User:2NumForIce/CVUA/Main
 | Please don't look through this page, as it won't achieve the scaffolding method I'm using. Instead, message me to get started. |
 | To start the course, subst /Intro and /Start and create a Q&A page on the talk page of the user's course page by substing talk of Main. When the course is done, move to student then add /Archive |
Welcome to the Counter Vandalism Unit Academy, Main! I have created a CVUA page, which is a space where you can work with me in this course. This course includes elements from User:Callanecc/CVUA/Tasks (this revision)
Note: Don't look through that page (see below for why); this is provided for attribution purposes.
During this course, you will be asked to edit this page to provide answers, and to revert actual vandalism. Don't worry if your CVUA page only has a few sections; the sections are intentionally left out; this is called instructional scaffolding. As you complete more sections, I will add more sections.
When you see links, make sure to read through all of them, so that you have more understanding of a topic.
After you graduate, this page will be moved to your userspace, which will serve as a permanent record of your course. And don't be afraid to ask me questions in the talk page!
Start Here
Gadgets & Tools
There are some very useful tools for monitoring and reverting vandalism, and more. Here's some that I recommend. Throughout this course, I will recommend more tools only available to more experienced users.
Twinkle
Twinkle is a very useful tool that can not only monitor vandalism, but also report users to admins, tag pages, request deletion/protection, and much more. To install, go to Preferences → Gadgets → Browsing → 
Twinkle.
RedWarn
RedWarn is another popular tool for vandalism. It is a bit more user-friendly and easy to use.
Note: RedWarn is being rewritten as Ultraviolet, but may be unstable. For now, I recommend using RedWarn.
Recent Changes
Recent Changes is the first anti-vandalism tool. It's built into MediaWiki (the software that powers Wikipedia), and is very customizable through filters and highlighting. I would like to share my custom filters:
Diff
Diffs are how every anti-vandalism tool work. It looks like this: (based on Help:Diff's example diff (this revision)
Line 8: Line 8: This line is unchanged. This line is unchanged. − Something is changed here. + Something is POOP. This line is unchanged. This line is unchanged.
Diffs let you identify content added/removed/changed. Without diffs, it would just be a scramble of wikitext.
Policy Introduction
Wikipedia has policies regarding what is considered vandalism. Please read Wikipedia:Vandalism in addition to this section, to learn what's vandalism.
What is vandalism?
The term "vandalism" on Wikipedia is deliberately preventing Wikipedia's purpose, which is creating a free encyclopedia. However, even if misguided, good faith edits are never vandalism.
Make sure to look into the edit more, and not reverting an rvv. Incorrect warnings could "bite" newcomers, and that isn't good. And please don't rv an rvv, I could have lost rollback. Some edits look like vandalism, when they are really test edits, which is good-faith. Or reverting good-faith removal of content from BLPs that violate the BLP policy, even without an edit summary. Also the terms say "For your own protection you should exercise caution and avoid taking any actions that may result in criminal or civil liability under any applicable laws." a.k.a. the moment you click Publish Changes, you're legally responsible for it.