Cropping of en-simple

Because of the way that it was cropped and is rendered, the image often cuts off a bit of the Greatest Generation text. It's not a huge issue, just a little annoying to look at (particularly on the Wikipedia Generations sidebar) but perhaps the person who originally created the SVG could re-crop it in a way that leaves a little more room on the right? Someone else could do it obviously, I just wouldn't know how. BappleBusiness (talk) 19:37, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

@BappleBusiness: I created the SVG and don't see it cropped. The image I get is http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Generation_timeline.svg/langsimple-290px-Generation_timeline.svg.png . Can you please send the link to the image similar to the above? Thanks, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 22:06, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

Hi @Cmglee: , thanks for replying! It's okay in some resolutions, but on en:Template:Generations sidebar it cuts off the n (at least on the screens I've tried). I've tried changing the dimensions of the image on the sidebar, but in order for the n not to be cut off the image has to be either absurdly large or small, so I thought it might be easier to ask about the cropping here. I've attached an image below. BappleBusiness (talk) 01:23, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by BappleBusiness (talk • contribs) 01:23, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, @BappleBusiness: That's strange indeed, as I don't see it on my system. Nevertheless, before I could further investigate it, @The.thales: has uploaded several translations (for which I'm grateful). Can you please check if the problem still occurs? Thanks, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 22:53, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

As far as I'm aware, the problem only happens on the simple version of the image that (unless I missed something) is only available in English. On the full images, even in other translations, the words are far away from the edge of the image so letters don't get cut off when they are rendered. BappleBusiness (talk) 21:14, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

I made the font larger in the simple version to make it more visible in the infobox. I can shrink it if it helps, as there doesn't seem much space to expand otherwise. Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 22:00, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

I'm not sure how you made the image, but to me, it looks like if you added another decade (2040) to the right side there should be enough room for the words. If it has to stay the same aspect ratio (I don't know how variations of SVGs work on here), two options that fix the issue would be to add a decade on the right but get rid of a decade on the left (which would hide the very beginning of the Lost Generation bar) or make the font smaller like you said (we could do it just for the Greatest Generation text if that doesn't look weird, to maintain maximum readability). BappleBusiness (talk) 23:09, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

@BappleBusiness: Adding more years will effectively shrink the font size as the image gets wider but the thumbnail is the same width. Thus, I've condensed just the "Greatest Generation" label to 95% the original value. The text is no longer cropped from 260 to 290 px width. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 18:58, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

The latest SVG thumbnail renderer (rsvg) does not seem to recognise systemLanguage="simple" anymore. I've requested help on en:Special:Diff/1160401494. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 08:26, 25 June 2023 (UTC)

Renaming "simple" to "en-simple" as per http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ASVG_help&diff=1165024758&oldid=1164965717 fixed it. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 00:39, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

Chart update

Should the War on Terror and Web 2.0 parts really be extending that far into the chart? It's been argued the GWOT, or at least the main portion, ended in 2021 (the National Defense Service Medal stopped being offered after December 2022). Also, Web3 started being discussed more around 2021, which some argue is the successor to Web 2.0. 204.111.198.147 18:40, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! https://prhome.defense.gov/Portals/52/Documents/MRA_Docs/OEPM/NDSM%20Authorized%20Conflicts%20-%202022%2009%2009.pdf?ver=mEPo1_zdH7zCEh7l6xlmag%3d%3d convinces me that at least the US WOT ended on 30 Dec 2022. I'll update the chart.

The case for Web 2.0 is less clear-cut, though. Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 20:55, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. Also, the text isn't displaying for the "Great Depression" part.--204.111.198.147 15:04, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks and well spotted. I've restored the "Great Depression" label lost in the 00:38, 19 May 2021 version and tried to translate it into the available languages. Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 22:01, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

The text veers a bit off the shaded part because of its size. Maybe you could nudge the text more into the shade or align it to the right to make it fit more.--204.111.198.147 17:39, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

I haven't much choice, as the word "Depression" is too long and would clash with the "2" of "WW2", so decided to centre the whole phrase between "WW1" and "WW2". We also beed to consider that the diagram is translated into several languages and potentially many more. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 17:47, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Missing the legend and era elements for English

Looks like the revision for the 00:32, 16 July 2023 version caused the legend box and eras (WW1, WW2, etc) to be hidden for both the en and en-simple versions. All other langs seem to still have both elements. I didn't see any notes about that being intentional and would like the elements added back if possible. Jokeyxero (talk) 05:52, 25 July 2024 (UTC)

@Jokeyxero: Thanks for reporting the regression. I've reported it on http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SVG_help&diff=prev&oldid=1241752020 . In the meantime, can you please use lang=eng to get the legend and eras, as above? Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 23:37, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Some minor typos

I successfully added a german version (de) in September 2024, translating the German version from the Esperanto one, but I missed a typo in 3 places of the german version, where "Generacion" has to be "Generation", like in english. I just tried to fix it, but now my fixed file is not accepted as SVG - apparently I'm not as clever any more as in September. Could someone please remove my 3 typos? I guarantee the version "Generation" is correct. ThomasPusch (talk) 10:55, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

