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Revision as of 17:50, 24 May 2010 editSineBot (talk \| contribs)Bots2,555,318 editsm Signing comment by Superdavit - "→Stephen Auerbach on wikipedai: new section"← Previous edit		Latest revision as of 16:52, 10 July 2024 edit undoJonesey95 (talk \| contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, Mass message senders, Template editors370,989 edits Notification: listing of Template:Csb-day at WP:Templates for discussion.Tag: Twinkle
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			== ''Bots Newsletter'', December 2021 ==
	== CorenSearchBot mistake ==

			{\|style="box-sizing:border-box;background:#f0f8ff; border:1px solid #7Cb9e8; margin:0.5em; padding:0.5em;border-radius:8px;" role="presentation"
	Just wanted to let you know the bot claimed that ] included stuff from http://www.zerohourweb.com/ but the only similarity is the name. -] (]) 17:22, 21 May 2010 (UTC)
			\|-
			!colspan=2 style="font-size:150%; padding: .4em;"\|''Bots Newsletter'', December 2021
			\|-
			\| style="padding-left: .6em;" \| ]
			{{Image frame
			\| caption = BRFA activity by month
			\| content =
			{{Graph:Chart
			\| type = stackedarea
			\| width = 200
			\| height = 100
			\| xAxisAngle = -70
			\| colors =
			#98fb98,
			#fb9898,
			#9898fb,
			#a0a6b0
			\| x = Sep 19,Oct 19,Nov 19,Dec 19
			\| y1 = 5,10,3,7
			\| y2 = 2,0,0,1
			\| y3 = 2,0,1,0
			\| y4 = 0,0,0,2
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			}}
			Welcome to the eighth issue of the English Misplaced Pages's ''Bots Newsletter'', your source for all things ]. Maintainers disappeared to parts unknown... bots awakening from the slumber of æons... hundreds of thousands of short descriptions... these stories, ''and more'', are brought to you by Misplaced Pages's most distinguished newsletter about bots.

			Our ] was in August 2019, so there's quite a bit of catching up to do. Due to the vast quantity of things that have happened, the next few issues will only cover a few months at a time. This month, we'll go from September 2019 through the end of the year. I won't bore you with further introductions — instead, I'll bore you with a newsletter about bots.
	== Another mistake ==

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''Overall'''</span><br />
	The bot claimed that ] contains a copyvio from http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/off-topic-discussion/29331-sixties-diary-january-1960-a-11.html
			* Between September and December 2019, there were 33 ]s. Of these, {{yeac}} 25 were approved, and 8 were unsuccessful ({{nayd}} 3 denied, {{idkc}} 3 withdrawn, and ] 2 expired).

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''September 2019'''</span>
	I went nowhere near this website when creating the article, wasn't even aware of its existence - it's just a discussion forum anyway. Copyright tag removed, thanks. ] (]) 13:11, 22 May 2010 (UTC)
			]
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ], ] · {{idkc}} ], ]
			*'''TParis goes away, UTRSBot goes kaput''': ] ] that ] for maintaining on-wiki records of ] appeals stopped working a while ago. ], the semi-retired user who had previously run it, said they were "unlikely to return to actively editing Misplaced Pages", and the bot had been vanquished by trolls submitting bogus UTRS requests on behalf of real blocked users. While ] was a potential fix, neither maintainer had time to implement it. TParis offered to access to the UTRS WMFLabs account to any admin identified with the WMF: "I miss you guys a whole lot but I've also moved on with my life. Good luck, let me know how I can help". Ultimately, ] ended up in charge. Some progress was made, and the bot continued to work another couple months — but as of press time, UTRSBot has not edited since November 2019.
			*'''Article-measuring contest resumed''': The ], which had lain dead for several years, was triumphantly resurrected by ] following a ].

