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Convert LQT pages on enwikinews to Flow
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Description

By default, Comments: pages transclude [[Wikinews:Commentary pages on news events/body]] which generates:

{{Commentary/LQT}}{{#useliquidthreads:1}} <!-- Leave this line alone. --><noinclude>
{{#ifeq:{{NAMESPACE}}|Comments||[[Category:Preload templates]]}}
</noinclude>

Going forward, this will need to be:

{{Commentary/DT}} <!-- Leave this line alone. --><noinclude>
{{#ifeq:{{NAMESPACE}}|Comments||[[Category:Preload templates]]}}
</noinclude>
  • 1. The community will need to stop using the above header and use a DT-based one instead. [[Wikinews:Commentary pages on news events/body]] and any documentation needs to be updated
  • 2. Existing pages with LQT threads will need to be mass-moved to /LQT Archive. We can do this with batchMove.php maintenance script. (Done manually for all pages created in 2025)
  • 3. The resulting empty pages will need to be re-populated with a link to /LQT Archive, as well as a DiscussionTools version of the header, using the edit.php maintenance script. (Done manually for all pages created in 2025)
  • 4. Any pages with the LQT header but no threads should be mass-edited to use the DiscussionTools version, using the edit.php maintenance script. (We can skip this step, as after freezing, the LQT parser function will stop working, and the template can just be redirected to the DT one)
  • 5. We can run the LQT->Flow conversion script to convert the pages at /LQT Archive to Flow
  • 6. Freeze LQT

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Event Timeline

Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald Transcript

Speaking only for myself as a relative outsider and not the wikinews community, I would suggest skipping the mass move here and just converting to Flow in-place. Enwikinews' comments namespace is very lightly used, and I think they wouldn't mind making comments on old news pages archived and uneditable (lots of third-parts news websites do the same thing here). And it would save the need for tens of thousands of edits of churn.

(But please discuss this with the community somewhere - they are discussing this currently at https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Water_cooler/proposals#Moving_on_from_Liquid_Threads)

There's only about 3,000 pages. Some are attached to more recent articles, so at least some would need to be moved, and moving all the pages isn't much harder.

Most of the recent comment namespace pages don't actually have any comments, most of them are empty. So, can we just remove the {{#useliquidthreads:1}} from there? I think converting them directly to Flow (and then from Flow to wikitext) would be a better approach. I don't have any particular objection to moving them to an archive either.

Most of the recent comment namespace pages don't actually have any comments, most of them are empty. So, can we just remove the {{#useliquidthreads:1}} from there?

Yes - this is:

  1. Any pages with the LQT header but no threads should be mass-edited to use the DiscussionTools version, using the edit.php maintenance script.

I think converting them directly to Flow (and then from Flow to wikitext) would be a better approach. I don't have any particular objection to moving them to an archive either.

Because converting to Flow makes the page read-only and un-moveable, I would be hesistant to do this as some "Comments" pages are linked to from fairly recent articles.

I don't think there would be much issue with making the comments read only with LQT. But yes for some recent ones, like those newer than a month or so, can be moved to archive pages.
If I am not misunderstanding, those read only LQT pages can also be converted to wikitext, right? If so, then the case for not moving them becomes stronger for me. @Pppery has suggested a bot to help with that wikitext conversation process.

Change #1203028 had a related patch set uploaded (by Tchanders; author: Tchanders):

[operations/mediawiki-config@master] Freeze LiquidThreads on enwikinews

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1203028

Has the move been delayed?

I have moved/archived all active comment boards from the last year. The rest are being converted to Flow in-place.

And I'm still ready to run my wikitext export bot as soon as the community gives me the required permissions.

(And Flow has been fully converted - checking the standard list of non-redirect Thread pages there's a lot of work still to do: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex?prefix=Thread%3A&namespace=0&hideredirects=1)

It looks like LQT is mostly done converting now. I did the standard review - report at https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/User:Pppery/Comments

The only action you need to take is to run the script to convert https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Comments:Researcher_claims_solution_to_P_vs_NP_math_problem which was supposed to be LQT but a vandal edit in 2013 removed the LQT tag. The rest I'll handle, although I'm annoyed at the pages which time out on load ...

Just ran the script against this page and got an error:

[2025-11-12 10:10:29] Starting LQT conversion of page Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem
[2025-11-12 10:10:29] Archiving page from Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem to Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem/LQT Archive 1
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Importing to Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Exception while importing: Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Flow\Import\ImportException: safeAllowCreation failed to allow the import destination, with the following error:
'''{{int:wikimedia-globalblocking-blockedtext-autoblock-intro|[[User:Daniuu|‪Daniuu‬]]|Globally autoblocked because your IP address has been recently used by "[[User:Johhanes89|Johhanes89]]".
The reason given for Johhanes89's block is "Long-term abuse: per [[m:Special:Permalink/29613759|request]] - autoblock reasons"}}'''
{{int:globalblocking-blockedtext-autoblock-reason|Globally autoblocked because your IP address has been recently used by "[[User:Johhanes89|Johhanes89]]".
The reason given for Johhanes89's block is "Long-term abuse: per [[m:Special:Permalink/29613759|request]] - autoblock reasons"}}

* {{int:blockedtext-start-time|22:50, 11 November 2025}}
* {{int:blockedtext-expiration-time|22:50, 12 November 2025}}
*{{int:blockedtext-intended-blockee|127.0.0.1}}

{{int:blockedtext-block-ip|127.0.0.1}} {{int:blockedtext-block-id|3405415}}
{{int:blockedtext-include-details-queries}}

