diff --git a/module_citeq.lua b/module_citeq.lua
index 646ea91..8bca78e 100644
--- a/module_citeq.lua
+++ b/module_citeq.lua
@@ -726,6 +726,7 @@ local function _cite_q (citeq_args)
 						local wikisource_sitelink = mw.wikibase.getSitelink(qid, cfg.i18n_t.wikisource) or nil
 						if wikisource_sitelink then
 							slink = 's:'..wikisource_sitelink;					-- use 's:' instead of ':s:' so that cs1|2 includes wikisource icon
+							citeq_args.via = citeq_args.via or '[[Wikisource]]';	-- set |via=[[Wikisource]] if not already set
 							wslink = true
 						end
 					end
@@ -1120,42 +1121,46 @@ local function _cite_q (citeq_args)
 	return output .. erratumid .. eoc .. retract .. table.concat(opt_cat, ' ') .. cq_errors
 end
 
+
+--[[--------------------------< C I T E _ Q >------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+template entry point
+
+]]
+
 local function cite_q (frame)
-	local args = {}
-	for k, v in pairs(frame:getParent().args) do
-		if v ~= "" then args[k] = v end
-	end
-	for k, v in pairs(frame.args) do
-		if v ~= "" then args[k] = v end
-	end
-	args.qid = args.qid or args[1] or ""
-	if args.qid == "" then return nil end
-	args[1] = nil
+	local args = require ('Module:Arguments').getArgs(frame);
 
-	local citesep = (args.citesep or "")
-	if citesep == "" then citesep = ", " end
+	args.qid = args.qid or args[1];
+	if not args.qid then return nil end											-- this should return an error message?
+	args[1] = nil;																-- unset; not needed
+
+	local citesep = args.citesep;												-- separator string between separate cites of {{cite q|q..., q...}}; any need to keep this?
+	if not citesep then citesep = ", " end
 	citesep = citesep:gsub('"', '') -- strip double quotes after setting default to allow |citesep="" as a blank separator
-	args.citesep = nil
+	args.citesep = nil;															-- unset; not needed
 
-	local tag = args.tag or ""
-	if tag == "" then tag = nil end
-	args.tag = nil
+	local tag = args.tag;														-- for applying tags like <ref>...</ref>; <tag> is the name of the tag
+--	if not tag then tag = nil end
+	args.tag = nil;																-- unset; not needed
 
-	local list = args.list or ""
-	if list == "" then list = nil end
-	args.list = nil
+	local list = args.list														-- undocumented |list= gets a template name; what templates are appropriate? added at [[Special:Diff/1004682832]]
+--	if list == "" then list = nil end
+	args.list = nil;															-- unset; not needed
 
 	args.language = args.language or args.lang
 	args.lang = nil
 
 	-- QID as normal form; emit error if not ^Q%d+$ (e.g. a Wikidata URL)
-	local qid_form = mw.ustring.match(mw.text.trim(args.qid), "^Q%d+$") or nil
-	if not qid_form then
-		return ' <span class="error" style="font-size:inherit"><code class="cs1-code">{{[[Template:Cite Q|Cite Q]]}}</code>: QID parameter must be supplied as "Q" followed by digits, e.g. <code class="cs1-code">Q12345</code> ([[Template:Cite Q#Error messages|help]])</span> ' .. cfg.i18n_t.trackingcats["invalid-qid"]
+--	local qid_form = mw.ustring.match(mw.text.trim(args.qid), "^Q%d+$") or nil
+--	if not qid_form then
+--		return ' <span class="error" style="font-size:inherit"><code class="cs1-code">{{[[Template:Cite Q|Cite Q]]}}</code>: QID parameter must be supplied as "Q" followed by digits, e.g. <code class="cs1-code">Q12345</code> ([[Template:Cite Q#Error messages|help]])</span> ' .. cfg.i18n_t.trackingcats["invalid-qid"]
+	if not args.qid:match ('^Q%d+$') then
+		return cfg.i18n_t.errors.bad_qid_form .. cfg.i18n_t.trackingcats["invalid-qid"];
 	end
 
 	local cites = {}
-	for q in args.qid:gmatch("Q%d+") do
+	for q in args.qid:gmatch("Q%d+") do											-- for processing separate cites of {{cite q|q..., q...}}; any need to keep this?
 		-- make a new copy of the arguments
 		local newargs = {}
 		for k, v in pairs(args) do
@@ -1172,13 +1177,14 @@ local function cite_q (frame)
 		end
 	end
 
-	if list then
+	if list then																-- undocumented |list= gets a template name; what templates are appropriate? added at [[Special:Diff/1004682832]]
 		return frame:expandTemplate{ title = list, args = cites }
 	else
 		return table.concat(cites, citesep)
 	end
 end
 
+
 --[[--------------------------< E X P O R T E D   F U N C T I O N S >------------------------------------------
 ]]
 
diff --git a/module_citeq_config.lua b/module_citeq_config.lua
index a211f58..6108c45 100644
--- a/module_citeq_config.lua
+++ b/module_citeq_config.lua
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ local i18n_t = {
 	["wdq"] = "[[WDQ (identifier)|Wikidata]]", -- go through "WDQ (identifier)" redirect to reduce clutter in "What links here" and improve reverse lookup. Keep in sync with {{QID}}.
 	["wikisource"] = "enwikisource",
 	["errors"] = {
+		bad_qid_form = ' <span class="error" style="font-size:inherit"><code class="cs1-code">{{[[Template:Cite Q|Cite Q]]}}</code>: QID parameter must be supplied as "Q" followed by digits, e.g. <code class="cs1-code">Q12345</code> ([[Template:Cite Q#Error messages|help]])</span>',
 		["local-article-not-found"] = "Local article not found.",
 		["no-label-or-title"] = "No label or title -- debug: ",
         missing_name = '%s&nbsp;<span title="edit %s in Wikidata">[[File:Edit icon on Wikisite.svg|14px|class=noviewer|alt=|link=[[:d:%s]] ]]</span>';	-- %s: <name>.label, '<name>', <name>.qid