User talk:EdwardsBot/Archive 1

Thanks

Thanks for all the hard work delivering newspapers! ²³¹₉₁Pa (talk) 06:02, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks (2)

Thanks for the delivery todat, I guess it got held up by the snow :-) Jezhotwells (talk) 01:14, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

---I have no idea what I'm doing--- But, I was looking up Down And Above and it looks like you deleted them. I don't know how to contact you or change this, but they are actually a successful Mpls band. They have recently licensed several songs to MTV. Don't think they should have been deleted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jessb24 (talk • contribs) 20:21, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

User talk:Proofreader77

Is there any point delivering the newsletter to an indef-blocked user? Seems a tad pointless. Rodhullandemu 00:33, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Feel free to remove it from Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Tools/Spamlist. Be bold in editing! :-) Killiondude (talk) 06:30, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Channeling the Signpost

Not being too knowledgeable an editor on the programing side advice would be welcome on how I could receive the Signpost on a sub-file of my editor page. Regards LouisBB (talk) 06:14, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello! Just add your name to Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Tools/Spamlist. Killiondude (talk) 06:30, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Good to have you back, old chap!

Right-o. --MZMcBride (talk) 02:33, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

A suggestion, if I may...

I frequently come across inactive users who haven't edited in a long time, and when I do, I tag their talk pages with {{not around}}. I also frequently see on these same pages a slew of Signpost subscriptions... User talk:PeaceNT for example.. is totally full of them. About two years worth in fact, ever since the editor stopped editing. Now, it's very likely that these editors who've gone inactive (but apparently forgot to cancel their subscriptions) are no longer reading their talk pages. So it's really pointless to have this bot continue to send them Signposts. Could the bot be programmed to ignore talk pages with the {{Not around}} template on them? -- œ^™ 04:28, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Seems easier to just remove them from the target list. At some point these talk pages will become so large that it will be impossible to post to them. This may be the case already—the bot's error handling isn't very good. --MZMcBride (talk) 04:31, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes there's that option but there are many many pages tagged with {{Not around}} and unfortunately I have no way of knowing which of those also have Signpost subscriptions. So of course in the future I can remove them from the target list as I come across them, but for the existing ones it would be quite a tedious job actually to track them all down. Now if the bot is pre-programmed to automatically ignore those pages with {{Not around}} it would seem like a much more efficient solution, and we can completely avoid any possible errors as a result of pages getting too large. It seems like it's just a simple "if this, then that" statement, but what do I know.. -- œ^™ 04:47, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Book

Could EdwardsBot add the link to the book versions of the signpost (after the Single-page version). That is

Read this Signpost in full · Single-page · Book · Unsubscribe · EdwardsBot (talk) 15:42, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Headbomb {talk / contribs / physics / books} 15:50, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Just edit the template: Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2010-07-05. --MZMcBride (talk) 16:41, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Delete button

I read and then delete Signpost. Which means I now have to edit, Ctrl-A, delete, save and exit. Couldn't a delete button on the signpost entry next to Single-page etc. be added to make process less cumbersome? Bellagio99 (talk) 18:32, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

You can use the rollback link in the page history if you have that user right. Or just read it on someone else's talk page when you see the update in your watchlist. --MZMcBride (talk) 19:05, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Yup, I can rollback. And I do want to delete after reading so reading on another's page is not on. But both solns are clunkier than a "simple" delete button, which of course, I'm not offering to do, as I don't know how. Just my .02, no really, just my .01. Thanks for the bot. Bellagio99 (talk) 21:01, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Also I once deleted Single Page by misteak, wiping it out for everybody. Quickly reversed myself, but process of reading/deleting fraught with danger now, imho Bellagio99 (talk) 21:08, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

A delete button would probably just load your talk page with that section blanked, which you would have to save. Rollback is simpler. And the bot operator doesn't pick what the signpost displays. The signpost people do that. Killiondude (talk) 22:50, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

OK. thanks for the explanation. -10-4- Bellagio99 (talk) 11:28, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Wikiversity equivalent

