Wikipedia talk:Bot requests

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] WikiProject help desk

After reading the bot requests it seems to me that there is a nice division here between what the WikiProject help desk is doing and what this page does. I noticed there are many intricacies that must be dealt with when doing stuff like applying regular expressions to the entire Wikipedia. As such I have placed a rule on that WikiProject that states that all changes suggested by a program will be approved by a human. This eliminates systematic changing of the entire Wikipedia, a domain which this page seems much better at. However if you see any requests come through here for one-off tasks, or tasks that only apply to a few articles, then send them over to the help desk; that way you can focus your attention on the subtle details of not destroying the entire Wikipedia with a crazed bot =). Triddle 16:53, July 15, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] How to write a bot

I'm skilled programmer and have a good idea for a bot, but instead of requesting a bot, I'd like to write one myself. I downloaded pywikipedia but failed to find any documentation. Where can I find a manual or a howto on how to write a bot? --Dijxtra 13:49, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

There does not seam to be any good documentation. I have done the same since December and I managed to write abot and it works. The best places to look is at [1] and [2] none very helpful I'm afraid. What I did was to take the replace.py bot and rewrote that, its functionallity is very simple, just do a regexp replace, so take that code, look through it, find the replace function, from there you should be able to get a idea on how the bot works, and write your own code at that place. now you have the whole environment and gets lots of code for free, like doing the edit on one page, on a category, from a list and so on. Hope this helps. Stefan 11:50, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

I found pywikipediabot's source code to be unnecessarily opaque. If you speak Perl, however, the source for Beland's bot Pearle is quite clear and expandable. —Cryptic (talk) 11:04, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

I respectfully disagree. Having no prior knowledge of either language, I found Python much easier to learn than Perl. — Feb. 21, '06 [11:35] <freakofnur_xture|talk>

Er, a comparison of python to perl isn't really on-subject (though I do agree that the former is easier to learn). My point is that, if you already know the language, the source code for User:Pearle is much more accessible than that of pywikipediabot. That's why I said "If you speak Perl" above. —Cryptic (talk) 17:53, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

As Cryptic correctly points out, the issue isn't Python vs. Perl. The issue is that Pywikipedia is just coded badly, with no attention to clarity or maintainability. I'm a huge Python fan, but I'm dismayed that this code isn't even packaged, much less documented. This is one of those projects that I almost wish was never released then to have been released in its current state. The project's developers are doing no one any favors with such obfuscated code. Ceran 12:34, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Archiving

Taking a look at this page, I notice there are a number of requests that are at least a month old (and by old, I mean, the discussion has been dead a month, not just that it was started a month ago). I'm wondering if perhaps an archival is in order, and if so, if there would be interested in having the lovely EssjayBot_II (talk · contribs) to archive requests after the discussion has been dead for say, 30 days. Thoughts? Essjay (Talk) 07:19, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

I'd support the idea. fetofs ^Hello! 13:27, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm all for it. It's safe to guess that threads beyond 30 days are probably dead. alphaChimp ^laudare 14:10, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Talking of archiving, werdnabot has wiped the whole page ([3]). I'm reverting now (shouldn't harm the program - also reverting the archive), beacse the 14 day interval hadn't passed for lots of those threads. Just an FYI :) M a rtinp23 16:25, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah werdnabot has gone crazy. Betacommand ^{(talk • contribs • Bot)} 16:35, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Ah yes - just saw :O M a rtinp23 18:04, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] No bot despite wide support?

Re: Wikipedia:Bot_requests/Archive_8#New_articles_bot... is nobody going to make a bot for us?--_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus | talk} 20:53, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I dont have the ability for that kind of task. apparantly no one else can either. sorry Betacommand ^{(talk • contribs • Bot)} 22:00, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd be glad to assist you, if we could hash out the algorithm a bit better. How would the bot know when an article is new? Where would it look? To be honest, This just doesn't seem possible without having a bot scan recent changes, or without sql access to perform a query to list all articles created on a specific date. Using whatlinkshere can only go so far. --Jmax- 22:16, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

How would the bot know when article is new? Can you tell the bot to start from the end or what links here till it finds the last article reported on this page, and then have it start from that point? I believe User:Mathbot does something similar, when it checks for articles in categories but not linked on pages - here the bot has to check the what links here insteadof a cat.--_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus | talk} 21:28, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

That is very vague. Perhaps you should re-create your request, and be more precise on your goal and possible implementations -- Jmax- 10:06, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

