[WikiEN-l] Porchesia

[David Gerard]

On 03/10/06, Jake Waskett <jake at waskett.org> wrote:

> In keeping with tradition, I'd like to propose a technical solution that
> everyone can ignore. ;-)
> Suggestion: Automatically insert a suitable template into new/unsourced
> text. I'd propose something similar to {{not verified}}.


I did suggest article preloading a while ago. I *think* this is
available in MediaWiki. Is it time this looks like a good idea on en:?

Something like:


'''ARTICLENAME''' is ... (a quick few sentences about it)

(a few more sentences about it)

==References==

(List what you used to write this article that others could fact-check it with.)

==External links==

* [http://somethingorother.example Page about $ARTICLENAME]


Is the time for such a thing right yet?


> Model 1: Have the Wiki automatically insert this template into text of a
> new article in the main namespace.
> Model 2: Have the Wiki automatically subst this template into the
> beginning of all articles in the main namespace *unless* the article
> contains at least one ISBN/external link/<ref>/etc.
> There are pros and cons to each. Model 1 is easy for a determined hoaxer
> to circumvent. Model 2 is trickier to implement, requiring either two
> passes or a flag to maintain, but more robust. It would also have the
> benefit (some might say drawback) of drawing attention to a lot of
> *currently* unsourced articles.


It'd save me going around putting {{unreferenced}} on lots of
articles. Mind you, method 2 could be implemented by a semi-automatic
bot. I must say, I'm tempted.


- d.