User talk:Martinp23/NPWatcher

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NPWatcher
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Notice The NPWatcher project is migrating to Launchpad for bug tracking and feature request management. Please report all new bugs using the interface linked from here. Use the same interface to add feature requests. Thanks for helping to improve NPW!

Contents

[edit] Who do I request rights to use the proram from?

I finally got the thing to work but I cannot use it as it says I must get permission from Martin. The problem is that he is apparently away, along with the other creator. Can anyone help me? TaylorSAllen 23:42, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Leave a request at User:Martinp23/NPWatcher/Checkpage. Since they're both away, contact an admin. Giggy Talk | Review 04:33, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Feature suggestion

Here is a feature suggestion. I've also used vandalproof, and I don't like many of the templates that are offered. For example, level 4 test templates say, this is your last warning. If you vandalize again you will be blocked. Unfortunately, that is basically a lie if you are leaving the template on a shared IP, because these are almost never blocked. What would be nice is a way for the user of the tool to write a customized message for a button. The user clicks the button, and the customized message is added to the talk page. Maybe something like that exists already. --BostonMA talk 20:33, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! I'll do it for a future release Martinp23 20:42, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
Y Done in 0.8.5.9 Martinp23 21:09, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Watchlist

Hi there. So far, the tool seems like it's coming along nicely. One thing that Vandalproof does that I would like to see in NPWatcher, though, is a feature that automatically logs pages actioned by the tool to the user's watchlist. That way if a stubborn editor begins removing DB tags, etc., it's easier to track. Thanks, and keep up the excellent work! --NMChico24 08:07, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to keep trying with this... grrr. Martinp23 12:57, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPWatcher Error

I keep getting a persistent error when clicking "(Delete (nonsense) and warn)". The JIT debugger pops up, and I tried to debug the code myself, but the string that is causing the error is recurring. The JIT debugger text is hiden below this line (press edit to see it):
Thanks!

Tyson Moore es 13:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmm - OK. Does this happen every time you try to tag a page? It's erroring when it's warning the user according to that code :/. Do you know what pages it errored on? Thanks, Martinp23 13:52, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
I'm still not certain why it's happening, but I've done a release to try to hack a fix into it - I couldn't reproduce the error. Hopefully it'll work better! Martinp23 14:16, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
My best guess for the cause of the error is that when it came to warn the user, the nonsense page had been deleted, so it couldn't fetch the creator's username. The hack which I put in earlier should fix the problem. Martinp23 14:23, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
Does the error seem to have been resolved? I'm certain that it's to do with it losing the edit token for the user, so trying again should work. Martinp23 23:18, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Nope, not resolved, I'm getting it. If you click continue, none of the useful buttons are activated (except the "Mark with {{copypaste}}" button, maybe that's a clue?). --Daniel Olsen 05:57, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
Hmm - well that's only a clue that I've missed two lines of code about that button :) (which I'll sort - it's just the greyying in/out code). Can you tell me the exact details of the circumstances around the event - the page, the button and what worked/didn't (deletion worked or not?). I'm surprised that this is still happening, but I can try to replicate the error by undeleting and running it in debug mode. Another question - does this happen every time? It could be an internet connection/wikipedia error (like the zero-sized-replies we get so often when editing), but I can then get some system to allow it to retry if it fails. Just need the extra info :) (thanks for reporting) Martinp23 18:28, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
I'll try and reproduce the error. Another thing, when CD Singles & Maxi-Singles was created, the page title in the list read "CD Singles & Maxi-Singles", and when clicked brought me to CD Singles. Just something else to check. Mostly this tool is just plain kickin ass. --Daniel Olsen 01:43, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
"Something sinister has happened. the page was deleted but the user could not be warned. Tell martin." Page was Gary Verma. --Daniel Olsen 02:08, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
Happened again... same page... --Daniel Olsen 02:13, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
Y Done in 0.8.5.9 (ampersand issue, that is). The "sinister" one is caused by connection problems I'm afraid - I'll put a nicer message there in a later release :) Martinp23 21:10, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nice!

