User:Nihlus/CVUA/Dark-World25

Welcome, Dark-World25, to your Counter-Vandalism Unit Academy training!
Every person I instruct will have their own page on which I will give them support and tasks for them to complete. Please make sure you have this page added to your watchlist. Your academy page has been specifically designed according to you and what you have requested instruction in - for that reason, please be as specific as possible when under my instruction, so that I know the best ways to help you (and do not be afraid to let me know if you think something isn't working). If you have any general queries about anti-vandalism (or anything else), you are more than welcome to raise them with me at my talk page. Make sure you read through Wikipedia:Vandalism as that's the knowledge which most of the questions I ask you and tasks you do will revolve around.
Instructions This page will be built up over your time in the Academy, with new sections being added as you complete old ones. Each section will end with a task, written in bold type - this might just ask a question, or it might require you to go and do something. You can answer a question by typing the answer below the task; if you have to do something, you will need to provide diffs to demonstrate that you have completed the task. Some sections will have more than one task, sometimes additional tasks may be added to a section as you complete them. Please always sign (~~~~) your responses to tasks as you would on a talk page. Once you graduate I will copy this page into your userspace so you have a record of your training and a reference for the future. There will be readings (marked with ) aimed at helping you understand Wikipedia policy that will need to be completed before beginning that section.

Beginning Tools

Required Reading:

Sign here to let me know that you have read these pages → Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 05:15, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Before we start, I wanted to show you some useful tools for counter-vandalism work which can be used by any editor. We'll be using the first two, but the the second two are not required, just recommended. You may have already installed some of these in the past.

Twinkle

Tip:
Go to your Beta settings and turn on Wikitext syntax highlighting. This page is built around that tool to make the page more legible while navigating.

Twinkle is a very popular gadget which is helpful for a variety of tasks. To install it, go here and tick the box that says Twinkle. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "save". When you refresh the page, a "TW" tab will be available on every page, next to the "More" tab. Scrolling over the TW tab will show a list of modules you can use on the particular page. Twinkle has a large number of useful modules, including but not limited to, one which can be used to warn users, one which can be used to request page protection, one which can be used to suggest a page is deleted, and many many more helpful features. It also adds a non-admin "rollback" feature on all diff pages. I highly suggest you enable Twinkle, as it's incredibly useful and poses no risk of harming your account.

Enable Twinkle, if you haven't already, and sign here to let me know that you have enabled it → Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 05:07, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Lupin's Anti-vandal tool

Lupin's Anti-vandal tool is extremely helpful for monitoring recent changes in real time. To install it, simply add the following to your common.js: importScript('User:Lupin/recent2.js');. Refresh the page and you'll find 5 new links on your toolbar (on the left side of the page, underneath "interaction"). These links can be used to better monitor recent changes for possible vandalism. The ones we will be focusing on are Filter recent changes and Recent IP edits.

Add the code, if you haven't already, and sign here to let me know that you have added it → [[1]] Dark-World25 (talk) 05:15, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

IRC channels

IRC is an internet chat program. There are several channels on IRC that can be used to monitor vandalism. #cvn-wp-en ^connect is probably the most useful. Visit Wikipedia:IRC/Tutorial for information on how to connect to channels. Feel free to join me at #wikipedia-en ^connect as well.

Navigation Popups

Navigation popups allow you to hover over links and see a brief preview of the page being linked to. One feature of navigation popups is that when you're at recent changes and hover over "diff" links, you'll have the ability to revert the most recent edit, useful for undoing vandalism. To install navigation popups, go here and tick the box that says Navigation popups. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "save". Refresh the page and navigation popups will be enabled.

Once you've finished please let me know by leaving a message beneath this line. You are also advised to ask any questions that you may have.

@Nihlus: Yep, completed all of the above (TW, Lupin, Nav popup, read both Wikipedia:Vandalism and Wikipedia:DIFF). Dark-World25 (talk) 05:15, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

@Dark-World25: Looks good. Next task is below. Nihlus 05:26, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Good faith and vandalism

Required Reading:

Sign here to let me know that you have read these pages → Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 06:38, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

When patrolling for vandalism, you may often come across edits which are unhelpful, but not vandalism - these are good faith edits. It is important to recognise the difference between a vandalism edit and a good faith edit, especially because Twinkle gives you the option of labelling edits you revert as such. Please read WP:AGF and WP:NOT VANDALISM before completing the following tasks.

