As we deployed the feature on Discussion Tools/VE for talk pages with a way for users to opt-out, I think we are safe to deploy, as users who opted-out will remain opted-out from auto-subscription no matter which editing surface they use, correct?

In T290778#9666597, @Trizek-WMF wrote:

As we deployed the feature on Discussion Tools/VE for talk pages with a way for users to opt-out, I think we are safe to deploy, as users who opted-out will remain opted-out from auto-subscription no matter which editing surface they use, correct?

Yes - the user preference will apply to any type of auto-subscription.

Change #1076737 had a related patch set uploaded (by Esanders; author: Esanders):

[operations/mediawiki-config@master] Enable DiscussionTools auto subscriptions for all interfaces

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1076737

This may come as a surprise to users who use both the New Topic Tool and other interfaces, especially such long after the introduction of automatic topic subscriptions in the New Topic Tool, so I think it definitely merits a Tech News item before the config change is deployed.

We will wait until the date is set by @ppelberg to announce it it Tech News, one week before deployment.

Thanks in advance!

Another user request: T389909. The user expected that using the wikilove tool to start a topic on a user talk page would auto-subscribe them.

Next steps: @Esanders to draft a tech news announcement.

Tech news draft:

For users with automatic topic subscription [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing|enabled in their preferences]], starting a new topic or adding a reply to an existing topic with the source editor will now subscribe them to replies to that topic. Previously this would only happen if the DiscussionTools new topic / reply widgets were used.

I'm not sure if it's necessary to do so, but if you want to we could add:

When DiscussionTools was launched existing accounts were not opted-in to automatic topic subscriptions, so this should primarily affect newer accounts and users who have deliberately changed their preferences since that time.

+1 to including that second paragraph as useful context.
P.s. Note for @STei-WMF : In Tech News, we can replace the plain 'name' of the preference (and buttons), with the actual interface string's name (discussiontools-preference-autotopicsub - found via the QQX trick), so that readers in more languages (beyond those which are manually translated by volunteers for Tech News itself) can get a hint about the context. -- That also benefits Tech News translators, as they won't have to look-up the exact wording that is used in their language, in order to write it accurately in Tech News. -- I.e. Final draft suggestion (also with an added link for the DiscussionTools feature help-page):

For users with "{{int:discussiontools-preference-autotopicsub}}" [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing|enabled in their preferences]], starting a new topic or adding a reply to an existing topic with the source editor will now subscribe them to replies to that topic. Previously, this would only happen if the DiscussionTools "{{int:Skin-action-addsection}}" or "{{int:Discussiontools-replybutton}}" widgets were used. When DiscussionTools was originally launched existing accounts were not opted-in to automatic topic subscriptions, so this change should primarily affect newer accounts and users who have deliberately changed their preferences since that time.

Timing: Not this edition, but the following week's (#45).

@DLynch thank you
@Quiddity entry has been queued for #44 with link to interface string name.

Do we really call action=edit the “source editor”? I find it slightly confusing, as DiscussionTools also has its source mode. Isn’t there a more specific term? (As far as I understand, this change affects other ways as well, such as action API, VisualEditor if enabled in the namespace, etc., but those are probably not worth being mentioned. Except maybe the mobile apps – or do they already auto-subscribe?)

Isn’t there a more specific term?

Not really -- I was intentionally being a bit vague here because as you say there's several editors even just at a talk page action=edit (mw core, WikiEditor, 2017 editor, occasionally VisualEditor in some namespaces on some wikis even though it's talk pages, the source editors on iOS or Android apps). It might be more technically accurate to say "if you add a reply or new topic without using the DiscussionTools APIs", but I think that'd be more confusing than just saying "a source editor".

Could maybe change it from "with the source editor" to "by manually editing the page's source"?

Except maybe the mobile apps – or do they already auto-subscribe?

