[Wikipedia-l] Re: [WikiEN-l] Just to throw this out there...

[Toby Bartels]

[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:

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

>>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.)

>>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