mediawiki-extensions-HidePrefix

== What? ==

The HidePrefix extension hides prefix in links and page titles.

For example, wikitext [[Help:FAQ]]' normally results in link Help:FAQ'. If this extension is enabled, result will be just FAQ' without the Help:' prefix.

The same is about page titles. Page FAQ' in Help' namespace normally has Help:FAQ' title. If this extension is enabled, visible page title will be just FAQ' without the `Help:' prefix.

== Why? ==

I as a user do not care too much about namespace of the link target page. To me there is no big difference between Help:FAQ' and Manual:FAQ' (especially if one of them is a redirection to another). But both these prefixes looks ugly to me.

Namespace of target is often clear from context. If you see Author: User:Van de Bugger' it is clear that User:Van de Bugger' is a link to her/his personal page. Moreover, actually it does not matter whether that page is in User' namespace or not. But again, the prefix looks very ugly, so many wikieditors use [[User:Van de Bugger|Van de Bugger]]' to suppress the prefix.

Prefixes look especially ugly if there is a long list of links with the same prefix. For example, look at the list of Extensions used on Wikimedia. More than 100 occurrences of prefix Extension:' just clutter the screen and does not add any value. (BTW, did you notice that I had to use [[:Category:Extensions used on Wikimedia|Extensions used on Wikimedia]]' to suppress ugly `Category:' prefix?)

Thus, If I want to hide the ugly prefix so often, why should I hide it at every link manually? Let me write an extension which will hide the prefix in all the links. Everywhere.

BTW, prefix is hidden in link text, but it is still available — if one hovers the mouse cursor over the link, tooltip will show full target page title, including prefix.

Almost the same reasoning is applicable to page title. The prefix looks ugly and does not add any value to reader, because just above the page title (at least, in Vector skin) there are namespace tabs, and the leftmost tab shows the namespace name.

== Download ==

git clone https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/mediawiki/extensions/HidePrefix

== Installation ==

To install this extension, add the following to LocalSettings.php:

require_once( "$IP/extensions/HidePrefix/HidePrefix.php" );

== License ==

GNU Affero General Public License, version 3 or any later version. See AGPL-3.0.txt file for the full license text.

== See also ==

• Extension HideNamespace — This extension allows drop prefix in page title and provides control
  (e. g. hide prefix only in pages of specific namespace, or control prefix visibility from within
  page content), but it does not affect links.

== Links ==

• Extension page: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:HidePrefix
• Author page: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Van_de_Bugger
• License page: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html