Wikivoyage talk:Medium city article template

From Wikivoyage
Jump to navigation Jump to search

So, one of the things I always wish I had information about when I'm traveling is places to exercise. Gyms, public swimming pools, running tracks or parks with good running areas, bike trails, that kind of thing. I'm kind of an exercise nut, and it really helps to have some info on where to do it.

So I added the section "Exercise" to the city article templates. Comments or objections welcome. -- (WT-en) Evan 11:40, 30 Oct 2003 (PST)

I'm not saying this is a "bad" or a "good" thing to include, but I doubt its value for many destinations. A lot of countries are not as "exercise minded" as the US. In many countries people use bikes as a form of transport to go to school/work/... , not as a form of exercise. A good bike track in Beijing? Well, the whole of Beijing I guess. A park with good running areas in Europe? Perhaps some exist, but generally parks are meant for people who walk, run, bike, enjoy a day out, etc..., and AFAIK areas are not specifically set aside to exercise some form of sport. Another thing: where does it end? If I'm interested in antique things (I'm not), can I include a separate section on the best antique dealers? Or maybe I misunderstood your reasons for creating this section? (WT-en) D.D. 12:43, 30 Oct 2003 (PST)
Maybe it could be a suggested subsection under "Do"? I agree with DD that it might not work for all destinations. Maybe we should start making lists of suggested subsections for various hobbies? I'm sure there are lots of things (language clubs, salsa dancing, libraries, power plants) that people like to look for whenever they travel...(WT-en) Majnoona
Hey, I'm just scratching my itch, man. For me, finding a place to run is the first thing I look for in a new destination. Go figure. Ideas for other suggestions should go on here, too. -- (WT-en) Evan 09:10, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)

I pulled out the "Know" section header on this article template. I think that just putting an introductory paragraph or two at the beginning of the article -- the stuff that we'd normally have a "Know" about -- without a header, ends up looking better. I still like the idea of "Understand", for deeper knowledge, though. -- (WT-en) Evan 09:10, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)


I have to say I really dont like the "Exercise" as a top-level section. Can we come up with something more general that other things could go under? Some sort of "Utilities" section that could have exercise, laundry, and other stuff you have to do on-the-road but isn't a travel activity per se. Ideas?

I like this idea a lot, although it seems a little judgemental to say what is or isn't a travel activity. Drinking but not bike riding? Come again? But I do see where you're coming from. Wouldn't this also be a good place to put money-changing, bank info, American Express offices, that kind of thing?
I don't like "Utilities" as a name, though. It doesn't fit in with our short-imperative-Saxon-verb format. What about "GSD"? -- (WT-en) Evan 13:19, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)
I was just thinking -- it'd probably also be a good place to put info on AA meetings, churches, or that kind of thing. I know a lot of Christians like to find local churches if they're staying the weekend somewhere. -- (WT-en) Evan 13:21, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)
Exactly! Tho I dunno if people will like looking for church/temple under Get Shit Done ;-P Maybe "Live"? or something etheral like "Be" ? Ok, both those are lame and vague too...(WT-en) Majnoona

Maj, I don't understand why "Insides" and "Outsides" should be separate sections. Besides the fact that they break up really easily, so we beat 7+/-2, what other advantage is there? Is it just cost? Bad-weather versus good-weather attractions? I'm just starting to feel like it's an artificial thing. -- (WT-en) Evan 13:33, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)

Yah, kill them. I think they're lame. It was mostly a brainstorm when I was trying to get lots of headers down but I don't find them usefull at all.(WT-en) Majnoona

I moved "Get out" down to the end of the template. I figured that's the best place to talk about moving on to other destinations, and how to do that. It also kinda gives a temporality to the whole thing -- you get in, you get around, you see, you do, you eat, you sleep, you probably eat again, and you get out. I figure it's also OK that stuff is down at the bottom, since most of the real details are covered in the "Get in" section. Comments? -- (WT-en) Evan 13:33, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)

Eh, I'd rather just nix it than have it down at the bottom. I liked "Get In/Out" but it is a bit clunky. I say kill it... I actually can't think of any example of getting out being different than getting out (one way boat trips?) (WT-en) Majnoona
Yeah, there aren't too many cities with one-way doors (maybe towns on the Annapurna Circuit?). But I'm thinking it's good for a list of places to move on to, or for nearby day trips. Like, for San Francisco, you could list Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, that kind of thing. Another possibility is for listing flights, train schedules, etc., for places to move on to (Geneva to Paris TGV, for example), or for transportation options (pickup points for shuttles to the airport, telephone number for Super Shuttle, what BART train to take to SFO, dah dah dah). I can see leaving a city being something worth discussing. -- (WT-en) Evan 16:39, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)
Wanna call it "Move On" then? Ah, how to get to the airport and stuff is good info. I think my only thought would be that doing it chronological (get in, do, get out) means some pretty important stuff could end up at the bottom. I'm thinking of the journalism inverted triangle where you can always snip off the end if you're tight on space (or paper, or attention-span). But maybe that's a silly way to go about it. So either way...(WT-en) Majnoona
<scrolling up a sec> Yeah, I thought I mentioned the important-stuff-first issue at the beginning of this thread. Because the really important stuff is handled in Get in, it's not so bad to have Get out down at the bottom. At least, that's my take on the matter. I dunno, I kinda was thinking that having Get out right after Get in was like, "OK, you got here, now get the hell out!" "But I haven't seen or done anything!" "I SAID GET OUT!" -- (WT-en) Evan 17:24, 6 Nov 2003 (PST)
Sounds good then. Make it so.(WT-en) Majnoona