Wikipedia talk:April Fools/April Fools' Day 2021

Question
I may have missed something, but is there/will there be a page solely intended for April Fool's or vandalism pranks? Would the creation of a page like that be against the new Rules for Fools? Thanks. realsanix (Hello!) 17:55, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
 * , My reading of WP:AF3 indicates that there is no specific ban on pages entirely devoted to pranking. In fact, there is clear precedent for creating pages whose sole purpose is to be April Fools' pranks — joke RfAs would be an example of this that was specifically permitted by AF3. I am intrigued by your idea on the grounds that it might decrease the odds of actually-important pages or the main WP:APRIL2021 page being vandalized. However, much of what happened last year would be against the spirit of the rules for fools even if done on a page other than WP:APRIL2021. The rules say in part that "Wikipedia policies and guidelines still apply on April Fools' Day", and that includes those relating to edit warring and non-free content. I think if someone were to create such a page and it ended up devolving into something like that again, the most likely outcome would be 1) protection of the page, 2) deletion, and 3) further restrictions on April Fools' pranks on Wikipedia. And who wants that? — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 21:27, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Participating
How Do I participate in this? My apologizes if this is a dumb question Photograpicfacts (talk) 01:27, 7 March 2021 (UTC) photograpicfacts
 * Users with low edit counts or high inactivity, in my opinion, are not encouraged to participate, namely as April Fools does have a maintenance cost, and users should pull their own weight. Beyond that, just read the rules. —moonythedwarf (Braden N.) 01:40, 8 March 2021 (UTC)

Thank you, I would edit more but I am always nervous to do so and am not sure where to help but i would like to try more Photograpicfacts (talk) 02:34, 8 March 2021 (UTC)
 * , If you're looking for things to do, check out the Task Center. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 21:05, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Hmm...
Are people still allowed to have rather tame jokes here? Like a chain of people commenting the same thing repeatedly instead of blanking the page? - GoatLordServant(Talk - Contribs) 15:58, 25 March 2021 (UTC)
 * No. WP:FOOLS says: Do not edit war or vandalize individual years' April Fools pages. These pages are meant to document pranks, not have pranks performed on them. — python coder  (talk &#124; contribs) 21:02, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2021
RfA should read RfC in the other pranks section 2A03:F80:32:194:71:227:81:1 (talk) 00:05, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done — python coder  (talk &#124; contribs) 00:18, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Proposing a merge?
Normally, the place to propose a merge is on the article talk page. However, article talk pages remain highly visible until archived, even to readers in some cases, and the April Fools proposal will look like a ridiculous proposal, being surrounded by non-April Fools discussion. Is there any better place to put a merge request? HotdogPi 00:11, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Now wait a dang minute

 * It says Mario was nominated for deletion but it links to an old AFD from 2006. Panini 📚 03:08, 1 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Same with Baby Shark. Panini 📚 11:31, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2021 (2)
There's some hijinks on WP:CLOSE and WP:BOTN, in the former case not just by me, may be worth documenting. 2A03:F80:32:194:71:227:81:1 (talk) 03:20, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * No edit requested, closing. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 12:01, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Are humorous help desk questions allowed?
Under the rules of humor, it says no jokes under the "help" namespaces. Could I make a clearly tagged joke question at the help desk? Che es etro n246 Say hi! 03:34, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I would say yes, after all it's in project-space anyway not help space. 2A03:F80:32:194:71:227:81:1 (talk) 03:38, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Hmm... I might not, because I realized I'm already pushing it with a really low edit count. Thank you anyways! I'll be back next year. Face-grin.svg Che es etro n246  Say hi! 03:55, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Well, your call. 2A03:F80:32:194:71:227:81:1 (talk) 03:56, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Other Pranks
Ok, why on gods green Earth can we not have a CIVIL and FRIENDLY edit war over the tittle “other pranks.” It was like majority of the spirit of April Fools here for a lot of us. Its just a subtitle for gods sake... JustAnotherWikiUser0816 (talk) 13:45, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Now Ive looked into it, the rfc regarding april fools doesnt exist, and the guy who made the rules list isn’t an admin. [|Spirit of Eagle] JustAnotherWikiUser0816 (talk) 13:56, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Ok. We need to have a large scale consensus regarding “Other Pranks.” I found the RfC, it wasnt archived I had to go through 7 links to find it. The “clear consensus” was from 12 people. 12 people striped all the fun from April fools. JustAnotherWikiUser0816 (talk) 14:05, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

