(For future reference, please summarize the actual issue in the task summary. Thanks!)

In T122580#1908193, @Aklapper wrote:

(For future reference, please summarize the actual issue in the task summary. Thanks!)

I was in translatewiki net using its support page style.
ending up elsewhere is, mh, bewildering. :-)

In T122580#1908215, @Aklapper wrote:

Parameter $3 is superfluous.

Why do you think so? Please elaborate.

It is obviously superfluous. If you omit the exact string "$3" from the message, it renders exactly the same. Details in https://translatewiki.net/wiki/Gender#Magic_word point 2, among other places.

In T122580#1908929, @Mattflaschen wrote:

Please use $3 for GENDER (if needed in your language), rather than the point 2 syntax.

I believe part of the reason there is an explicit user here is that there may not be a "current user" that can be automatically detected in batch jobs (which are used e.g. for email).

That's exactly right. We need to pass in the user name explicitly because there isn't a current user when we send emails.