Could an equivalent of this bot be put up on Wikiversity, please? I'm trying to set up a Signpost-like thing there and will not be able to do deliveries manually. Thanks, Rock drum _Ba-dum^Crash (Review me) 17:06, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it could be. Are you familiar with how the bot actually operates? Specifically, it uses User:EdwardsBot/Spam and User:EdwardsBot/Status. If you're interested in getting something like this set up on the English(?) Wikiversity, just let me know and we can make it happen. --MZMcBride (talk) 00:39, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

I'm somewhat aware of how the Bot operates. I'm rather vague though. Thanks, Rock drum _Ba-dum^Crash (Review me) 10:45, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

What? --MZMcBride (talk) 17:48, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

I don't really know much about how it works. Could you care to enlighten me? Thanks, Rock drum _Ba-dum^Crash (Review me) 14:53, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Did you read the top of User:EdwardsBot/Spam? Perhaps look at the page history as well? --MZMcBride (talk) 16:52, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Stop and reload?

Unfortunately, I made a typo in the current message, which caused the bot to distribute garbage. I had it blocked temporarily, the edits were reverted and I fixed the "Spam" page. However, I assume the bot will just continue the faulty run after the current block ends. How do I tell it to reload the "Spam" message or to stop the run entirely? Regards, HaeB (talk) 21:36, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

If you've reverted the bad message already, just use the next key integer. That should work fine. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:16, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Thinks seem to be running fine now, thanks and sorry again! Regards, HaeB (talk) 22:46, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks!

Good call on using this bot to notify those who previously !voted on pending changes. Much appreciated! ElKevbo (talk) 01:45, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

User:K

Hi.. Just wondering why User:K was messaged by EdwardsBot here. I can't see them having commented at Wikipedia:Pending changes/Straw poll. Also, on a side note I don't really think this messaging was appropriate, as it was a biased sample, so possibly votestacking, but meh. Anyway, I'm interested as to why K was notified, how did you get the list of users to message? - Kingpin¹³ (talk) 08:05, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

An incomplete rename. Here's the relevant diff you're looking for. I generated the list by pulling the rev_user_text of all users who have contributed to that page. Interestingly, that user is now in a state that the user account itself doesn't exist, but it has associated contributions. Kind of like an anonymous user; fun stuff.

I don't really have an opinion on the messaging. It was a biased sample insomuch as it targeted a group of people who were very likely interested in the subsequent straw poll. It targeted any user who had contributed to the page (not even voted, necessarily) and didn't advocate a particular voting choice. But if you really have an issue, I'm sure Off2riorob would be happy to discuss it. Cheers. --MZMcBride (talk) 18:08, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Safesubst: or similar

Instead of leaving

{{Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/{{#switch: 1
 | 1 = 2010-10-04
 | 2 = Volume 6, Issue 40
 | 3 = 2010-09-27
 | 4 = 2010-10-11
}}}}

why not leave

{{Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2010-10-04}}

?

Rich Farmbrough, 15:00, 5 October 2010 (UTC).

EdwardsBot takes the content that it's given and outputs it precisely. It's configured (locally) at User:EdwardsBot/Spam. Sometimes people use ~~~~~ expansion magic; there is certainly the capability and possibility of using other expansion magic as well. That's up to the people sending the spam, not me. --MZMcBride (talk) 18:44, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

NoticeQuest Is Retiring In Wikipedia

I'm sorry EdwardsBot but I decided that I will be retired in Wikipedia now because I don't want to join anymore. I unsubscribed and removed my user name in Wikipedia Sign Post. NoticeQuest (talk) 04:12, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

NoticeQuest Is Returning To Wikipedia

EdwardsBot I'm going to return in Wikipedia again because I wanted to join again and edit articles. I resubscribed in Wikipedia Signpost as well as send me Wikipedia Sign Post every week on Mondays. NoticeQuestMY TALK PAGEMy Contributions 20:19, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

blocked users

Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about bot coding and programming, so bear with me if this is a stupid question. I often see pages of indefinitely blocked users that are still receiving the Signpost. I've even seen one case where your bot is delivering it and MiszaBot is dutifully archiving it every thirty days, filling up archive after archive with nothing but unread copies of the Signpost. I use a script that crosses out the usernames of blocked users, I'm wondering if something like that could be used to inform the bot to stop delivering to a blocked user? If that's not feasible maybe there is a way for an admin to unsubscribe somebody who is indef blocked without having to bother you to do it each time. Beeblebrox (talk) 01:44, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

