Editing Template talk:Pp (section)

== Am I imagining things... ==

...or does the presence of this template still on an article *after* semi-protection has expired mean it can't be edited by an unregistered user?  I had a look at [[Fabinho (footballer, born 1993)]] on my mobile phone, on which I never sign into my account, and noticed the edit icon on the top right still contained the padlock.  After [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fabinho_(footballer,_born_1993)&diff=843732639&oldid=843572044 removing it] (while logged in from my computer) as the protection expired hours ago, I'm now able to edit the article from my phone as an unregistered user.  And, as if by magic, [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fabinho_(footballer,_born_1993)&diff=843733430&oldid=843732639 an unregistered user made an unsourced edit to the article] minutes after I removed the icon.  And no, it wasn't me!  If anyone wants to test this on their phone, try [[2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship]], which also has had its protection expire, has the template and won't allow mobile editing.  Any help/clarification would be appreciated. Thanks, [[User:Mattythewhite|Mattythewhite]] ([[User talk:Mattythewhite|talk]]) 03:19, 31 May 2018 (UTC)
:Actually, it could be that my IP address has been caught up in a range block... [[User:Mattythewhite|Mattythewhite]] ([[User talk:Mattythewhite|talk]]) 03:23, 31 May 2018 (UTC)
::{{replyto|Mattythewhite}} The protection notice/icon templates such as {{tlx|pp}} are just that, notices and icons. Their presence or absence has no effect whatsoever on the actual protection level of a page. The only other purpose of these template is categorisation: when used on a protected page, that page might be categorised in {{cl|Wikipedia semi-protected pages}} (or similar); but when used on a non-protected page, it will be placed in {{cl|Wikipedia pages with incorrect protection templates}}. If a protection expires, but the icon is still displayed, the most likely cause is caching. There are one or two bots that look for pp templates that are used on unprotected pages, and remove them; these bots are not infallible, and pages that are missed are usually picked up by myself or {{user|MarnetteD}} within a few days. --[[User:Redrose64|<span style="color:#a80000; background:#ffeeee; text-decoration:inherit">Red</span>rose64]] &#x1f339; ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]) 22:59, 31 May 2018 (UTC)
:::{{replyto|Mattythewhite}} the one thing I would add to Redrose64's post is that the removal of a padlock by a bot or either one of us can be delayed by quite some time. I have seen articles that didn't show up in {{cl|Wikipedia pages with incorrect protection templates}} until days, weeks or months after a protection had expired. I just noticed this thread [[Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Change coming to MonoBook skin for mobile users]] I don't know if it is related to what you experienced but I thought I would make you aware of it just in case. [[User:MarnetteD|MarnetteD]]&#124;[[User talk:MarnetteD|Talk]] 14:17, 1 June 2018 (UTC)
::::I don't think it's the same issue, the icons mentioned at that VPT thread are the ones that replace tabs such as "Talk", "Edit", "History" and so on. I also don't think it's the same issue as [[Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 162#MediaWiki bug - undoing a protection]] although there are similarities. I think that caching is the most likely. --[[User:Redrose64|<span style="color:#a80000; background:#ffeeee; text-decoration:inherit">Red</span>rose64]] &#x1f339; ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]) 21:37, 1 June 2018 (UTC)
:::::Thanks for the followup info {{u|Redrose64}}. Cheers. [[User:MarnetteD|MarnetteD]]&#124;[[User talk:MarnetteD|Talk]] 22:53, 1 June 2018 (UTC)