Plus, I missed to translate two labels from English to Esperanto (eo): Vietnam War has to be "Vjetnama Milito", WW 2 has to be "2-a MM", and the too long "1-a mondmilito" (for WW 1) in eo should be just "1-a MM". Vietnam War also is labelled wrongly in German and Spanish: in "de" it has to be "Vietnam-Krieg", and in "es" has to be "Guerra de Vietnam". Also the world wars in German and Spanish: in "de" it has to be "WW 1" and "WW 2" due to lack of space (in German there's no equally short abbr.), and in "es" has to be "1a GM" and "2a GM". Sorry, I'd like to do the adaptations for myself, but just can't. ThomasPusch (talk) 11:14, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for adding the German translation and your feedback. I've done the above, though used 1.Welt-//Krieg for WW 1 etc. Is it ok now? Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 06:25, 7 December 2024 (UTC)

Generation Beta

Where is it? TheCoolPinata22 discuss with me! 17:07, 29 January 2025 (UTC)

Hi @TheCoolPinata22: If you can provide me with a reputable source with starting date of Beta and ending date of Alpha, I can add it. Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 01:55, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

You can find enough in en:Generation Beta HLFan (talk) 10:08, 3 February 2025 (UTC)

@HLFan: I would wait until Gen Beta becomes more established, and there's more of its graph to show (2025 just catches the left tip of it). cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 16:54, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

106 million people have been born this year (2025), which is more than 1% of the world population, enough to call it enough, RisingPhoenix815 (talk) 19:06, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

That by itself doesn't necessarily make it a good argument. If life expectancy is under 100 years, it is expected that every year, more than 1% of the world population is born. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 19:40, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

8.25 billion people are living. 106 million were born this year, and let's take the average life expectancy of 79.4. Approximately 1.26% of the population is under 1 year old. 130 million are born every year (1.59%). So yes. Let's add it RisingPhoenix815 (talk) 21:08, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Wrong translation in some languages

In spanish, portuguese, french the generation 1901 to 1927 is declared as "grandioso/grandiose" – in english "great" (not "big"), "magnificent" etc.; in german it is translated as "groß" what does mean "big" and not "great". There is a german word for it: "großartig" or from latin: "grandios" (Grandiose Generation); but in german version it is wrong translated with "big generation" (große Generation). How to correct that? --ProloSozz (talk) 08:41, 7 March 2025 (UTC)

Download the file. Edit it with notepad/vim/emacs or your favourite text editor. Search for the term and change it. Save. View to check. Upload. Rich Farmbrough, 16:25 22 August 2025 (GMT).

Wrong Language Shown

When opening the german .svg pic in MS-Edge (not in SRWare Iron) the portuguese version is shown ... Why? How to correct that? --ProloSozz (talk) 08:45, 7 March 2025 (UTC)

@ProloSozz: What do you mean by "the german .svg"? There is only one SVG: all the supported languages are in it, and are chosen according to one's browser settings. Could your MS-Edge prioritise Portuguese over German for some reason? If so, click the 3-dot menu, choose Settings, search for "Preferred language", click "Add language", and search for and add "German - Deutsch".

If, on the other hand, you meant the thumbnail, ensure the URL or wikicode has "lang=de" e.g. http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?lang=de&title=File%3AGeneration_timeline.svg or as on the right. Good luck, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 16:43, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

OK, to understand what I do and what is shown:

a) the language set in my MS Edge browser to display this page is german – so the links in the left column etc. appear in german to me

b) the url of the page is https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Generation_timeline.svg

c) on this page there is on top a pic in preview

d) the text in this preview pic appears in english to me

e) the link to the original file is: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Generation_timeline.svg

f) if I open this link in a new tab (by right click) the file is opened with portuguese text in MS Edge (but not in SRWare Iron)

g) the languages in my MS Edge browser are (in this order): Englisch (=display language), Deutsch, Französisch, Italienisch, Rätoromanisch, Spanisch, Portugiesisch, Bulgarisch, Ukrainisch, Russisch – as my Windows OS setting is set to german, the list of these languages appear in german

h) when I right-click each of the pics in the different languages, a new tab opens with the preview pic in that language

i) when I click on that preview pic so that the original pic appears in the tab, the text is always in portuguese – in all selected languages

When using SRWare Iron the direct link to the .svg appears in german as german is set there as display language (including the browser itself).

Adding "&lang=de" to the direct url (of the .svg) does not display the pic in that language in MS Edge, but in portuguese ...

