Template talk:URL

Latest comment: 6 years ago by Djsasso

Hi there, earlier today I ran KolbertBot through the first batch of migration from HTTP->HTTPS links. While doing this, I found that quite a few links weren't converted (example). I took a look at the instances where no replacement took place, and found that it was links that were being used with the {{URL}} template. In order to resolve this and convert them, I think that it's worth having a discussion and deciding which path we want to take moving forward. I see two reasonable options, but I'm open to suggestions. Here they are :

  • Option A : Keep using the template, but it would look like {{URL|https://twitter.com/RobFord/status/120141031203110}} instead of just https://twitter.com/RobFord/status/120131031203110.
  • Option B : Convert existing uses of the template to the standard external link format. I personally favour this option for a few reasons.
  1. In the upcoming October Google Chrome update, all websites which take in "interactions" (apparently so much as having a search bar counts) will be marked with the red "Not Secure" warning in an increased effort to encourage webmasters to migrate to HTTPS. Forbes article about the Chrome update
  2. As more websites make the switch, the usefulness of this template will continue to decrease. It would be more efficient to make the switch now and standardize the external link format.
  3. The traditional format is less bulky and is quite easy to understand. A new user isn't going to know there's a {{URL}} template and will instead either paste the link or click the external link button in the editor.
  4. Using the same format will make it a lot easier to manipulate using tools such as Pywikibot and AutoWikiBrowser.

I look forward to hearing your ideas and it has been great to work with the community here so far :) Thank you. Jon Kolbert (talk) 06:01, 1 September 2017 (UTC)Reply

Template:URL does formatting of the presented look of an external link so it does need to continue, because just using a raw link is not acceptable in many cases. -DJSasso (talk) 11:10, 6 September 2017 (UTC)Reply
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