What is the difference between a good faith edit and a vandalism edit, and how do you tell them apart?

A: A good faith edit is an edit that is done with the intention of helping with improving Wikipedia, but may not necessarily be in line with Wikipedia's goals or may inadvertently violate one or more of Wikipedia's rules. Unless it's really blatant (i.e. crude humor, addition of complete gibberish, etc.)or persists after a warning has been given, one should always assume that the edits are made in good faith. Good faith edits can be told from vandalism from the inclusion of a non-generic edit summary, inclusion of sources, and/or content that demonstrates a degree of thoughtfulness.

@Nihlus: I hope the above explanation answers the question correctly. Dark-World25 (talk) 06:38, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Please find three examples of good faith but unhelpful edits and three examples of vandalism. You don't need to revert the example you find, and I am happy for you to use previous undos in your edit history if you wish.

Good faith:

[2] This one was rather amusing as the user realized that he had added way too many churches (not just notable ones) and proceeded to revert his edits. Dark-World25 (talk) 05:35, 10 November 2017 (UTC) Y
[3] Y
[4] Y

Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 06:38, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Vandalism:

[5] Y
[6] Y
[7] Y

Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 05:35, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Question: How the heck do you stop using 2017 source editor? Its really annoying me. Dark-World25 (talk) 06:40, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

@Dark-World25: Go to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures and turn off Automatically enable all new beta features and New wikitext mode. I will take a look at these tomorrow. Then we can move on to the next task. Nihlus 07:06, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Alright, Thanks! Dark-World25 (talk) 11:03, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

@Dark-World25: Good job! One thing I wanted to point out is that it is very important to leave edit summaries when the edit you are undoing is not blatant vandalism. Please read H:ES before continuing. Twinkle gives you three options to choose from when reverting. [rollback (AGF)] should be used when the edits were made in good faith; this also allows you to provide an edit summary. [rollback] should be used for those that lie in the middle of the road, such as those where you don't want to mention assuming good faith but you don't want to call it vandalism; this also allows you to provide an edit summary. This is also the option I use most as I almost always want to leave an explanation. [rollback (VANDAL)] should be used for obvious vandalism only. Edit summaries are important not only to identify what is wrong with an edit (it isn't always obvious), but also to communicate your reasoning to other editors who will see your revert. Keep in mind that these can be as little as one word, such as "unsourced", "factual errors" or "unhelpful". Once you have an understanding of edit summaries, move on to your next task, which is below. Nihlus 15:47, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Warning and reporting

Required Reading:

Sign here to let me know that you have read these pages → Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 11:32, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

When you use Twinkle to warn a user, you have a number of options to choose from: you can select the kind of warning (for different offences), and the level of warning (from 1 to 4/im, for increasing severity). Knowing which warning to issue and what level is very important.

Please answer the following questions:

Why do we warn users?

A: Warnings are used as a means to convey a standard notification to the affected user, and this is done in order to allow that user to better understand the purposes and/or guide lines of Wikipedia. The general purpose is to guide good-faith editors and to provide dissuasion to bad faith editors and vandals.

It's also to notify them that their edit was reverted. Nihlus 18:37, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

When would a 4im warning be appropriate?

A: A 4im warning is used when the account in question is evidently a vandalism only account or that multiple disruptive edits has been made without prior warnings given. This is also used when the user in question had made several serious bad faith edits-blanking a popular page or writing gibberish, or purposely defacing user pages

The best way to put it is for "excessive or continuous disruption" by someone. Nihlus 18:37, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

Should you substitute a template when you place it on a user talk page, and how do you do it?

A: We substitute a template for a number of reasons. The core reason is to prevent the template from being affected by global template edits, as user page templates should remain unchanging. Other uses includes the editing of the template on one page only, and to prevent vandalism from widely used, but unprotected templates. When you substitute a template, you place word {{subst}} in front of the template name, separated by a colon. An example is below: {{subst:Example}}

What should you do if a user who has received a level 4 or 4im warning vandalises again?

A: I would use Twinkle to report the users to the Administrator Intervention against Vandalism and let them to deal with it.

Depending on how disruptive they are, you might want to keep an eye on them as sometimes it may take a bit for them to be blocked. Nihlus 18:37, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

Should you warn a user who has begun vandalizing again after their recent block expired? Why or why not?

