Operator: Magog the Ogre ( talk · contribs)
Automatic or Manually assisted: Manually assisted.
Programming language(s): Perl
Source code available: No, unless requested.
Function overview: Bot will assist the deletion of images on commons via a two-step process. The bot will not actually delete any pages: I will do that with my account.
Links to relevant discussions (where appropriate): Please see the thread I am creating at AN: WP:AN#OgreBot + Commons images.
Edit period(s): Supervised, thus only when I'm available to edit.
Estimated number of pages affected: Thousands (until backlog cleared). Hundreds per day.
Exclusion compliant (Y/N): Y
Already has a bot flag (Y/N): N
Function details:
;Stage one
Bot will look at 100 images at a time in
Category:Wikipedia files on Wikimedia Commons.
Bot will then print out a list via the PHP page on my local server, printing something in this format:
{{
lf|en.imagename}}
, [commons link here], [wording indicating if image is dupe: if not, print out each's resolution], [wording indicating if licensing is right], [wording indicating if uploader is linked], [uploader username] [Wikitext for en image], [Wikitext for commons image], [textbox for why image was not approved, may remain blank].I will manually check next to each image upon approving it for deletion or not approving it. input a list of images from
Category:Wikipedia files with a different name on Wikimedia Commons for the bot. I will indicate either that I am approving the image or not approving the image. If I indicate I am not approving the image, I may also include a nsd or npd flag; I have no plans to worry about a {{
puf}} tag at this time.
{{
NoCommons|edit summary}}
. If I choose the nsd or npd flags, the bot will tag the image with {{
subst:nsd}} or {{
subst:npd}} and notify the original uploader.*If I leave the edit summary blank, the bot will simply ignore the image.
Finally, once unlinking has been done, bot will print out a page with a "delete this image" button for me to click. It will also print out any errors which need to be fixed manually before the image can be deleted.
Magog the Ogre (
talk) 03:40, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
reply
While I can understand everyone is worried this will not save time, I must whole-heartedly disagree. I've spent time on the backlog, and I spend a huge amount of time the menial work of that I've listed above that the bot can do.
Frankly, I am doubtful whether this will work well. First, I doubt this on grounds of practicality. If it were easy to validate automatically, Metsbot would still be running. Again, if it were easy, Commonshelper would do a much better job than it does. Second, I question the necessity. Some form of move-to-commons backlog has existed since forever, either of images moved and needing processed, or of images not yet moved. The sky has not yet fallen and probably never will. Next, I believe that this proposal aims to solve the wrong problem. So long as local upload of free content is allowed by default, rather than redirecting all free uploads to Commons unless the uploader jumps through hoops (similar to what it required to get a blank upload form), the problem will never go away. The very first technical step in resolving these backlogs should be to prevent them growing further by reducing local free content uploads to an absolute minimum and maximising direct uploads to Commons. Finally, with so much of the backlog having been processed already, I would argue that the remaining images include an abnormally high proportion of crap. That is to say, images which should not have been uploaded to Commons, images which are licensed incorrectly, images which lack descriptions and sources, and so on. These should be processed manually with due consideration of the appropriate action - deletion included - rather than being assumed to be ok unless some glaring error is picked up automatically. For these reasons, I strongly oppose any automation of this process. [An afterthought: I would have fewer objections to the non-backlog, that is to say the newest uploaded-to-Commons categories, being processed with automated assistance.] Angus McLellan (Talk) 16:12, 26 September 2010 (UTC) reply
All this is already availible in various templates. The problem is that the more automation you build in the weaker the sanity check on the copyright status becomes.© Geni 16:14, 26 September 2010 (UTC) reply
OK, it's become obvious I did a poor job of selling this bot and explaining its actions. Please ignore the entirety of stage one above. That's already something I'm going to write, and I'm doing it for me because it saves time. But it's not actually any bot edit, and as such doesn't need approval. The only important edits that this bot will do is:
{{
NoCommons|my reasoning}}
, and possibly add a {{
subst:nsd}} or {{
subst:npd}} tag to the image if I specify (and warn the uploader). This is really only a semi-automated bot; frankly, I could do it in JavaScript which wouldn't need bot group approval; however, it would be much less time consuming to have the bot do the edits, rather than my browser.
Magog the Ogre (
talk) 01:24, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
replyApproved for trial (50 edits). Please provide a link to the relevant contributions and/or diffs when the trial is complete. although given my work with images, I will recuse from final approval. MBisanz talk 22:45, 19 October 2010 (UTC) reply
Operator: Magog the Ogre ( talk · contribs)
Automatic or Manually assisted: Manually assisted.
