purpose of Wikipedia.  There should only be links to other articles, and if the school is not notable to have its own article, then it is not notable enough to be included in the template.  External links should generally be avoided in most cases, according to WP:EL.  Also, NYU-Poly should be included in the list of schools.  Although it merged with NYU, it is still its own school with its own website, its own campus, its own curricula, etc.  NYU-Poly isn't so much a school within NYU (like the New York University College of Nursing), but its rather another school that is a partner with NYU and uses its name. –Dream out loud (talk) 20:25, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree on the removal of external links. NYU-Poly, however, is a different story; the merger is a fact and, while internal integration within NYU is still occurring, Poly no longer exists as a separate instituton from a legal perspective. YLee (talk) 05:09, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: It appeared that the template was trying to encompass all of the degree-granting institutions within the five boros, and was not a listing of "notable" schools.  By that criteria, external links would not be an issue.  However, since it is true that Wiki policy frowns on external links in general, by all means they should be removed from the template.  However, all of those institutions are, in my opinion, by virtue of their existance as degree-granting institutions, "notable" enough and deserve Wiki articles, though no one has gotten around to writing them yet.  Finally, I whoelheartedly support Ylee's analysis of the Poly issue. Shoreranger (talk) 21:42, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: You're right, Shoreranger, all college and universities are considered notable on Wikipedia. Furthermore, navboxes are intended to link existing articles, and you're right not only that external links are frowned upon, but that they're particularly frowned upon when used in a navbox intended to provide navigation between articles within Wikipedia (that is to say, not outside Wikipedia). Maybe there should've been an article already, but addition of an external link is usually the result of a non-NPOV issue and usually for advert purposes. That all aside, I also agree with YLee here. It's been similarly decided "one institution, one link" for the Template:Colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, too. --Aepoutre (talk) 01:34, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Then how about restoring the removed colleges with text only - no links?  Then an accurate representation of the institutions of higher learning in NYC is made, without any Wiki link "issues".Shoreranger (talk) 17:38, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

text: I would not support doing so for this navbox. There are various guidelines specifying that navboxes exist for existing articles. I'd focus on creating those articles before creating a navbox that uses non-articles. That's much more improvement-oriented, as it's more substantive, as well as in line with Wikipedia guidelines. I know people who don't follow the guidelines, but I just can't condone a template that flies in the face of them, especially when I agree with the reasoning behind them. --Aepoutre (talk) 20:41, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removal of external links and inclusion of NYU-Poly 

message: So is it agreed that something like "Junior colleges", "Colleges", and "Universities and graduate institutions" is acceptable? Junior college is generally a term for two-year school, of course, colleges are generally four-year, perhaps with some master's offerings, and universities and graduate institutions have a heavy graduate component. Unfortunately, I'd need to bone up on NYC schools quite extensively to distinguish between them all. Do you, Shoreranger, or someone else, volunteer to take up this gauntlet if/when it's been agreed upon? --Aepoutre (talk) 20:50, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd like to see it in a sandbox first. I suspect that a template with only three categories will have "Junior Colleges" be very small. I prefer "Two-year," "Four-year," and "Graduate," myself, in any case. YLee (talk) 23:09, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  New format