Hello Empire AS, and welcome to your Counter Vandalism Unit Academy page! Every person I instruct will have their own page on which I will give them support and tasks for them to complete. Please make sure you have this page added to your watchlist. Your academy page has been specifically designed according to you and what you have requested instruction in - for that reason, please be as specific as possible in your answers, so that I know the best ways to help you (and do not be afraid to let me know if you think something isn't working). If you have any general queries about anti-vandalism (or anything else), you are more than welcome to raise them with me at my talk page. You already know how this page works, so let's get started where you left off — CSD! I'm going to grade the answers left here.
In past iterations of this course, students have been asked to go out and actually tag pages for deletion, but with the introduction of WP:ACPERM, the amount of straight vandalism that gets created directly in mainspace has reduced dramatically. As such, I'm going to ask you to say how you would act in a set of hypothetical scenarios. What would you do if you saw the page listed in each scenario? Note that not all scenarios may warrant speedy deletion.
A user with the username "BobSucks" creates an article called "John Smith" that contains solely the following text:
John Smith is the worst elementary school teacher on the planet.
A user with the username "GoodTimesLLC" creates a user page with the following text:
'''Good Times LLC''' is an organization dedicated to helping your children get the highest quality education at an affordable price. Visit our website at goodtimes.info and contact us at 123-456-7890.
A user creates an article titled "Edward Gordon" with the following text:
'''Edward Gordon''' (born July 1998) is an aspiring American actor and songwriter. So far, he has starred in many school plays and has published two albums on SoundCloud. He has over 5,000 subscribers on YouTube.
A user creates an article titled "Bazz Ward" with the following content:
Bazz Ward was a Hall of Fame roadie and I wish he was as well known as Lemmy. Cheers Bazz.
(Attribution: Ritchie333 came up with this scenario as a question to an old RfA candidate. I've borrowed his example here. Hint: Try Google searching a few key terms from this short article.)
A user creates an article that was clearly copied and pasted directly from another website, which states "All Rights Reserved" at the bottom of it. Would your answer be the same if it didn't state "All Rights Reserved" at the bottom?
A user creates an article, but you can't understand any of it because it's in a foreign language.
A user creates an article, but shortly after creating it, the same user blanks the article by removing all of its content.
A new user creates a user page with nothing but the following content:
Jlakjrelekajroi3j192809jowejfldjoifu328ur3pieisgreat
How would this scenario be different if the page was created in a different namespace?
Please read WP:REVDEL and WP:OVERSIGHT.
Occasionally, vandalism will be so extreme that it needs to be removed from publicly accessible revision histories - the criteria for these are described in the articles above. Revision deletion hides the edit from anyone except admins; oversight provides an even greater level of restriction, with only oversighters able to see the comments. The threshold between the two is quite fine - I've been on the wrong side of it a few times. If you are in doubt as to whether revdel or oversight is required, the best bet is to forward it to the oversight team - whoever reviews it will be able to make the decision and act on it.
Thanoscar21, Thank you for starting. I guess my answers would be right. However, I want a RevDel on my talk page archive but I also don't want my email address to be disclosed. What can I do now? I also don't know how to use the IRC method. Hope the ping worked. Waiting for the next section. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 11:06, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
Wikipedia has a policy which details the types of usernames which users are permitted to have. Some users (including me) patrol the User creation log to check for new users with inappropriate usernames (note that you can set this to view 500 users rather than the default 50 - I find that easier to scroll through quickly, and the link on my userpage takes you there directly). There are four kinds of usernames that are specifically disallowed:
Please read WP:USERNAME, and pay particular attention to dealing with inappropriate usernames.
Thanoscar21, I'd first talk with the user to change the name. In case of disagreement, I'd invite other users to give their opinion. For immediate action and response, I'd report the user at WP:UAA. I'm a bit unclear about disruptive usernames. Can you give me any example? Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 19:41, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
I hope this never happens, but as you participate in counter-vandalism on Wikipedia, it is possible that you may come across a threat of physical harm. In the past, we have had vandals submit death threats in Wikipedia articles, as well as possible suicide notes. The problem is, Wikipedia editors don't have the proper training to evaluate whether these threats are credible in most cases.
Fortunately, there's a guideline for cases like this. Please read Wikipedia:Responding to threats of harm carefully and respond to the questions below.
Thanoscar21, looks all fine. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 08:17, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
Occasionally, some vandals will not appreciate your good work and try to harass or troll you. In these situations, you must remain calm and ignore them. If they engage in harassment or personal attacks, you should not engage with them and leave a note at WP:ANI. If they vandalise your user page or user talk page, simply remove the vandalism without interacting with them. Please read WP:DENY.
Thanoscar21, second question was a bit difficult but I explained what I think. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 19:14, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
In light of your recent contributions, I expect that if you apply for the rollback permission at Wikipedia:Requests for permissions/Rollback, an administrator would be happy to enable it on your account, but first we should demonstrate that you understand what the tool is, and the responsibilities that go along with it.