Programming language(s): Perl
Source code available: No, unless requested.
Function overview: Bot will assist the deletion of images on commons via a two-step process. The bot will not actually delete any pages: I will do that with my account.
Links to relevant discussions (where appropriate): Please see the thread I am creating at AN: WP:AN#OgreBot + Commons images.
Edit period(s): Supervised, thus only when I'm available to edit.
Estimated number of pages affected: Thousands (until backlog cleared). Hundreds per day.
Exclusion compliant (Y/N): Y
Already has a bot flag (Y/N): N
Function details:
;Stage one
Bot will look at 100 images at a time in
Category:Wikipedia files on Wikimedia Commons.
Bot will then print out a list via the PHP page on my local server, printing something in this format:
{{
lf|en.imagename}}
, [commons link here], [wording indicating if image is dupe: if not, print out each's resolution], [wording indicating if licensing is right], [wording indicating if uploader is linked], [uploader username] [Wikitext for en image], [Wikitext for commons image], [textbox for why image was not approved, may remain blank].I will manually check next to each image upon approving it for deletion or not approving it. input a list of images from
Category:Wikipedia files with a different name on Wikimedia Commons for the bot. I will indicate either that I am approving the image or not approving the image. If I indicate I am not approving the image, I may also include a nsd or npd flag; I have no plans to worry about a {{
puf}} tag at this time.
{{
NoCommons|edit summary}}
. If I choose the nsd or npd flags, the bot will tag the image with {{
subst:nsd}} or {{
subst:npd}} and notify the original uploader.*If I leave the edit summary blank, the bot will simply ignore the image.
Finally, once unlinking has been done, bot will print out a page with a "delete this image" button for me to click. It will also print out any errors which need to be fixed manually before the image can be deleted.
Magog the Ogre (
talk) 03:40, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
reply
While I can understand everyone is worried this will not save time, I must whole-heartedly disagree. I've spent time on the backlog, and I spend a huge amount of time the menial work of that I've listed above that the bot can do.
Frankly, I am doubtful whether this will work well. First, I doubt this on grounds of practicality. If it were easy to validate automatically, Metsbot would still be running. Again, if it were easy, Commonshelper would do a much better job than it does. Second, I question the necessity. Some form of move-to-commons backlog has existed since forever, either of images moved and needing processed, or of images not yet moved. The sky has not yet fallen and probably never will. Next, I believe that this proposal aims to solve the wrong problem. So long as local upload of free content is allowed by default, rather than redirecting all free uploads to Commons unless the uploader jumps through hoops (similar to what it required to get a blank upload form), the problem will never go away. The very first technical step in resolving these backlogs should be to prevent them growing further by reducing local free content uploads to an absolute minimum and maximising direct uploads to Commons. Finally, with so much of the backlog having been processed already, I would argue that the remaining images include an abnormally high proportion of crap. That is to say, images which should not have been uploaded to Commons, images which are licensed incorrectly, images which lack descriptions and sources, and so on. These should be processed manually with due consideration of the appropriate action - deletion included - rather than being assumed to be ok unless some glaring error is picked up automatically. For these reasons, I strongly oppose any automation of this process. [An afterthought: I would have fewer objections to the non-backlog, that is to say the newest uploaded-to-Commons categories, being processed with automated assistance.] Angus McLellan (Talk) 16:12, 26 September 2010 (UTC) reply
All this is already availible in various templates. The problem is that the more automation you build in the weaker the sanity check on the copyright status becomes.© Geni 16:14, 26 September 2010 (UTC) reply
OK, it's become obvious I did a poor job of selling this bot and explaining its actions. Please ignore the entirety of stage one above. That's already something I'm going to write, and I'm doing it for me because it saves time. But it's not actually any bot edit, and as such doesn't need approval. The only important edits that this bot will do is:
{{
NoCommons|my reasoning}}
, and possibly add a {{
subst:nsd}} or {{
subst:npd}} tag to the image if I specify (and warn the uploader). This is really only a semi-automated bot; frankly, I could do it in JavaScript which wouldn't need bot group approval; however, it would be much less time consuming to have the bot do the edits, rather than my browser.
Magog the Ogre (
talk) 01:24, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
replyApproved for trial (50 edits). Please provide a link to the relevant contributions and/or diffs when the trial is complete. although given my work with images, I will recuse from final approval. MBisanz talk 22:45, 19 October 2010 (UTC) reply