Template:When
[when?]
Note to editors: Please don't categorize this template by editing it directly. Instead, place the category in its documentation page, in its "includeonly" section.
Usage
{{When|date=November 2025}}{{When|reason=Your explanation here|date=November 2025}}{{As of?|date=November 2025}}{{As of?|reason=Your explanation here|date=November 2025}}
Use when a lack of precision prevents you from understanding the material.
Add {{When}} or {{As of?}} 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=November 2025}}{{As of?|date=November 2025}}
Notes:
- Do not Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination substitute this template.
- The |reason = parameter is optional but often helpful. It is displayed as a Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination tooltip in some browsers.
- If you don't add a date parameter, a Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination 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.