The rollback user right allows trusted and experienced counter vandalism operatives to revert vandalism with the click of one button, not unlike the "rollback" button that you've already been using in Twinkle. This would give you a new rollback button in addition to the three you've been seeing in Twinkle. The new rollback button is slightly faster than the Twinkle rollback button, but more importantly, having the rollback right gives you access to downloadable counter-vandalism software like Huggle and Stiki.
If you're interested, take a look at our rollback guideline at WP:Rollback and feel free to answer the questions below. The rollback right is not an essential part of this course, so if you're not interested, feel free to say so and we'll skip this section.
&summary=
in the URL. Also the rollback summary script can help us to leave an edit summary as given
here.Thanoscar21, I expect that the answers would be right. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 19:40, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
Please read each of the following questions carefully, and ensure that you have responded fully - some of them ask you to expand on what you would do in different situations. When responding to numbered questions please start your response with "#:" (except where shown otherwise - with **). You don't need to worry about signing your answers.
* {{
vandal|Username}} Reason stated here. ~~~~
* {{
IPvandal|user IP}} Reason stated here. ~~~~
.*{{user-uaa|1=Username}} – Reason stated here. ~~~~
.
Thanoscar21, I've finished my work. Have a look! Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 15:54, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
AIV is for reporting users that are currently engaged in persistent and clear vandalism or spamming. It mainly deals with obviously malicious edits that require no discussion. Moreover, if the vandal has received enough warnings, then they should be reported at AIV. Whereas ANI is to discuss urgent and immediate events and incidents chronic and complex behavioural problems. It mainly deals with personal attacks, complex abuse and disruptive users.
Thanoscar21, answered. Looks fine. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 18:20, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
Empire AS, Congratulations from both myself and all of the instructors at the Counter Vandalism Unit Academy, on your successful completion of my CVUA instruction and graduation from the Counter Vandalism Unit Academy. You completed your final exam with a score of '96%. Well done! Thanoscar21 talk contributions 18:27, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
As a graduate you are entitled to display the following userbox (make sure you replace your enrollee userbox) as well as the graduation message posted on your talk page (this can be treated the same as a
barnstar).
{{User CVUA|graduate}}
:
This user is a Counter-Vandalism Unit Academy graduate. |
Thanoscar21 Wow, I completed and succeeded. Thank you. But I want to ask you that can or should I add my name on trainers list of CVUA? Moreover, I see that you don't give NPPS training, are you going to start this or you wouldn't have time to become a trainer there on NPPS? Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 18:34, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
Hello Empire AS, and welcome to your Counter Vandalism Unit Academy page! Every person I instruct will have their own page on which I will give them support and tasks for them to complete. Please make sure you have this page added to your watchlist. Your academy page has been specifically designed according to you and what you have requested instruction in - for that reason, please be as specific as possible in your answers, so that I know the best ways to help you (and do not be afraid to let me know if you think something isn't working). If you have any general queries about anti-vandalism (or anything else), you are more than welcome to raise them with me at my talk page. You already know how this page works, so let's get started where you left off — CSD! I'm going to grade the answers left here.
In past iterations of this course, students have been asked to go out and actually tag pages for deletion, but with the introduction of WP:ACPERM, the amount of straight vandalism that gets created directly in mainspace has reduced dramatically. As such, I'm going to ask you to say how you would act in a set of hypothetical scenarios. What would you do if you saw the page listed in each scenario? Note that not all scenarios may warrant speedy deletion.
A user with the username "BobSucks" creates an article called "John Smith" that contains solely the following text:
John Smith is the worst elementary school teacher on the planet.
A user with the username "GoodTimesLLC" creates a user page with the following text:
'''Good Times LLC''' is an organization dedicated to helping your children get the highest quality education at an affordable price. Visit our website at goodtimes.info and contact us at 123-456-7890.
A user creates an article titled "Edward Gordon" with the following text:
'''Edward Gordon''' (born July 1998) is an aspiring American actor and songwriter. So far, he has starred in many school plays and has published two albums on SoundCloud. He has over 5,000 subscribers on YouTube.
A user creates an article titled "Bazz Ward" with the following content:
Bazz Ward was a Hall of Fame roadie and I wish he was as well known as Lemmy. Cheers Bazz.
(Attribution: Ritchie333 came up with this scenario as a question to an old RfA candidate. I've borrowed his example here. Hint: Try Google searching a few key terms from this short article.)
A user creates an article that was clearly copied and pasted directly from another website, which states "All Rights Reserved" at the bottom of it. Would your answer be the same if it didn't state "All Rights Reserved" at the bottom?
A user creates an article, but you can't understand any of it because it's in a foreign language.
A user creates an article, but shortly after creating it, the same user blanks the article by removing all of its content.
A new user creates a user page with nothing but the following content:
Jlakjrelekajroi3j192809jowejfldjoifu328ur3pieisgreat
How would this scenario be different if the page was created in a different namespace?
Please read WP:REVDEL and WP:OVERSIGHT.
