Currently, shortcuts must have the url parameter, and can optionally have the desc parameter. If the shortcut directive instead required at least one of url or desc, then shortcuts could just supply a description without an URL. Since desc can contain arbitrary wiki markup, this would allow shortcuts with multiple links, such as the mmlist shortcut proposed on simple text parsing or regex in template or shortcut, or a comprehensive Debian package shortcut which linked to the package page and parenthetically to the BTS and PTS.

--JoshTriplett

It sounds like you're looking for templates, not shortcuts. --Joey

Perhaps true (see my issues with template syntax on shortcut optional parameters), but allowing a shortcut without an url still seems reasonable, and simple. You could also use such shortcuts without markup at all, as an abbreviation mechanism:

[[!shortcut  name=spi desc="Software in the Public Interest, Inc."]]].
[[!shortcut  name=sosp desc="Symposium on Operating System Principles"]]].
[[!shortcut  name=cacm desc="Communications of the ACM"]]].

--JoshTriplett