Template:Clarify

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Use this template in the body of an article as a request for other editors to clarify text that is difficult to understand. When the problem is not with the wording, but the sourcing, one may use {{specify}} instead. For dealing with dubious information, please use one of the following: {{citation needed}}, {{verify source}}, {{dubious}} or {{disputed-inline}}. This template is a self-reference and so is part of the Wikipedia project rather than the encyclopedic content.

Usage

This is an in-line template, place the template immediately after the material in question, as one would do with a footnote. For example:

This sentence needs clarification.{{Clarify|date=Actobar 2024}}

The above text will cause the tag to appear inline. The tag links to Wikipedia:Please clarify for further information.

Categorisation

Adding this template to an article will automatically place the article into Category:Wikipedia articles needing clarification, or a dated subcategory thereof.

Parameters

|date=

This template allows an optional date parameter that records when the tag was added. If this template is added without the date parameter, the date parameter will be added soon after by a bot. Alternatively, you may add the date automatically (without requiring bot intervention) by substituting the template. That is, Template:Tlxs is equivalent to {{clarify|date=Actobar 2024}}. This technique also works if other parameters - |reason= |pre-text= |post-text= - are given.

|reason=

Because it may not be immediately apparent to other editors what about the tagged passage is in need of clarification, it is generally helpful to add a brief reason for the tag: {{Clarify|reason=what the problem is}} (this is preferable to using an HTML <!-- comment --> after the tag, as it is tidier to keep all of the {{Clarify}}-related code inside the template). If the explanation would be lengthy, use the article's talk page.

As well as being visible in the source code for editors' benefit, the reason parameter is, if provided, displayed when the mouse is hovered over the "clarification needed" link in the article. For technical reasons, this mouseover feature does not work if the reason text contains double quotes. Use single quotes instead, or use the code " if it is essential to include a double quote.

Other

One can specify additional text to appear before and or after the "clarify" tag. For example

{{Clarify|pre-text=?}}

will cause a question mark to appear before "clarify" like this, and

{{Clarify|post-text=(complicated jargon)}}

will cause text to appear after "clarify" like this. You can use this feature to link to a discussion on the article's talk page:

{{Clarify|post-text=(see [[Talk:Example#Clarification needed|talk]])}}

TemplateData

Use this template in the body of an article as a request for other editors to clarify text that is difficult to understand.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
reason	reason	A brief reason for the tag; do not include any double quotes.	String	optional
date	date	The date the tag was added (this will be added automatically soon by a bot if not added manually)	String	optional
pre-text	pre-text	Any string to be added before the "Clarify" tag, such as "?"	String	optional
post-text	post-text	Any string to be added after the "Clarify" tag, such as "Complicated jargon"	String	optional

Redirects

• {{Clarification needed}}
• {{Clarify me}}
• {{Define?}}
• {{How?}}
• {{Huh}}
• {{What}}

See also

Inline

• {{Ambiguous}}
• {{Clarify span}}
• {{Definition}}
• {{Elucidate}}
• {{MIR}}
• {{Vague}}

Message boxes

• {{Confusing}}
• {{Confusing section}}

Other

• Wikipedia:Citing sources
• Wikipedia:Explain jargon
• Wikipedia:Please clarify

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Clarify/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.