The list is at Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Subscribe. Feel free to unsubscribe blocked/banned users. I've done so a few times in the past. Killiondude (talk) 01:50, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Oddly, the specific user that I saw today, User:Special Cases does not seem to be on the list, yet the bot delivered the Signpost on the 22nd. Maybe he is on the list at Meta or something. Beeblebrox (talk) 04:00, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

User talk:Hole in my sock redirects to the user you listed above. I've removed that user talk from the list. Killiondude (talk) 04:12, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

<3 --MZMcBride (talk) 04:43, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

I will now proceed to chase my own tail. Beeblebrox (talk) 05:48, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Add name a second time?

Am I supposed to add my name to the signpost list a second time? Arlen22 (talk) 12:52, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

There's discussion here. As long as you're on the list at least once when the bot runs, you'll get the delivery. --MZMcBride (talk) 18:59, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Issue with renamed user

This bot continues to post at User talk:MisterWiki, despite the fact that the user in question has been renamed since a year ago. Please fix the bot so the messages lead here, instead. HeyMid (contribs) 17:56, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Feel free to correct the listing on Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Tools/Spamlist. Alternatively, place a redirect on MisterWiki's talk page to his new username and Edward will post there. Killiondude (talk) 18:19, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Not exactly sure whether this bot follows redirects, but I'll give it a try. Also, I can't find MisterWiki in that Spamlist. Can you? HeyMid (contribs) 18:23, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

EdwardsBot doesn't pick the spamlist; so you have to find out what spamlist has MisterWiki's name linked. I am not sure where it's located. Killiondude (talk) 19:29, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

I found out what it was, so I replaced his old username with his current one there. HeyMid (contribs) 19:36, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Documentation

Sorry if I am asking the obvious, but I don't see the documentation as how to use this bot. I am going to use it to communicate with with my students as part of my role as a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador. The professor and I decided to keep messages on-wiki in order to get the students into the habit of using the wiki to communicate. Thanks ahead of time! Basket of Puppies 22:59, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Have a look at User:EdwardsBot/Instructions. The "Spam" page mentioned there is this one. Regards, HaeB (talk) 23:45, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Compliance with Template:Bots

Is there a reason why EdwardsBot seems to be ignoring {{bots}}? If so, could someone explain it or better yet document it overleaf? If I've implemented the template improperly, my mistake, but it's becoming rather annoying having to manually revert unsolicited notifications. Cheers, Skomorokh 18:24, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Hi.

Yes, there are two reasons that EdwardsBot doesn't listen to {{bots}}:

1. EdwardsBot was written primarily as a means of delivering an opt-in newsletter subscription (The Signpost), so there wasn't any need to implement the functionality originally.
2. The {{bots}} implementation is absolutely awful from a programming perspective. It requires downloading the full page text of any user talk page and then parsing the template parameters, which have both positive and negative assertions and both specific and non-specific values.

You're probably unaware, but EdwardsBot is primarily controlled through an on-wiki configuration subpage: User:EdwardsBot/Spam. If you look at the page history there, you can see that Sross (Public Policy) is the person who has been delivering the messages you apparently don't wish to receive. You're signed up as a mentor, which means that you'll receive messages like this occasionally until you ask Sage or someone else to stop delivering them, I guess.

Due to the nature of how {{bots}} is implemented currently, there are no plans to change the bot to respect it in near future.

Hope that helps, --MZMcBride (talk) 22:47, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Cheers for the comprehensive response, MZ. I had hoped some {{bots}}-like solution would be feasible because although I do intend to remain signed up as a mentor, I don't want the notifications, and it would be terribly onerous on Sage (or, by extension, other notifiers in a similar position) to have to figure out each individual list members' preferences in advance of a run. Seems it's similarly onerous for EdwardsBot.