A: I would give them a level 3 or above warning, as they might have been inadvertently been making poor edits even after a ban, but the prior ban would mean that I could no longer assume good faith when this happens

Level 3 is a minimum in my eyes. If they pick up the same exact behavior as before the block, it's not uncalled for to immediately go for a 4 or 4im. Nihlus 18:37, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

Please give examples (using {{Tlsubst|''name of template''}}) of three different warnings (not different levels of the same warning and excluding the test edit warning levels) that you might need to use while recent changes patrolling and explain what they are used for.

{{subst:uw-vandalism1}} is used when a user is warned for the first time about non-constructive edits, and one should assume good faith. Y
{{subst:uw-test4}} is used when a user has been warned 3 times prior about making test edits, and when this warning is given, one should assume bad faith. N While this template is a redirect, I wanted you to pick warnings besides the test warnings. Nihlus 18:37, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

Sorry, I forgot about it, here's another one: {{subst:uw-harrass1}} Used where the user in question is harrassing other users. Dark-World25 (talk) 22:48, 12 November 2017 (UTC)

{{subst:uwadvert1}} is when a user has made promotional edits to a page, and one should assume good faith when using this. Y

@Nihlus: Done! Dark-World25 (talk) 11:33, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

@Dark-World25: Good job. Please be sure to read the notes I left after your answers. Additionally, the examples asked not to provide a test warning. Can you add an additional warning that follows that to the fourth line I added above? Once you have done that, move on to the practice below. Thanks! Nihlus 18:37, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

Practice

Required Reading:

Sign here to let me know that you have read these pages →

Make sure you keep in mind that some edits that seem like vandalism can be test edits. This happens when a new user is experimenting and makes accidental unconstructive edits. Generally, these should be treated with good faith, especially if it is their first time, and warned gently. The following templates are used for test edits: {{subst:uw-test1}}, {{subst:uw-test2}} and {{subst:uw-test3}}.

Additionally, I wanted to make sure you know about Special:RecentChanges, if you use the diff link in a different window or tab you can check a number of revisions much more easily. If you enable Navigation popups in the Browsing section of your preferences, you can view the diff by just hovering over it. Alternately, you can press control-F or command-F and search for "tag:". some edits get tagged for possible vandalism or section blanking.

Find and revert some vandalism. Warn each user appropriately, using the correct kind of warning and level. Please include at least two test edits and at least two appropriate reports to AIV. For each revert and warning please fill in a line on the table below.

#	Diff of your revert	Your comment (optional). If you report to AIV please include the diff	My comment
1	[8]	The edits, although not disruptive, is a form of vandalism	Y
2	[9]	Very blatant vandalism	Y
3	[10]	Very blatant vandalism	Y Could possibly be seen as a test edit
4	[11]	Subtle vandalism, they changed the discoverer to a non-existant person	Y
5	[12]	Blatant vandalism, expression of opinion	Y
6	[13]	Blatant vandalism	Y
7	[14]	Troll edit?	Y
8	[15]	Reported to AIV [16]	Y
9	[17]	Test edit	Y
10	[18]	Astounded by what people think they could get away with	Y
11	[19]	Undisguised attack on the subject of article.	Y
12	[20]	AIV here [21]	Y Edit is revdel'd so it's safe to assume it was not an appropriate edit
13	[22]	Unhelpful edits and obvious vandalism	Y
14	[23]	Reported to AIV [24]	Y
15	[25]	No comment...	Y

@Nihlus: Sorry about not completing the tasks recently, I had some irl stuff gong on, and I will also be away next week with other irl stuff. Don't worry if you see me with no activities for a week or so, it just means I'm busy. Thanks! Dark-World25 (talk) 10:14, 25 November 2017 (UTC) (BTW have I said thanks for mentoring me yet?)

@Nihlus:Done!Dark-World25 (talk) 04:00, 11 December 2017 (UTC)

@Dark-World25: Good job! And thank you for being patient as life has been a little messy lately. Make sure you acknowledge that you read the pages listed at the beginning of this section. Your next two tasks are below. Nihlus 19:52, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

Dealing with difficult users

Required Reading:

Sign here to let me know that you have read these pages →

Occasionally, some vandals will not appreciate your good work and try to harass or troll you. In these situations, you must remain calm and ignore them. If they engage in harassment or personal attacks, you should not engage with them and leave a note at WP:ANI. If they vandalise your user page or user talk page, simply remove the vandalism without interacting with them. However, some users will be persistent in their efforts to antagonize you, so it may be better to avoid continually reverting them until they are blocked.

