Wikipedia talk:Counter-Vandalism Unit

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This page is closely monitored by the Counter-Vandalism Unit for vandalism. Please use edit summaries to avoid your edits being mistaken as such.

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Heavy vandalism in progress / Bobby Boulders

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Is this vandalism?

Hello there! User:196.207.36.121 has been taking out what I consider to be legitimate facts from the 2006 Qana airstrike article, and labelling them as "propoganda." The problem is, some of what he is removing has been somewhat borderline, e.g. some light analysis, or repeating the reaction of various groups. I think it's vandalism, but I am hesitant to label it as such, and in any case I don't need a revert war. Can someone more knowledgable than me please comment? Would that user's contribs be considered vandalism? Or should I just AGF? --Jaysweet 20:50, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Another user apparently agrees with me, plus someone who I believe based on context to be the same individual is making accusations on my user page that he/she refuses to justify. Is this enough to report as vandalism and take action against? --Jaysweet 21:31, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism in Progress

I just reverted the vandalised page Anime. The vandal, 24.64.223.203, seems to have other uncorrected vandalisms, for example at Edward VIII of the United Kingdom which I did not revert. I have to get back to my day job and so can't go through his/her/its edits to see what else is still uncorrected. Someone should take this up. My apologies for not having time at the present. --128.125.196.55 21:09, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Checked it. Its a shared IP for Shaw Communications, all of the contribs I checked are good. Thanks for the heads-up though. CaptainVindaloo ^{t c e} 21:26, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

A Group to watch

Possibly sockpuppets, but more likely at least 2 users behind it. Check the "mischievious" commentors on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Butlin... they've been uploading and replacing images on various article pages. SB_Johnny | ^talk 16:08, 1 August 2006 (UTC) (Oops, put this on WP:WPSPAM by accident... belongs here)

Bobby at Large Again (sigh)

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Location for IP#69.44.58.97

Copied from Wikipedia talk:WoW; posted by Firehawk1717:

I decided to go googling, and i found that one of Willy on Wheels suspected IP addresses (69.44.58.97) is near 5150 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas. Someone check it out, and we can get him arrested. Vandalism is a crime, you know. Thanks Centralops. And thanks Idea.nl (2nd link goes to translated version)

What do you make of it?--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 20:24, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Quick poll

If it's possible to do, should Willy (or Bobby, etc.) be arrested?

• Oppose - He's not evil, he's just annoying. People shouldn't go to jail for being annoying. SB_Johnny | ^talk 23:09, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
• Oppose - There's a fairly famous quote that I'll paraphrase here: "You can't legislate stupidity." Online vandalism may be annoying, but as far as I know, there is no law against disruption or 'vandalism' of open-source web sites like the Wikis. Wikipedia pays a price for being openly editable by everyone, and that price is the Bobbies and Willies of the world. I'm not saying their actions are justified, but I don't see how their actions are illegal in the technical sense. Dr Chatterjee 23:52, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Also, we need to keep in mind that not all instances of such vandals as Willy on Wheels are necessarily the work of the same individual. In the case of someone as long-term and as notorious as Willy, for example, it's almost a given that many of the edits attributed to Willy were the work of imitators or fans. There is really no good, reliable way to isolate widespread vandalism to any one person. Unless a vandal were stupid enough to edit from the same IP every time and never register an account, that is. Dr Chatterjee 23:58, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes, from what I've heard, the original Willy is from somewhere in England (and his grammer testifies to that). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edmonde Dantes (talk • contribs)

• Comment - And also, I'm not an expert on how the IP system works, but I wonder if this is even reliable information based on how IPs are assigned.--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 00:01, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

What it comes down to is that there are just too many factors working against the prosecution of any Wikipedia vandal or group of vandals. For one, tracking down a vandal is frought with difficulties. Beyond that, finding concrete proof of their actions is equally difficult. And finally, there seems to be no legal precident that criminalizes Wikipedia vandalism in the first place. Wikipedia is open-sourced; it is the online equivalent of a giant chalk board. You can't arrest people for "vandalizing" the chalk board by writing on it with the chalk you provide them -- no matter how silly or offensive their writing may be. Dr Chatterjee 00:54, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

But we're not going to let him clean the erasers, of course (to extend the wonderful chalkboard analogy). They're really not doing any actual harm... it all gets reverted pretty quickly. Best approach in handling them is to keep your sense of humor, and enjoy the challenge of being in the CVU. --SB_Johnny | ^talk 01:08, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

• Oppose As much as I'd love to see persistent vandals removed from the equation and/or society, this isn't 100% absolutely reliable. Add to that the fact that vandalizing Wikipedia, while obviously bad, isn't illegal. EVula 04:14, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Ongoing vandalism

A single user with puppets or possibly a group, see the this RfC. Apparently vandalizing Floral Park, New York, and Gang. --SB_Johnny | ^talk 01:29, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Tricky vandal... admin attention needed

Qmwnebrvtcyxuz (talk · contribs) has been removing markup tags from numerous articles (including an AfD article I was watching). Looked over his contribs, and several articles have been edited since, apparently not realizing the vandalism had occurred. SB_Johnny | ^talk 22:33, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

But I'm not a vandal

I made my first trivial edit a while back, happened to look for it and found that it's been reverted and marked as vandalism. What am I supposed to do? Just edit it back again? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Somerandomnerd (talk • contribs) .

