Last modified: 2010-05-15 14:35:49 UTC
I ran across this intruiging bug when I was adding custom Monobook definitions to Meta. MediaWiki follows the convention that all titles are normalized to capitals, and thus it would be applicable to subpages. So, going with a cultivated habit, I sought to create my monobook page here: [[User:Ambush Commander/Monobook.css]] Now, this is incorrect, the correct page is [[User:Ambush Commander/monobook.css]], and titles are case sensitive inside subpages. This is not the problem. The problem is that [[User:Ambush Commander/Monobook.css]] still shows this warning: Note: After saving, you have to bypass your browser's cache to see the changes. Mozilla/Safari/Konqueror: hold down Shift while clicking Reload (or press Ctrl-Shift-R), IE: press Ctrl-F5, Opera: press F5. And also displays the contents in a PRE (something magical for the user css and js pages). Since Monobook.css does *not* work, and this implies it works, confusion. Only tested on Meta. ==Steps to reproduce== 1. View [[User:Username/Monobook.css]] ==Expected results== Either I automatically am redirected to [[User:Username/monobook.css]] or the page tells me that this does not affect my Monobook settings. At the very simplest, the custom page notice could be removed. ==Actual results== I am led into believing that the page does work.
I have traced the behavior further. Here's how it works: Whenever a page in the userspace [[User:Username/Pages_in_Userspace]] has a .css or .js on the end, it is both locked and displayed as a monospace text. The page does not offer anymore information. Whether or not the page has any effect, however, depends on whether or not there is a skin associated with it. When skins are applied, the browser is instructed to call a URL in the form of: [/w/index.php?title=User:User_Name/skin_name.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css] without regard to whether or not the page exists. This means that the scalability of the blanket .css and .js is desirable. However, this scalability can also cause confusion, as the User/Monobook example shows. If, along with the page, information is given about whether or not such a skin is selectable (easy as comparing the skin name with the global array of allowed skins). If it doesn't exist, a nice message informing the user that the page doesn't exist and that they might want to make sure the title is all lowercase etc. I think patching it myself would be okay, but it would require a new system message, which I am not fully informed on how to add. Anyway, I've changed the request to a enhancement and modified the summary as such.
Added a warning to HEAD when editing a CSS or JS subpage of a skin that is apparently invalid.
Hey, Rob Church, I was wondering which page you committed the change to, because we don't seem to have an editable system message corresponding to the text (correct me if I'm mistaken).
MediaWiki:Userinvalidcssjstitle
Thanks. I /was/ mistaken.