Would you be amenable to a blacklist or would that put undue strain on resources? i.e. If before each run the bot had to check User:EdwardsBot/Optout and subtract the list of users there from the list it had been fed to notify?

Thanks again, Skomorokh 09:50, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Very lightly poking at this (see discussion here). Can't make any promises about getting around to implementing this anytime soon, though. I'm rather busy and rather lazy. --MZMcBride (talk) 01:36, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Implemented at Wikipedia:Bots/Opt-out/EdwardsBot. --MZMcBride (talk) 04:14, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

Ah, that was unexpected, thank you very much for going to the trouble, MZ, I appreciate it. Skomorokh 10:56, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

WikiProject Conservatism

Wondering if this bot can deliver messages to memebers of WikiProject Conservatism? Lionel (talk) 23:56, 25 May 2011 (UTC)

User:EdwardsBot/Instructions — Let me know if you have questions. --MZMcBride (talk) 00:09, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick response! Instructions seem straightforward. If you don't mind, I'd like to run a test delivery to my own talk page. How do I get added to the Access page? Thanks! Lionel (talk) 00:15, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

You'll have to ask an admin to add you. Perhaps try the {{sudo}} tag on the talk page? --MZMcBride (talk) 00:22, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Spotted this request on IRC and added the line as requested. Please let me know if I've mucked anything up. --joe decker^{talk to me} 00:28, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

You're a prince; thanks. Lionel: You can test it out now. Play around with it and see if anything breaks. It should be fairly idiot-proof. --MZMcBride (talk) 00:44, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

This bot is magnificent. MZ you're a genius. Lionel (talk) 00:52, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Distribution of WP:FILM newsletter

Hello, will your bot be able to distribute Wikipedia:WikiProject Film/Outreach/September 2011 Newsletter on October 1st? We'd like it delivered to the editors listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Film/Participants/Active but not those at WP:FILMOUT#Delivery options. I have not made this request before, so let me know if there are specific steps to follow to make a distribution request. (I asked Cbrown1023 but he has not responded today. Just wanted to get this lined up.) Erik (talk | contribs) 21:27, 29 September 2011 (UTC)

User:EdwardsBot/Instructions lays out most of it. The bot doesn't have logic for link-only versus full message or whatever. You'd have to send out multiple messages to do that. And it doesn't support arbitrary opt-out. You'd need to feed it a proper list of people to deliver to (or multiple lists if you were doing multiple messages). Probably simplest to ignore those people and simply deliver to everyone. Let me know if you need any help. --MZMcBride (talk) 02:40, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Do I need to be listed in the access list? It's locked for me. I think I understand about updating the "Spam" page accordingly. I may just copy the list of members to a temporary page and remove the ones that don't want delivery or want full delivery (which I'll do manually). Erik (talk | contribs) 12:19, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, you'll need an admin to add you. I've called one over with the {{sudo}} tag. Making a separate delivery list is sanest. That way it can be reused in the future without worry.

My advice would be to play around with the bot a bit and do some testing first before doing a real delivery. You can deliver to yourself, using a test delivery list as input. --MZMcBride (talk) 12:27, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

User:Erik added to User:EdwardsBot/Access list. — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 12:36, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! I will do a test delivery to myself sometime today and set up the temp list for tomorrow. Erik (talk | contribs) 13:35, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Got the hang of it! Appreciate the instructions. Erik (talk | contribs) 15:35, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Requires user talk pages?

It seems that the bot will not deliver when user pages are on the distribution list: it requires user talk pages. Is this correct? – Lionel ^(talk) 02:30, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

That doesn't sound right. The bot is supposed to look for user and user talk page links and then deliver to each unique user. So if you had a list with User:ExampleUser1 and User talk:ExampleUser2, both users would receive messages on their talk pages (User talk:ExampleUser1 and User talk:ExampleUser2). --MZMcBride (talk) 04:16, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

OK. I ran the test again and it works just as you outlined. I must have been hallucinating <g>. – Lionel ^(talk) 04:37, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

What do you do?

