Manual talk:$wgForceHTTPS

If i use // with an external link (MW 1.31.5) and use https with my wiki, then // is automatically redirected to https://.. -- which is not(yet) supported by all websites - and then i have a dead link ($wgForceHTTPS = false doesnt help)

Is there any entry in the localsettings which disables that - or some other solution ?

My .htaccess contains:

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Does $WgForceHTTPS make the above .htaccess unnecessary?

Manual says "the webserver should also be configured to send HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) response headers."

i assume that only applies on a private, not shared, server.