What is the problem?
If the user's username has certain characters, the Special:CentralAuth link does not always work correctly.
Examples:
- Username Foo+="$%^*()-&'~. The " character appears to cause problems. The URL goes to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Foo+=
- Username Bar+=$%^*()-&'~. The link goes to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Bar+=$%^*()-&%27~ which shows error There is no global account for "Bar =$%^*()-".
These are extreme examples I grant, but apparently legit (i.e. not blocked) usernames with these characters do exist in the wild (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ListUsers?username=%2B+%2B&group=&wpsubmit=&wpFormIdentifier=mw-listusers-form&limit=500, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ListUsers?username=%22+...Nella+sua+meravigliosa+Luce+%22&group=&wpsubmit=&wpFormIdentifier=mw-listusers-form&limit=500).
Steps to reproduce problem
- Login to a wiki with a user whose username contains a ", + and/or &
- Go to Special:Preferences
- Click the link which says other Wikimedia projects where you have contributed
Expected behavior: Takes you to the Special:CentralAuth page for your user
Observed behavior: The Special:CentralAuth page is for the wrong user