The new version of NPWatcher made for a great Christmas present, heh. Well done! In a future version, perhaps the program can check whether or not a db tag has already been placed, to prevent double tagging. Holiday cheers, Gzkn 02:04, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Yep - shouldn't be too much of a difficulty as I've already got the tag removal code there for admins, and it checks before placing user warnings to prevent duplication. Martinp23 12:42, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

To be honest, it coud be a while before I put this one in, as I'm not convinced whether there's a real need - multiple tags, though annoying, can serve a purpose (eg: a nonsense page (tagged) could also be sen as an attack page, and having a second insight there, and two tags, can only help, placing the page into an "Attack pages" category where it will get quicker attention. The problem you note is something I plan to create an interface for, but I apologise if it isn't done soon :) Martinp23 14:26, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

The problem, though, is that NPWatcher doesn't seem to catch edit conflicts; so if Gzkn or someone else puts {{db-nonsense}} on a page while I'm looking at it, and then I click the "nonsense" button, NPWatcher will merrily put a duplicate tag on the page. --Russ (talk) 22:31, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
Yes - I'll sort that one out soon - the issue is that an edit conflict isn't actually occuring (so it's a non issue :)), but I need to get the program to allow edit conflicts to occur. And I've just thought of an easy solution :). Coming soon! thanks Martinp23 23:20, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Y Done in 0.8.5.0 Martinp23 00:26, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Feature Suggestion

Hi, I have been using NPWatcher for some time, and I very much appreciate your efforts. I have a feature suggestion that the check boxes for first article and notability warning be changed to radio buttons, so one must always leave a message on the user's page. Unfortunately, I have left a bad impression of myself by failing to leave such messages. It is of course my fault, however, I would expect that other users new to NPWatcher might make a similar mistake. Sincerely, --BostonMA talk 16:03, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not willing to make it compulsary for a user to leave a message, as for some of the buttons (test, vandalism, nonsense), there's a message attached which cannot be removed and it would look bad to have a vandalism warning swiftly followed by {{firstarticle}}, nn warn or a custom warning (coming soon - promise!). So, for now, I wont be doing it, though I may make it a user setting in the future if enough interest is expressed by others. Thanks, and good look in your RfA. Martinp23 00:36, 1 January 2007 (UTC)
Y Done (what I mentioned above) in 0.8.5.9 Martinp23 21:10, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Problem with deletions

If an admin happens to be doing NP patrol, and he deletes the article before you tag it, then you automatically create a new page with just the speedy tag. -Amarkov blahedits 22:33, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah, yes. I recall this happening to me a while back too. However, more recently, when I tried to tag something with db (I wasn't using NPWatcher at the time) there was some built-in mediawiki software check that asked if I was sure that I wanted to recreate a page that was just deleted. Not sure if NPWatcher recognizes it though. Gzkn 00:46, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
See above - it's the same solution for both problems. Martinp23 23:22, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Y Done in 0.8.5.0 Martinp23 00:26, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Download/Install Problems

I just downlaoded this NPWatcher, and when I did a compressed folder came up. I extracted the folder and clicked on the program, but it only came up with

"C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.5072\mscorwks.dll could not be loaded"


I've tried downloadng 3 times now and the same effect, any suggestions? Danielfolsom 03:56, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Do you have the latest .NET 2.0 Framework installed? You can get it here. Gzkn 05:04, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
Since I see the v2.0.5072 in the data you gave, I can conclude that you have 2.0. Try repairing or reinstalling it using the above package. If that doesn't work, try installing Microsoft .NET 3.0 Framework. FirefoxMan 12:39, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
Probably best to try both - definately re-install .NET 2.0, as there's something sinister going on there (I'm presuming you've got it, or you would have got some stop error when loading it (like 0x654096384 (made up) or something)). Also, if you can, try .net3.0, though it isn't needed to run the program (and by the way that .NET works, I don't know whether it would offer any benefits). Of course, the final consideration is your operating system. I spent hours last night getting the program built in .NET1.1 (which was interesting, as the webbrowser control couldn't be found...), so in theory, though dotGNU and mono, it may be compatible with Mac and Linux. I just need to clean up the code now. Martinp23 12:50, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
Y Done Ahh - looks like you got it to work anyway (by the mssage on my talk page) :) Martinp23 12:58, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Appending of "0" to log entry pages

I used the program to create an AfD today, and instead of adding it to the proper log page, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2007 January 4, it created a new log article, the title of which had a "0" before the "4" (i.e., using a two digit date for single digits). I'm a little hesitant to try and reproduce it (since it'd create the second invalid log page again), and I'm unsure if this is a known issue, but this looks an easily resolvable minor glitch. Thanks! --Kinu t/c 07:18, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Y Done - in 0.8.5.4. Thanks for discovering this Martinp23 13:58, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Getting usernames wrong

