Wikipedia talk:Counter-Vandalism Unit

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[edit] IRC

See User_talk:AzaToth#Unmaintained. Is anyone else in-the-know when it comes to IRC? Thanks, Dar-Ape 03:08, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not sure where to report this but:

Both User:58.169.2.254 and User:58.169.35.253 have been on recent vandal sprees, both now blocked 31 hours. I'm not sure how it works, but the 58.169.xxx.xxx range needs watching. - Dan D. Ric 13:11, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] word-change vandalism at Infection

Something to look out for:

67.14.216.127 (talk • contribs) vandalized Infection by changing "microorganisms" to "microorgasms".

I warned the editor using the {{uw-error2}} template.

--Kevinkor2 21:07, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Uruguay article vandalised

The article about Uruguay is being vandalised on a daily basis. I requested semi-protection for it and it was denied. Could someone keep an eye on it? Thank you. --~ ~ James Hetfield (previously Wesborland) ~ ~ 16:23, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sneaky vandalism, missed by the usual bots

Usually, something this obvious gets caught by the anti-vandal bots and I never even see it. But the vandal copied some of the templates at the top of the article, added their stupidness, and pasted it at the bottom. I guess the bots got thrown off, somehow. Obviously, I've reverted the change... just wanted to let someone (anyone?) know about this new(?) vandalism strategy. --Robertb-dc 17:25, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

AntiVandalBot hasn't made any edits since mid-February, or any reverts since mid-January, or it might well have caught that. What's wrong? CaptainVindaloo t c e 17:47, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
The talk page comments for AntiVandalBot imply that there was some sort of problem that just got corrected yesterday. That 'splains a lot, Lucy. --Robertb-dc 20:27, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism organization beyond Wikipedia

I came across an interesting facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2205217096 Mkdwtalk 07:12, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] School admin contacts and web links

With User:SelketBot now adding {{SharedIPEDU}} templates to school IPs, I think the templates would be improved if they linked the name of the school to the school's webpage. Iif possible, to their computer use policy which is sometimes online, along with linking to a school contact where if vandalism is really bad, someone might be inclined to contact and report abuse. In order for the bot to add links, Selket says he/she needs a list compiled of schools and websites. (and contacts) Is that something people are interested in? Would it be worth the effort of us putting a list together, or is there some better way. Alternatively, SelketBot need not add the links to school webpages; when we add subsequent warnings, we could manually put the links in. Thoughts? I left a message on the SharedIPEDU talk page, but it appears infrequently visited. This seems like the place to coodinate efforts. --Aude (talk) 20:34, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

From a technical point of view, making this change in the bot would be easy provided there is a list somewhere (possibly on wiki) that the bot can lookup the URLs to link to. There was a discussion on template talk:sharedip about posting additional whois information (e-mail, phone, address) a little bit ago. This also would be easy for the organization that use the longform whois (some use a short form that doesn't have this information) from a technical standpoint. The consensus there, though, was that many school admins, don't want their emails or phone numbers on Wikipedia. --Selket Talk 20:51, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
Just website links are good. From there, it's possible to find contacts should someone be interested in reporting abuse. What kind of list do you need? Something that can be copied and saved as a csv file? or what? I'm thinking there has to be a better way to do it though. I was able to get a csv list of all school districts in the U.S. from the National Center for Education Statistics, but I can't find if they also have urls for each. --Aude (talk) 21:06, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
Here's a list for New Jersey. I just put "w" in the search box and got 536 results. (I think that's all of them?) Maybe we can piece together lists like this one? --Aude (talk) 21:13, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How can we more quickly disover malevolent hoaxes, such as the Sinbad?

As you may already be aware, Wikipedia was recently the target of a malicious hoax where it was claimed in the Sinbad (actor) article that Sinbad had just died. Malicious individuals subsequently widely circulated a link to the particular edit in the version history, and Wikipedia then became object of ridicule in hundreds of news media all over the world [1]. The hoax was reverted by anonymous users within two hours (see Talk:Sinbad (actor)#Summary of events concerning the hoax), but had it been discovered immediately Wikipedia could maybe have avoided this media embarassment. We need to make sure when this happens next time, there is a lightning-fast response. Some suggestions for active CVU people to consider:

  • Focus countervandalism efforts on articles in Category:Living people, that are maybe most often the target of such hoaxes, big and small.
  • highligt all edits by anonymous users on pages in this category, also triggering on words such as 'died' or 'death'.

