Topic on Talk:Timestamp position modification/Flow

I've had the following code in my personal /monobook.js subpage for ages:

#lastmod { position:absolute; z-index:40; left:155px; float:left; top:2px; }

It moves the "This page was last modified on 10 October 2011, at 21:31" to the top of the window, above the "article / talk / move ..." tabs. It's incredibly helpful, though occasionally it overlaps with the user links ("MZMcBride / my talk / my preferences ...") if my screen is too narrow or too zoomed in.

It should be noted that the timestamp isn't always up-to-date. In rare cases, the HTML cache of the page won't be updated for whatever reason, so the date displayed will simply be wrong. It also doesn't update when templates, images, categories, or links change state, as far as I remember. I don't remember if actions such as page moves or page protections will trigger an update. I'm hesitant to see it put next to the <h1>, but having it more prominent would definitely be good, I think.

I finally fixed up my "last modified' move code (among other modifications to my UI) and I just uploaded a screenshot here: commons:File:Stripped MediaWiki interface.png. I think in addition to putting the timestamp above the tabs, it'd also be nice to re-evaluate the other "personal tools" links (language, necessity, etc.).

In general, this idea seems pretty easy to implement. Is there any holdup to doing this as a gadget or something now? The only other consideration was whether a more sane output format could be specified in the HTML output rather than trying to parse the lastmod MediaWiki message/timestamp formatting. Maybe a wgVariable has the timestamp of the most recent action to the page? Or one could be added? That'd be so much cleaner for date calculation.

I think the only holdup is features devs being busy with work on stuff like New Page Triage (being previewed this week) and the usual stuff like code review. I agree it's something that should be tested sooner rather than later, and it's totally possible for myself, Maryana, and a data analyst to help push it forward as part of our experiments work even though we haven't hired our first devs.

If this is something you could help us code up, let's talk. If not, then we can at least list out of the order of operations a little better, since testing it for current editors, new editors, or readers each might require a different approach to implementation.

I just checked and word on the street is that there should be the start of an extension living somewhere. I'm unclear whether it was migrated to git yet or not, but supposedly it's called "LastModified" or some similar variation.