User:Ben MacDui/Admin Toolbox

For Nishkid64

I'm Ben MacDui and I began editing Wikipedia in September 2006. After a few DYK's my first GA was Flannan Isles in January 07. I've been a main contributor to more than 10 GAs since. My two successful FAs to date are Renewable energy in Scotland and St Kilda and I've also participated in three FLs. I've undertaken a few GA reviews, peer reviews and contributed occasionally to other FAC discussions.

Most of my 'administrative' edits have concerned the creation and maintenance of WikiProject Scottish Islands (WPSI), which began operation in July 2007.

I've done some New page patrolling and XfD work.

Conflicts: Watching and editing Scotland can be tiresome and controversial. I'd like to think I have learned to be patient. Common sense usually emerges (although the current pantomime on the talk page has gone beyond the norm). I don't think it's a secret that I have found the use of Template:Infobox UK place something of a nuisance in a Scottish context. I'd like to think I have made my points in a constructive way, avoided unnecessary controversy, and remain on good terms with those I have disagreed with, but that's for others to judge.

I'm not going to pretend that I lie awake at nights dreaming being a sysop, but I have been asked if I'd like to be nominated a couple of times and I'm beginning to feel that I might have learnt enough to make a contribution and now that the initial task of reviewing 1500 articles for WPSI is complete, and new articles are fairly easy to keep track of, I should have more time for a broader contribution.

Where might I spend my time? I have some knowledge of CSD and AIV and would be happy to contribute there, but I suppose one of the main reasons I am asking for assistance is that I am not sure how else I might usefully contribute.

Weaknesses: I have a fairly low tolerance of Anon IP vandals and occasionally grumble at AIV about what I see as the soft penalties imposed. My attempts at humour may occasionally be misinterpreted.

That's me.

Okay, here's a bit about me: I'm an 18 year old Indian-American student at George Washington University. I consider myself a philomath. From my editing history, you can see that I edit articles from a wide variety of topics. I first joined Wikipedia back in early 2006, but I did not start editing regularly until late June. I self-nommed myself for adminship in September 2006 and passed with a vote of 60/9/4. At the time, I was more of a vandal-fighter than anything. I did clean up, reference, and wikify articles, but they were all pretty minor. It wasn't until after I became an admin that I became involved in serious article writing. I'm very big on article writing and encyclopedia-building, and I'm glad that you've made a number of wonderful contributions to the encyclopedia. It seems we need to get you involved in some more admin-related work, like AIV, CSD and XfD. I'll start with some AIV practices, sound good to you? Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 17:42, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Surely. Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 08:20, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Alright, sorry for the delay. I've been busy with exams this past week. I will post some stuff tomorrow or this weekend. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 01:11, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

No problem at all - I have been v. busy myself. Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 07:19, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

AIV practices

Tell me what you would do. If you block, indicate duration. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 20:06, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 1

xxx (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) vandalized pages at 19:51, 19:55, 19:57 and 19:59. The user was then reported to AIV.

Last three warnings:

20:00 UTC 12 March (uw-4)
19:58 UTC 12 March (uw-3)
19:56 UTC 12 March (uw-1)

None: uw-4 came after last vandalism.

See uw-3. Uw-3 gives sufficient warning to an editor that future vandalism will result in a block. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:39, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 2

xxx (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) vandalized pages at 19:51, 19:55, 19:57 and 19:59. The user was then reported to AIV.

Last three warnings:

20:00 UTC 12 March (uw-4)
19:58 UTC 12 March (uw-2)
19:56 UTC 12 March (uw-1)

None: uw-4 came after last vandalism and there was no prior warning of an impending block

Correct. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:39, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 3

xxx (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) IP vandalized pages at 23:11 on 12 March. The user was then reported to AIV.

Last three warnings:

20:00 UTC 11 March (uw-4im)
19:58 UTC 8 March (uw-3)
19:56 UTC 7 March (uw-1)

Clear last warning given - length depends on any previous blocks. If none, say 24 hours.

24 hours between a final warning and vandalism is grounds for a block. After that, you have to rewarn. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:39, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 4

xxx (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) School IP vandalized at least 10 times on March 12, directly after a 3-month block. The last vandalism edit occurred after a final warning. The user was then reported to AIV.

Last three warnings: 20:00 UTC 12 March (uw-4) 19:58 UTC 12 March (uw-3) 19:56 UTC 12 March (uw-1)

There is an 'educational body' block template I've seen used. 6 months this time.

Yep. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:39, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 5

XX (talk · contribs) Registered user vandal created an account and has made 6 vandalism edits, 1 of which came after a final warning. The user was then reported to AIV.

Clear last warning given - say 24 hours.