I think that tagging items for Speedy deletion + notifying the user has been creating an issue. User talk:Gemral created an article but NPwatcher notified User talk:Gemra. Unfortunately the related article Ruchia has been deleted so I can't check if I'm correct on this one. Lovely program nonetheless ! Peripitus (Talk) 00:21, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Checked and it's definately happening - NPwatcher dropped the last e off User talk:Las1youlsee to create User talk:Las1youlse - Peripitus (Talk) 00:27, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
That's concerning - I can only guess that the API on the servers here has chenged slightly, without debugging. I'll see what I can do to fix it now. Martinp23 00:38, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Y Done Hmm - seemed strange, but fixed in 0.8.5.5. Martinp23 18:52, 7 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks Martin - very quick work ! Peripitus (Talk) 20:35, 7 January 2007 (UTC)
Heh - no problem (I though I was rather slow, by my usual standards!). Thanks for reporting it! Martinp23 18:29, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Yet another error

Prod produces an error after filling out the box. FirefoxMan 16:54, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

This is quite a common error which I've noticed in my bots; it tends to change in the frequency with which it happens depending on server load, so I suspect that the issue with the wiki being mostly down last night (UTC) didn't help. Gateway error (502) is a problem with the connection between you and Wikipedia, and for now there is nothing I can do for it (hopefully some fix will come up). I know it's annoying Template:Emot. Sorry! Martinp23 18:32, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

when the "page has changed since you loaded it message" is displayed, the message reaccurs until you change to a new item. FirefoxMan 22:32, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Will fix (tomorrow, hopefully) Martinp23 22:39, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
Y Done in 0.8.5.7 Martinp23 10:39, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Can you make it also so that the message does not appear if it was I (meaning the user) who made the edit? FirefoxMan 01:31, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Probably not, I'm afraid. I've kept the edit conflict spotting system simple, to avoid making too many page loads and so taking too long. Martinp23 21:12, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Translation to English warning

I suggest that a "Mark with {{ Notenglish | language }}" button can be useful ;-) by Snowolf (talk) on 09:26, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Will do soon - thanks Martinp23 21:16, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
Y Done Martinp23 16:24, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Populate list autorefresh

I think it can be also useful the refresh of the list of new pages on the left on a custom time interval set by the user by Snowolf (talk) on 09:31, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmm perhaps - I'll see about it in future, but no promises on this one! Martinp23 21:17, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mark with Uncategorized

Another idea: the {{uncategorized}} tag can be very useful on new pages. by Snowolf (talk) on 09:36, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Coming up! Martinp23 21:22, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
Y Done Martinp23 16:29, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Warn on CSD not notable

I think that it can be useful if NPW add a comment to the creator of the page's talk page to inform it that it has been tagged as not notable, in the default form {{subst:nn-warn|PAGENAME}} ~~~~

That one's there :) - click the notability warn checkbox (next to the firstarticle one). Martinp23 10:39, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
Ok, I've seen it now. Thanks and happy editing on Wikipedia ;-) by Snowolf (talk) on 10:46, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
What about spam, empty and so on? by Snowolf (talk) on 13:38, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
Some buttons will warn by default, and there's now a custom warning box there, which *should* work. Martinp23 21:19, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] & and edit conflict

Great tool, coming along nicely. Two things I've noticed:

  1. An "&" in the article title, shows as its HTML "& amp ;" in the article list but you can't view the article content in NPW as it ignores the ampersand further characters. E.g "Bill & Ben", is presented as the article "Bill". I recall other non-alphas seem to cause the same probs
  2. I get a edit conflict when tagging a copyvio with the URL, nowhere else though. Says "Article have [sic] changed ...", and so on, but it is still tagged OK.

Thanks for listening --Steve (Slf67) talk 03:51, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Also, "" are not valid. FirefoxMan 19:43, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
Y Done in 0.8.5.9. Ampersand issue is resolved, and I'll fix the " " one at a later date. Martinp23 21:23, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPW Userbox & Category

I've created a NPW Userbox here and also a NPW user category here. Maybe they can be added to NPW's main page.

By the way, if somebody want add it to his userbox to his page, simply use this code: {{User:Snowolf/Userboxes/NPW}} Bye and Happy Editing by Snowolf(TALK) on 15:40, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks :D Martinp23 21:23, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] This just in...

"Somthing sinister has happened. This page has beeen marked for deletion, but the program was unable to leave a user warning." FirefoxMan 19:55, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Generally caused by a bad connection to WP, so either problems with your internet, or one of those many Wikipedia errors. Martinp23 21:24, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Suggested Feature

Just started using NPWatcher and it's great! Much better than doing it by hand!

