Template:Ping fix
Hello Ping fix. I noticed your attempt to fix a ping. Unfortunately, that method does not work. The notifications system only informs a user when you link their username in the same saved edit as you successfully sign your post. A ping cannot be fixed in a later edit by adding your signature or fixing a botched username. Instead, reference the user by adding [[User:Example]] to an edit summary, or use one of the other methods at Help:Fixing failed pings.
 | This template should always be substituted (i.e., use {{subst:Ping fix}}). Any accidental transclusions will be automatically substituted by a bot. |
Purpose
[edit]Pinging another user in a post to a talk page or page in the Wikipedia namespace – that is, giving them an alert through the notifications system – requires that you link their username and successfully sign your post in the same saved edit. When any part of these requirements are not met (most commonly by forgetting to sign), many users attempt to fix the botched ping in a subsequent edit by adding or fixing their signature, or fixing the user name link, none of which works. This template explains the issue and refers the user to Help:Fixing failed pings for further information and where a suggested method to perform the fix is given.
Usage
[edit]This template must be substituted and takes one required parameter (filled in after "1="): the complete URL of the diff of the edit in which the user attempted to fix their ping (by an invalid method).
This template also has a default header you can invoke, "==Fixing pings=="; a way to tailor the header with your own text; and a way to automatically sign. If you only provide the one required parameter, no header will be provided nor will the template be signed, both of which can be added manually of course. The opening salutation automatically fills in the user's name ("Hello username")—so long as the template is added on a user's talk page, which is where this template is intended to be used.
- Base requirement: {{subst:Ping fix|1=Complete URL of Diff}}
- Default header: {{subst:Ping fix|Complete URL of Diff|header=yes}}
- Tailored header: {{subst:Ping fix|1=Complete URL of Diff|header=Your header}}
- Automatic signing: just add as a parameter |sig=any letter.
- For example: {{subst:Ping fix|1=Complete URL of Diff|sig=a}}