What do you do, Edwardsbot? Shakinglord:Kudos, Mailbox, ??? 18:46, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

EdwardsBot is a message delivery bot. --MZMcBride (talk) 06:44, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Mailing list

If this is placed on the recipients page will the bot pick up the users?

<categorytree mode=pages showcount=off>Category:WikiProject Conservatism members</categorytree>

– Lionel ^(talk) 02:08, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

No. The bot used to have category support... I think it still might? I'm not sure anyone's ever used it, but I vaguely recall writing it. --MZMcBride (talk) 02:11, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, there's some support. It be something like this...

# KEY

XXX

# RECIPIENTS (CATEGORY)

Category:WikiProject Conservatism members

# RECIPIENTS (PAGE LIST)

# SUBJECT

Subject line...

Hope that helps, --MZMcBride (talk) 02:16, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. One more for ya: If a Category AND a Page List are specified what happens?– Lionel ^(talk) 05:14, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Due to the way the bot "reads" the page and the way that the <categorytree> tag works, no, it won't work as expected. It might be possible to support both "RECIPIENTS (CATEGORY)" and "RECIPIENTS (PAGE LIST)" simultaneously if desired. Right now, it'll only take one or the other. --MZMcBride (talk) 12:27, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

It would be nice. Users have 2 methods of joining a wikiproject: (1) add their name to the participant page and (2) add a userbox to their userpage. The latter places the userpage into a members category. – Lionel ^(talk) 11:12, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

What happens when someone adds the userbox to his or her user page, but doesn't wish to receive the newsletter? A single input list with those who want to receive the newsletter is saner than nearly any other format. :-) --MZMcBride (talk) 20:50, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

Line space after Signpost message

I recently added a new section to a user talk page which happened to be after a Signpost message. It looks like MediaWiki inserted a blank line after the Signpost section and before my heading, with the result that there is an extra line space before my new section. I guess that's because the message left by EdwardsBot has this physical line at the end:

<!-- EdwardsBot 0201 -->

It's trivial, but perhaps that comment should be joined to the previous line? That would avoid the somewhat ugly extra line space before the next section.

• EdwardsBot adding Signpost message
• Me adding new section
• Current user talk page

Johnuniq (talk) 23:49, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

I see the extra space at User talk:Nikkimaria. Not sure why it's happening, though. I tried to reproduce the issue at User:MZMcBride/Sandbox and wasn't successful. You're using the "New section" tab? Do you have any weird user scripts or something? --MZMcBride (talk) 05:19, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, confusion on my part. I assumed the hidden comment was the reason for the extra visible line, but after I clicked "new section" to leave my message, the user replied (diff) and for some reason they inserted the blank line (I see that, when replying, one can insert a blank line before the header, possibly accidentally, and that results in two blank lines). Johnuniq (talk) 06:32, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

LQT compatibility

Hi!

I just wanted to note that it would be nice if the bot were able to use the LQT API (is there one?) to create topics on wikis which use the mw:Extension:LiquidThreads, instead of creating a traditional section like this.

I do not know how hard it would be, however.

Helder 20:07, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

li.wikt

There is a problem concerning the contributions of this bot on li.wikt: contribs. It adds contents to "In 't nuujs" since okt 2011, prior to this it added the contents to the correct page "Wiktionary:In 't nuujs". Could this be solved? --OosWesThoesBes (talk) 18:01, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Hi. Sorry about that. It should be fixed now. --MZMcBride (talk) 20:04, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Alright. Thank you :) --OosWesThoesBes (talk) 21:30, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Māori wikipedia

The bot has posted an announcement to mi:Википедија:Портал, which is a page title in a script and namespace not relevant to the Māori language. The correct page is probably mi:Wikipedia:Kōrero, which is the equivalent of the Village pump in en.-gadfium 22:11, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Using the link you gave to the previous poster above, I think I fixed it. However, you may be an appropriate person to fix the link for mhr.wikipedia.org there, which looks like it got transposed with the mi.wikipedia.org link. I know nothing about mhr so am reluctant to change it myself.-gadfium 22:19, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, I have no idea either. :-) I just run the bot, I've no had no part in the distribution list(s) creation/maintenance. I'll ping a few people about this thread. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:29, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Upon re-reading I've finally understood the problem and I should have fixed it. :-) Thank you, Nemo 21:31, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

What if ..?