A couple things would help me:

1. I'd like to be able to restrict results by size. I'm mostly looking for copyvios, and when large pages appear out of nowhere, they are often copy-and-pastes from other websites. Others are reposts of deleted articles that should not be reposted. If I could eliminate any results under 1K or 2K, that would be great. Also, searching for size "0" would yield blank(ed) pages.

2. I'd love to be able to store my username and password. My pw is unwieldy to type.

Thanks for a great utility!

--Butseriouslyfolks 06:52, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

In response to the last one, it would be a security issue to store your WP pwd in clear text on the machine. 11:44, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
Yes - I may be able to do the password saving thing as a user choice - I'll see about the protocol for this. As far as I'm concerned, if you use a program to store your password on hard-drive in plain text, then it would be your own fault if it got stolen :-). For point 1 - I'll have to check :) Martinp23 12:10, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Clone

Is there a "clone" of this program somewhere? - PatricknoddyTALK (reply here)|HISTORY 21:54, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

No, and there won't be, as for obvious reasons I haven't released the source code, and you have highlighted to me on IRC the problems with my earlier plan to do so. The program will, regretfully, have to remain closed source for the forseeable future. Martinp23 21:56, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] copyvios

The copyvio speedy, db-copyvio, takes the parameter of url=http://www.blah.com/copiedtext.htm after the | not just http://. It always catches me out when I flag it manually and NPW seems to miss the need for the extra 'url=' too. Thanks again --Steve (Slf67) talk 03:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

  • I have been tagging copyvios manually using the temp without the url=, and it works for simple urls. Certain complex urls (such as those containing a question mark) glitch out, like they're not even there. It would help if NPW included the url=. It would also help me if NPW warned the first contributor on copyvios. Thanks as always. --Butseriouslyfolks 04:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is this tool beneficial?

Your program seems to make it very easy for users to propose articles for deletion almost immediately after they are first saved, leading to AfD debates that are frquently (IMO) a waste of time. Can you do something to it so a deletion proposed due to lack of notability or citations could not be completed unless it was compliant with the appropriate guideline--that is, not until after the article had been tagged for no sources, CfDed, prodded, or had its verifiable information merged to an appropriate article. See

One of these was tagged within one minute of its first creation, the others at about 5 and 10 minutes. If the program itself can not be configured to require some restraint, perhaps you should consider some kind of licensing process so that it it not repeatedly misused.--Hjal 06:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

  • In my defense, as the editor who tagged all three of those articles, they were completely bereft of any asserted notability or attribution, and I had no way of knowing whether or not the editor was coming back to expand them. On WP:POL, under "key policies", in bold, it says:
"Add only information based on reliable sources. Wikipedia articles should be based on reliable published sources, and these sources should be cited so that other editors can check articles."
Also, on every edit screen, it says "Encyclopedic content must be attributable to a reliable source."
Thus, the very creation of an article which consists exclusively of unsourced assertions is a violation of WP policy and deletable.
That being said, I would love it if NPWatcher permitted me to examine articles that were of a certain age (e.g., 1 week, 1 month, 1 year), but then it wouldn't be a NPWatcher, would it? --Butseriouslyfolks 07:05, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • This isn't exactly on topic, but I think that editors who want to remove the work of others (or to prevail in maintaining their prefered edits) and refer to the rules to support their actions, must, themselves, honor those rules as much as possible. If you want to propose deletion of an article because you assert that it is in violation of a specific policy or guideline, then you should follow the procedure laid out in that guideline yourself. I have ony been looking at AfDs for a couple of months, but I have follwed at least two dozen school-related debates without seeing a single instance of the editor who proposed a deletion having first followed the steps spelled out in WP:N. If I wasn't required to AGF, it would be hard not to consider such actions equivalent to vandalism. New editors start high school articles without knowing all of the policies and guidelines. They need to be educated and their work probably needs to be cleaned up. Experienced editors who take actions that are certain to result in disharmony must be as sure as they can that they are acting within the rules, otherwise they are harming the project, rather than contributing to it.--Hjal 07:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
  • This is the wrong forum for this discussion, so I am continuing it on User Talk:Hjal. Feel free to join us there for more off-topic fun! --Butseriouslyfolks 07:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Suggestion

