Wikipedia:Avoid instruction creep

This is an explanatory essay about the procedural policy regarding policies and guidelines.

This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community.

Shortcuts

This page in a nutshell: When editing guidance, keep in mind the risk that increasingly detailed instructions will result in bloated pages that new editors find intimidating and experienced editors ignore.

Avoid instruction creep to keep Wikipedia policy and guideline pages easy to understand. The longer, more detailed, and more complicated you make the instructions, the less likely anyone is to read or follow whatever you write.