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{{short description|Misplaced Pages guideline}}
{{guideline|]}}
{{hatnote|"WP:DISCLAIM" redirects here. You may also be looking for ].}}
{{subcat guideline|content guideline|No disclaimers|WP:NDT|WP:NDIA|WP:DISCLAIM|WP:NODISCLAIMERS}}
{{nutshell|Warnings about content should not generally appear in articles. All articles are already covered by the Misplaced Pages disclaimers.}}


For the purpose of this guideline, a '''disclaimer''' is some text or template within an article that is intended to serve as a ]. Although such content warnings have ], community consensus is that articles should ''not'' include additional warnings that duplicate the standard Misplaced Pages disclaimers.
Rather frequently, someone proposes a new ] ] - for instance, ''"This article contains profanity"''. While the consensus is that these kinds of templates should not exist, the constant creation of new ones shows a need for a clearer exposition of why they should not be used. When spotted, such templates tend to be ] because they're similar to templates we've debated and deleted in the past.


Were they to be permitted, content warnings could create a false sense of security, creating a misleading impression that all potentially problematic content is flagged, and that articles without disclaimers are inherently "safe". The community consensus to ban such warnings also avoids time-consuming debates over subjective issues such as what constitutes "adult content".
⚫ ==What are disclaimer templates==
Disclaimer templates are templates that duplicate the information at one of the five disclaimer pages:
*]
⚫ *]
⚫ *]
⚫ *]
*]


==Standard Misplaced Pages disclaimers==
==Why they should not be used==
Every Misplaced Pages page includes, right at the bottom, a link to the ] (Misplaced Pages makes no guarantee of validity), which itself provides further links to five other standard disclaimers that apply to all articles:
*Redundant with the ] link at the end of every page.
⚫ *]: Misplaced Pages contains content that may be objectionable
*Hard to define which articles should have a disclaimer (how would you define an "adult content" article, for instance, given that it varies dramatically by culture).
*]. *]: Misplaced Pages does not give legal opinions
⚫ *]: Misplaced Pages does not give medical advice
*The ''lack'' of the disclaimer on certain pages as opposed to others might open Misplaced Pages to lawsuits.
⚫ *]: Use Misplaced Pages at your own risk
*By the time you see them, it's too late — the article has already been loaded.
*]: Misplaced Pages has some rights when you participate in one of their survey
In addition, by longstanding policy, ] for the ].


== Unacceptable disclaimers ==
==Why people say they should be used==
Here are some examples of unacceptable disclaimers. These are not permitted in articles, whether in template form (as illustrated here) or as text:
* People might be upset to see some sort of information on Misplaced Pages. (For a discussion of this see WP:NOT Censored above)


{{Warning|heading=Spoiler alert|This article contains spoilers.}}
==The exception==
{{Warning|heading=Warning|This article contains ].}}
] and related templates are the exceptions from this guideline, but this guideline does not make them compulsory. For the relevant guideline on spoiler warnings, see ].
{{Warning|heading=Content warning|This article contains media that may potentially trigger seizures for those diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy.}}
{{Warning|heading=Malware warning|Opening this link may expose you to ].}}
{{Warning|image=Stop hand nuvola.svg|heading='']''|'''This article contains content that is suitable only for ages 18 and older. Viewer discretion is advised.'''}}


== Acceptable warnings ==
:'' The only disclaimer on wikipedia should be the spoiler warnings, because you don't know where they are, and they ruin things for you. You can choose to ignore medical-related content on Misplaced Pages, but once you've read a spoiler, you can't just pretend you never read it. -]|] 12:45, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)''
Certain warnings are acceptable. These serve different purposes from the standard Misplaced Pages disclaimers:
:::''from ]''
* "Technical" warnings assisting the user with display problems, such as {{tl|contains special characters}}. These refer not to article content but to display issues that some readers might run in to.

* Temporary ] such as {{tl|current}} or {{tl|recent death}}. These alert the reader that the article may be subject to a flux of recent and upcoming significant changes for reasons beyond the control of Misplaced Pages.
==Previous discussions==
* Temporary ], such as {{tl|POV}}, {{tl|original research}} or {{tl|cleanup}}. These point to deficiencies in the article that should be corrected promptly. Maintenance templates should not be used to "warn the reader" that a Misplaced Pages editor disagrees with the current state of the article.
A small list of previous discussions is at ].

Some older discussion can be found at the top of ], or at the ] archives.


==See also== ==See also==
*]
*] *]
*] *]
⚫ ===Talk page disclaimer templates===

*]
]
]

Latest revision as of 19:27, 31 December 2024

Misplaced Pages guideline "WP:DISCLAIM" redirects here. You may also be looking for Misplaced Pages:General disclaimer.
Blue tickThis page documents an English Misplaced Pages content guideline.
Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.		Shortcuts
This page in a nutshell: Warnings about content should not generally appear in articles. All articles are already covered by the Misplaced Pages disclaimers.

For the purpose of this guideline, a disclaimer is some text or template within an article that is intended to serve as a content warning. Although such content warnings have frequently been proposed, community consensus is that articles should not include additional warnings that duplicate the standard Misplaced Pages disclaimers.

Were they to be permitted, content warnings could create a false sense of security, creating a misleading impression that all potentially problematic content is flagged, and that articles without disclaimers are inherently "safe". The community consensus to ban such warnings also avoids time-consuming debates over subjective issues such as what constitutes "adult content".

Standard Misplaced Pages disclaimers

Every Misplaced Pages page includes, right at the bottom, a link to the Misplaced Pages:General disclaimer (Misplaced Pages makes no guarantee of validity), which itself provides further links to five other standard disclaimers that apply to all articles:

In addition, by longstanding policy, Misplaced Pages is not censored for the protection of minors.

Unacceptable disclaimers

Here are some examples of unacceptable disclaimers. These are not permitted in articles, whether in template form (as illustrated here) or as text:

Spoiler alertThis article contains spoilers.
WarningThis article contains vulgar, profane, or otherwise offensive language.
Content warningThis article contains media that may potentially trigger seizures for those diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy.
Malware warningOpening this link may expose you to malware.
WarningTrigger warningThis article contains content that is suitable only for ages 18 and older. Viewer discretion is advised.

Acceptable warnings

Certain warnings are acceptable. These serve different purposes from the standard Misplaced Pages disclaimers:

  • "Technical" warnings assisting the user with display problems, such as {{contains special characters}}. These refer not to article content but to display issues that some readers might run in to.
  • Temporary current event and temporal templates such as {{current}} or {{recent death}}. These alert the reader that the article may be subject to a flux of recent and upcoming significant changes for reasons beyond the control of Misplaced Pages.
  • Temporary cleanup templates, such as {{POV}}, {{original research}} or {{cleanup}}. These point to deficiencies in the article that should be corrected promptly. Maintenance templates should not be used to "warn the reader" that a Misplaced Pages editor disagrees with the current state of the article.

See also

Talk page disclaimer templates

Category: