Quite simply... Cache...
Wikipedia runs behind squid, and that allows all anon visitors to view
the exact same page cached by squid instead of needing to make MediaWiki
recreate the page each and every time another person wants it.
Because of the cache, the browser language isn't used. If the cache were
removed, Wikipedia would likely bog down to a halt. So language
preferences are only honored for logged in users who aren't affected by
cache.
~Daniel Friesen(Dantman) of:
-The Gaiapedia (
This has probably been discussed before, but why does
mediawiki (or at
least, wikipedia) default to showing the interface in the language of
the wikipedia, rather than in the language of the browser? E.g., when
I visit
ru.wikipedia.org, common sense dictates that the interface
should be shown in English, the language defined in my browser
preferences. Sure, I can change it by creating an account and defining
my preferences, but even that is difficult enough on a foreign
language Wikipedia, and extremely difficult for a non-Roman script.
What's the thinking here?
Steve
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