Reconsider position of special pages link, currently in the page tools
Closed, ResolvedPublic2 Estimated Story PointsFeature
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	Jdlrobson
	Mar 27 2023, 6:22 PM

Description

User notice: T385346

Feature summary (what you would like to be able to do and where):

Reconsider the existing location of the special pages link. It's currently in page tools with other links that are associated with the page, however this link has nothing to do with the page.
This was pointed out by @IKhitron and again later by @aliu
https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements&oldid=5850154#Special_pages_link

One possible option would be to move it to the main menu.

Benefits (why should this be implemented?):

This would hopefully make it clearer what these links are for and how they relate to the content or the site.

Screenshot 2023-11-04 150734.png (860×2 px, 604 KB)

Acceptance criteria

Update https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/g/mediawiki/core/+/f682e8881c9b141c55bebfc8559eac2ca17b990e/includes/skins/Skin.php#2104 so that the link is no longer added to special page and added to main menu instead.
Ensure communities are informed by upcoming change prior to deploying

Requirement

Relocate the Special Pages link from the Page Tools section to the Main Menu to improve clarity and navigation. This change aims to better reflect its site-wide functionality, as it is not directly related to the specific page content.

BDD

Feature: Relocate Special Pages link for improved site navigation  
  Scenario: Special Pages link is moved from Page Tools to the Main Menu  
    Given a user is browsing any page on a Wikimedia project  
    When they open the Main Menu  
    Then they should see the Special Pages link listed under the appropriate section  
    And the Special Pages link should no longer be present in the Page Tools section

Test Steps

Test Case 1: Verify Special Pages link is visible in the Main Menu

Visit any page on https://en.m.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/.
Open the Main Menu from the top-left navigation.
Confirm that the Special Pages link is listed in the menu.
AC1: The Special Pages link is present in the Main Menu.

Test Case 2: Verify Special Pages link is no longer in the Page Tools section

Visit any page on https://en.m.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/.
Locate the Page Tools section.
Confirm that the Special Pages link is not present in the Page Tools section.
AC2: The Special Pages link is removed from the Page Tools section.

Test Case 3: Verify Special Pages link functionality in the Main Menu

Follow Test Case 1 to locate the Special Pages link in the Main Menu.
Click on the Special Pages link.
Confirm that it redirects correctly to the Special Pages page.
AC3: The link redirects to the Special Pages page as expected.

QA Results - Beta

AC	Status	Details
1	✅	T333211#10531074
2	✅	T333211#10531074
3	✅	T333211#10531074

QA Results - Prod

AC	Status	Details
1	✅	T333211#10542519
2	✅	T333211#10542519
3	✅	T333211#10542519

Details

Related Changes in Gerrit:

Subject	Repo	Branch	Lines +/-
Add n-specialpages to the Wikimedia default sidebar	mediawiki/extensions/WikimediaMessages	master	+1 -1
Skins: Scan entire navbar for n-specialpages, not just "navigation"	mediawiki/core	master	+2 -2
Skins: Remove SpecialPages link from toolbox, add to navbar by default	mediawiki/core	master	+112 -52
Move special pages toolbox link to left navbar	mediawiki/core	master	+6 -1

Customize query in gerrit

Related Objects
Search...

		Status	Subtype	Assigned	Task
		Open	Feature	None	T381231 Group Toolbox portlet links by topic
		Resolved	Feature	Jdlrobson-WMF	T333211 Reconsider position of special pages link, currently in the page tools

Event Timeline

There are a very large number of changes, so older changes are hidden. Show Older Changes

sgrabarczuk subscribed.Aug 10 2024, 9:20 AM

Jdlrobson removed a project: good first task.Oct 9 2024, 4:19 PM

SToyofuku-WMF subscribed.Oct 9 2024, 4:21 PM

Jdlrobson edited projects, added Web-Team; removed Web-Team-Backlog-Archived.Nov 13 2024, 11:38 PM

Jdlrobson moved this task from Incoming to Freezer on the Web-Team board.Nov 13 2024, 11:47 PM

Jdlrobson mentioned this in T381231: Group Toolbox portlet links by topic.Dec 9 2024, 6:26 PM

Jdlrobson added a parent task: T381231: Group Toolbox portlet links by topic.

Jdlrobson updated the task description. (Show Details)

Change #1101599 had a related patch set uploaded (by Pppery; author: Closed Limelike Curves):

[mediawiki/core@master] Move special pages toolbox link to left navbar

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1101599

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Dec 12 2024, 1:09 AM

Change #1101599 abandoned by Closed Limelike Curves:

[mediawiki/core@master] Move special pages toolbox link to left navbar

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1101599

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Jan 8 2025, 9:30 PM

Per the web team's quarterly grooming, these tasks are being removed from the team's backlog.

Change #1113886 had a related patch set uploaded (by Aaron liu; author: Aaron liu):

[mediawiki/core@master] includes/skins: Remove SpecialPages link from toolbox, default-include in navbar

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1113886

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Jan 23 2025, 11:40 PM

The only approach I could think of (and committed) for the part on adding "Special pages" to the navigation menu changes the default value of the "sidebar" interface message. So if the patch is merge, all wikis that customize "MediaWiki:Sidebar" will simply see the "Special pages" link disappear. Thoughts? Also, does this mean User-notice should be added right now?

Jdlrobson-WMF added a project: Web-Team.Jan 23 2025, 11:50 PM

One option is to run a User-notice, wait a few weeks and then merge the change. During this time special page link will appear in both menus.
A second option is to add some code that checks the last modified date of MediaWiki:Sidebar and appends n-specialpages to the menu if it's not present. We could remove this code after 1.44.0.

I would personally lean towards the 2nd as it helps 3rd parties too!

Jdlrobson-WMF changed the task status from Open to In Progress.Jan 24 2025, 12:00 AM

Jdlrobson-WMF moved this task from Freezer to Q3 on the Web-Team board.

Makes sense. I'm new to the MediaWiki core codebase though, so I don't really know where to put that. Could you point me to a previous example of a migration script? Thanks for your time!

aliu attached a referenced file: F41447473: Screenshot 2023-11-04 150734.png. (Show Details)Jan 24 2025, 2:43 PM

hold_your_horses unsubscribed.Jan 24 2025, 3:43 PM

Bugreporter2 awarded a token.Jan 31 2025, 3:10 AM

Don't overthink this. There's no need to tread on eggshells.

The special pages link doesn't belong in the toolbox.
The interface is cluttered and badly designed (as in no-one actually designed it, but several different developers stuck stuff where they thought was best). Even minor improvements should help, though.

The normal reaction when something like this changes is https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheyChangedItNowItSucks, but users get used to it in about a week or so, and soon forget why they were annoyed.

(FYI discussion on technical details moved to Gerrit. We currently have a working implementation that automatically appends the link to the sidebar if not present.)

Jdlrobson-WMF moved this task from Q3 to Sprint Backlog on the Web-Team board.Jan 31 2025, 7:26 PM

Jdlrobson-WMF mentioned this in T385346: [Action needed] Special pages link has moved, admins may need to reposition.Jan 31 2025, 11:23 PM

While I do not disagree with the spirit of the change, I guess, the way this needs to be done needs to be far more end-user-friendly. Currently the link would just get moved without any indication why that happened unless you read Tech News. Instead, an update script should add the link to navigation submenu if that’s the default placement, then this change could be actually seen by local admins and adjusted without going through hoops. That script shouldn’t be hard to write and should be the expectation if you are doing something like this, given that in many bigger projects, this link explicitly does not, at all, belong in Navigation.

Is there precedent for using an update script we could reference?

does not, at all, belong in Navigation.

Given this task's previous supporters, I'd say this position is quite subjective. I think it makes sense because it's a non–page-specific link to navigate to, just like n-recentchanges.

No idea, but it is much better than the solution currently considered: to rely on every project 1) noticing the tech news item, and 2) fixing the sidebar in time for hard deprecation. To be frank, this whole thing looks like a Vector 2022 problem first and foremost, so if this change is necessary, the transition should be swift and mostly automatic.

Also, offtopic, but maybe the link to all special pages should be also added to page tabs on special pages themselves (like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:NewPages which currently has it in Tools menu, obviously).

In T333211#10514211, @aliu wrote:

Given this task's previous supporters, I'd say this position is quite subjective. I think it makes sense because it's a non–page-specific link to navigate to, just like n-recentchanges.

Yeah, but n-recentchanges is not actually in Navigation menu for many wikis. Checking top 10 Wikipedias apart from bot-aided messes, 1) en: Contribute menu, 2) de: Participate, 3) fr: Contribute, 4) ru: Participation, 5) pl: For Wikipedians. That’s what I mean: if it gets added to navigation with no explanation and no way to trace it back from the edit history, the communities might be more confused on how to move it to somewhere more sensible for them. Making it an actual edit would avoid that.

