User:Operator873/CVUA/Training

Welcome! I'm Operator873 and I'm going to help you become a vandal fighter. If I leave you a message or a task to do in your userspace, please answer or complete the work in your userspace where I created it. In some exercises, I will ask you to provide "diffs" for the work you've done on wiki.

Training Block 1

This is the first block of training and the most intensive. Expect to spend most of your time in the Academy in this training block. The other blocks will advance quickly.

Tools

Please review and become familiar with the following anti-vandalism tools. I've put them in the order (top to bottom) I'd like you to review. I do not require you to use any particular tool. But I do wish that you familiarize yourself with them.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) CVN Channels

IRC is a chat program that, in modern times, you need no additional software to use. Wikipedia has a robust network of IRC channels which are wholly focused on anti-vandalism work. This is my personal preferred way of fighting vandals and networking with other Wikipedians. You'll need to create a Freenode account if you wish to be a long term IRC user, but I'll happily guide you through that process. You should review this page for instructions on how to use IRC. If you find you enjoy the live chatting and interaction with other editors, I strongly suggest using IRCCloud as your default IRC chatting program.

Twinkle

Twinkle is a very popular gadget which is helpful for a variety of tasks. To install it, go here and tick the box that says Twinkle. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "save". When you refresh the page, a "TW" tab will be available on every page, next to the "More" tab. Scrolling over the TW tab will show a list of modules you can use on the particular page. Twinkle has a large number of useful modules, including but not limited to, one which can be used to warn users, one which can be used to request page protection, one which can be used to suggest a page is deleted, and many many more helpful features. It also adds a non-admin "rollback" feature on all diff pages. I highly suggest you enable Twinkle, as it's incredibly useful and poses no risk of harming your account.

Recent Changes

Chances are, you began and are currently using Recent Changes to fight vandalism. While this is an excellent and increasingly powerful tool for monitoring recent changes, it can be slow. During your training, we'll be watching the RC feed on IRC and on Wikipedia for the differences they each provide.

STiki

STiki is a Java based standalone tool that does not require the rollback user right. For those who hope to become a Huggle user later, this is a excellent place to start when you aren't ready to request the rollback user right.

Huggle

Huggle is a very powerful stand alone program which allows users to review edits without having to click links or use Recent Changes. I personally do not like to use Huggle, but others exclusively use it. There is no right or wrong tool to use when fighting vandalism, it's all a matter of preference.

Student Task 1

After reviewing the above tools, which are you interested in? Which seems confusing?

• Your answer:

Good Faith

While reviewing recent changes, you'll often come across edits that aren't helpful to the article but do not constitute vandalism either. These are known as Good Faith edits. While the edit may still be undone or reverted, it shouldn't be called vandalism. The edit may have been made by an editor who's very new to Wikipedia and isn't sure what they are doing. Another possibility is the editor is trying to make steps towards improving the article, but the single edit, when viewed alone, seems to be disruptive. Research is very important to determining the intent of the editor. Twinkle provides two different options to revert edits, one of which is the AGF rollback which provides you with an opportunity to explain your revert.

Student Task 2

How would you describe the difference between good faith edits and blatant vandalism?

• Your answer:

Provide a diff of an outstanding example of a good faith edit and a vandalism edit that you've recently found while on patrol.

• Good Faith edit:
• Vandalism edit:

Don't Feed Them

Sometimes, disruptive users will try to harass and annoy you. Those who engage in this behavior are known as trolls. When dealing with trolls, it is imperative to remain calm and ignore their attempts to get a response out of you. If the troll makes a personal attack or otherwise breaches Wikipedia policy, immediately report the activity to WP:ANI. If they vandalize your userpage or talk page, revert their edits and continue to ignore them. Remember, in all of your activities on Wikipedia, other editors and sysops are watching what's happening. You have friends in the room! Don't feed the trolls. Review WP:DENY and WP:RBI.

Student Task 3

What is the purpose of WP:DENY? What makes it a good policy?

• Your answer:

What are four examples of a Personal Attack?