Yep. Or you can indef. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:39, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 6

xxx (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) Shared IP last received a vandalism warning (uw-4) at 19:00 UTC on March 11. Someone from the IP has made 4 vandalism edits at around 12:00 UTC on March 12, but has not received no final warnings (uw-2 was the highest). The user was then reported to AIV.

I do dislike these 'last warnings' followed by weaker ones (often bots of course.) Clear last warning given - length depends on any previous blocks. If none, say 24 hours.

No evidence that the person vandalizing on March 12 was the same as the person from March 11 (it's a shared IP). So, no block IMO. If you issue a final warning and he/she vandalizes, then it's okay to block. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:39, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Practices 2

Other block practices. For username blocks, please indicate whether you will block AO, ACB, etc. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 20:06, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 1

XXX made three reverts, was warned for 3RR and then made another revert.

Block (assuming within 24 hrs).

Yep. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 2

YYY made three reverts, was warned for 3RR and then made a partial revert.

Depends on user history. Block if experienced. Warn if new and possibly naive.

User made a partial revert after the warning. This is still grounds for a (24 hour?) block IMO. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 3

ZZZ made four reverts, was reported to AN/3RR and then self-reverted.

May depend on user history but in general no block.

Yep. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 4

3 consecutive reverts, then two more separate reverts. User was reported to AN/3RR.

Block, unless there are mitigating circumstances.

No warning, so no block. 3 consecutive reverts = 1 revert, as far as 3RR is concerned. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 5

User makes 2 reverts in 2 days on one article, 6 on another article over 3 days, 4 on another over 2 days and 3 on another over 24 hours.

"Editors may still be blocked even if they have made three or fewer reverts in a 24 hour period, if their behavior is clearly disruptive." Warn they will be blocked if they continue.

That can work, or you can block the user for edit warring if you think they are already aware of policy (if the user is experienced, we can assume they know this policy). Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 6

User has been edit warring on a single article. He has made approximately 15 reverts in a two week period.

Warn they will be blocked if they continue.

Warn or block for edit warring if experienced. See my comments in the previous example. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 7

Content dispute between 5-6 editors. A lot of edit warring, but no one's violated 3RR. What would you do?

Depends on the history and nature. If they are making progress, encourage it. If they are not, protect the page for a few days.

Sounds good. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 8

Username: www.BusinessEnterprises.org

OK if its not the name of a real company. (It probably is).

These are just hypothetical situations. If the username includes a domain name, then it can be blocked indef per WP:U (account creation not blocked). Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 9

Username: RealTek, Inc.

As above

Block indef, account creation not blocked.

Example 10

Username: Bitch78

Likely to cause offense. Note on talk page.

Block indef, ACB maybe. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 11

Username: Iwannafkuup

Offensive. Block

Block indef, ACB. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 12

Username: Asswipeface

Offensive. Block

Block indef, ACB. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 13

Username: S;jsdfgjkhfsadfaef

OK

Seems a bit random (random/confusing = block per WP:U). Block indef, no ACB. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 14

Username: CroatoanBot

Misleading. Likely to have been created by an already established user. If so, block. If apparently a newbie, note on talk page.

Sounds good. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Example 15

Username: AndysAutolandCompany

OK if its not the name of a real company. (It probably is)

If it's real, then block indef. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

I've had a go, although I can't find a reference to "AO, ACB" in relation to blocks. If you can point me in the right direction I'll add this too. Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 21:13, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

AO=anonymous only. ACB=account creation blocked. You will see this notation on the history of WP:AIV. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 19:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

OK - understood. Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 08:24, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

I have a question: In example 3 above you say: "24 hours between a final warning and vandalism is grounds for a block. After that, you have to rewarn." Which policy is this? Thanks. Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 18:15, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure if there is any policy for this. It's just something I've learned from my experiences at AIV. I do recall it used to be on that page before. Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not love)} 05:08, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Hmm - I discovered it was a practice after reporting Anon IPs with a "last warning" who had sinned again, and finding that nothing was done. My view is that a last warning should be just that, although I don't suppose we need worry about that here. Incidentally I recently posted this message. Any comments? Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 18:10, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

That's a nice little personalized message. It's much better than some impersonal template. Okay, I'm done with school for the year, so I have more free time. What do you want to cover? Nishkid64 _{(Make articles, not wikidrama)} 21:16, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

First of all, I am intrigued by a comment at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Jbmurray: "admin tools are fairly often required to help the Featured Article director's delegate and others who are involved in the review processes." What do you think he is referring to?

Secondly, do you have any exercises relating to CSD? Ben MacDui^Talk/Walk 08:20, 13 May 2008 (UTC)