{{int:wikimedia-globalblocking-blockedtext-mistake}} in /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/TalkpageImportOperation.php:65
Stack trace:
#0 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Importer.php(114): Flow\Import\TalkpageImportOperation->import(Object(Flow\Import\PageImportState))
#1 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Converter.php(215): Flow\Import\Importer->import(Object(Flow\Import\LiquidThreadsApi\ImportSource), Object(MediaWiki\Title\Title), Object(MediaWiki\User\User), Object(Flow\Import\SourceStore\FileImportSourceStore))
#2 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Converter.php(157): Flow\Import\Converter->doConversion(Object(MediaWiki\Title\Title), NULL)
#3 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Converter.php(113): Flow\Import\Converter->convert(Object(MediaWiki\Title\Title), false, false)
#4 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/maintenance/convertLqtPageOnLocalWiki.php(102): Flow\Import\Converter->convertAll(Array, false, false)
#5 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/maintenance/includes/MaintenanceRunner.php(696): Flow\Maintenance\ConvertLqtPageOnLocalWiki->execute()
#6 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/maintenance/run.php(53): MediaWiki\Maintenance\MaintenanceRunner->run()
#7 /srv/mediawiki/multiversion/MWScript.php(221): require_once('/srv/mediawiki/...')
#8 {main}
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Finished LQT conversion of page Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem

Looks like someone has created a block against 127.0.0.1 (locahost) on that wiki. Not sure how a non-system user was ever using that IP address...

Just ran the script against this page and got an error:

[2025-11-12 10:10:29] Starting LQT conversion of page Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem
[2025-11-12 10:10:29] Archiving page from Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem to Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem/LQT Archive 1
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Importing to Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Exception while importing: Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Flow\Import\ImportException: safeAllowCreation failed to allow the import destination, with the following error:
'''{{int:wikimedia-globalblocking-blockedtext-autoblock-intro|[[User:Daniuu|‪Daniuu‬]]|Globally autoblocked because your IP address has been recently used by "[[User:Johhanes89|Johhanes89]]".
The reason given for Johhanes89's block is "Long-term abuse: per [[m:Special:Permalink/29613759|request]] - autoblock reasons"}}'''
{{int:globalblocking-blockedtext-autoblock-reason|Globally autoblocked because your IP address has been recently used by "[[User:Johhanes89|Johhanes89]]".
The reason given for Johhanes89's block is "Long-term abuse: per [[m:Special:Permalink/29613759|request]] - autoblock reasons"}}

* {{int:blockedtext-start-time|22:50, 11 November 2025}}
* {{int:blockedtext-expiration-time|22:50, 12 November 2025}}
*{{int:blockedtext-intended-blockee|127.0.0.1}}

{{int:blockedtext-block-ip|127.0.0.1}} {{int:blockedtext-block-id|3405415}}
{{int:blockedtext-include-details-queries}}

{{int:wikimedia-globalblocking-blockedtext-mistake}} in /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/TalkpageImportOperation.php:65
Stack trace:
#0 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Importer.php(114): Flow\Import\TalkpageImportOperation->import(Object(Flow\Import\PageImportState))
#1 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Converter.php(215): Flow\Import\Importer->import(Object(Flow\Import\LiquidThreadsApi\ImportSource), Object(MediaWiki\Title\Title), Object(MediaWiki\User\User), Object(Flow\Import\SourceStore\FileImportSourceStore))
#2 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Converter.php(157): Flow\Import\Converter->doConversion(Object(MediaWiki\Title\Title), NULL)
#3 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/includes/Import/Converter.php(113): Flow\Import\Converter->convert(Object(MediaWiki\Title\Title), false, false)
#4 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/extensions/Flow/maintenance/convertLqtPageOnLocalWiki.php(102): Flow\Import\Converter->convertAll(Array, false, false)
#5 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/maintenance/includes/MaintenanceRunner.php(696): Flow\Maintenance\ConvertLqtPageOnLocalWiki->execute()
#6 /srv/mediawiki/php-1.46.0-wmf.1/maintenance/run.php(53): MediaWiki\Maintenance\MaintenanceRunner->run()
#7 /srv/mediawiki/multiversion/MWScript.php(221): require_once('/srv/mediawiki/...')
#8 {main}
[2025-11-12 10:10:31] Finished LQT conversion of page Comments:Researcher claims solution to P vs NP math problem

Looks like someone has created a block against 127.0.0.1 (locahost) on that wiki. Not sure how a non-system user was ever using that IP address...

Looks like an issue with the autoblock associated with a global block.

Change #1203028 merged by jenkins-bot:

[operations/mediawiki-config@master] Freeze LiquidThreads on enwikinews

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1203028

Mentioned in SAL (#wikimedia-operations) [2025-11-13T14:05:58Z] <esanders@deploy2002> Started scap sync-world: Backport for [[gerrit:1203028|Freeze LiquidThreads on enwikinews (T406717)]]

Mentioned in SAL (#wikimedia-operations) [2025-11-13T14:08:33Z] <esanders@deploy2002> tchanders, esanders: Backport for [[gerrit:1203028|Freeze LiquidThreads on enwikinews (T406717)]] synced to the testservers (see https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mwdebug). Changes can now be verified there.

Mentioned in SAL (#wikimedia-operations) [2025-11-13T14:14:35Z] <esanders@deploy2002> Finished scap sync-world: Backport for [[gerrit:1203028|Freeze LiquidThreads on enwikinews (T406717)]] (duration: 08m 37s)

Pppery assigned this task to Esanders.