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Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Helper script/Rewrite

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Theopolisme (talk | contribs) at 02:42, 8 May 2014 (#FAQ). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
afch-rewrite running on enwiki

For multiple reasons, the Articles for creation helper script has been rewritten from the ground up. Although it's still in beta, we're excited to hear your thoughts, feedback, and suggested improvements to the script.

So, what can you as an AfC reviewer do to help the process? It's very simple. Test the script! And let us know what works, what doesn't, what you'd like to see, etc., etc.

You can test the script on test.wikipedia.org (if you'd like to be free to blow things up without repercussions) or on enwiki (where you'll need to be sure to keep an eye on your contributions). The script is relatively "safe" (in other words, all features should work as expected, but better safe than sorry).

Try on testwiki Try here, on enwiki

Note: currently, the rewrite has not been extensively tested for cross-browser compatibility. If while reviewing a page you see anything wonky or seemingly misplaced, please let us know!

The goal of the rewrite to create a sustainable infrastructure for reviewing article submissions that uses clear, high-quality code. Complete source code can be viewed on GitHub.

FAQ

Why are you rewriting the script?

The old Articles for creation helper script had become unmaintainable, due to spaghetti code written by numerous developers with varied skillsets over a long period of time. Additionally, the script suffered from severe feature bloat, features which slowed the script down but weren't used by many reviewers.

What's going to change?

The new script includes a number of changes which benefit reviewers, some of which are more obvious than others. Here are just a few:

  • an improved template parsing engine using Wikipedia's own parsing engine
  • a bolder design that's easier on the eyes and simpler to use
  • "notify submitter" option not just for accept/decline, but also for comment and other actions
  • new features when accepting submissions like dynamic category addition, flexible WikiProjects, title blacklist checking, and more
Is the old script still going to be maintained?

Not in the long-term. Since we're a small team of volunteers, it's difficult to maintain even one script as complex as AFCH, let alone two! However, the old script will continue to be maintained until the transition to the new script has been completed, which won't be for several months.

I have a feature suggestion, bug report, another question, or just want to say hi.

Awesome: that's what Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Articles for creation/Helper script/Rewrite is for. :)

What are you working on right now?

I maintain a Trello board at [1] that lists current, planned, and completed tasks for the helper script. Feel free to comment there!

Running AFCH on enwiki

Add the following code to your common.js page to run the afch-rewrite beta:

importScript('User:Theopolisme/afch-rewrite.js') // [[User:Theopolisme/afch-rewrite.js]]

Then just click the "Review (AFCH)" link in the triangle dropdown on any AfC-applicable page.

Team

Currently, Theopolisme (github) is developing the rewrite script. If you're interested in contributing as well, see this page for more details.