List-defined references (WP:LDR) involve reducing the amount of code dedicated to references in the main body, by moving most of it to the bottom of the article (here's an example of a diff that showcases how this works: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Wide_Web&diff=prev&oldid=523433599). Wiki policies and community are currently divided on whether this is a good idea or not. I'd think that reducing the amount of wiki code in the main body of text is a good idea, as it makes the text less code-heavy, thus friendlier (a step towards WYSWIG), which should make editing more easy for all editors, particularly the newbies whom I'd expect be most likely to be scared by the code. However, I was asked for a proof of that, and hence I wonder if anybody knows any studies that would be relevant to this discussion?
On a related note, LDR reformatting of an article does tend to increase the article size by about 10%. Is there any research on how an increase in article size affects page load times, and editing window lag?
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Piotr Konieczny
"To be defeated and not submit, is victory; to be victorious and rest on one's laurels, is defeat." --Józef Pilsudski
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