I believe that currently the mobile apps would auto-subscribe if you used their DT-like talk-page interface and not auto-subscribe if you edited the source of a talk page, but I'm not 100% certain of the former bit. (I know they're using DT APIs to fetch the data to display the talk pages, but am not sure offhand whether they're using them for the posting as well.)

I see. What about just highlighting the fact that now any editor works, without naming any one of them?

For users with "{{int:discussiontools-preference-autotopicsub}}" [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing|enabled in their preferences]], starting a new topic or adding a reply to an existing topic with the source editor will now subscribe them to replies to that topic regardless of the editor they use. Previously, this would only happen if the DiscussionTools "{{int:Skin-action-addsection}}" or "{{int:Discussiontools-replybutton}}" widgets were used. When DiscussionTools was originally launched existing accounts were not opted-in to automatic topic subscriptions, so this change should primarily affect newer accounts and users who have deliberately changed their preferences since that time.

(deleted and inserted phrases compared to T290778#11300117).

That sounds reasonable to me!

@ppelberg @DLynch this version of the entry has been accepted, should it be added to this week's draft of Tech News? It will be published on Monday 03 November. Is this timeline good for you?

In T290778#11304034, @Tacsipacsi wrote:

I see. What about just highlighting the fact that now any editor works, without naming any one of them?

For users with "{{int:discussiontools-preference-autotopicsub}}" [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing|enabled in their preferences]], starting a new topic or adding a reply to an existing topic with the source editor will now subscribe them to replies to that topic regardless of the editor they use. Previously, this would only happen if the DiscussionTools "{{int:Skin-action-addsection}}" or "{{int:Discussiontools-replybutton}}" widgets were used. When DiscussionTools was originally launched existing accounts were not opted-in to automatic topic subscriptions, so this change should primarily affect newer accounts and users who have deliberately changed their preferences since that time.

(deleted and inserted phrases compared to T290778#11300117).

Sounds good to me. It lines up with the revised timeline @ppelberg added to the description. We'll be making the actual config change on the 10th, according to that -- assuming no objections arise that require adjustments, of course.

In T290778#11328283, @DLynch wrote:

Sounds good to me. It lines up with the revised timeline @ppelberg added to the description. We'll be making the actual config change on the 10th, according to that -- assuming no objections arise that require adjustments, of course.

+1, David. Thank you, Sandister 🙏🏼

✅ Visit Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing and ensure the automatic topic subscription setting is enabled within the Discussion pages section
✅ Using each of the Editing interfaces listed above, do the following:
❌ Start a new discussion and verify that after doing so you, you have been automatically subscribed to the new discussion you just started

Doesn't seem to be working. Started from this link:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyskusja%20wikipedysty:EcceNux?action=edit&section=new&dtenable=0

Wasn't subscribed by this:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dyskusja_wikipedysty%3AEcceNux&diff=77960539&oldid=77960524

Note that I'm using dtenable=0 because I want to add a section with the old GUI, which loads faster and more predictably. I use it in a gadget to fill a topic field and add some initial wikitext. I can hook it up to something else if that proves stable enough. I was hoping this task would solve my use case though.

PS: The replylinks gadget is used by about 1,242 editors (around 130 active editors). So not like I'm just asking for myself :)

Deploy	10 Nov	Patch/config needed

No deployment happened yet, so there won’t be any changes for now.

Sorry, the tech news announcement could have been clearer about the timeline in the end. We announced it to make sure people knew it was coming, in case any objections were raised that would cause us to delay it, but we won't actually turn it on for another week.

Change #1201338 had a related patch set uploaded (by DLynch; author: DLynch):

[operations/mediawiki-config@master] DiscussionTools: turn on automatic topic subscriptions for all editors

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1201338

Change #1076737 abandoned by Esanders:

[operations/mediawiki-config@master] Enable DiscussionTools auto subscriptions for all interfaces

Reason:

See I9ef7dcd21f3061f7af9d2f0c37a1fc5970bb2f9a

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1076737