User:Pittsburgcarlos
About me
[edit]I am an engineer who likes to organize information.
Ideas for improving Wikipedia
[edit]Page Summary Blocks
[edit]I think that a very helpful tool for page creators would be an option that allows them to insert a 'block' of summary information about another page on Wikipedia. This block would be maintained on its specific page and include general information such as definition, applications, types, an image, etc..
For example, if you have a page about toasters, on that page you would want to have a section that details the different types of toasters (eg pop-up toasters, toaster ovens, conveyor toasters). For each of these subsections, you would want to have some general text that explains what that specific type of toaster is, but you would not necessarily want all of the detail associated with that toaster. In that case you would want a separate page for each sub-type of toaster that goes into extended detail and a block of text that summarizes what the item is.
Conveyor Toaster
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A conveyor toaster is an appliance that caramelizes and carries bread products on a belt or chain into and through a heated chamber. Conveyor toasters are designed to make many slices of toast and are generally used in the catering industry, restaurants, cafeterias, institutional cooking facilities, and other commercial food service situations where constant or high-volume toasting is required. Bread can be toasted at a rate of 250–1800+ slices an hour.
Now say you have another page, for instance on coffee shops. On this page, I'd say it would definitely be useful information to have a section that details the types of appliances you may find in a coffee shop, for example conveyor toasters designed for high-throughput.
This is where a block would come in handy. Instead of having two separate conveyor toaster sub-sections on the pages for toasters and coffee shops that run the risk of divergent information, you could have one centrally maintained block of information about converyor toasters. The editors of the toaster and coffee shop pages could then insert these synced blocks. This not only makes it easier to ensure accurate and verifiable information is added to these pages, but it makes the information across Wikipedia more consistent and less confusing.