Why do we deny recognition to trolls and vandals?

A: By applying RBI, which is revert, block and ignore. Revert the vandalism, ask for an administrator to block the user, and deny the vandal/troll recognition by responding to messaged

Can you expand a little more on the why aspect? Why is it a good idea to not engage with them? Nihlus 18:33, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Because by responding to the message you are giving the vandals another outlet to express themselves, and makes attempts to limit the damage harder. Also, vandals and trolls do so because they seek attention, and by recognising and responding to them you are helping them achieve their goals. Thus the most effective method in reducing vandals and trolls is to revert, block and ignore.

How can you tell between a good faith user asking why you reverted their edit, and a troll trying to harass you?

A: A good faith user would remain courteous while asking, while a troll would constantly harass you. A troll would also most likely immediately revert your rollback whereas a good faith editor would seek feedback before doing so.

Good faith editors can get angry and the line between the two easily blurs. Do you think the content of the edit in question matters? Nihlus 18:33, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Yes, if the article is a controversial one one that is frequently vandalised I would be more inclined to think that it was vandalism. However, a clear sign of vandalism is blanking of sections and replacing words with crude humour. Dark-World25 (talk) 09:58, 27 January 2018 (UTC)

Shared IP tagging

Required Reading:

WP:IPB

Sign here to let me know that you have read this page → Dark-World25 (talk) 09:29, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

There are a number of IP user talk page templates which show helpful information to IP users and those wishing to warn or block them. There is a list of these templates:

{{Shared IP}} - For general shared IP addresses.
{{ISP}} - A modified version specifically for use with ISP organizations.
{{Shared IP edu}} - A modified version specifically for use with educational institutions.
{{Shared IP gov}} - A modified version specifically for use with government agencies.
{{Shared IP corp}} - A modified version specifically for use with businesses.
{{Shared IP address (public)}} - A modified version specifically for use with public terminals such as in libraries, etc.
{{Mobile IP}} - A modified version specifically for use with a mobile device's IP.
{{Dynamic IP}} - A modified version specifically for use with dynamic IPs.
{{Static IP}} - A modified version specifically for use with static IPs which may be used by more than one person.

Each of these templates take two parameters, one is the organisation to which the IP address is registered (which can be found out using the links at the bottom of the IP's contribution page. The other is for the host name (which is optional) and can also be found out from the links at the bottom of the IP's contribution page.

Also, given that different people use the IP address, older messages are sometimes refused so as to not confuse the current user of the IP. Generally any messages for the last one-two months are removed, collapsed, or archived. The templates available for this include:

{{OW}} for when the messages are deleted from the talk page.
{{Old IP warnings top}} and {{Old IP warnings bottom}} for collapsing the user warnings and leaving them on the talk page.
{{Warning archive notice}} for when the messages are archived, and that archiving follows the usually naming sequence (that is, /Archive 1).

NOTE: All of the templates in this section are not substituted (so don't use "subst:").

Nothing needs to be done here; just tell me when you have finished reading this. Also, this is a good time to ask any questions you may have.

@Nihlus: Done, read the above and completed the difficult users section. Also, on a side note, you appears to have 2 copycat users mocking you, called Nihlus VERY DISLIKES Sovietsky Biografer (talk · contribs) and Nihlus very dislikes MEATBOT Biografer (talk · contribs) as well as Nihlus1 (talk · contribs) and user Nihlus11 (talk · contribs). Dark-World25 (talk) 04:51, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

Actually, is seems the first 2 has been blocked while Nihlus1 (talk · contribs) is a legitimate editor. Dark-World25 (talk) 04:53, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

@Dark-World25: Yeah, there's a troll who likes to make troll user names. Can you take a look at the answers in the difficult users section, as I think they can be improved upon? Additionally, can you sign at all the Sign here to let me know that you have read this page to show you have read them? Thanks. Nihlus 18:35, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

@Nihlus: Hey, are you alright? it's been a couple of months and I haven't heard anything from you. Hope you're well! Dark-World25 (talk) 09:29, 5 March 2018 (UTC)