Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/WikiCleanerBot 27


 * The following discussion is an archived debate. Please do not modify it. To request review of this BRFA, please start a new section at Bots/Noticeboard. The result of the discussion was

WikiCleanerBot 27
Operator:

Time filed: 17:36, Tuesday, July 27, 2021 (UTC)

Function overview: Cleanup for some articles listed in CHECKWIKI/WPC 569 dump where a template has parameters with a non-breaking space in their name.

Automatic, Supervised, or Manual: Automatic

Programming language(s): Java (WPCleaner)

Source code available: On GitHub (especially algorithm 569)

Links to relevant discussions (where appropriate):

Edit period(s): Twice a month

Estimated number of pages affected: A dump analysis returned 544 pages in CHECKWIKI/WPC 569 dump.

Namespace(s): Main, File, Category

Exclusion compliant (Yes/No): Yes

Function details: A non-breaking space in a template parameter name results in a different parameter name than with regular space character. So the parameter with the non-breaking space in its name is ignored by the template and not rendered. Replacing the non-breaking space with a regular space will fix this.

Discussion

 * Question, why would non-breaking spaces appear in parameter names in the first place? ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 17:49, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Because editors are more creative in the way they introduce errors to pages than we can ever imagine. It could be a copy-paste problem with certain web browsers or text editors. Here's a sample diff, if it provides any clues. – Jonesey95 (talk) 17:53, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I see. I was wondering if it may ever be intentional, and also partially how this kind of issue arises in the first place. So assuming they're removed from every article and documentation page, it should be unlikely they arise again? ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 17:59, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi ProcrastinatingReader. I really don't know how or why editors introduce non-breaking spaces in articles, copy/paste is probably a reason but probably not the only one. If they are removed for every article and documentation page, new occurrences should be rare I believe. My bot only found around 500 articles with such situation, so it's not a widespread problem. --NicoV (Talk on frwiki) 18:09, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment: For some articles listed in that report (e.g. 1955 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships), the parameter is blank, so technically, this falls under WP:COSMETICBOT. Nevertheless, I support this task, because if the errors are not fixed and someone tries to add a value for the incorrect parameter, it will be very frustrating. – Jonesey95 (talk) 17:53, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I don't think it would be prohibited under COSMETICBOT. For example, PrimeBOT 30 (or 32?) - removal of deprecated parameters - established that such are legitimate maintenance tasks due to the copy+paste problem. ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 17:59, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi Jonesey95 and ProcrastinatingReader. I believe also that even for empty parameters, it will be better to remove them, as it will help if someone wants to fill the parameter later. For some edits, the parameter could be removed because it may already exists with the correct name (like in this edit on frwiki). --NicoV (Talk on frwiki) 18:09, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 18:35, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi ProcrastinatingReader, I've done the 30 edits. No real problems seen, I just edited 2019 European Netball Championship after my bot, because the value of the parameter was not formatted like what the template expect (but at least it was displayed...). --NicoV (Talk on frwiki) 19:20, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Sorry for the delay! ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 23:05, 7 August 2021 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. To request review of this BRFA, please start a new section at Bots/Noticeboard.