Hope this makes clear what the problem is ... --ProloSozz (talk) 17:50, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Something more: when removing portuguese from the language list in MS Edge the text appears in german; when re-adding it appears again in portuguese ... --ProloSozz (talk) 17:54, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

This reminds me of some flaws of Win11: setting first system language to swiss german and second language to french has the consequence that apps like textedit, some system settings and ms store are in french. I assume that the flaw is inside MS Edge and MS is not able to correctly deal with language settings. --ProloSozz (talk) 19:42, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Zillenials (Generation YZ) + Generation Beta

Can we update the image to include Zillenials and gBeta? Blockhaj (talk) 02:53, 23 May 2025 (UTC)

@Blockhaj: These aren't official (yet). When their dates become widely recognised, they can be added. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 16:44, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

@Cmglee define official? Offical according to the US government? The Finnish government? Blockhaj (talk) 18:40, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

It's not up to me, it's what the community decides, and I gather that's Pew's designation. One manifestation of it is what's listed on en:Generation#List_of_social_generations.

I see that Beta is listed, though for another reason (there's more of its graph to show (2025 just catches the left tip of it)), it might not be a good time to add it yet. cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 19:38, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Micro-generations such as Xennials, Zillennials, etc. aren't widely recognized by demographers, researchers, etc. so they shouldn't be added to the graphic. Some1 (talk) 22:17, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Parallelogram-like shapes

@Rich Farmbrough: created this simple version in which the shapes are roughly parallelograms (instead of my trapezia/trapezoids).

Does anyone have an opinion on whether that's more desirable? It looks neater to me, though conflicts with my original intention to roughly represent graphs of frequency in which the numbers of a generation rise and then fall.

Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 16:51, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

I felt the trapezoids made it look as if the early cohort of a generation lived a longer time. They also concealed a few misalignments, which were partly due to the generations all having the same height. As I remarked on the file page, I didn't change the key to match, which would be needed for the new version to be a drop-in replacement. The changes were made in Vim, and with one-off scripts. Rich Farmbrough, 21:13 24 November 2025 (GMT).

Data is fully unsourced

The diagram itself is the "own work" of an editor. However, for diagrams that present data, the *data* also needs to be sourced. Surely, the creating editor has those sources available and it should be a straightforward matter to add them in. For the mean time, I added a "citation needed" type of caution against using the diagram until the sourcing is straightened out. 142.105.159.178 20:37, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Fair point. The info is from en:Generation#Western_world. I suppose one could list the references in the file description page but that would lead to redundancy and links going out of sync when the page is updated. Cheers, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 11:58, 17 June 2021 (UTC)

There is misleading information on this diagram. There isn’t a general ending yet to z....If your going of by pew. It’s clear they have never put an ending to their opinion on the demographic. Also generation Alpha description is completely misleading. There is little to no talk about generation alpha starting times especially and ending range to it. It seems like the photo has pew Research views on it which is fine but as soon as you start putting arbitrary endings and starting ranges to generation z and Alpha it just gets unrealistic and misleading. Especially since it’s not sourced. You should completely erase the generation alpha description on the picture and take away the ending range for z. You should also source it as pew research somewhat since that is what it’s obviously going of by. Joseph165 (talk) 10:35, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

@Joseph165: I find your tone rather hostile, and would be more receptive if it were less accusatory and commanding. May I invite you to take up your changes with en:Generation#Western_world? Once it's stable, I'll be happy to update the date ranges according to the article. Thanks, cmɢʟee ⋅τaʟκ 22:50, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

He did not personally attack you. I agree that you can't predict the end of Gen Alpha's cohort, as such things are typically assigned retroactively. In my opinion, accusing him of being hostile is an easy way of deflecting from their several valid points. You never addressed the valid concerns. Please don't take offense to constructive criticism as criticism is the only way we build upon each other. IceBlade710-v2 (talk) 02:42, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

I strongly agree with the above, the first and the third post here! The careless decision “no valid reason for deletion” is completely baffling to me, and the original deletion requester was absolutely right: “There are no officially defined years for generations and there is no consensus among academics or the media”.

Under en: Generation #Western world (I just added the lost section title once more!) the labels of individual generations are indeed documented, sometimes by the same source, sometimes by different ones. But where is the connection established between all the data mentioned or presented in the graphic? Did I miss something? As far as I can tell, no one outside of Wikipedia did this, correct? If so, then the connection would constitute theory formation, which is not permitted: en:WP:No original research! (This corresponds to our: de:WP:Keine Theoriefindung!)

And another one: Why does the graphic start in 1880? Are there no designations for earlier generations? Or perhaps there are? This is yet another reason to demand a source for the connections made through the graphic! Too often, Wikipedia seems to me to be historically ignorant, and this is one of them. —

To avoid misunderstandings: I appreciate any successful graphical representation of numbers or phenomena, and I find this presentation successful and very interesting. But in Wikipedia, the numbers or phenomena depicted must originate from external sources, and they must be proved in context, not in isolated pieces.

Winnie Schneider (talk) 17:39, 14 February 2026 (UTC)

PS. A recent critique of the “generation” and its designations as a “problematic term” (Germany, 2020): https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/generationen-2020/324485/generationen-im-20-und-21-jahrhundert/ First (german) label there starts 1854 up to 1864! --Winnie Schneider (talk) 16:19, 16 February 2026 (UTC)