It could be run with WP:NPW... <DREAMAFTER>^<TALK> 00:33, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia Day Awards

Hello, all. It was initially my hope to try to have this done as part of Esperanza's proposal for an appreciation week to end on Wikipedia Day, January 15. However, several people have once again proposed the entirety of Esperanza for deletion, so that might not work. It was the intention of the Appreciation Week proposal to set aside a given time when the various individuals who have made significant, valuable contributions to the encyclopedia would be recognized and honored. I believe that, with some effort, this could still be done. My proposal is to, with luck, try to organize the various WikiProjects and other entities of wikipedia to take part in a larger celebrartion of its contributors to take place in January, probably beginning January 15, 2007. I have created yet another new subpage for myself (a weakness of mine, I'm afraid) at User talk:Badbilltucker/Appreciation Week where I would greatly appreciate any indications from the members of this project as to whether and how they might be willing and/or able to assist in recognizing the contributions of our editors. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 20:00, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] SPA?

Some of the recent posts to the WP:BOTREQ page are from a brand-new user...which after a bit of digging appears to be a WP:SPA. Just a heads up to anyone who cares. ^demon^{[omg plz]} 14:06, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bot Builder Award

{{The Bot Builder Award}}. For users that contribute to the project by creating helpful bots for certain repetitious tasks. Smee 03:06, 6 June 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Is it possible to request a bot for a separate wiki?

Hey there. I'm a moderator (called admins here) on a wiki called Bionicle Sector 01 Wiki (for, as the name suggests, info about BIONICLE, the toy line). I've tried in the past to talk to some programmers about creating a bot, or just copying the code for one of Wikipedia's anti-vandalism bots and giving a quick crash course on how to operate it, but had no avail (folks didn't respond after a while). Well, our wiki is still concerned about vandals coming in at night when no one else is really on, so thusly I'm attempting to have a bot created for our wiki again. Would it be possibly to request one here for another wiki, or can anyone respond with how I can perhaps get one for another wiki? I'll try the makers of the AVB to see if they can help out at all. ~U

Talk to User:Martinp23 about the source for Martinbot. --ST47Talk 22:06, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Ok, thanks! :D ~U

Ok, something else. Is there a bot that reverts and then blocks the vandal for perhaps a few hours? I believe there was a bot called Curps that had sysop powers to do specific blocking actions and page move reverts, but its owner is AWOL and the bot has been decommissioned. ~U

No bot at the English Wikipedia (i.e., here) has admin powers, which would be required in order to do blocking. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 16:37, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject Category -> banner bot

Im not sure how often are requests like Wikipedia:Bot requests#WikiProject Rugby league tabbing requested, but I have a question about that type of bot work. That is, bots that look through a category and mark every Talk page in that category with a certain WikiProject's banner if it is not already present there.

Im hoping that bots that do this kind of work can be made to support BannerShell. That is, when adding a WikiProject banner to a talk page, if that talk page already has a {{WikiProjectBannerShell}} AND if the banner being added supports nesting (according to User:MadmanBot/Report, 99% banners do support it and upgrading new banners can be requested at Template talk:WikiProjectBannerShell), it would be best if that bot can add the new banner within the BannerShell, with an additional parameter of nested=yes. There is an example of that functionality on User talk:Madman bum and angel/Archive 1#preg_replace. Shinhan 15:41, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Mine has a option for existing bannershells Betacommand ^{(talk • contribs • Bot)} 15:43, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Very unique

Do you think you could make a bot to remove all instances of the phrase "very unique?" This would have to know when to put a {{sic}} in quotations. I just hate that phrase. I didn't care until I just saw it SO MUCH. My goodness. Be well, Gregbard 05:09, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

I'd have to object to this idea. Doing such automated changes typically doesn't work out so well in practice. For the sake of discussion, what would you propose "very unique" be replaced with? --Android Mouse 05:26, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Just "unique." There's no such thing as "very" unique. You are either one-of-a-kind or not.

