Background:
Extension:CiteThisPage produces a list of citation styles that is linked to the main namespace. If these pages do not exist, it produces red links.
The extension assumes that the wiki contains pages/articles for every citation style it lists. Many wikis have no need for these pages, and therefore do not create them. As a result, the extension produces red links that imply missing or required content, even though the wiki has no editorial reason to host such pages.
Proposal
There are a couple of possibilities here:
- Remove links from CiteThisPage. This would be simplest, but if the links are useful then an alternative would be required:
- Extension:CiteThisPage should produce an additional special page, Special:CitationStyle. Each citation style would be exposed as a subpage under the special page, for example:
- Special:CitationStyle/APA_style
- Special:CitationStyle/MLA_style
- Special:CitationStyle/Chicago_style
Each subpage would contain concise documentation describing the style, its intended use, and any formatting notes relevant to the extension.
Benefits
- Special pages always exist.
- The extension can safely link to style documentation without assuming page creation.
- All style information is grouped under one predictable location.
- New styles or metadata can be added without affecting mainspace