Use case:
You need to manually fill in a citation template. There are six authors. T52407: TemplateData: Add a way to express dependencies between parameters promises to let you add |last1= and |first1= at the same time, but you'll still have to do that six times, one for each author.
Why not make it possible to say "Give me six of these"? (Hat tip to @ManosHacker for this idea.)
| Status | Subtype | Assigned | Task | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | None | T119423 Make it easy to add a bunch of similar parameters at once | |||
| Open | None | T95695 When I add "last1" to a citation template, automatically add the related "first1" parameter | |||
| Open | Feature | None | T52407 TemplateData: Add a way to express dependencies between parameters | ||
| Open | None | T197634 Proposal for more sophisticated "required" parameter option |
It is easier to fill in one field (Author) with all authors in a copypasted form (wikieditor) than manually bring up first name and last name fields for each author (visualeditor). Bringing in all fields for completion by selecting number of authors, in VE, would be handy.
It might also be handy to turn First1 and Last1 to Author1 in case first name and last name of an author cannot be identified and distinguished.