Add "learn more" link for 'Birthday mode' switch in Appearance menu
Closed, ResolvedPublic5 Estimated Story Points
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Assigned To

Authored By

	ATitkov
	Jan 19 2026, 11:25 AM

Description

The goal is to add an info chip/link to MetaWiki page from the appearance setting. This info chip/link will improve UX by making it clearer to users what will happen when they enable the mode and feels similar to the supportive text we had for reporting bugs in dark mode when it was first released.

Designs

QA

On desktop open the appearance menu and confirm there is a link to https://wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia25/wikipedia-mascot/ under birthday mode.
On mobile visit https://en.wikipedia.beta.wmcloud.org/wiki/Special:MobileOptions and confirm there is a link to https://wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia25/wikipedia-mascot/ under birthday mode

Details

Related Changes in Gerrit:

Subject	Repo	Branch	Lines +/-
Allow display of link for anonymous users	mediawiki/skins/Vector	master	+7 -5
Update client preferences dependency to latest version	mediawiki/extensions/MobileFrontend	master	+8 -7
Update urls in i18n to point to the correct mascot landing page.	mediawiki/extensions/WP25EasterEggs	master	+2 -2
Generalize "Report an issue with dark mode"	mediawiki/skins/Vector	master	+55 -24
Add client pref render hook for easter egg	mediawiki/skins/Vector	master	+2 -1
Add messages for 'Birthday mode' learn more link	mediawiki/extensions/WP25EasterEggs	master	+7 -1

Customize query in gerrit

Related Objects

Mentioned In: T416521: Birthday mode switch location - should be the first option in Appearance menu
T415957: Add info chip to birthday mode on desktop
Mentioned Here: T415957: Add info chip to birthday mode on desktop

Event Timeline

ATitkov created this task.Jan 19 2026, 11:25 AM

Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald TranscriptJan 19 2026, 11:25 AM

Change #1228463 had a related patch set uploaded (by ATitkov; author: ATitkov):

[mediawiki/extensions/WP25EasterEggs@master] Add messages for 'Birthday mode' learn more link

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1228463

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Jan 19 2026, 12:09 PM

ATitkov moved this task from Backlog to extension:WP25EasterEggs on the PES1.3.3 WP25 Easter Eggs board.Jan 19 2026, 12:11 PM

This needs input from Reader Experience team. Currently Vector's clientPreferences.js does not support adding custom links in the Appearance pinnable dropdown.

The closest functionality is makeFeedbackLink, of which the first part could be extracted to something like appendLink and possibly be triggered when a client pref has a flag or a message with specific suffix

@Jdrewniak @Jdlrobson

ATitkov added subscribers: Jdrewniak, Jdlrobson.Jan 20 2026, 3:51 PM

Jdrewniak added a project: Reader Experience Team (REx Sprint 13 [Q3 Jan 27 - Feb 9]).Jan 27 2026, 6:10 PM

Sneha triaged this task as High priority.Jan 27 2026, 6:28 PM

bwang moved this task from Ready to In progress on the Reader Experience Team (REx Sprint 13 [Q3 Jan 27 - Feb 9]) board.Jan 27 2026, 6:39 PM

In T414944#11536892, @ATitkov wrote:

This needs input from Reader Experience team. Currently Vector's clientPreferences.js does not support adding custom links in the Appearance pinnable dropdown.

The closest functionality is makeFeedbackLink, of which the first part could be extracted to something like appendLink and possibly be triggered when a client pref has a flag or a message with specific suffix

@Jdrewniak @Jdlrobson

i wonder if the easiest approach is to just add the link via JS? Most of the time the appearance menu wont be visible on load anyway, so i think its ok that its not on page load.

i wonder if the easiest approach is to just add the link via JS?

then either a js hook would be needed, or a MutationObserver. And IIUC MutationObserver is not really acceptable

@ATitkov i think thats fine, we already added 'skin-client-preference.change'. I put up a patch here. @Jdlrobson-WMF do you agree this is the shortest solution? https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/c/mediawiki/skins/Vector/+/1234458

