Board Thread:Spelling debates/@comment-188432-20130428153100/@comment-188432-20130429164013

Anoted wrote: Which part, the categories, the notifications or both? If it isn't technically feasible for the spelling bot to enforce spelling by category, then I'm in favour of a non-spelling bot enforced decision. All of it. I mean, I see where you're coming from. Bots do normally need categories to run. But this is one case where that logic doesn't work.

As a matter of practicality, any solution which doesn't involve at least partial enforcement by SBOT running in namespace mode is not acceptable. T:SPELL makes very clear that spelling rules are enforced "in namespace 0" — not in a category of the namespace. A per-category solution thus goes contrary to this rule.

The main technical reason categories won't work here is actually a sort of human reason. It would require people adding hidden categories. They're not going to do that. And I don't think any admin really wants to be going to someone's page and saying, "Naughty, naughty: You forgot to add the hidden encyclopaedia category". It's just red tape.

Moreover, the vast majority of users, over time, will never have read this discussion, or be aware that there's a difference in spelling for encyclopaedia. They'll happily edit using whichever spelling they think appropriate, or whichever spelling their computer tells them is right.

Obviously, if we can't rely upon categories being emplaced, we can't logically build a solution around that concept. Since all regular pages are automatically placed in namespace 0, only a namespace-based solution will work.

That's why the question before us is predicated on the notion of universally choosing between two spellings.