Template:Random old school/doc
{{Random old school/doc}} is a randomisation template which comes from a point in the development of wikipedia:template:random number before it depended on {{#time:U}}. To you, the user, it should still function much like {{random}}, so those instructions are included below.
{{random}} generates a random number, at least to the extent that non-mathematicians will be happy with the term "random", through simple markup. The number can be from 1 to whatever number you choose, up to 1000.
Syntax is straightforward:
{{random|1000}} = 410
This number will change every time the page loads.
Though this simple aspect is enough to power any number of functions — such as determining which random, numbered subpage to call on a page, the template does have additional sophistication, detailed at template:random on Wikipedia.
Example of calling forth a page
If you type the following, you will get a different quote of the week on every page load:
{{qotw/{{#expr:{{random|52}} + 1}}}}Test it out by reloading this page several times. What you get below will be different on almost every page, though with a sample size of only 52, you're bound to get some repeats. The reason is because there are 53 pages in the following format:
{{qotw/n}}However, there is no {{tlx|qotw/0}}. Thus by adding 1 to the randomly selected number between 0 and 52, we ensure the choice will be between the numbers 1 and 53.
- Amy Pond: You know when sometimes you meet someone so beautiful - and then you actually talk to them and five minutes later they're as dull as a brick; but then there's other people. And you meet them and you think, "Not bad, they're okay," and when you get to know them ... their face just, sort of, becomes them, like their personality's written all over it, and they just - they turn into something so beautiful. Rory's the most beautiful man I've ever met.
