Template:When
Template documentationContents
Usage[edit]
{{when|reason=Your explanation here|date=September 2026}}
Use when a lack of precision prevents you from understanding the material.
Add {{When}} after a time period to indicate that the time period is so vague or ambiguous that you do not understand what is being said. Wikipedia does not ban the use of general or relative time descriptions, like "before", "after", "since then", "now", or "in modern times" if the context is sufficiently clear for you to understand what time period is being referred to. For example, the typical reader will easily understand that the word now in the sentence, "In the Roman era, most people died before age 25, but now it is typical for a person living in the developed world to live well past age 70," refers to the time at which the reader is reading the sentence (e.g. this year).
You may append a date to the template in the following format:
{{When|date=September 2026}}
Notes:
- Do not substitute this template.
- The
|reason=parameter is optional but often helpful. It is displayed as a tooltip in some browsers. - If you don't add a date parameter, a bot will date your entry with the month and year at a later time.
- The date parameter consists of the name of the current month and the year only, not full dates. The names of the months are capitalized in English. Any deviation from these two rules will result in an “invalid date parameter” error.
Do not use for disputes: If the date in question is disputed (controversial, unlikely, impossible, or otherwise more problematic than simply needing clarification), use {{Citation needed}}, {{Dubious}}, {{Disputed-inline}} or some other dispute template.
After placing the template in the article, it is a good idea to create a new When heading on that page’s talk page, so as to provide a forum to discuss the unclear time phrase.
Examples of fixing unclear time phrases[edit]
The following are some examples of unclear time phrases along with examples of how to fix them.
Time phrases tied to the present[edit]
Wikipedia pages may exist for decades, and any time phrase tied to the present "now" will not only be incorrect or misleading in a year or two, but is also immediately unclear as to when exactly is meant, because Wikipedia readers cannot easily determine when a particular statement was written.
Words that will show you that the sentence is tied to the present include:
- Words such as "presently", "currently", "now" or "today";
- References to "this year", "this decade" or "this century";
- Phrases such as "is in talks", "is planning", or "to this day".
- Statements that use the word "still" in a context, such as: "The statue is still standing in its original location."
Forward- and backward-looking statements may also be unintentionally anchored in the present:
- Sentences about future intentions ("will acquire Saab")
- The present perfect progressive ("has been recording a new single")
- The immediate past ("for the past 10 years")
- Relative time phrases ("last year", "10 years ago", "in 10 years", "within a decade", etc.)
One way to correct such usage is with an introductory phrase such as "In April 2007" or "As of 2007" (best used with the {{As of}} template). Another way is to omit the present reference altogether (e.g. replace "He has worked there for the past 10 years and still works there today" with "He first began work there in 1995".)
Imprecise time specifiers[edit]
Other time phrases may also be vague or ambiguous. Words like "recent", "lately", "soon", or similar may need clarification. Is "recent" used to mean last week, last month, last year, last century? Such wording may not be obvious to the reader unless it is clarified or reworded.
There are many words or phrases that may imply a certain amount of time had passed without exactly indicating how long or when. Some further examples include:
- "for some time"
- "for a while"
- "often"
- "frequently"
- "previously"
- "formerly"
- "at one point"
- "at a certain point"
- "during one period" (or "stage" or "phase")
Another example is the phrase "used to" when applied in a context, such as "He used to go there every day."
Date ambiguity[edit]
A date written in the format mn/xy/2009 may mean different things in different places — and even in the same place. To some, 1/4/2009 means "1 April 2009"; to others, "January 4, 2009".
Why seasons should not describe time[edit]
Seasons fall in different ranges of time depending on the area, and so using them to describe a particular range of time is vague and misleading to the reader. You'll often see this type of description in phrasing like the following:
- [Some event happened] in [seasoHatnoteof [year].
- [Something was completed] by [seasoHatnoteof [year].
- [Something happened] at [a particular date]. The next [season]...
When describing time of year rather than local conditions or a more formal use of a seasonal name (e.g., summer school), be as precise as your source of information will allow, from a date range to a calendar-related description of part of a year:
- 15 September–5 November 1995 (or September 15–November 5, 1995 if that's the format standard throughout the article)
- September–November 1995
- Before the end of the fourth quarter of 1995
- Latter part of 1995
You can also find other systems to which you can anchor the time-frame, as long as they relate to the subject of the article:
- The first few months of the 1995 school year (which begins at that district in September)
- Sometime in the 1995 hunting season, which in that state runs from September 15 to November 5.
See WP:MOSNUM for more details.
Exceptions[edit]
Do not change ambiguous material in a direct quotation. Instead give an appropriate clarification in brackets:
- The statue is inscribed: “For the valiant heroes of 1/4/2009” (1 April 2009).
See also[edit]
{{Clarify timeframe}}- {{Time-context}}
- {{Year needed}} (asks for a specific year)
- Category:Vague or ambiguous time
- Category:Articles containing potentially dated statements
TemplateData[edit]
TemplateData for When
Use after a statement of a time period in an article that is so vague or ambiguous you do not understand which period is being referred to.
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month and year | date | The month and year you added this template to the article, use the full month name and four digit year, e.g. August 2013
| String | required |
| The above documentation is transcluded from Template:When/doc. (edit | history) Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages. Please add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template. |