Any other suggestions, or any relevant comments on the current practise? Jens Nielsen 17:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject on Vandalism studies just finished Study 1

The WikiProject on Vandalism studies recently finished its first study and has published its conclusions (a full and detailed copy can be found here).

The first study analyzed a randomly sampled pool of 100 random articles. Within these 100 articles there were a total of 668 edits during the months of November 2004, 2005, and 2006. Of those 668 edits, 31 (or 4.64%) were a vandalism of some type. The study's salient findings suggest that in a given month approximately 5% of edits are vandalism and 97% of that vandalism is done by anonymous editors. Obvious vandalism is the vast majority of vandalism used. From the data gathered within this study it is also found that roughly 25% of vandalism reverting is done by anonymous editors and roughly 75% is done by wikipedians with user accounts. The mean average time vandalism reverting is 758.35 minutes (12.63 hours), a figure that may be skewed by outliers. The median time vandalism reverting is 14 minutes.

Anyways, I thought you guys would like to know given you're the CVU. If any are interested in further discussing Study 1 or any of the up and coming studies being planned, come 'round. Cheers. JoeSmack Talk 05:06, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wiki Project Fighting Vandalizm

Hi. i am Pendo 4. I just wanted to start a Wiki Project of fighting Vandalizm on the pages that are mostly Vandalized and are not locked. Can you guiys please help me out? I want to see if I should do it.Pendo 4 11:52, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Please don't. The Counter-Vandalism Unit is a wikiproject. Setting up another one with the same (or a very very similar) purpose would only serve to divide the vandal-fighting community, making it harder for us to communicate and possibly stirring up a rivalry between the two project further down the line. I don't think that would be at all helpful. Waggers 11:58, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

No. Wait. First, I am not going to set up a rivalary. That was not even in my mind. Secon, I said that the project will fight vandalizim on "PAGES THAT HAVE BEEN VANDALIZED THE MOST." Those would the only pages we will have. The only difference of the project is that it will focus "ONLY" on the "PAGES THAT NEED HELP."Pendo 4 20:34, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Japan flag type vandalism

What should we do about this dude? He has been vandalising since October 2006 to today, each time by replacing articles with a big Japan flag. Is there a way to block his IP instead of accounts that he keeps creating? Or if he has no single IP, is there something we can do still? Kariteh 16:17, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Edit: Added his new account. Kariteh 15:41, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
Updated. Kariteh 15:49, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
Updated. I find it disturbing that this project seems not to care. Kariteh 11:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)
... Kariteh 22:07, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
Hm, reminds me of Squidward. Only thing we can do is revert and block as they appear. There's no need to go through the warnings though, obvious socks can be reported at AIV immediately. Eventually, he'll get bored and go away. CaptainVindaloo t c e 15:14, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
(Updated) Thanks for the advice. Kariteh 17:56, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Wow! Lots of accounts. I noticed you identified the following accounts just recently:

  • Battleship Yamato
  • Super zero fighter plane
  • A7M Reppu
  • Polnewsa
  • G7M
  • Zeke fighter
  • G8M Renzan bomber
  • Destroyer Hinomaru

Thank you!

When I have time, I plan to look through the file links to Image:Flag_of_Japan.svg. This may reveal lingering vandalism by Hinomaru. --Kevinkor2 19:06, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

If it continues, consider filing a checkuser request to get the underlying IP address blocked. CaptainVindaloo t c e 19:35, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Ah, thanks! I've made a request at Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser#Hinomaru. If I had known about that page, I would have made one much sooner; that guy's joke is getting really old already. 111 sockpuppets... Kariteh 14:51, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
I just opened a second case: Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Hinomaru (2nd) —Umofomia 08:06, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tank engines

I already posted this on WP:ANI but I thought it might help to spread the word here.

We seem to have a new vandal. First he was Jerry the Tank Engine, then he was Roland the Tank Engine, and most recently he was Trevor the tank Engine‎.

Kenny the Tank Engine recently created Werner the Tank Engine, Craig the Tank Engine, Akira the Tank Enginew, Vandal with downs syndrome and Vandal with aspergers syndrome. The latter two were immediately blocked as username violations. Keep an eye out for those tank engines. :) IrishGuy talk 19:08, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

User:Norman the Tank Engine was blocked way back in February. Here. In some of his edit summaries he made allusions to Willy on Wheels. - Dan D. Ric 19:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] VF/newbie guidance anyone?

