You are correct on all points and your solutions proposed are all viable...
Block Variations do not equal Module Variations in Gantry 4 (which are/were the same as Module Suffixes in Joomla). The are placed a few elements higher in the stack on your Frontend output in order to wrap the new Gantry Block concept as opposed to wrapping the module as a traditional Joomla Module Chrome.
From your first post, all 3 of your options are viable. Personally, I would choose to create a new Layout/Outline for the Contact Page, add a new/custom position, and give it the Block Variation I want.
R2ba5Aq4 wrote:
If the structure of the layout of the default template is suitable for multiple pages, doesn't it conflate style and structure to add new positions for the sole purpose of styling individual modules?
I would personally like to see us come out with "traditional" module suffixes for Joomla (or whatever CMS) in compliment with our G5 Block Variations in newer templates. You can still of course create your own Module Suffixes as you suggested in point 3 of your original post. But if you want to use any of our new G5 template block variations, you need a block (ie a Position Block) to use/call it from... and in my opinion, the best place to put a "one-time-use" block is in a new Outline assigned to your specific page.
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