Oh well, Gregbard 05:37, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

I had never really thought of it as a binary description. That's not to say others agree with me... --Android Mouse 05:55, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, it's not a bot to remove them, but I got Google to give me a hand :) Since there are only 141 occurrences, here's a list to take a look at. -- SatyrTN (talk | contribs) 14:56, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

You're right, "very unique" is poor grammar, but a bot would definitely be inappropriate as it could turn up in quotations or titles, which should not be changed. This would be a good task with AutoWikiBrowser, wouldn't it? (I haven't used it.) Rigadoun (talk) 15:47, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Sure. If you're interested in correcting this apparent problem, Gregbard, you can contribute a little more, ask for AWB approval, then run through that short list, reviewing each edit to make sure it's appropriate. — Madman bum and angel (talk – desk) 17:42, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

I just signed up for it now. (I guess it's about time.) Greg Bard 11:44, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Redlink finder

I've been looking for a bot that will find redlinks in designated categories. I haven't seen it yet? Be well, Gregbard 05:53, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

I could write such a bot, although I'm not sure if one has already been written. Which categories would you like scanned? And how many articles would you estimate they contain? --Android Mouse 05:57, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm working on WikiProject Logic. I am waiting on User:SatyrBot to tag the categories designated in the project. There are about 100 categories and possibly as many as 10000 in the whole project. I don't know for sure because they haven't been tagged. (but apparently my job is next!) Be well, Gregbard 06:02, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

You might be interested in Wikipedia:Requested articles, which sorts requested articles by topic area. — Madman bum and angel (talk – desk) 06:06, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Request "Backlog"

I've been noticing that as of late there's a "backlog" of bot requests which could potentially frustrate some users, whose view is if they post on WP:BOTREQ and no one ever responds, that no one is willing to help them and that they're stuck. I'd like to be helping out a bit more, but indeed, my personal TODO list is backlogged too. Would anyone object to a {{notice}} like the following at the top of the page? — Madman bum and angel (talk – desk) 18:35, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Please do not feel slighted if there is no reply to your bot request for some time. Bot operators, like all Wikipedia contributors, are volunteers, and indeed there is a shortage of editors with the technical skills required to operate bots and write code to your specifications. If you feel that a task is time-critical and that waiting for a bot operator to reply or for a BRFA to be approved may take too long, you may want to consider a user-friendly, semi-automated tool like AWB.

Fine with me. —METS501 (talk) 19:51, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] G'day !

Moved to main page by --Boricuaeddie 21:54, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Archived request

After failing to elicit a response within the four-day time limit, my request was automatically archived. Should I post it again, or is that considered inappropriate? —David Levy 04:45, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

I'd say go ahead... --SXT4 09:09, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Extending Archiving to 7 days?

The jobs seem to be dissapearing off here very quickly and given the other message at the top saying it may take a while for requests to be responded to, how about we increase the time the thread spends on the page to 7 days? :: maelgwn - talk 10:36, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

Done. — madman bum and angel 05:28, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fix links

Is there some bot that fixes links to pages that have been redirected? i.e. link -> redirect page -> actual article gets changed to link -> actual article Jared Wiltshire 02:47, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

No. WP:R#Do not change links to redirects that are not broken. — madman bum and angel 02:54, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A simple question

I saw somewhere that others could program bots for you here, but here, it is saying that if you need work done by a bot, post it here. Which is the proper thing to do here? Hyper Sonic Boom ^RFA? 00:44, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Well the second one, If you have work for a bot and are interested in running the bot as well then someone else may write the code for you to run but generally the writer runs the bot so it is easier to deal with errors and so forth. What do you want the bot to do? :: maelgwn - talk 01:25, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

I would like someone else to write the code for me. I would like the bot to revert vandalism and check spelling if someone could write me a bot. 24.121.73.22 01:37, 11 October 2007 (UTC) (HyperSonicBoom, whoops, forgot to log in)

WP:AWB does spell checking but all edits need manual checking. There are already bots out there that revert vandalism. :: maelgwn - talk 02:07, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

I want my own bot, though. Hyper Sonic Boom ^RFA? 02:13, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

This is a simple task, if you give me what you want done Ill do it. β^_command 01:37, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Another simple question

I have a small problem. I have to change hundreds of piped links, and I'm hoping a bot could save me a lot of trouble. I have to change every piped link that currently contains User:Lincalinca (i.e. [[User:Lincalinca|Foo...]]) to another piped link (i.e. [[Correct link|Foo...]]). I've done this change manually to show what I'm trying to accomplish (see here). Any suggestions on how to change this in as little effort as possible are most welcome. If anyone's up for the task, I'll be glad to share the details. Thanks! - Mtmelendez ^{(Talk|UB|Home)} 01:30, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, a bot could easily do this. Requests belong on the main page vs. the talk. Post it there and someone's more likely to notice and act on it. -- JLaTondre 01:36, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Thank you. My mistake. - Mtmelendez ^{(Talk|UB|Home)} 01:41, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Possible bot task for WikiProject Canada/Assessment

