Editing Encyclopedia:Manual of Style (section)

===Scrolling lists and collapsible content===
{{Shortcut|MOS:SCROLL|MOS:COLLAPSE|MOS:DONTHIDE}}
{{Redirect|WP:COLLAPSE|the guideline on collapsing off-topic talk page discussions|WP:TALKOFFTOPIC}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Users with limited CSS or JavaScript support}}

Elements that can selectively display or hide content can interfere with the ability of readers to access said content. These mechanisms include [[Help:Scrolling list|scrolling list]]s, and templates like {{tlx|collapse}} that can be toggled between collapsed and uncollapsed states using a {{bracket|{{resize|hide{{\}}show}}}} button. These mechanisms should not be used to conceal "[[Wikipedia:Spoiler|spoiler]]" information. Templates should generally [[Wikipedia:Template namespace#Guidelines|not be used to store article text]] at all, as it interferes with editors' ability to find and edit it. Moreover, content in an article should <em>never</em> be collapsed by default. This applies equally to content in [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#Footnotes|footnotes]], [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Tables|tables]], and [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Embedded lists|embedded lists]], [[Wikipedia:Image use policy#Image galleries|image galleries]], and [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Captions|image captions]].

If such mechanisms are used, care must be taken to ensure the content remains accessible for all users, including [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Users with limited CSS or JavaScript support|those with limited CSS or JavaScript support]]. When collapsing is desired, it must be done using the <code>collapsible</code> parameter of relevant templates, or certain manually added CSS classes (see [[Help:Collapsing]]). Other methods of hiding content should not be used, as they may render content inaccessible to many users, such as those browsing Wikipedia with [[JavaScript]] disabled or using proxy services such as [[Google Web Light]].

Collapsed or auto-collapsing ''cells'' or ''sections'' may be used with tables if they simply repeat information covered in the main text (or are purely supplementary, e.g., several past years of statistics in collapsed tables for comparison with a table of uncollapsed current stats). Auto-collapsing is often a feature of [[Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates#Navigation templates|navboxes]]. A few [[Wikipedia:Infobox|infoboxes]] also use pre-collapsed sections for infrequently accessed details. If information in a list, infobox, or other non-navigational content seems extraneous or trivial enough to inspire pre-collapsing it, consider raising a discussion on the article (or template) talk page about whether it should be [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information|included at all]]. If the information is important and the concern is article density or length, consider [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Layout#Body sections|dividing the article into more sections]], integrating [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trivia sections|unnecessarily list-formatted information]] into the article prose, or [[Wikipedia:Summary style|splitting the article]].