I looked up your edit and it appears you changed a statement in a Star Wars article. You did not provide a reference for the statement, and probably another user incorrectly believed it was vandalism. It may help to know that that user failed to assume good faith. If you change it back, be sure to include a link to the source. Take a look at WP:V and WP:CITE and feel free to ask if you have any other questions. --Ginkgo100 ^{talk · contribs · e@} 23:00, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

Something interesting I've noticed about CapnCrack

Recently on the page about the vandal CapnCrack I posted a sentence which tried to explain his motive for vandalism (based on a post he made to the page himself). The sentence I added stated that he is gay and vandalises the page Oklahoma Christian University because it is intolerant of homosexuals (though the above edit only states that he dislikes the school's stance on homosexuality, not that he is gay himself). This vandal obviously dislikes being called "gay", as twice he has removed this sentence from the page (see [1] and [2]). Even though it isn't completely accurate, I am wondering if keeping that sentence on the page will be beneficial, as it will cause CapnCrack to spend his time removing it instead of vandalising elsewere. What do you think about this?--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 03:44, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Nah, on second thought, it might just encourage more vandalism, so I'm going to remove the part that says he's gay.--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 01:02, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Um, why would that matter in the first place? SB_Johnny | ^talk 01:09, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Because he doesn't like being refered to as "gay".--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 01:29, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Maybe he isn't. I just don't see the relevance of a vandal's sexual preference. (Or pretty much anythng else about the vandal aside from their propensity for and method of vandalizing). --SB_Johnny | ^talk 01:43, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Two of several possibilities: Either he's gay but stating he is doesn't distract him from his vandalism; or he isn't, and stating he is incites him to more vandalism. Either way, I can't see that making unsourced statements, whether the vandal or any other reader would consider them positive, negative, or neutral, would necessarily be beneficial in terms of reducing vandalism. --Ginkgo100 ^{talk · contribs · e@} 03:58, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

So are you suggesting that we feed the vandal? Yanksox 05:48, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Virtually unmonitored vandalism

Hello, CVU. I have an alarming request to make. The Image, Image talk, Portal, and Category namespaces are extremely underpatrolled (Img and Img talk especially). I frequently find that vandalism and general bad edits go unreverted for hours, days, or even months. This is one extreme example of uncaught bad edits, as far as duration is concerned (I realized that it was 3 months and not 7 months after I had edited). It is common to see more damaging vandalism and nonsense go unnoticed, to the point where it could damage Wikipedia's integrity if it gets into the wrong hands. I have my revert sprees every now and then, but I am only one person. I request that it be broadcast to RC patrollers to saturate these namespaces with checks for vandalism, nonsense, and bad editing. This is a good way to do it, but it doesn't catch everything. Thanks. —BazookaJoe 03:30, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I see what you mean... went through about 10 using link you provided, and 4 were vandalisms. I could clearly spend all day going through them, but I don't see it as a very high priority: it's primarily just silliness added to the image description, and so has little effect on a reader's experience of reading an article. --SB_Johnny | ^talk 18:15, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Though I agree with you that it isn't nearly as high priority as, say, the vandalism of the current FA, I think it's unfair to marginalize the images just because they don't disrupt an article. Wikipedia, despite the fact that we all believe in it (obviously), is still seen as a hotbed of chaos and anarchy. To let the images go to hell just because they aren't in the main namespace is unfair.

I'll bookmark the link BazookaJoe provided to catch some random crap, but if that link could be posted somewhere on the CVU main page so that other members can use it as well, that would be optimal. Also, is there a comparable link to Special:Random for images? I generally use that on the weekends for random article maintenance, and I'd be happy to add images to my patrolling. EVula 20:58, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for understanding. My other concern about uncaught image vandalism is the removal or malicious modification of copyright tags. And you don't need me to tell you that's a bad thing (for example). :) By the way, my friend told me that it's Special:Random/Image. —BazookaJoe 00:33, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Suspicious IP

Based on this edit, I wonder if this IP might belong to Johnny Knight (see WP:LTA).--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 17:37, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism by a CVU "member"

It's quite ridiculous that a vandal is a so-called "member" of the Counter-Vandalism Unit. Does he really believe that adding a {{User wikipedia/Counter Vandalism Unit}} tag gives him immunity? That user has a long history of vandal activities, mostly arbitrary reversion and deletion of articles which does not settle with his POV. Which is also quite ridiculous, as the user is also {{user NPOV}}...

