2009/9/9 Tisza Gergő <gtisza(a)gmail.com>om>:
The LanguageSelector extension [1] can automatically
set the interface
language based on browser settings, which is nowadays the norm for
every serious multilanguage web page. It is not used on WMF wikis,
because it would interfere with caching.
I'm not convinced using the browser language settings for anything
other than suggestions is a good practice, as it doesn't necessarily
relate at all to language speaking ability of the user behind the
browser (think Internet cafes, shared computers, etc.). I notice that
it's possible to disable this behavior in the extension and just use
it as a UI language picker, which I agree would be useful if we can
make it work efficiently.
IMO an approach that replicates the behavior of separate MediaWiki
instances on a per-page basis, i.e. where the UI language reflects the
content language _of the page_, may be worth considering as well.
Then, if you navigate through an entry point in your language, and
peruse pages in your language, your UI will be in your language as
well, consistently.
--
Erik Möller
Deputy Director, Wikimedia Foundation
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