I can see how simple edit conflicts would shake out safely, but what would happen if one user edited and saved the "spam" file, and then a second user came along and edited it while the first one was going over to the "status" file to set it to start? Especially if the second user did a multi-stage edit -- several partial edits, with saves. (If that's a problem, the status file could incorporate a semaphore protocol to avoid it. If I've overlooked something, apologies). --Stfg (talk) 11:29, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

Well, both people editing /Spam would have to be on the /Access list, otherwise the bot wouldn't start. There's a safety feature that prevents the scenario where a vandal comes along and edits /Spam in between it being saved and the bot starting (the bot runs every five minutes, on the fives). It's possible that two people could overlap who are both on the access list and who both want to send a message at the same time, but I think it's unlikely.

There are actually two scripts running at any given time. A local script and a global script. Ideally they'd be combined, but that's probably more headache than it's worth. The reason I mention this is that I'd ideally not have to do development work on two largely duplicative scripts. I'm not sure what a semaphore protocol is, but it certainly sounds interesting. :-) --MZMcBride (talk) 19:51, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

It's unlikely, but I'm thinking of Murphy's Law :) A semaphore protocol would make it accident-proof (not vandal-proof, unfortunately) by having users act like this:

1. If the Status file does not say "Completed run successfully", then wait until it does.
2. Then edit the Status file to contain your user name. If this gets an edit conflict, yield and go back to step 1. (The username in this file is the "semaphore": it flags the system as in use).
3. When the Status file contains your username, edit the Spam file then set the Status file to "Start". (The bot eventually restores it to "Completed run successfully" as now.)

--Stfg (talk) 21:37, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

Add me to Access list

Add user talk:Dthomsen8 to Access list, please --DThomsen8 (talk) 22:25, 20 February 2012 (UTC)

 Done Tra (Talk) 05:50, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Blocked - Newsletter delivery

Got newsletter I never asked for, checked another user who got newsletter, also not on list. [1] - Aaron Brenneman (talk) 00:28, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Okay, so it appears you now acknowledge you were completely wrong about this. Can you unblock the bot? --MZMcBride (talk) 01:14, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Well. I don't know that we've interacted much before, you and I. But is it at all possible that you're irritated with something else (based upon the snark both here and on my talk page) and you're taking it out on me? - Aaron Brenneman (talk) 03:24, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks everyone for (eventually) resolving the situation in a civilized manner (for later reference: ANI discussion), and in particular to Aaron for informing himself about the bot and reverting the block which would have caused great disruption to the internal communication of the English Wikipedia.

The new FAQ looks very helpful, and thanks for posting the source code here!

Regards, HaeB (talk) 08:34, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

What did I do to get this unsolicited newsletter delivered to my talk page? Seems like it's not the first time your bot did this. PLEASE remove me from your list and explain why you had me there in the first place. --Ragib (talk) 07:55, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

This would be what you signed up for. Not really sure how the holidays WikiProject got folded into this newsletter. That'd be a question for Lionelt. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:09, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, me too. ——Rich jj (talk) 16:50, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Replied to you below. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:09, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, I have this same concern. I shouldn't be forced to opt-out from receiving spam of any kind on Wikipedia. I didn't ask for it, and I didn't want it. If this becomes a regular problem, I expect that your service will be shut down entirely. Owen (talk) 21:28, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