More than 75% of the user "Contributions" are either POV or vandalism, or both. A few examples:

• User_talk:Yousaf465/Archive_1#Content removal
• User_talk:Yousaf465/Archive_1#Vandalism
• User_talk:El_C#more_Yousaf465_vandalism
• 1996 shelling of Qana (diff)
• Zar'it-Ayta ash-Shab incident (diff)

Sincerely, – Fuzzy 18:53, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Anyone can put a CVU userbox on their userpage, because anyone can edit (...and the fact that anyone can edit seems (unfortunately but inevitably) to lead to vandalism, which is why the CVU exists). Fuzzy, you might want to open a Request for Comment about the user if you find his/her behavior to be problematic, though I'm sure a few members of the CVU will be watching now (I personally haven't looked at the conrtibs yet, but I will later this evening). --SB_Johnny | ^talk 20:07, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I asked El C to ask the user stop vandalising. I hope no further admin intervention is required. BTW, I also haven't managed to decipher Yousaf465 comment below... – Fuzzy 14:27, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Agreed and removed. Having been banned on 5 July 2006 for vandalism definitely makes it inappropriate for him to be "misrepresenting" himself. --  Netsnipe  ^(Talk)  20:46, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I think wikipedia is not a place for proving israeli or arab point of view.Why do't you block a person with total zionist(this might seem anti-sem. but this is the correct word other than israeli for the citizens of israel)Pov.The Hassan Page is edit is total Allegation that whole world consider Hibullah a terriost,if Usa does consider it doesn't apply to whole world.Hamas was not the party which fire rockects on Israeli occupied areas.This a well know fact and has been proved by Press(independant press not the kind of propoganda press has was the case in ormer USSR).Gaza beach incident was not a blast it was a clear indication of a artillery use so describing it as a blast is same as proving the two plus two three.Yousaf465

...... what? American Patriot 1776 06:12, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I should have looked at those summaries. This is an edit-war problem on 2006_Israel-Lebanon_conflict and related articles (which has of course been raging for the past month). --SB_Johnny | ^talk 09:55, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Fuzzy, this issue is about a POV edit war, or perhaps POV andalism. You really should try asking for mediation, or else open an RFC. This issue is a bit outside the scope of the CVU. SB_Johnny | ^talk 14:36, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

IP confirmed to be that of sockpuppeteer

Above I posted a link to an edit by an anonymous IP that hinted that it was used by a sockpuppeter known as "Johnny Knight". I believe that this edit may confirm my suspicions. The IP has since made more edits to his WP:LTA entry claiming to be the vandal.--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 07:09, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

This IP also made two edits to WP:VANDALNAME. One, (which I provided a link to above), added "Johnny Knight" to the list, while the other added "General Tojo", suggesting a possible connection between this IP and the General Tojo vandal as well.--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 07:52, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

There's no connection. Tojo is confined to the 88.104.0.0/13 range and only vandalises the user pages of editors who revert him. All his other edits are POV pushing and reverting all edits of a select few editors. Reread the report on him. --  Netsnipe  ^(Talk)  16:41, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

WikiDefcon

hi, i am just wondering who decides WikiDefcon, has it ever been at level 1 and what differences are there to wikipedia at different levels. i mean do all article become locked at WikiDefcon 1 or something, because i think that would be cool--Greg.loutsenko 23:07, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, the last few days have seemed to have more vandalism than normal or alot more, I usually just look over a few article that I've spent alot of time on and those are being vandalised viciously, namely the Eric Clapton article. Is this more widespread or just limited, the defcon would say I guess but who decides the defcon? - Patman2648 00:05, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

The Defcon is changed by members of the CVU (Any member that can edit a semi protected template) to reflect how much vandalsim is in progress. In some cases such as if Willy on Wheel or the Communism Vandal strike members of the CVU set it to 2 (Due to the nature of the vandalsim and the quantiy). Most cases the highest we go to in a given week is 3. If it is set to one it would be because several Vandalbots got into the Wiki and the CVU and Admins were overwelmed and were unable to keep up. It is all based on what is noticed. If you see it be bold and change it to alert others.

Here is the Critiera for each defcon

LEVEL	Description
1	Very high level of vandalism
2	High level of vandalism
3	Moderate to high level of vandalism
4	Low to moderate level of vandalism
5	Very low level of vandalism
0	Vandalism levels unknown.

Hopefully this should answer your question. Æon ^{Insane Ward} 17:31, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

When would level 0 ever be used? If the current level of vandalism is ever "unknown", then wouldn't it just be assumed to be the most recent confirmed level of vandalism?--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 03:10, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Just a reminder

I just wanted to remind everyone to monitor the "current issues" section of WP:CVU and see that it is up to date. When I updated it a while back it was several months out of date.--The Count of Monte Cristo ^Parley 03:51, 13 August 2006 (UTC)