A new player is going to follow the Wiki like it's bible until proven otherwise. The Wiki is the most easily accessible instruction manual for a newbie (I'm not counting the one included with the game, because the details aren't as thorough and navigation requires learning the controls first), and errors in the Wiki create problems in newb fortresses. Brand new players typically won't start playing by searching the forums, which isn't easy. There's a lot of sifting through false hits involved, a problem that the Wiki fortunately does not have. So, you can't blame anybody for taking the Wiki's word for it; it's supposed to be an accurate source of information, and if it isn't, that isn't the reader's fault!
If the Wiki doesn't say something "obvious,"
it needs to be updated for new players. Obvious to an experienced player is far and above different from obvious to a new player. And there's different levels of experience; I, for one, am not about to go "raw diving" because I'm personally not too interested in modding. I've never even heard of "upstep" until now, but it sounds like something I should have been aware of a long time ago, so it should have been either in the Wiki or the game's instruction manual. Expecting a casual player to go digging through the raws to obtain understanding of crucial elements like this is just plain ignorant. And in the case of this example, I see a couple other experienced players who didn't know what it is, so... obvious to you isn't obvious to everyone.
Yes, I'm still miffed about the "minimal leakage" claim in the pump stack section. That claim cost me three dwarves, and it would have cost me an entire 10-year old fortress had I not prepared for it with dual emergency shut-off levers.