User:CommonsNotificationBot
| This user is a bot | |
|---|---|
| (talk · contribs) | |
 | |
| Operator | ErrantX (t) |
| Author | ErrantX |
| Approved? | Trial [1] |
| Flagged? | No |
| Task(s) | Monitoring Commons for image deletions |
| Edit rate | Various |
| Edit period(s) | Constant |
| Automatic or manual? | Automatic |
| Programming language(s) | Python |
| Exclusion compliant? | No |
| Source code published? | here |
| Emergency shutoff-compliant? | Yes |
 | This user account is a bot that uses pyWikipediabot, operated by ErrantX (talk). It is used to make repetitive automated or semi-automated edits that would be extremely tedious to do manually, in accordance with the bot policy. This bot has been approved for a limited trial run by a member of the Bot Approvals Group. Administrators: if this bot is malfunctioning or causing harm, please block it. |
CommonsNotification is a bot designed to inform Wikipedia users of actions occurring on Wikimedia Commons, such as deletions. These can impact heavily on Wikipedia articles (either through the deletion of widely used images or by leaving articles with dead images). There is no established process for Commons admins (who are stretched anyway) to notify projects using images being deleted, an action that can have significant impact here.
 | The bot is currently approved for a 7 day trial run, if you spot an error during the trial please do drop me a note either on my talk page or on the BRFA page |
The initial functionality is very basic; it watches for certain deletion related events and tries to inform people with the ability to fix any potential issues (like, replacing the image or performing a local redirect).
What does the Bot watch for?
Current CommonsNotification bot checks for:
- Speedy deletion nominations
- Deletion of files
Where does the Bot place notifications?
If the image is used on less than 50 articles and less than 75 pages in total then a notification will be placed on the talk page of all articles containing the image (note: a notification will not be placed on any non-article talk pages).
If the image is used on more than 50 articles or more than 75 pages in total then a notification will be placed only on WP:AN and WP:VP.
What should I do?
If the bot has placed a notice on an article talk page you are watching there are a number of things you could do...
- If the image has been deleted
- Remove the deleted image reference from the article text (this may already have been done by another bot)
- Find a new image to replace the deleted one
- If the image has been nominated for speedy deletion
- If you think the CSD has not been met (note: Commons CSD is different to ours here) contest the deletion
- Otherwise try to find a replacement image
- If the image has been flagged on the Village Pump or Administrators Noticeboard
- Check for the type of usage in articles (from my current testing it looks like it is mostly images used in infoboxes have this level of usage)
- If the deletion of the image will cause a problem, try to fix it:
- Using a local redirect
- My modifying the usage of the image (i.e. in the infobox example) to use a different file
- Contact someone at commons to delay deletion or work out a plan to overcome issues with the deletion
A note on Commons CSD
The Speedy deletion process on Wikimedia Commons is a slower process to that on Wikipedia. It can take up to several days for a speedy deletion request to be fulfilled. So there is no rush to remove or replace images when they are nominated. You have time to find a placement.