Last modified: 2011-03-13 18:04:40 UTC
If editing is allowed only with proper permissions, the only capability withheld from the user should be the ability to Save. The user should be allowed to see the source text and to modify it for purposes of preview. In case the user is not allowed to save, then the Save button should be disabled, and there should be red text below the Save button offering the user to log in. The disabled Save button should also have a tool tip that says why it is disabled.
Already the case for trying to edit protected or interface pages, but oddly not for blocked users or for wikis you can't edit altogether (!$wgGroupPermissions[you]['edit']).
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 1859 ***
I think that this bug suggests not to just show the source, but make it a *complete* edit view, along with the possibility to preview pages, show diffs, etc. - but with disabled save buttons, and error if trying to save. However, there is a problem with this proposal: When using wikis with no read permissions but with some whitelisted pages, the user can use the template syntax and preview it to show pages, and therefore can view pages – he is not required to edit, just to preview. The right way may be to disable editing completely (and everything else, actually) if the user cannot read, even in viewable pages – automatically.
