Phil Boswell wrote:
"Kate" keturner@livejournal.com wrote in message news:6019986.1hDDKoznoz@rose.local...
in 1.5, we have the possibility of changing URLs used for projects.
[examples snipped]
For the sake of lowering blood-pressure all around, should be assume that these new formats are **in addition** to those currently in use?
I like them, but I echo the concerns of those worried about breaking inward links.
Just to emphasize:
We are *strongly* committed to maintaining the functioning of existing incoming links. I've made this promise several times over the last three years, and I'm happy to make it again.
If and when we change URL styles (as in the past moving from *.wikipedia.com to *.wikipedia.org, from www.wikipedia.org to en.wikipedia.org, from /wiki.cgi?Title to /wiki/Title, and from /w/wiki.phtml to /w/index.php) the old links will continue to work by automatic redirect or just by both working at once.
Actually I like the possiblity of specifying links in more than one way to allow maximal flexibility. If we **can** handle it, then we **should** handle it. The principle of "least surprise" should come into pre-emptive action here.
There needs however to be a 'canonical' form: this is what the software itself will produce links as, and for cachable items where a single purgeable URL needs to exist and redirects are used, that's where other forms will get redirected to.
-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)