Why responsible humor is important[edit]

Shortcuts

 WP:SKUNK
 WP:RESPONSIBLE

No one wants to be the skunk at the garden party, but we have responsibilities.

No one wants to be the skunk at the garden party, but Wikipedia is no longer the fledgling
experiment it was back in the 2000s. It's now the world's foremost repository of humanity's collective
knowledge, and with that privilege comes some custodial responsibilities. The benefits of humor in
helping boost editor retention must be weighed against its potential for disruption. Consider:

 Humor is sometimes misinterpreted – sarcasm is hard to convey in writing that lacks

the cues of verbal communication. Many editors and administrators have spent hours
resolving disputes arising from this.
 Irresponsible humor damages Wikipedia's credibility – we've all worked hard to
cultivate the reputation for trustworthiness Wikipedia enjoys. Readers come here
expecting information, and when they find jokes instead, they lose faith in our reliability.
 Not everyone is looking for humor – Sometimes, an editor is engaged in a serious
task and just wants to focus on it. Clear disclosure gives them the option to do so,
whereas undisclosed jokes often draw attention and take time to figure out.
Think of the disclosure requirement not as an obstacle, but as a challenge. Humor can still be funny
even when it's disclosed — try reading WP:Sarcasm is really helpful with a straight face — it just
needs to be, well, good.

Humor in articles[edit]
There is no clear consensus as to when and how humor should be included in articles.
If humorous content is included in an article, it must be done in such a way as to meet all the usual
article requirements, including:

 Verifiability
 Neutral point-of-view
 No original research
 Reliable sources
Writing an article about humor or humorous subjects is not the same as adding humor to an article.
One can write "dry" articles on humor, should that be considered appropriate. This concept is
somewhat analogous to the style guidelines for writing about fiction.

How humor can be included[edit]

When a humorous work on a subject has attracted enough attention to be verifiable in reliable
sources, it can be appropriate to reference that work on the page for the subject it is written about.
For example, whereas an article in The Onion might not be an acceptable source/reference to use to
add a humorous observation to a page, if an article in The Onion attracts outside attention, such
as here, then the humorous article can be mentioned, using the source written about it.

Humor outside of articles[edit]

“ ”
Humor is the grease of communications.

— Unknown

Outside of the encyclopedic content, humor is often seen on Wikipedia pages. The primary purpose
of project namespace and similar pages are to coordinate the mission – the building of the
encyclopedia – but being a human community, humor often appears as well.
Humor can appear in many different ways, with considerable overlap. These ways include:

 Sometimes Wikipedians just highlight the humor — in articles or other areas — without
intending to criticize at all. For example, Wikipedia:Unusual articles, which generally
considers the humorous nature of the listed articles to be a positive thing.
 Sometimes Wikipedians create humor for its own sake in out-of-the-way places where
readers are unlikely to find it. For example, see WP:END or the AfD for Vowel.
 Humor is often used in attempts to "lighten the mood" in an active discussion, with
varying degrees of success and failure.
 Irony is often used to illustrate a point. For example, Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, revert,
revert provides an example of how not to behave.
 Humor is sometimes used to illustrate a point without irony. For example, the list of
the Lamest Edit Wars may serve to curtail edit wars by providing examples of just how
absurd they can become.
 Wikipedians often make jokes about the Wikipedia community, and/or which are
intended for the Wikipedian community. These may sometimes qualify as "in-jokes", as
without community experience, the humor will be lessened or lost. For an example, see
the 1 April 2018 RfA for SineBot.
 Wikipedians sometimes voice the opinion that other Wikipedians are taking a given issue
too seriously, and will create "spoofs" of the issue, which many find humorous.
Humor tends to be very subjective. One should remain aware that what one finds hilarious, another
may find offensive. The use of humor does not override such core policies as Civility and No
Personal Attacks.
Many pages which at least some Wikipedians found funny have been categorized
into Category:Wikipedia humor.