Yeah, but n-recentchanges is [in the interaction menu on most wikis]

Ah, makes sense. I think tech news is enough notification, though. I'm too scared to add any random thing into update.php without seeing that it's been done before.

to rely on every project 1) noticing the tech news item

I think n-specialpages popping up in what may be considered a weird place is enough notice.

page tabs on special pages themselves

Not sure where you mean by that.

Jdlrobson-WMF added a project: Readers Essential Work 2025 (Minerva and Vector work consistently).Feb 4 2025, 12:07 AM

SToyofuku-WMF changed the point value for this task from 3 to 2.Feb 5 2025, 6:41 PM

SToyofuku-WMF moved this task from Sprint Backlog to Q3 Sprint 2 (Feb 5 - Feb 19, 2025) on the Web-Team board.Feb 5 2025, 6:47 PM

SToyofuku-WMF edited projects, added Web-Team (Q3 Sprint 2 (Feb 5 - Feb 19, 2025)); removed Web-Team.

Change #1113886 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/core@master] Skins: Remove SpecialPages link from toolbox, add to navbar by default

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1113886

ReleaseTaggerBot added a project: MW-1.44-notes (1.44.0-wmf.16; 2025-02-11).Feb 6 2025, 1:00 AM

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Feb 6 2025, 1:30 AM

Jdlrobson-WMF moved this task from Ready for Development to In Progress on the Web-Team (Q3 Sprint 2 (Feb 5 - Feb 19, 2025)) board.Feb 6 2025, 4:12 PM

@aliu I left you a comment on your patchset about an issue I think we need to fix before the deployment on Monday.

Jdlrobson-WMF claimed this task.Feb 6 2025, 7:16 PM

Change #1117987 had a related patch set uploaded (by Aaron liu; author: Aaron liu):

[mediawiki/core@master] Skins: Scan entire navbar for n-specialpages instead of just "navigation"

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1117987

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Feb 6 2025, 11:24 PM

Change #1117987 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/core@master] Skins: Scan entire navbar for n-specialpages, not just "navigation"

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1117987

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Feb 7 2025, 12:30 AM

This looks ready for QA from my side. I think for QA on this one, it would suffice to check that there is a link to "Special pages" somewhere on every page on the beta cluster - either in the left sidebar or toolbox on right for cached HTML (use a sample of maybe 10 random pages to confirm).

Jdlrobson-WMF updated the task description. (Show Details)Feb 7 2025, 12:55 AM

stjn unsubscribed.Feb 7 2025, 12:56 AM

aliu removed a project: patch-welcome.Feb 7 2025, 1:14 AM

Edtadros updated the task description. (Show Details)Feb 7 2025, 2:24 AM

Status: ✅ PASS
Environment: Beta
OS: macOS
Browser: Chrome
Device: MS

Test Case 1: Verify Special Pages link is visible in the Main Menu

Visit any page on https://en.m.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/.
Open the Main Menu from the top-left navigation.
Confirm that the Special Pages link is listed in the menu.
✅ AC1: The Special Pages link is present in the Main Menu.

Test Case 2: Verify Special Pages link is no longer in the Page Tools section

Visit any page on https://en.m.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/.
Locate the Page Tools section.
Confirm that the Special Pages link is not present in the Page Tools section.
✅ AC2: The Special Pages link is removed from the Page Tools section.

Test Case 3: Verify Special Pages link functionality in the Main Menu

Follow Test Case 1 to locate the Special Pages link in the Main Menu.
Click on the Special Pages link.
Confirm that it redirects correctly to the Special Pages page.
✅ AC3: The link redirects to the Special Pages page as expected.

screenshot 99.mov.gif (808×1 px, 866 KB)

screenshot 100.mov.gif (808×1 px, 1020 KB)

Edtadros updated the task description. (Show Details)Feb 7 2025, 2:30 AM

stjn mentioned this in T385888: Rethink the content of the default sidebar for Wikimedia wikis.Feb 7 2025, 5:29 PM

Ill sign this off since this change is likely to confuse at least a few wikis.
I am also running through the list of wikis which do not have a navigation menu so that they do not lose this link.