Can anyone offer me some guidance on getting Vandal Fighter to work. I've installed the latest and greatest versions of JRE and of VF (I think ... I've got vf35b_17.jar, but I've also tried vf35b_3.jar). When I open the .jar file, it opens Vandal Fighter. The status bar at the bottom says "Ready to connect ....". I click Connect. The status bar says "joined channel". I assume that it's at this point that the window should start populating with possible cases of vandalism, but nothing comes up; even after letting it run for 20 or 30 minutes. Any suggestions?

Which of the tools are the faves among this group? Thanks! Sanfranman59 01:34, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if this is proper WP protocol, but I'm bumping this topic to the bottom of the talk page since I didn't get a response. Do people here generally use Vandal Fighter? If not, what do you use? --Sanfranman59 17:48, 28 March 2007 (UTC)


[edit] type of spam to whatch for

<div style="position:absolute;top:-50px;left:-50px;widthttp://www.yourlink.com/ ]</div>

Geni 12:58, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Watch for vandalism relating to Kappa Mikey

Not knowing who to turn to, perhaps the CVU can take a look at the rash of vandalism attacks by a number of users on articles relating to the TV series Kappa Mikey in the recent days. I've cleaned it up as best as I can, but it's a lot of work. kelvSYC 08:49, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Its on my radar thanks. Lakers 02:04, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Where to report inappropriate user page

I came across a user page today that I think is in clear violation of WP policy (User:Carirach). Do I report this to WP:AIV? --Sanfranman59 23:05, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Twinkle-like script that works on Internet Explorer

Is there one? Sancho (talk) 05:26, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Ttbomk. No. Twinkle is the only one I know of, and that only runs in Firefox and something else... Thor Malmjursson 05:43, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism study results

Apparently the "Vandalism studies" wikiproject has just finished their first study. They found a couple of things that jumped out at me

  • About 5% of the edits on an average article are vandalism
  • About 97% of all vandalism is done by anonymous users.

Nathanww 21:22, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Some more numbers:
  • The study analyzed 668 edits.
  • 31 edits were vandalism.
  • 187 edits were done by anonymous users.
  • 30 edits were vandalism by anonymous users.
  • 16% of edits by anonymous users were vandalism.
--Kevinkor2 05:52, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

The power of anonymous users indeed. It's unfortunate that the trash these people produce is what has tarnished wikipedia's name in the mass media. It will be quite a sad day should the majority of good writers and CVU people leave wikipedia. This place would become filled with garbage in less than a week I'd imagine. --LifeStar 13:55, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Encourage Vandal Fighter lurking

I mentioned this on the Admin board; but I'll do it again here.

Our CVU unit is doing a great job and is overworked, but I've noticed, and the recent vandalism study highlights this... blatant vandalism is getting through tools that are predominantly being used by RC patrollers, but it is easier to spot older stuff like this with VF, which you can have running in the background while you do other things and only have to scroll through old edits occasionally.

Here is my original post giving tips to VF newbies. I use VF 3.3 as newer versions don't work for me. Happy hunting, and don't be afraid to escalate warnings quickly for blatant vandals. - RoyBoy 800 01:53, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Warning for removing vandalism warning tags?

Is there some kind of tag we should add to user talk pages when they remove a vandalism (or other) warning from their talk page? I must say that the number of templates is pretty overwhelming and I find myself spending a great deal of time searching for the right one to use for different situations. --Sanfranman59 03:05, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Through much discussion there has been no consensus that removing talk page warnings is itself something which can earn warnings/blocks. You can revert them and leave a {{Blankown}} message, but don't try to take them to WP:AIV over the warnings themselves. —dgiestc 06:12, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
If people can simply remove these tags from their talk pages without consequence, why do we even bother putting them there? I've only recently gotten into the WP anti-vandalism business and have been deciding what level of tag to use based on the levels of other warnings a user has received. Is this what others do? --Sanfranman59 00:17, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
The warnings are always in the history. Also, the user has certainly read the message if they have removed it. You can escalate the vandalism warning levels as per normal even if the previous ones have been deleted. Vandalism after a final warning will be treated just the same at WP:AIV I suspect. Sancho 06:02, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
Oh, I didn't see the last part of your question... Yeah, I do base my warning level on the previous warnings of other editors. For anonymous IPs, I only consider previous warnings within the past 24 hours. So, this could be a cause of delayed reporting to WP:AIV if the user keeps deleting the previous warning messages. Often, however, I will look at the warned user's contribution history to see if there were any other recent instances of vandalism that should be reverted. I guess at this point, I would notice that they had removed previous warnings from their own user talk page and I could change my warning level appropriately. Sancho 06:06, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
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