To provide a serious answer to your question, the entire April Fools Day page was over taken by spam which included copyrighted images. Edits were coming in so rapidly it was impossible to actually remove anything or find out who was violating copyright law. The entire thing was a colossus mess and we're quite frankly lucky it mostly stayed contained on the April Fools Day page. On the plus side, we've had a lot more creative pranks than usual this year. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 18:50, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2021 (3)
Can my name be added to the page like this, ? (Username or lP removed) (talk) 14:01, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * It could be, yes. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 14:49, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

RfC April Fools 2021
There is a clear need for a large scale vote on wether or not edit wars conducted in good taste on April fools pages, mainly the “other pranks” section, should be allowed. One vote in a non archived RfC of the 12 most staunch anti-vandals simply should not count. JustAnotherWikiUser0816 (talk) 14:10, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Despite your claims, there already was a vote that ended with consensus to ban these edit wars. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 20:49, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2021 (4)
first major rule should read "Jokes and edit warring are prohibited on this page. This means there will not be a Great Edit War III." instead of "Jokes and edit warring are on this page. This means there will be III." Triky2Talk 15:56, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting wait.svg Already done ~ Aseleste  (t, e &#124; c, l) 17:33, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Vote on the best AFD this year?
We should probably try to do that, especially with a record-breaking number of AFD AFDs --Regards, Jeromi Mikhael


 * Yes. -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤Talk Contribs  17:04, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Propose Articles for deletion/Ever Given‎ - Catastrophic failure. ~  Aseleste  (t, e &#124; c, l) 17:10, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

I have created a Google Form so people can vote on their favourite. I don't know when I should close it though. -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤Talk Contribs  21:08, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * What will the winner get? During the previous great edit wars, the winner got to name the section but I'm unsure if that will be possible here. As for when to conclude, I'd reccomend 7 AM UTC (aka midnight in California and the West Coast of the United States). Spirit of Eagle (talk) 21:14, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Maybe close it at that time on April 3rd, so people have more time to vote. Also you should probably turn off the ability to submit multiple responses, because we don't want people to vote twice. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 21:18, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Seconding Pythoncoder; that's a good idea. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 21:44, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * By the way, you should probably link this on the main page before the clock hits midnight so everyone knows of the vote. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 23:24, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Any update on the form? --Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 16:53, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes. There are 30 responses so far. Ever Given is in the lead with 7 votes, Glasses has 4, and there is a 3-way tie with 2 votes each between Mario, Moai, and Lepidammodytes macrophthalmus. I'll make a nice-looking graph with the results. I noticed there is now a banner on the main page telling people to vote. I think what I'm going to do is close the poll on April 2, 23:59 (UTC), just to give people enough time to notice the banner and vote. Unless you think voting should lat another day. -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤Talk Contribs  17:17, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm the one who put up the banner. I know that this year's AFD is more organized than its predecessors, but I believe that we could organize it better. Probably prepare the form about 5 minutes before AFD is closed and put the link just before the event is finished. Or better, make a discord group for next years AFD so we could organize better. Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 17:41, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * While I am in fact a frequent user of Discord, my strong preference is to keep Wikipedia-related discussion on-wiki, so that other people don’t have to create another account just to participate. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 23:22, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * About the close, it would be probably better to close it at the end of this week. Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 17:42, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Seconding Jeromi on giving the vote a few more days. I really don't see the need to rush things and closing at the end of the week will allow more votes to come in. What ever time you decide on, I would recommend noting it in the banner so potential voters are aware of the deadline. By the way, an April FOols Discord would be cool. I actually had an idea about an April Fools' article contest where people would write or improve thematically appropriate articles and then vote on the best contribution to Wikipedia starting at the end of April Fools Day. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 18:36, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Hoping that Articles for deletion/Ever Given wins. I put too much work into putting together a whole "Ever Given Arc". wrote the code, and I made the edits and kept it from getting off track.  Panini! 🥪 13:50, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