First of all Martin n co I like the tool. For your next version though could you think of adding the escalating warning system to the buttons some how. It's becoming clear once someone has created an attack or nonsense page they are highly likely to do another one, so to continually add {{nn-warn}} to their page is a bit pointless. Might I suggest that the user is given the opportunity once the initial warnings have been done, to increment the warning to {{uw-creation2}}, {{uw-creation3}} or {{uw-creation4}}

Anyway thanks again for the tool Khukri 10:47, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

I'll try :) Martinp23 12:23, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
Just another little one for the Delete (nonesense and warn) et al, could you make sure it adds the tag first and then gives the warning. Just had a case of someone had beaten me to tagging the page, and had warned the user. But because it came up the page has changed after it had already warned the user I had to remove the extra warning. Ta muchly Khukri 11:03, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
Probably this won't be possible. Orginally the program worked as you descibe above, but this caused problems when an admin wanted to delete a page first, and then warn the user (as with the history gone, it was impossible to find the creator). A can work around this in future, but it could be a little while until I have the time to make the sort of changes required. Thanks, Martinp23 12:23, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Populating the list

Like the tool and its really helped me get re-engaged with regular new page patrol. I'm just curious how new the pages are when the list is populated. I'd personally prefer to be reviewing pages that were say at least 20 - 30 minutes old rather than those that have been created only a minute or two earlier. This is because sticking a speedy tag on an article that is only 30 second old can be seen as a little bity by the more sensitive amongst us. How about an option to allow users to select whether to populate the list from the first, second or third page of new pages depending on their user display settings. I have mine set on 50 per page so I could then ask for pages 50-70 in the feed.... Just an idea. I hope it makes some sense. --Spartaz Humbug! 18:35, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

It certainly make sense, and is quite doable (and avoids WP:BITE) - I'll have a look at doing it in a future release. Martinp23 18:39, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
Thanks a lot. I'd like that a lot. :D --Spartaz Humbug! 21:12, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mac Version?

It would be really helpful if there was a Mac version of this program, since NPWatcher is only compatible for PCs. Sr13 (T|C) 06:59, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Well, it's not that simple, and Martinp23 is quite busy. I think that porting to mac will mean asking for a complete rewrite, and use of a different programming language. Snowolf (talk) CON COI - 16:32, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
Yes - until mono gets fully developed to support System.Windows.Forms, I'm afraid NPWatcher won't work on non Windows systems. I'm afraid that I don't have the time to write a port to a more cross-compatible version, nor the experience. Thanks, Martinp23 16:52, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Please fix program to prevent double tagging

Please fix program to check if a page is tagged with a db tag before placing a new one there. Od Mishehu 21:42, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

If double tagging occurs, it is the fault of the user for clicking on the button when there was a tag already present. The program reports edit conflicts, as well :). Thanks, Martinp23 22:24, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
I don't know, I just know that I tagged an article with TW, and then added the page to my watchlist; after that, I saw a second db tag on the article. Using the history, I know that mine came first.
In addition, TW automaticly checks the page to make sure it wasn't tagged before tagging it, to deal with a situation where it had been tagged after the pagewas loaded but before the user tried to tag it. Od Mishehu 08:44, 12 April 2007 (UTC)
NPWatcher does a simlar thing, but more robustly - it fetches the wikitext when the page is loaded, and shows the page to the user. When the user saves, it fetches the wikitext again, and if it has changed, an error is displayed and the page not saved. Thanks, Martinp23 09:30, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AAAAH! IP Madness

In 1.0.1, all of my NPW edits show up as being made by my IP, 158.59.198.250. This is odd, as it was not happining before. Now these new edits will not show up as from me, and when I warn, people cannot reply! ffm ✎talk 19:00, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

This is surprising, as between 1.0.0.0 and 1.0.1.0, I made no changes (iirc) to the underlying saving code. Try logging in and out again, and try logging in within the NPWatcher browser as well (though it shouldn't make a difference...). Does this happen immediately when you start using NPW, or just after a certain time span/randomly. Martinp23 19:22, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
Immidately after I start use. No matter what I do, it always comes up as my IP. I have tried this on multiple computers! ffm ✎talk 15:41, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
Same problem for me. It logs me out as soon as I open a second page inside the NPW browser. Logging in again inside the browser doesn't help. I can then make edits, as an IP, but of course none of the admin functions. Fut.Perf. ☼ 11:19, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
Get the same problem here, logged in as myself but it reports all changes as being made by my IP address.Thatguy69talk 12:57, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

I've put a fix into 1.0.2.0 - if it works for anyone on 1.0.1.0, it's not worth upgrading. It now checks for edit session data before each save, and if it's missing, will automatically try to login again. If it can't log in, an error message will be displayed (you'll probably have to restart the program). Martinp23 22:02, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Seems to be working fine now! Thatguy69talk 12:35, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Update check

I think it wouldd be better to check for the updates before having to login, because I have just spent a while trying to log in (typing my password in wrong etc...) for it to just say "You need to download a new version", and quit. If it said get an update before logging in, it would be much appreciated. Stwalkerster 19:39, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Stability issues in version 1.0.3.0.