You signed up for a WikiProject. I'm not sure which (I'll look in a minute). But that's why you're receiving the newsletter. If you have a specific problem with who's receiving these blasts, err, don't shoot the messenger? --MZMcBride (talk) 22:09, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Right, it would be this one: <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:WikiProject_Religious_Society_of_Friends_%28Quakers%29&diff=prev&oldid=120634779>. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:13, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Fairly pointed out, I had forgotten about that. But I do have a couple criticisms: First, being involved in the Quaker WikiProject doesn't necessarily entail an interest in the Christianity WikiProject. Second, this newsletter seems to be specifically directed towards Christians ("What are you doing for Lent?"), which seems disingenuous, since non-Christians may still share an interest in contributing to a project related to Christianity or certain Christian denominations. Such a newsletter, particularly when opt-out rather than opt-in, may serve to alienate non-Christians from these groups. Owen (talk) 22:55, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

I don't disagree. I certainly wouldn't've sent out this message the way it was sent out (in terms of content or targets). I think some clarification regarding who should be sending out mass messages and to whom would be good fodder for an RFC, though I personally have no time or patience to create one and see one through. In the meantime, User talk:Lionelt would be the place to direct comments regarding this particular delivery. :-) --MZMcBride (talk) 22:59, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

joining

would you like to join our diccuion?its onUser talk:Worm That Turned/Adopt/Walter55024--Walter55024 (talk) 23:41, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Edwards cannot speak at the moment. Killiondude (talk) 01:48, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Access to bot?

I'd like to be added to the bot's access list if possible (User:EdwardsBot/Access list). I'm hoping to use the bot to deliver the newsletter for WP:FILM. I'll be away for a day or so tomorrow but I could be added in that time I'd be able to sort out the delivery when I get back. Thanks to whoever sees to this. GRAPPLE X 04:14, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Cease posting

Kindly stop posting that Christian newsletter to my talk page. Many thanks. A Sniper (talk) 14:15, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

You signed up here. Now whether that means you should be receiving this particular message, I don't know. But that's why you're on the list. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:04, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Ditto. I've gotten it 3 times now. ~Adjwilley (talk) 15:46, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

If you stopped removing it from your talk page, you'd stop the duplicate posts. :-) Remove yourself from the target list. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:04, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who inexplicably got a Catholic newsletter on their talk page today. Weird. How did they choose me? Did I edit or comment on some Catholic-related article that opts me into their subscriber list? Or did this bot goof up? Or is this just spam? ——Rich jj (talk) 16:38, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

You signed up somewhere. I can dig up the diff if you'd like. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:04, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

I already had the tab open as you signed up for the same WikiProject as A Sniper above: [2][3]. Hope that helps. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:05, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Yesterday after I posted this, I spent an hour reading discussion threads to figure out what was going on here. I think there is still a problem with this bot assuming that all members of all subprojects and subworkgroups are also participants in the parent project. I think it's pretty clear this assumption doesn't work (look at all the commotion here). I might be interested in a Latter Day Saint WikiProject newsletter, but I only have a nominal interest in mainline Christianity. Did "I" also "sign up" for newsletters from WikiProject Religion or WikiProject Culture? Are people that are interested in Turkey also interested in Europe overall? (I'm a little slow and I can't find where this WikiProject hierarchy is spelled out.)

My suggestion: Why not allow people to subscribe to the newsletters they want, instead of assuming what all these members should want. If I don't want to be auto-subscribed newsletters from parent projects where I don't participate, should I avoid joining WikiProjects at all? That wouldn't help build the community.

P.S.: It may not be intentional, but this newsletter seems to assume that members of all the diverse subprojects observe Lent. I don't think we actually correspond with any spiritual criteria. Aren't projects just for building up coverage on their topics, without being encouraged to share personal qualities? ——Rich jj (talk) 23:36, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

I swear I'm not trying to deflect—I actually largely agree with you—but this isn't an issue with the bot or even really an issue with the concept of automated talk page message delivery. This seems to be an issue with this particular message and target list. I'd strongly urge you to copy your comments to User talk:Lionelt and discuss with him directly. Again, I don't disagree with what you're saying at all, but it wasn't EdwardsBot or me who decided to mass-spam based on WikiProject hierarchy like this. And it wasn't EdwardsBot or me who wrote this particular message about Lent, etc. :-) --MZMcBride (talk) 23:49, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

