Gregory Maxwell wrote:
Instead I propose: Have javascript mediate the edit box so that inline references are converted to little red [R] text, moving your cursor into the [R] area by clicking or arrowkeying causes it to expand to display the full reference.
How about making individual references as distinct entities in themselves? I.e. - namespace Reference: with a page like Reference:King Lear (Shakespeare).
Then have <ref name="King Lear (Shakespeare)" page=22-26>
That allows for a single source of each reference, convenient for those references that show up in multiple articles. I certainly find it awkward to enter the identical reference in several related articles and ensure that they are all the same.
This could create a mess if authors create new references without checking for the prior existence of the reference. However, other authors could police the pages and watch for dupes, especially if it's convenient to list all pages in the namespace with common terms etc (rather than just alphabetically by name).
On my wiki, I created a page with a table of references, each with a <section> tag and then use LabeledSectionTransclusion to include them on the pages they are needed. Thus the table becomes a "database" of references. Awkward, but usable.
Mike