Closure
I think I am going to close the voting booth on April 7 at 23:59 (UTC). That would have given everyone almost a week to vote. I think that's enough time. Right now, there are 44 votes, but a few of them are nonsense and won't be counted. I don't blame whoever wrote them though; it is in the April Fools' spirit after all. After I close the booth, I will make a clean graph showing the results. The graph that Google makes automatically is rather messy. -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤Talk Contribs  19:59, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

P.S: I don't usually self-promote, but I made a YouTube video about April Fools' Day on Wikipedia. It's only three minutes and it mostly contains stuff you probably already know, but I'm proud of it. If you are interested, it's linked at the top of my userpage.


 * Nice video! I thought it did a good job explaining April Fools' Day on Wikipedia. It’s certainly better than the last time my userpage made an appearance off-wiki. And that video reminds me, it’s not too late to '''sign my petition to ban April Fools jokes on Wikipedia! — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 14:34, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

It's time to stop.
Lets face it, the joke AfD nomination has been played out. This year has seen record numbers of joke Articles for Deletion nominations. So far, we've had 125 jokes, and exactly 0 of them were funny. SAD! It's time to drop the stick and drop the ban hammer on these jokes.

SIGN MY PETITION if you agree! — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 20:46, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * So where exactly on the page do I sign? Spirit of Eagle (talk) 20:58, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Click the link, scroll down to the "Supporters" section, click the edit section button, and sign your name with . Easy as π! — python coder  (talk &#124; contribs) 21:12, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Ok, found it and signed it. Thanks for cobbling this together; those joke AfDs were really getting on my nerves. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 21:41, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Conclusion of April Fools
Hey everyone. We have left than two minutes left in this holiday, but I wanted to thank you all for an incredible April Fools Day! I'll hopefully see you all in 2022! Spirit of Eagle (talk) 23:58, 1 April 2021 (UTC)


 * This year was quite fun (unlike 2020 where I was stuck doing janitor work). I should go fix my sig now, unfortunately, it was randomized for april fools.
 * See you 2022! —moonythepuppet (Braden N.) 00:22, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Splitting discussion for Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2021 April 1
An article that been involved with ( Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2021 April 1 ) has content that is proposed to be removed and moved to another article (Articles for deletion/Log/April Fools' Day 2021). If you are interested, please visit the discussion. Thank you. Diriector_Doc ├─────┤Talk Contribs 01:46, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Agenda for next year AFD
I've compiled several ideas in relation to next years AFD.
 * 1) Create RFC for a single AFD hook next year (proposed by  and ;  giving interest for this; relevant discussion could be seen here)
 * 2) Prepare a proper poll for next year AFD (probably one or two months before AFD)
 * 3) Expand the idea for an April Fools' article contest where people would write or improve thematically appropriate articles and then vote on the best contribution to Wikipedia starting at the end of April Fools Day (proposed by )
 * Pinging other users who were active in AFD talkpage during this year's AFD: . Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 14:53, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I think based on the success of this year (all 16 DYK hooks made it to WP:DYKSTATS and we got several positive coments on social media), I would not support limiting it. I think the latter may work well for FA. But my view is really this is a simple WP:AINT here.   The C of E  God Save the Queen!  ( talk ) 15:02, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
 * we got several positive coments [sic] on social media I'm interested. Any links? --Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 15:12, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I concur. If we have enough DYK hooks to fill the whole section, we should use them. Would love to see social media links re: DYK as I tend not to mix my Wikipedia and social media activity. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 15:16, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
 * .  I kept an eye on Twitter. ;)  The C of E  God Save the Queen!  ( talk ) 16:00, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Very nice. It seems we are the last bastion of good April Fools jokes on the internet, and we must fight to defend it. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 22:30, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