Please stop delivering the Christian newsletter to people who haven't consented. --Trödel 17:35, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Usually signing up for a WikiProject as a participant is indicative that the user wishes to be informed of its activities via newsletters. I'm not sure this is unreasonable assumption. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:04, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Just in case you all missed it, I posted below with some quick thoughts on this whole situation. --MZMcBride (talk) 22:24, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

That is true. Most WikiProjects send their members newsletters by default. There are discussions about the newsletter on the talk pages of many of the projects to which you belong. In addition the signup rosters mention that members receive the newsletter and provide unsubscribe instructions. Now most of you joined before the notices were added--so this first issue may come as a shock to some. We are sorry for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we get everything straightened out for this first issue of the relaunch. – Lionel ^(talk) 22:28, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the response...I wasn't surprised at getting the newsletter, it's just that I had gotten this particular one three times ([4], [5], [6]) likely because of the shooting of the messenger that happened a couple weeks ago :-) ~Adjwilley (talk) 22:58, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

The bit at the bottom (<!-- EdwardsBot 0237 -->) is what the bot uses to detect duplicate posts. The original idea was that—in the case of a server hiccup or some other interruption to the bot's run—it would be possible to check the page text of the target delivery page for this key. If the key is present, the bot skips the page.

This works... somewhat. It wasn't designed for race conditions, obviously (i.e., someone quickly removing the message and the bot being restarted in a short period of time). It also wasn't designed as a longer-term strategy (i.e., sending out the same delivery several weeks later is inevitably going to hit users who have archived their talk pages or who have removed the key in one way or another). These are edge cases that could be mitigated by the bot keeping its own records (and looking up those records!), but that comes with its own set of issues and that type of feature isn't something I'd like to spend time adding to the bot right now. --MZMcBride (talk) 23:04, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Quick note

Hi.

Don't shoot the messenger, please. If you have a problem with a specific delivery, look at the page history of User:EdwardsBot/Spam to figure out who sent out the message and what his or her target list was. More questions are covered in the bot's FAQ (including opting out of all of the bot's deliveries). However, as far as I know, the bot has not malfunctioned in any way. It delivered to the pages where it was told to deliver.

You'll notice that I didn't (and generally don't) receive these talk page deliveries. I think the whole practice is kind of in(s)ane. But EdwardsBot works well for what it's supposed to be doing.

What we're seeing here is a blurring of what's acceptable for newsletter deliveries (what's consent, who should be targeted, how often, &c.). Start an RFC if you're so concerned about it? Surely that's a better use of time rather than complaining here. :-) --MZMcBride (talk) 22:18, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

How is WikiProject Holidays related to the newsletter for a religion-oriented project? I did not sign up for WikiProject Christianity. Rather I signed up for WikiProject Holidays, yet got the newsletter since there is apparently some very distant connection between these two. That is a ridiculous way of cooking up a justification for this spam. This is not the first time WikiProject Christianity newsletter has been spammed at various user talk pages, and the justification you gave above to others is very very weak. Whoever is sending this spam needs to trim his/her list to only include people who signed up for *this particular Wikiproject*. --Ragib (talk) 22:47, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

"If you have a problem with a specific delivery, look at the page history of User:EdwardsBot/Spam to figure out who sent out the message and what his or her target list was."

If there's an actual problem with the bot (unauthorized users have access, it's delivering to all kinds of crazy targets that aren't on its input list, it's calling you offensive names, etc.), please feel free to post the issue here. Otherwise, please take the issue to the appropriate talk page. In this case, it sounds like you're looking for User talk:Lionelt. Thank you! --MZMcBride (talk) 22:49, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Oh ok, I get it now. I was a bit confused about who is running the bot when delivering the newsletter. Lionelt has kindly removed me from the delivery list. (And I'll follow up with him about the recipient list issues). You (or whoever runs Edwardbot) might want to add a clearer note in the bot user page about this. --Ragib (talk) 23:27, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

I tried to clarify the banner text a bit in this edit. Edits to the banner or the bot's FAQ are always welcome. :-) --MZMcBride (talk) 23:40, 5 March 2012 (UTC)