[Crossposted from <wikiEN-l> to <wikipedia-l>. Since this feature, if implemented, would apply to all wikis, replies should go to <wikipedia-l>.]

Eclecticology wrote:

Erik Moeller wrote:

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[[Category:Sex]] [[Category:Sexually explicit]] or [[Category:Religion]] or [[Category:Music]]

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and meta-categories: [[Category:Stub]] or [[Category:Delete]] or [[Category:NPOV dispute]]

Not "meta-categories", but "meta categories". A meta-category is a category about categories, but a meta category is a category about meta issues, which in our case means a category about Wikipedia. (Just being silly and pedantic. Ignore me.)

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each of these category pages would be editable, but always automatically include a sorted list of the pages that link to the category ("what links here"). It would also be nice if a text could be configured for each category that is displayed on pages that are part of it, e.g. [[Category:Stub]] -> This article is a stub article ...

I think there is much in common between the two ideas, at least in terms of what we want the two visions would accomplish. I think there is probably a lot of room for reconciling the two. I'd need to give more thought to the way it might be done. I can give a few preliminary observations.

I don't like the subject categories, but I like the meta categories. If we write code that works well for the meta categories, then we can always test the subject categories at that time.

1. Codes or words? Use both, but have a way of distinguishing which

is being used, e.g. it is a word if the second character is in lower case. We would still need to find a way of accomodating the "NPOV" example above.

Unless "NPOV" is the code and "Neutral point of view" is the word. ^_^ But you could always check for all-caps in "NPOV dispute". Myself, I'd still say that words are best; we can keep them short.

2. Does "category page" mean a whole separate page? If it is,

isn't a category box the same thing, only much tinier, and without the need to write the word "category" every time? Some articles will belong to several categories.

I'm pretty sure that "category page" means a page dedicated to that category. Thus at the URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stub one can find a page with an automatic list of all stubs, below the boilerplate text that's printed on all linked pages (say). And at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Category:Stub&action=edit, one can edit this boilerplate text (but not the list).

Anyway, I'm sure there will be more to say on this.

-- Toby