Occasionally, vandalism will be so extreme that it needs to be removed from publicly accessible revision histories - the criteria for these are described in the articles above. Revision deletion hides the edit from anyone except admins; oversight provides an even greater level of restriction, with only oversighters able to see the comments. The threshold between the two is quite fine - I've been on the wrong side of it a few times. If you are in doubt as to whether revdel or oversight is required, the best bet is to forward it to the oversight team - whoever reviews it will be able to make the decision and act on it.
Thanoscar21, Thank you for starting. I guess my answers would be right. However, I want a RevDel on my talk page archive but I also don't want my email address to be disclosed. What can I do now? I also don't know how to use the IRC method. Hope the ping worked. Waiting for the next section. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 11:06, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
Wikipedia has a policy which details the types of usernames which users are permitted to have. Some users (including me) patrol the User creation log to check for new users with inappropriate usernames (note that you can set this to view 500 users rather than the default 50 - I find that easier to scroll through quickly, and the link on my userpage takes you there directly). There are four kinds of usernames that are specifically disallowed:
Please read WP:USERNAME, and pay particular attention to dealing with inappropriate usernames.
Thanoscar21, I'd first talk with the user to change the name. In case of disagreement, I'd invite other users to give their opinion. For immediate action and response, I'd report the user at WP:UAA. I'm a bit unclear about disruptive usernames. Can you give me any example? Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 19:41, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
I hope this never happens, but as you participate in counter-vandalism on Wikipedia, it is possible that you may come across a threat of physical harm. In the past, we have had vandals submit death threats in Wikipedia articles, as well as possible suicide notes. The problem is, Wikipedia editors don't have the proper training to evaluate whether these threats are credible in most cases.
Fortunately, there's a guideline for cases like this. Please read Wikipedia:Responding to threats of harm carefully and respond to the questions below.
Thanoscar21, looks all fine. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 08:17, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
Occasionally, some vandals will not appreciate your good work and try to harass or troll you. In these situations, you must remain calm and ignore them. If they engage in harassment or personal attacks, you should not engage with them and leave a note at WP:ANI. If they vandalise your user page or user talk page, simply remove the vandalism without interacting with them. Please read WP:DENY.
Thanoscar21, second question was a bit difficult but I explained what I think. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 19:14, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
In light of your recent contributions, I expect that if you apply for the rollback permission at Wikipedia:Requests for permissions/Rollback, an administrator would be happy to enable it on your account, but first we should demonstrate that you understand what the tool is, and the responsibilities that go along with it.
The rollback user right allows trusted and experienced counter vandalism operatives to revert vandalism with the click of one button, not unlike the "rollback" button that you've already been using in Twinkle. This would give you a new rollback button in addition to the three you've been seeing in Twinkle. The new rollback button is slightly faster than the Twinkle rollback button, but more importantly, having the rollback right gives you access to downloadable counter-vandalism software like Huggle and Stiki.
If you're interested, take a look at our rollback guideline at WP:Rollback and feel free to answer the questions below. The rollback right is not an essential part of this course, so if you're not interested, feel free to say so and we'll skip this section.
&summary=
in the URL. Also the rollback summary script can help us to leave an edit summary as given
here.Thanoscar21, I expect that the answers would be right. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 19:40, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
Please read each of the following questions carefully, and ensure that you have responded fully - some of them ask you to expand on what you would do in different situations. When responding to numbered questions please start your response with "#:" (except where shown otherwise - with **). You don't need to worry about signing your answers.
* {{
vandal|Username}} Reason stated here. ~~~~
* {{
IPvandal|user IP}} Reason stated here. ~~~~
.*{{user-uaa|1=Username}} – Reason stated here. ~~~~
.
Thanoscar21, I've finished my work. Have a look! Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 15:54, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
AIV is for reporting users that are currently engaged in persistent and clear vandalism or spamming. It mainly deals with obviously malicious edits that require no discussion. Moreover, if the vandal has received enough warnings, then they should be reported at AIV. Whereas ANI is to discuss urgent and immediate events and incidents chronic and complex behavioural problems. It mainly deals with personal attacks, complex abuse and disruptive users.
Thanoscar21, answered. Looks fine. Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 18:20, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
Empire AS, Congratulations from both myself and all of the instructors at the Counter Vandalism Unit Academy, on your successful completion of my CVUA instruction and graduation from the Counter Vandalism Unit Academy. You completed your final exam with a score of '96%. Well done! Thanoscar21 talk contributions 18:27, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
As a graduate you are entitled to display the following userbox (make sure you replace your enrollee userbox) as well as the graduation message posted on your talk page (this can be treated the same as a
barnstar).
{{User CVUA|graduate}}
:
This user is a Counter-Vandalism Unit Academy graduate. |
Thanoscar21 Wow, I completed and succeeded. Thank you. But I want to ask you that can or should I add my name on trainers list of CVUA? Moreover, I see that you don't give NPPS training, are you going to start this or you wouldn't have time to become a trainer there on NPPS? Thank you. Empire AS Talk! 18:34, 4 January 2021 (UTC)