I've deleted 4 "I3" images using NPwatcher now and after 3 of them NPwatcher got stuck at 100% CPU utilization and "not responding". Warnings where delivered, and images removed and images deleted, but having the application freeze up practicaly every time I hit that button is putting a damper on my productivity. Anyone else having simmilar problems? --Sherool (talk) 18:27, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Ouch - still occurring? Martinp23 16:40, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] JIT bugger

Hi guys, I just re-downloaded having done a re-install on this machine, worked fine for the first couple of times, now even after reboot, as soon as I click on an article having populated the list, the JIT (Just In Time) debugger comes up. going in I get htmlfile:Unexpected call to methid or property access and highlights line 56 styleElem.appendChild( document.createTextNode( sheet ) );. My system, IE or summat else? Cheers Khukri 10:13, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Something with your monobook me thinks. Reedy Boy 15:34, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] stub teamplet into table

NPWatcher just put a stub label into a table.[1] Just a small glitch though. Tikiwont 12:47, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Two Feature Requests

From our IRC discussion.

  1. The ability to not warn the user on CSD I3 deletions, as if you're deleting an image, warning them to fix their licensing info doesn't do much good.
  2. When deleting images with CSD I8, the ability to update image links (via a prompt for the new image URL, I would assume) would be nice, as many times there are several links to update, and manually doing that takes a lot of work

Just as a reminder, so you don't forget :-P. Also, if you need any help with it, just let me know. ^demon[omg plz] 21:20, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't know, as I am not an admin, but is it warning the user or just notifing them? If it is the former, it should be changed to the latter, but otherwise it should be left as it is. It is generaly a good practice to notify users if you delete their image, article, etc. ffm ✎talk 01:19, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
The problem is that some features of the program do not notify users that their media has been deleted, it instead gives them the same message that someone tagging their media would give them, which is misleading. For instance, until I asked Martinp23 to change it, upon both tagging and deleting an article about a non notable person, group or website, Template:Nn-warn was sent to the author of the article. It is better for the deleter to send something such as Template:Nn-warn-deletion, which is actually written to be sent after having deleted the content. J Milburn 08:35, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
Yes - if the wrong template is being used in places, it will certainly help to have another suggested to replace its use :) Martinp23 19:16, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other browser

Is it possable to make NPWatcher use a different browser? --Smokizzy (talk) 15:58, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

It would mean rewrite it from scratch, so the answer is no. Snowolf 10:07, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A Problem

NPWatcher keeps freezing on my computer. How do I fix that? --  PNiddy  Go!  15:20, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Use of {{wikify}} template

NPWatcher seems to be missing the date= tags, resulting in some strange text. My first use of it placed the text {{Wikify|September 2007}} in this article. I needed to go back and edit it to read {{Wikify|date=September 2007}}, and then it was displayed correctly. Regards, — BillC talk 21:43, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

Y Done Fixed. Martinp23 00:19, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Logo

The svg logo
The svg logo

I made an svg logo for NPWatcher. What do you think? ChrisDHDR 14:12, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Thank you Chris, it's very appreciated, since the designer of the old logo still hasn't done (in half a year or so) the new one he promised use :D Snowolf How can I help? 22:06, 29 October 2007 (UTC)
Thanks Chris! (if you're still watching). I should really pay attention to this page more often... nontheless, we'll try to get the new logo into the next release. Martinp23 00:18, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Um

The program does not warn users, does it? I mean even for nn, the editor still should be told.Phgao 12:35, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Ok just saw the possibility of adding these, but first try and for this article [2] it sent [3] that which has the name wrong as it adds a + sign for some reason. Phgao 12:38, 16 October 2007 (UTC)
Fixed. Martinp23 00:18, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Request concerning NewPage Watcher

I use NewPage watcher and I thought to myself that a great improvement for the program could be the ability to type in the articles that you want to access and load them that way as well, so that it's not only a newpage watcher, it can also be used to tag articles that aren't quite new but nonetheless need tags. I have noticed that NPW is a great tool for tagging articles for various reasons new or not new. I would also like to suggest a few new buttons for new tags be added as well. Perhaps a "POV" tag. I wanted some input on this. I also noticed that when I load NPW, prior to looging in I can see "Images" and "Prod" tabs. What are these for and why do they disappear after I log in? Could NPW be used also for tagging new images? Wikidudeman (talk) 17:31, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

The idea has already crossed my mind, but I though that the devs would blast me :) Now let's hope they don't. Snowolf How can I help? 22:08, 29 October 2007 (UTC)
Good ideas. Some things there for next release. Martinp23 00:19, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why?

