Template talk:Interwiki template

This template is broken
When this is used, this template is self-transcluding the template it is used on, inside a div with style="display:none" - I use this technique myself to ensure that some templates don't get listed on special:unusedtemplates (like template:delete)

However, interwiki templates do not respect the noinclude tag, so every time the template is used, it is also transcluding in the contents of the template in a hidden div.

I only noticed because ?useskin=wikiamobile apparently doesn't respect "display:none".

A better solution in this case will be to either transclude the template on the template's talk page, or maintain a list of interwiki templates on separate page, like Category:Interwiki templates - although since Special:UnusedTemplates doesn't look like it gets much attention anyway, it doesn't seem like it really matters.

In any case, this template should be updated to remove the transclusion. -452 18:44, May 10, 2013 (UTC)


 * Just an FYI, the display:none 'bug' in the mobile skin is ticketed. Rappy 19:28, May 10, 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I read elsewhere that noinclude not working with interwiki transclusion was a bug that had already been reported - do you know if there there is any progress on that? (As if it were fixed, it would make the template work as intended) -452 19:48, May 10, 2013 (UTC)

Help is on the way!
MediaWiki's Scary Transcluding manual page describes the quirks with interwiki transclusions that are causing the unexpected behavior. I'm updating the template to resolve the problem. Rigel Kent (talk) 23:30, October 17, 2014 (UTC)

An alternative would be to modify this template for use on template talk pages rather than the templates themselves. Advantage: Wikis would not have to edit their main pages to raw transclude templates; a simple  will continue to suffice. Disadvantages: The template talk pages, not the templates themselves, would be categorized in Community Central's Interwiki templates category, and any documentation would have to be on the talk pages and not shown in any way within the templates.

Or, as a compromise, both alternatives could exist as separate templates. This would increase the maintenance burden, but editors would be able to choose their preferred solution. Rigel Kent (talk) 00:59, October 18, 2014 (UTC)


 * Since my two unprotection requests for this template have gone nowhere (here and here), it occurred to me there's a third option: deprecate this broken and unmaintainable template, and instead make a page ("List of interwiki templates", perhaps) to avoid UnusedTemplate indexing. Any thoughts? Or is this template already in such disuse that nobody's watching? Rigel Kent (talk) 22:47, November 11, 2014 (UTC)