I'm not really a fan of changing up the DYK per basically all of the reasons given by C of E. Getting a proper poll ahead of time would be a good idea. The idea of having one just sort of developed as AFD wore on, so there wasn't much time to plan one. Also, thanks to Diriector_Doc for creating the current Google doc. I'm looking forward to seeing the results. For my idea, I think it would be cool to allow people to spend March working on pages related to April Fools Day, humor, and the bizarre (broadly defined), allow them to start listing their contributions at the end of March (so voters have enough time to look over anything but not enough time for an early submitter to get a massive advantage), and then allow a vote in the same doc as the Article for Deletion prank. Voters would vote on both the quality of the improvement/new article, as well as how well the contributed article fits the theme. I'm hoping this will be a more constructive aspect of April Fools Day that will still fit with the fun, casual atmosphere of the main Pranks by Year page. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 18:21, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

Isn't it time we grew up and stopped fooling around?
Wikipedia comes of age next year. We'll be 21. For 364 days of the year we decry people damaging Wikipedia content. Yet our corporate approach to encouraging or promoting April Fools Day pranks inevitably encourages many others to mess around with mainspace articles. Isn't it time we grew up and simply stopped encouraging this foolishness? Nick Moyes (talk) 10:15, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Computer says no.  The C of E God Save the Queen!  ( talk ) 10:39, 5 April 2021 (UTC)


 * As a recent changes patroller, and someone who has done cleanup/rules enforcement both this year and last year (what a pain), do I have any more say on this matter? Because my answer is "no". Wikipedia is not corporate, Wikipedia is run by human beings. And being human, an excuse to have some fun for one day a year is always appreciated. —moonythedwarf (Braden N.) 12:19, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Setting a reminder to nominate legal drinking age for deletion next April Fools Day. Also, no. — python coder (talk &#124; contribs) 19:22, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
 * As promised: Articles for deletion/Legal drinking age — C++ coder (Merry Xmas!!! &#124; talk &#124; talk but in italics) 20:13, 1 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Our April Fools rules (which were posted in their entirety on the main page) strictly prohibit main-space edits and everyone who has thus far responded has assisted in regulating and cleaning up the festivities. We are productive editors having a bit of fun for a day, not vandals. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 19:59, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
 * "Survey says!:"
 * *Applause*
 * -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤Talk Contribs  01:16, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

The Results Are In!
I have come bearing news that the votes have been counted. There were a total of 48 votes, 2 of which were votes for nonexisting nominations.

And now...

the winner of April Fools' Day 2021...

is none other...

than <b style="font-size:2em">Ever Given!</b>

Congratulations to the winner and thanks to everyone who voted and participated in April Fools' Day, 2021. -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤<sup style="margin-left:-5em">Talk <sub style="margin:0 1em 0 -1.8em">Contribs  01:55, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot for running this poll; I'm very happy to see that my nomination of some random obscure fish got third place. You should create a sub-section in the AfD section so the results are more visible. Spirit of Eagle (talk) 02:39, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Also, the graph seems to be following Zipf's law... ~ Aseleste  (t, e &#124; c, l) 04:37, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I would hope so. It's the law. With all seriousness, nice observation. I love it. -- Diriector_Doc ├─────┤<sup style="margin-left:-5em">Talk <sub style="margin:0 1em 0 -1.8em">Contribs  04:41, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Do you do these for MfDs too? <b style="color:#000">Vaticidal</b><b style="color:#66023C">prophet</b> 05:51, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Honestly I didn't expect Ever Given to win given that for me it was a throwaway nom that I thought of less than a minute before making it. Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 06:39, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
 * What do I win? Panini! 🥪 14:33, 19 April 2021 (UTC)
 * What do I win? Panini! 🥪 14:33, 19 April 2021 (UTC)