Help:Extension:EmailAuth
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	kostajh
	Apr 1 2025, 6:51 AM

Description

Summary

Currently there is no user-facing documentation about the email auth verification code. In this task, let's create a public facing help page (mw:Help:Extension:EmailAuth) and link to it from the verification code input page.

Background

Users may need additional context to understand the verification code workflow, or know how to find help if the code does not work, or if they no longer have access to their email.

User story

As a user logging in, I want a link to a help page if I get stuck at the verification code step.

Technical notes

Update the auth form change hook to include a link to mw:Help:Extension:EmailAuth

Acceptance criteria

mw:Help:Extension:EmailAuth exists and has instructions to help with 1) token not working or 2) no longer have access to my email address
Token input form links to mw:Help:Extension:EmailAuth

Details

Related Changes in Gerrit:

	Subject	Repo	Branch	Lines +/-
	Improve email contents	mediawiki/extensions/EmailAuth	master	+167 -35

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Related Objects
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		Status	Subtype	Assigned	Task
		Resolved		Tgr	T390684 EmailAuth: Improve email message contents
		Open		Tgr	T390657 Documentation: Create and link to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:EmailAuth

Event Timeline

kostajh created this task.Apr 1 2025, 6:51 AM

Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald TranscriptApr 1 2025, 6:51 AM

Aklapper added a project: Documentation.Apr 1 2025, 7:50 AM

kostajh mentioned this in T390684: EmailAuth: Improve email message contents.Apr 1 2025, 12:00 PM

A_smart_kitten subscribed.Apr 1 2025, 12:14 PM

Naming note: Per https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Best_practices_for_extensions#Documentation, I believe that the standard practice for titling the extension’s help page would be [[Help:Extension:EmailAuth]] rather than [[Help:EmailAuth]], though I am happy to be corrected!

A_smart_kitten added a parent task: T390684: EmailAuth: Improve email message contents.Apr 1 2025, 12:21 PM

Aklapper renamed this task from Documentation: Create and link to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:EmailAuth to Documentation: Create and link to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:EmailAuth.Apr 1 2025, 12:34 PM

Aklapper updated the task description. (Show Details)

Not sure there's much to document TBH. What help would be useful on how to copy a word from an email to a web form?

I guess we could document session timeouts, although it would be better to just make the email say "this code will be valid for XXX minutes".

Tgr closed this task as Resolved.Apr 1 2025, 7:24 PM

Tgr claimed this task.

Thanks @Tgr!

Change #1139155 had a related patch set uploaded (by Gergő Tisza; author: Gergő Tisza):

[mediawiki/extensions/EmailAuth@master] Add link to help page in email text and form text

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1139155

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Apr 26 2025, 2:38 PM

Change #1139155 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/extensions/EmailAuth@master] Improve email contents

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1139155

Tgr mentioned this in rEEMAaf547052527c: Improve email contents.May 2 2025, 7:58 PM

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.May 2 2025, 8:31 PM

Token input form links to mw:Help:Extension:EmailAuth

It seems like we forgot this. The email does link there, but the user might not be able to see the email, so probably the form should have a link as well.

In T390657#10809531, @Tgr wrote:

Token input form links to mw:Help:Extension:EmailAuth

It seems like we forgot this. The email does link there, but the user might not be able to see the email, so probably the form should have a link as well.

It looks like the default form already includes a link (added in https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/c/mediawiki/extensions/EmailAuth/+/1139155). Is what's remaining here to add it to the WikimediaMessages override string as well?

T399749: Link to Zendesk form from EmailAuth failure message has added a link to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Account_recovery

Reedy mentioned this in T399749: Link to Zendesk form from EmailAuth failure message.Sep 11 2025, 6:52 PM

Sorry for the confusion here as a result of T399749. I'm not sure merging the pages makes sense, since the audiences are probably slightly different: The Meta page is for immediate help getting back into an account (and is Wikimedia-specific) while the MW page is more about the extension itself.

Perhaps we could include both? Something like...

If you are having trouble receiving the code, [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Account_recovery follow these instructions]. [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:EmailAuth Learn more about email authentication].

Maybe that's too busy?

In any case we should ensure the information is consistent, I see that the MW page directs people to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Compromised_accounts when perhaps it should link them to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Account recovery (and then we can have a hatnote on the latter page to catch any strays).

Documentation: Create and link to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:EmailAuthOpen, Needs TriagePublicActions