• Your answer:

Twinkle Tools

Go to your talk page. From the TW menu, review the different tools available while in userspace including warnings, warning levels, and the various AIV and reporting tools. Select a random IP address from Recent Changes and navigate to their talk page. DO NOT MAKE CHANGES TO THE IP ADDRESS TALK PAGE! Review what is different when compared to options for a registered account. Use the this link to navigate to a random page. DO NOT TAG OR EDIT THE PAGE YOU NAVIGATE TO! Review the TW menu options for articles.

Student Task 4

What option on the TW menu would take you to the registered account's last edit?

• Your answer:

What TW menu option would allow you to tag an IP address as belonging to a school?

• Your answer:

What TW menu option assists in the process of nominating an article for deletion?

• Your answer:

Username Policy

While not what most editors would consider vandalism, it is very important to be familiar with and be on the look out for usernames that violate the username policy. Read over the policy and become familiar with what you might want to report as a bad username.

Student Task 5

Provide fictitious examples of bad usernames for each type:

• Misleading username:
• Disruptive or offensive username:
• Promotional username:
• Username which implies shared use:

How could you tell if an account with a celebrity name is actually verified to be that celebrity?

• Your answer:

Revision Deletion / Oversight

Review the policy for Revision Deletion and Oversight. As a vandal fighter, it is crucial to know when you need to report edits that should be deleted or suppressed and to whom to report the issue to. Consider adding Enterprisey's revdel tool to your user scripts.

Student Task 6

Describe an edit that would be deleted.

• Your answer:

Describe an edit that would be suppressed.

• Your answer:

Emergencies

On occasion, you'll come across a message asking for help or an editor making a threat towards themselves or someone else. These are emergencies and you as an up-standing Wikipedian have a responsibility to notify the right people. Review the policy and study the information contained on the page. These are not items you'll never need to know. I have had to make emergency reports several times. If you are in doubt, remember, time is of the essence. It is better to notify and not need to notify, than not notify and allow someone to be in danger. If you need a second opinion, you're always welcome to join #wikipedia-en ^connect and say !admin PM me asap. Do not discuss threats in open chat or on WP:ANI.

Student Task 7

What email address is used to report emergencies?

• Your answer:

Training Block 2

This is the second block training. By now, you'll be very familiar with fighting vandalism and monitoring for violation of Wikipedia policies. At this point in training, we'll ask the Wikipedia community to consider you for user rights and continue adding new tools to your toolbox.

Speedy Deletion & Proposed Deletion

Review CSD and PROD guidelines. While Twinkle remembers the codes for CSD, you'll need to be familiar with which mean what.

Student Task 8

Select five CSD "G" reasons and explain what they are

1. Answer Here
2. Answer Here
3. Answer Here
4. Answer Here
5. Answer Here

Select three CSD "A" reasons and explain what they are

1. Answer Here
2. Answer Here
3. Answer Here

Select three other CSD reasons. Provide the letter, number, and explain what it would apply to.

1. Answer Here
2. Answer Here
3. Answer Here

When would you use PROD instead of CSD?

• Your answer:

Rollback

Congratulations! You're ready for the next step which is asking for the rollback user right. You'll need to carefully review WP:ROLLBACK before requesting the user right. Once you are very familiar with the user right, how and when to use it, you may go to this page, click "Add request" and complete the application. Please post a diff below once you've applied.

• Rollback application:

The Toolbox

Congrats on obtaining Rollbacker! Take a few moments to visit WP:CUV/T and gather some new gear to help you on your anti-vandal mission. List the tools you've selected and installed below. There are many user scripts available to help on our mission to protect the project.

• Selected tools:

Ghost phase

You've entered the final period of training. We won't be doing paranormal investigations, don't worry. The ghost phase is simply what I call the period that I want you to fight vandalism in the manner you would when you're not in training. I'll still be available for questions, but at this point, I'd like for you to be more independent and able to locate your own answers to problems you encounter. I'll be watching you and still giving guidance where I can, but I'll be like a "ghost" and not really there.

Final Exam

Almost done! This is the last step.

• This is kept off wiki and supplied when ready