User blog comment:Ducksoup/Why Wikia Evolves/@comment-24473195-20150619235105/@comment-5558012-20150620173003

"Generally speaking you'd write the extra code in the function itself."
 * So you would need a separate function for every parser function you sought to replace? That's much more lengthy.

"Most people who defend parserfunctions are those who don't really understand how lua can almost seamlessly replace them."
 * Depending on what you mean by "how" I agree. Give how simple parser functions are to grasp, it's no surprise people defend them. Lua requires a more extensive coding background that the average person doesn't have. If I was more of a novice looking at parser functions and Lua, I wouldn't even touch Lua to solve a problem. I understand that Lua has benefits over parser functions but only if you can get over the hurdle to use it correctly.

"You have a syntax error in your Template:if."
 * I copied what was provided on the page you linked.

I tried what you posted and it's still not working for me.