Thread:User talk:CodeCat/Module:parameters and unrecognized parameters

Module errors should be reserved for fatal problems, i.e. cases where the parameters are likely to be causing the wrong output, which is fine for missing required parameters. In the case of unrecognized parameters, however, these are often left in place when the template is changed to no longer need them, or are harmless clutter that no one has taken the time to fix. Sometimes they're signs of misuse, misspelling, or use of a template by someone who doesn't know what they're doing, so the entries should be added to maintenance categories- but without module errors.

When you throw a module error, you're in effect saying that there's something so wrong that nothing should be displayed until it's fixed- you're declaring an emergency. Since these templates have often been in this condition for years, and experienced editors have often worked with the entries and seen nothing wrong, that's often simply not true.

Not only that, a module error is a demand that people should drop whatever it is that they're doing and deal with the problem immediately- you're basically ordering people around, and that leads to resentment. People may not complain at the time, but that resentment provides the fuel and oxygen just waiting for some minor, unrelated spark to set it off. You can't please everyone, but you should avoid unnecessarily irritating people.

The current Nynorsk-template fiasco is a case in point: you added parameter checking without knowing how to deal with the results. That means that Somebody Else will have to clean up the mess, but Somebody Else just told you to stick it, so now we have a couple-dozen entries with big, ugly error messages instead of content.