Wikipedia:Avoid imitating MediaWiki user interface elements
 | The following is a proposed Wikipedia policy, guideline, or process. The proposal may still be in development, under discussion, or in the process of gathering consensus for adoption. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Avoid intentionally manipulating wikitext in such a manner so that the result initially appears indistinguishable from true elements of the MediaWiki user interface. |
The nutshell just about says it all. If possible, keep discussion to the talk page.
Reasoning behind it
- An editor may be doing a systematic task (like reverting vandalism or tagging talk pages) when they are interrupted to consider an anomaly, whether an element coded differently, or a false talk page message.
- Bots that look for elements (like new message boxes) may become confused and stop functioning.
- People find it annoying.
- A such link could lead users off-site, possibly to a virus site or pornography site.
Reasoning against it
- The Wikipedia community is tolerant, and shouldn't crush jokes just because they're irritating
- It's a bad idea to have MediaWiki UI elements that place themselves in the content box and are indistinguishable from wikitext, and the correct solution is for the devs to change this and refrain from repeating the mistake in the future.
Qualification
- Replacing page titles is not disruptive on user or user talk pages, unless it seeks to hide information.
Consequences of doing so
This policy, in itself, should never warrant a block. Ever. If there is a dispute about whether a certain element should go on a certain page, an admin should protect the page, not block a user. If a user is putting such elements on one or more remotely visible pages to prove a point or disrupt Wikipedia, this may warrant a block.