Change #1234458 had a related patch set uploaded (by Jdlrobson; author: Bernard Wang):

[mediawiki/skins/Vector@master] Add client pref render hook for easter egg

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234458

Jdlrobson-WMF updated the task description. (Show Details)Jan 28 2026, 6:38 PM

Change #1234479 had a related patch set uploaded (by Jdlrobson; author: Jdlrobson):

[mediawiki/skins/Vector@master] Generalize "Report an issue with dark mode"

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234479

Jdlrobson-WMF lowered the priority of this task from High to Medium.Jan 28 2026, 7:09 PM

Change #1228463 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/extensions/WP25EasterEggs@master] Add messages for 'Birthday mode' learn more link

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1228463

ReleaseTaggerBot added a project: MW-1.46-notes (1.46.0-wmf.14; 2026-02-03).Jan 28 2026, 8:00 PM

Jdrewniak set the point value for this task to 5.Jan 28 2026, 8:05 PM

Change #1234458 abandoned by Bernard Wang:

[mediawiki/skins/Vector@master] Add client pref render hook for easter egg

Reason:

abandoning in favor of making client pref links more generic

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234458

Change #1234541 had a related patch set uploaded (by Jdlrobson; author: Jdlrobson):

[mediawiki/extensions/MobileFrontend@master] Update client preferences dependency to latest version

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234541

@ATitkov for mobile looks like we need to also update en.json key "wp25eastereggs-enable-description" to value "Celebrate 25 years of Wikipedia with a [https://wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia25/wikipedia-mascot/ cute reading companion]",

Change #1234479 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/skins/Vector@master] Generalize "Report an issue with dark mode"

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234479

Change #1234924 had a related patch set uploaded (by ATitkov; author: ATitkov):

[mediawiki/extensions/WP25EasterEggs@master] Update urls in i18n to point to the correct mascot landing page.

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234924

Change #1234924 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/extensions/WP25EasterEggs@master] Update urls in i18n to point to the correct mascot landing page.

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234924

Jdlrobson-WMF updated the task description. (Show Details)Jan 29 2026, 10:08 PM

This can be moved to QA once https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/c/1234541 has been landed.

I've opened T415957: Add info chip to birthday mode on desktop for restyling this as an infochip as I think there are more important priorities right now and want to balance those accordingly.

Change #1234541 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/extensions/MobileFrontend@master] Update client preferences dependency to latest version

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1234541

Jdlrobson-WMF moved this task from In progress to Needs QA on the Reader Experience Team (REx Sprint 13 [Q3 Jan 27 - Feb 9]) board.Feb 2 2026, 5:08 PM

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Feb 2 2026, 5:32 PM

Etonkovidova updated the task description. (Show Details)Tue, Feb 3, 11:45 PM

Tested on beta - "learn more" link for 'Birthday mode' switch is displayed on both desktop and mobile- for @Sneha to review

`enwiki beta desktop`	design

Notes

the Birthday option is placed as the last one
the line spacing is rather tight
when a user is not logged-in, the "Learn more" link is not present

Screenshot 2026-02-03 at 3.51.01 PM.png (1×670 px, 93 KB)

`enwiki beta mobile`	design

Notes

the Birthday mode option is placed as the last one
the image is placed at the end of the label

Etonkovidova moved this task from Needs QA to Sign-off on the Reader Experience Team (REx Sprint 13 [Q3 Jan 27 - Feb 9]) board.Wed, Feb 4, 12:05 AM

Thanks @Etonkovidova I checked on my side as well.

Good catch about "Learn more..." link not appearing in logged out state. Is this an easy fix @ATitkov ?

I think if we had to prioritize, I would put fixing the location of birthday mode switch above all else. Currently its not very easy to find it and putting it at the end of the list makes it even harder.