Change #1118212 had a related patch set uploaded (by Aaron liu; author: Aaron liu):

[mediawiki/extensions/WikimediaMessages@master] Add n-specialpages to the Wikimedia default sidebar

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1118212

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Feb 8 2025, 9:03 PM

Edtadros mentioned this in T385744: Verify 1.44.0-wmf.16 deployment.Feb 11 2025, 5:14 PM

Status: ✅ PASS
Environment: testwiki
OS: macOS
Browser: Chrome
Device: MS

Test Case 1: Verify Special Pages link is visible in the Main Menu

Visit any page on https://en.m.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/.
Open the Main Menu from the top-left navigation.
Confirm that the Special Pages link is listed in the menu.
✅ AC1: The Special Pages link is present in the Main Menu.

Test Case 2: Verify Special Pages link is no longer in the Page Tools section

Visit any page on https://en.m.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/.
Locate the Page Tools section.
Confirm that the Special Pages link is not present in the Page Tools section.
✅ AC2: The Special Pages link is removed from the Page Tools section.

Test Case 3: Verify Special Pages link functionality in the Main Menu

Follow Test Case 1 to locate the Special Pages link in the Main Menu.
Click on the Special Pages link.
Confirm that it redirects correctly to the Special Pages page.
✅ AC3: The link redirects to the Special Pages page as expected.

Edtadros updated the task description. (Show Details)Feb 12 2025, 2:47 AM

aliu updated the task description. (Show Details)Feb 12 2025, 4:03 PM

Could you please consider this too? T361393: Remove the "switch to old look" button (aka MediaWiki:Vector-opt-out)

Sdkb subscribed.Feb 18 2025, 8:32 AM

Sdkb added a subscriber: Pcoombe.Feb 18 2025, 8:45 AM

This comment was removed by Sdkb.

I proposed this change back in 2020, so nice to see some movement on it! However, I'm curious why the mockup moves it to the general Main Menu rather than the Contribute menu below it. It would seem to fit in the Contribute menu, and that less-prominent location would seem better because it's not a particularly important link (especially for non-editors).

The implementation edit that @Pcoombe made (thus alerting me to this unadvertised task) seems to place it in the Contribute section anyways, so I'm not sure exactly what the decisionmaking has been. (Also, lmk if T385346 is where discussion should go at this point.)

The default MediaWiki sidebar doesn't have a "Contribute" section to add it in. That section is a customisation by the English Wikipedia (and quite a few other sites) hence T385346 advising communities how to move the new link if they want.

Jdlrobson-WMF mentioned this in T386761: [Code deprecation/removal] Remove Skin::appendSpecialPagesLinkIfAbsent.Feb 18 2025, 10:20 PM

Plus, I made the mockup very poorly, as you may see. I coded the patch so it gets appended to the bottom of the top menu instead of the weird location in the mockup. If you want to get alerted to other prominent-ish tasks, you could subscribe to Tech News!

The village pumps have been very quiet so I am calling this ticket done: https://wikitalky.wmcloud.org/

The follow up work has been captured in T386761 (we'll remove the backwards compatible code at the time of the next MediaWiki release).

Change #1118212 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/extensions/WikimediaMessages@master] Add n-specialpages to the Wikimedia default sidebar

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1118212

ReleaseTaggerBot edited projects, added MW-1.44-notes (1.44.0-wmf.18; 2025-02-25); removed MW-1.44-notes (1.44.0-wmf.16; 2025-02-11).Feb 18 2025, 11:00 PM

uhhhh, is there a reason only one of these projects can be added?

Jdlrobson-WMF mentioned this in T388927: [For action] Avoid losing special page link in future MediaWiki version.Mar 14 2025, 8:39 PM

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Mar 14 2025, 9:30 PM

waldyrious awarded a token.Apr 9 2025, 5:12 PM

Lejonel mentioned this in T395054: Update tooltip and accesskey for Special:Specialpages.May 22 2025, 4:31 PM

stjn mentioned this in T219543: UX review of Special:SpecialPages.Jun 1 2025, 12:39 PM

JAnD mentioned this in T395757: Link to special:specialpages is missing on some projects .Jun 1 2025, 4:03 PM

Johannnes89 subscribed.Jun 14 2025, 7:28 AM

alistair3149 mentioned this in T405413: Add icon to special page link in sidebar.Sep 23 2025, 9:21 PM

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Reconsider position of special pages link, currently in the page toolsClosed, ResolvedPublic2 Estimated Story PointsFeatureActions