Over at WikiProject Canada I've been editing the main talk page template so that you can have the template add articles to both the main Canada project and a given subproject at the same time. I'd like to eventualy replace all of the old talk page templates that subprojects were using with the new WikiProject Canada one, but I can't just replace them with redirects because I need certain parameters turned on; for example, a template reading {{Canadian Music project | class=B | importance=Mid}} should be replaced with {{WikiProject Canada | music=yes | class=B | importance=Mid}}. There are thousands of such templates around that should eventually be replaced, and I was wondering if it would be possible to get a bot to do it. For each subproject, the task would be something like:

go to Special:Whatlinkshere/Template:Canadian_Music_project
choose top item in the list
find "{{Canadian Music project"
change to "{{WikiProject Canada | music=yes"
add edit summery "Updating wikiprojects banner to include WP:CANADA"
save
repeat

How would I go about getting such a bot set up? Thanks. --Arctic Gnome (talk • contribs) 15:40, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

If you want to do it yourself, consider WP:AWB or m:pywikipedia. Otherwise post it at the main Bot Requests page. It would be fairly straightforward for lots of bot operators. :: maelgwn - talk 00:22, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

Those both look like good options, thanks. --Arctic Gnome (talk • contribs) 01:22, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

All done. SkierRMH (talk) 18:07, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Indefinitely blocked user bot

I'd like to run a bot that compiles a list of indefinitely blocked users that still have user or user talk pages so pages can be deleted accordingly. A lot of admins don't leave blocked templates per WP:DENY when blocking a vandalism only account so I suspect there's a lot of talk pages out there for users that have been blocked. Ryan Postlethwaite 01:10, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Why not just let me do a Database query and remove the whole issue about it being a bot. β^_command 04:53, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Well that'd be great if you could do it for me? Ryan Postlethwaite 20:50, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

give me a day or so to play with the database and Ill get you that info. β^_command 22:41, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

it was simpler than I expected, Im generating a list of users who's pages have not been edited in 2007, this is to reduce the number of sock pages that should be kept from showing up. β^_command 00:54, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] DotNetWikiBot bug?

Has anyone else found bugs with:

page.Load() doesn't correctly set "text"
page.GetAllCategories() always returns 0 categories.

Timneu22 (talk) 20:46, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Automatic timestamp?

This may be a silly question, but how would I go about trying to get the comments added to the page Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals all have a timestamp? We currently are trying to ensure that proposals stay there only about four months or so, and sometimes it's hard to tell how long something has been there, particularly if the originator of the proposal didn't sign it. John Carter (talk) 22:57, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

talk to User:Sinebot. β^_command 23:08, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Archiving idea

This pages archiving is less than ideal in my opinion. I think requests with no responses should be left on the page longer; conversely I think requests that have been fulfilled should be archived faster. As it is, unfulfilled requests are archived in a week, when it often takes at least two weeks for anyone to do anything about them, and fulfilled requests sit on the page for a week after they have been fulfilled clogging up the page. I recently set up archiving for the graphics lab in which fulfilled requests (requests with either {{done}} or {{resolved}} somewhere in the section) are archived in 3 days and unfulfilled requests are archived in three weeks. I think here we could go with 1 day and 2 weeks respectively and it would be a great improvement. What does everyone else think? If this gains consensus I could implement it very easily by adjusting my existing code.--Dycedarg ж 21:09, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Template:BOTREQ

To make it easier to respond to requests, for users to see the progress of said requests and to assist with archival, I have boldly created Template:BOTREQ with full documentation. It does duplicate one or two others, but I thought that it would be good to have all the common replies in one, appropriately-named template. If it is generally liked, I can add it to the main page. If the general consensus is that it is rubbish/unnecessary, then please feel free to delete it. RichardΩ612 Ɣ ɸ 11:45, May 26, 2008 (UTC)

That doesn't look too shabby, IMHO. If this goes through, might I suggest something similar to {{working}} for when the bot owner is coding a new program for the task. Good job, I like it. §hep • ¡Talk to me! 16:47, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

{{BOTREQ|coding}} parameter added, produces:

Coding.... Good idea and thanks! RichardΩ612 Ɣ ɸ 17:14, May 26, 2008 (UTC)