Why is it closed-source, and why does it require prior approval to use? Why not just say people are responsible for their own edits, rather than restricting what program they can use to make those edits? —Random832 18:32, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

Because it's the established custom to limit access to software programs which can edit WP. The source is given out on request (to me), and at my discretion, for now. Martinp23 00:17, 24 December 2007 (UTC)
What's the rationale for that "established custom"? Are you just doing it because other people do it? I've asked them why they require that too (haven't checked for a response yet) —Random832 16:16, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
And not all programs that can edit wikipedia are restricted. —Random832 16:18, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Internet Explorer is closed source, last I checked. Anyway, the program will be opensourced when we've got some copyright things added to source files. The program will stay restricted access though, and anyone who changes the program to allow themselves to bypass any such requirements, and if they then cause difficulties, will likely be blocked by someone, with a greater prejudice than that towards those who might cause problems with the program when they have been granted approval. Martinp23 14:30, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
IE may be closed source, but it doesn't have built-in restrictions anyway, that's why I included it in the list of examples. —Random832 15:12, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
Next release is probably going to be under GPL3. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 15:58, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] orphan and deadend

Hi. I just installed NPWatcher. It looks nice but seems to be mising two important tags, at least for me, {{orphan}} and {{deadend}}. Can you please add them in the next release? -- Magioladitis (talk) 15:25, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Y Done in 1.1.0.0 Martinp23 00:25, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List length

Just started using and love the program. Is there any way to make the list length longer than 40? I like to hit the new unpatrolled, non-bot pages around 500 from current, so its a little difficult. MBisanz Talk 08:43, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the report. It doesn't sound like an insurmountable problem to fix. To make sure it keeps in our attention, you can file a bugreport here, requesting the feature. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 21:05, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
done. MBisanz talk 21:19, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Copypaste

This tool obviously cannot see that a new article contains stuff copypasted from another wiki article - which is what you have to do to split it up... --Janke | Talk 21:09, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what you mean here. The tool can't see if anything has been copypasted, indeed, but I don't understand what you mean by "which is what you have to do to split it up". Could you explainn, or maybe give an example? Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 22:10, 10 January 2008 (UTC)
This diff, an undo by NPWatcher [4] It was probably the user who objected to copypaste, not having read the edit summaries. Greetings, --Janke | Talk 22:05, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
Hmm - this edit, incorrect as it may be, was not the "fault" of the program but of the user who was operating it. Can I suggest you leave them a talk page message to bring it up with them? Thanks, Martinp23 22:11, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
To comment further on this, just to clarify, NPWatcher is not a bot. It is not a tool you can run to patrol new pages, but a program that can help you with common tasks while patrolling newpages. The actual decissions are made by the editor using the program. Would that answer your questions? Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 00:08, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ignore page creations by certain users?

Would it be possible to add a tool similar to 'ignore pages created by bots', except that it would ignore pages created by a certain user? Only, today, new page patrol is difficult due to the large number of pages being created by Blofeld of SPECTRE. These are perfectly valid pages, and they don't need any tagging or anything, so it would be best, from my point of view, to completely ignore them for a session of new page patrol. See what I mean? Would it be possible to work such a feature in? J Milburn (talk) 19:06, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

I know you can have it automatically ignore pages created by admins, so I imagine it could be worked in.   jj137 (talk) 21:15, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not Working

Each time I try to download and run NPWatcher the same error message comes up:

"The application failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling this application may..."