Also I noticed the mini baby globe is not present in the settings on mobile as shown in design. Is putting the mini baby globe there as difficult as it is on vector? @ATitkov If so, thats okay as we are discussing adding the "baby globe" copy there.

@Sneha this looks like a bug for reader experience devs, not @ATitkov . It looks like we intentionally hide this for anons in the case of dark mode, but create a new bug as part of sign off and we'll look into it as a follow up.

Also I noticed the mini baby globe is not present in the settings on mobile as shown in design. Is putting the mini baby globe there as difficult as it is on vector? @ATitkov If so, thats okay as we are discussing adding the "baby globe" copy there.

Yes. This is difficult but just like the info chip task I don't think worth the lift given other work. But create a ticket if you want us to prioritize supporting that.

Etonkovidova mentioned this in T416521: Birthday mode switch location - should be the first option in Appearance menu.Wed, Feb 4, 9:28 PM

@Jdlrobson-WMF okay good to know. Lets not prioritize that then. Also thanks @Etonkovidova for creating a ticket for location.

@Jdlrobson-WMF would you say the same adding the mini baby globe next to settings in the main menu is also difficult right now?

@Jdlrobson-WMF would you say the same adding the mini baby globe next to settings in the main menu is also difficult right now?

It's less about difficult and more about making sure we release something in time for our deadline. Any addition is going to be at least 2-3 points and working on that takes focus from the tasks that are blocking us successfully shipping something. Feel free to create a task if you are keen on exploring that in a less time crunched period.

Jdlrobson-WMF removed ATitkov as the assignee of this task.Fri, Feb 6, 3:34 PM

Jdlrobson-WMF moved this task from Sign-off to Needs code review on the Reader Experience Team (REx Sprint 13 [Q3 Jan 27 - Feb 9]) board.

Change #1237525 had a related patch set uploaded (by Jdlrobson; author: Jdlrobson):

[mediawiki/skins/Vector@master] Allow display of link for anonymous users

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1237525

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Fri, Feb 6, 3:35 PM

Change #1237525 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/skins/Vector@master] Allow display of link for anonymous users

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1237525

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Fri, Feb 6, 5:30 PM

ReleaseTaggerBot edited projects, added MW-1.46-notes (1.46.0-wmf.15; 2026-02-10); removed MW-1.46-notes (1.46.0-wmf.14; 2026-02-03).Fri, Feb 6, 6:00 PM

Okay I think this is all wrapped up now. @Etonkovidova can you confirm?

In T414944#11592921, @Jdlrobson-WMF wrote:

Okay I think this is all wrapped up now. @Etonkovidova can you confirm?

Checked on beta - seems that all small fixes are in place. It is ready for Sign off.

the Birthday option is placed as the first option now
the line spacing for "Learn more" is corrected

Screenshot 2026-02-06 at 4.52.25 PM.png (1×850 px, 110 KB)

logged out users can see "Learn more" link

Screenshot 2026-02-06 at 4.53.15 PM.png (1×1 px, 163 KB)

CDekock-WMF subscribed.Tue, Feb 10, 8:59 AM

Reconfirming that the link is there and that additionally, now the label for the settings says "Birthday mode (Baby Globe)" , without the emoji, per the most recent design updates.

Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 8.37.40 PM.png (1×1 px, 151 KB)

Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 8.39.27 PM.png (476×1 px, 75 KB)

	F71805193: Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 8.39.27 PM.png
	Wed, Feb 11, 1:40 AM

	F71805108: Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 8.37.40 PM.png
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	F71714900: Screenshot 2026-02-06 at 4.53.15 PM.png
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	F71714893: Screenshot 2026-02-06 at 4.52.25 PM.png
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	F71663501: Screenshot 2026-02-03 at 3.51.32 PM.png
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	F71663580: Screenshot 2026-02-03 at 3.51.01 PM.png
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	F71626713: image.png
	Jan 29 2026, 10:14 PM

Add "learn more" link for 'Birthday mode' switch in Appearance menuClosed, ResolvedPublic5 Estimated Story PointsActions