User:Lent/sandbox/VisualEditor vs. Citation bot

VisualEditor vs. Citation bot

As per the Tutorial VisualEditor, a reference [can be generated] from an ISBN. The resulting cite may include both an oclc parameter and a url pre-filled with a Worldcat OCLC query. User:Citation bot will later remove the url as a duplicate.

This automatic insert of the url and later bot based removal seems counterproductive. Actually, it seems to be a automation-driven WP:EDITWAR.

Automatic insertion of Worldcat OCLC URL

A user may use Wikipedia:VisualEditor and an ISBN to automatic generate a filled Template:cite book.

Using VisualEditor, with example ISBN 978-0-06-246439-2 as the desired source, selecting Cite, Add a citation, Automatic, filling in the ISBN as 978-0-06-246439-2, clicking Generate, VisualEditor generates this Cite:

<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hampton, Dan,|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/957504448|title=The flight : Charles Lindbergh's daring and immortal 1927 Transatlantic crossing|isbn=978-0-06-246439-2|edition=First edition|location=New York, NY|oclc=957504448}}</ref>

The rendered citation looks like this:

Automatic removal of Worldcat OCLC URL

When User:Citation_bot runs, it removes the url as a duplicate, resulting in this:

{{Cite book|last=Hampton, Dan,|title=The flight : Charles Lindbergh's daring and immortal 1927 Transatlantic crossing|isbn=978-0-06-246439-2|edition=First edition|location=New York, NY|oclc=957504448}}</ref>

We see this in this difference in the automatically generated, then manually edited, reformatted and expanded cite:

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valentia_Island&diff=next&oldid=944499350

Removal Source code

The message "Removed URL that duplicated unique identifier. " is produced here Page.php Line 386 .

This is triggered here Page.php Line 378 , based on array_search('url', $this->modifications["deletions"]) .