I don't understand - the old version works fine, but not the new one. Any suggestions? Thanks. - Milk's Favorite Cookie 23:49, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm rather busy at the moment, but I'll go and have a look. I can't guarantee I'll have an answer before next weeked though. Maybe Reedy or Martin will get you an answer sooner. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 13:56, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Auto-refresh

Can someone explain about the auto-refresh? How much is the interval in real time? 1min? 1sec?--Sunny910910 (talk|Contributions) 01:36, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Small bug

When I click 'vandalism (and warn)', the warning is placed without enough space, meaning it attatches itself to the comment before. Could this possibly be fixed? Thanks. J Milburn (talk) 02:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Comments about the protected page of approved users

Giggy is now Dihydrogen Monoxide. Mbisanz should be MBisanz. Enigma msg 18:35, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the report! Both of them are admins though, and can change it themselves if they are experiencing problems. I'll change those two in a moment. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 11:34, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
DHMO/Giggy is not an admin. ;) MBisanz is, but I thought I'd point out two small mistakes on the page. Finally, I've been wanting to get this program and applied several days ago, but I haven't been approved or denied. :( Is it a complicated process to see whether someone is fit to use the program? Cheers, Enigma message Review 03:52, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Error/Help

I got the rights and all that and I downloaded the software. But when I try to install it it comes up with

The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application

can you help out? Fattyjwoods (Push my button) 03:48, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

I got the same message, but then I clicked in my firewall to allow the program access to the Internet, and it opened without crashing the second time. Not sure if this might be the same for you. Enigma message Review 00:40, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Another newbie question

I was approved a few days ago and I downloaded NPW today. I opened the program, but all I have are the buttons. I clicked 'populate list' three times and nothing happened. No articles are coming up. Enigma message Review 00:38, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

I have used it a few time but the same thing is now happening to me. Zginder 2008-04-16T01:01Z (UTC)
Youch, that doesn't sound good. What *should* happen is that NPW should open a login popup, tell you you're logged in, and populate list should then give a list of unpatrolled pages. Could you check what is exactly happening for you at the moment? Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 07:22, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
For me it says that I am logged-in and then I can not get a list. Zginder 2008-04-16T12:54Z (UTC)
I log in, but get no popup. Just a blank window with the buttons at the top. I'll try again and see if anything changes. Enigma message Review 15:04, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
Same here :) Can't populate the list. PeterSymonds | talk 20:13, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
Thats odd - its happening to me too. It worked fine a few days ago but today the populate list thing doesent seem to work. I get the login popup thing but I cant seem to populate the list. Fattyjwoods (Push my button) 06:35, 17 April 2008 (UTC)
Yep, same here. I've tried logging out in the browser and then logging in only in NPW, and logging in in IE and FF beforehand with no joy. ><RichardΩ612 13:57, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
Could it be there's a problem on the server side (for lack of a better term)? Huggle is having the same "blank window" problem. Smokizzy (talk) 02:50, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
Installed, told my firewall to allow the program, logged in, and then nothing. List will not populate. Current version of NPW running on XP. DarkAudit (talk) 17:59, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

(outdent) Yeah it's not working for anyone at the moment. Apparently huggle's having the same problem, so it's probably a server-type problem. PeterSymonds | talk 18:05, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmm. I reckon there must have been some server side change relating to this... Especially if huggle is having the same issues. —Reedy 15:11, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Huggle was having similar problems, but is now fine. NPW still won't operate properly, I believe. Enigma message 15:13, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Just checked before I posted here. Still non-functional. DarkAudit (talk) 15:16, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NPW still non-functional

It's been two weeks at minumum since the reports of NPW no longer working. As of a couple minutes ago, I can log in, but the list still will not populate. Any update from the Wikipedia side re: a fix? DarkAudit (talk) 15:59, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NPW dead?

It's been over a month since reports of the list not populating. It's been two weeks since the last post to this talk page with no response. Martin's apparently still on a wikibreak, and Snowolf quit entirely. If there's no one left to respond to the problem, is it time to declare NPW a dead project? DarkAudit (talk) 15:00, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I left a message for Reedy. Maybe we can also ask Martijn. I doubt there's anything they can do, but it's worth a shot to ask what they think. Enigma message 15:06, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Grr, DB lock meant i've lost my message. I've got 2 exams in the next week, so towards the back end of this week, i should have time to have a look at it then. Martinp23 has been off post-wikidrama and various other things. He will also be on an exam period about now too. He may be back post-exams... Didnt know Snowolf had left :( —Reedy 15:21, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Funny thing is, people are still applying for the program. :) Enigma message 20:26, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Hehe. Shouldn't we put a note on the main page and the application page? PeterSymonds | talk 20:29, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Absolutely. Can't expect Martinp to do it. Enigma message 20:33, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
I'll do it. PeterSymonds | talk 20:36, 13 May 2008 (UTC)