 | This is an essay on misuse of shortcuts. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: A shortcut name might appear to support your argument but the linked policy, guideline or essay may not. |
Many of our shortcuts to policy, guideline or essays consist of an uppercase word or two or a short phrase. Although these words may appear to succinctly sum up the linked advice, it is best to think of them as a mnemonic. There is a temptation to cite shortcuts as though these words in-themselves support one's argument, and this can be unhelpful to constructive discussion when they do not. Editors are then misled, or become distracted from the topic at hand into pointing out the mistake. Repeatedly misciting shortcuts to policy can be disruptive and a sign of activism: an attempt to block or silence those one disagrees with a false claim to have policy on one's side.
This essay documents some cases of WP:UPPERCASE, where a shortcut is often miscited.