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''October 2019'''</span>
	== ] ==
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
			*'''Curb Safe Charmer adopts reFill''': ] ] that ]'s bug reports were going unanswered; creator ] had retired from Misplaced Pages, and a maintainer was needed. As of June 2021, ] had ], saying: "Not that I have all the skills needed but better me than nobody! 'Maintainer' might be too strong a term though. Volunteers welcome!" <br />

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''November 2019'''</span>
	I just corrected the spelling of this University (I studied from this University in 1993) from "Awdhesh" to "Awadhesh", since I didn't have rights to rename the page I created a new page and copy pasted the existing page content. So In essence I didn't create the content. The objection might be correct but I didn't create the content.--] (]) 14:50, 22 May 2010 (UTC)
			]
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ] · {{idkc}} ]
			*'''Old bots do new tricks''': ] prowled redirects, ] archived ] requests, and ] removed links to ] deleted at ] (until its authorization was revoked in January at operator ]'s ]).

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''December 2019'''</span>
	== ] ==
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ] ·] ], ]
			*'''Redirects to be autopatrolled''': A ] at ], closing with unanimous consensus that new ] should be ] by bot. ] wasted no time, and submitted ] the next day; it passed two days after that.
			*'''200,000 bios get short descs''': Along a similar vein, ] was approved to remove disambiguation pages from ] and a new bot (]) changed lots of ] links to ] using ]. One particularly neat task, ], automatically generated ] for more than 200,000 biographies.

			<span style="font-size:150%">'''In the next issue of ''Bots Newsletter'':'''</span><br />
	How can one sentence be a copyvio? ] (]) 04:11, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
			What's next for our intrepid band of coders, maintainers and approvers?
	:Well, if it's not attributed and is extensive, it ''can'' be. Mind you, ''that'' statement certainly isn't. I think I need to tweak CSBot to be more forgiving of very short articles; I'll look into it. — ] <sup>]</sup> 15:11, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
			*What happens when two bots want to clerk the same page?
	::Awesome. :) ] (]) 21:53, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
			*What happens when an adminbot goes hog wild?
			*Will reFill ever get fixed?
			*What's up with ], anyway?
			*Python 3.4 deprecation? In ''my'' PyWikiBot? (It's more likely than you think!)
			These questions will be answered — and new questions raised — by the January 2022 ''Bots Newsletter''. Tune in, or miss out!

			Signing off... ''']'''×''']''' 04:29, 10 December 2021 (UTC)
	== ] ==
			----

			<small>(You can subscribe or unsubscribe from future newsletters by adding or removing your name from ].)</small>
	Your bot seemed to think my first draft of the Wynne Godley article contained a lot from the Telegraph obituary, apparently on the basis of some salient facts? It seems rather oversensitive; I just wrote the first draft to cover the main events,
			\|}
			<!-- Message sent by User:JPxG@enwiki using the list at https://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Misplaced Pages:Bots/Spam&oldid=1059552212 -->

			== Bots Newsletter, January 2022 ==
	== Raphael Martinho ==

			{\|style="box-sizing:border-box;background:#f0f8ff; border:1px solid #7Cb9e8; margin:0.5em; padding:0.5em;border-radius:8px;" role="presentation"
	Bot made an error on Raphael Martinho....thanks ] (]) 19:50, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
			\|-
			!colspan=2 style="font-size:150%; padding: .4em;"\|''Bots Newsletter'', January 2022
			\|-
			\| style="padding-left: .6em;" \| ]
			{{Image frame
			\| caption = BRFA activity by month
			\| content =
			{{Graph:Chart
			\| type = stackedarea
			\| width = 200
			\| height = 100
			\| xAxisAngle = -70
			\| colors =
			#98fb98,
			#fb9898,
			#9898fb,
			#a0a6b0
			\| x = Jan 20,Feb 20,Mar 20,Apr 20,May 20,Jun 20
			\| y1 = 3,6,12,13,14,11
			\| y2 = 2,1,0,1,3,1
			\| y3 = 0,0,0,0,1,1
			\| y4 = 0,0,1,1,0,0
			}}
			}}
			Welcome to the ninth issue of the English Misplaced Pages's ''Bots Newsletter'', your source for all things ]. Vicious bot-on-bot edit warring... superseded tasks... policy proposals... these stories, and more, are brought to you by Misplaced Pages's most distinguished newsletter about bots.

			After a long hiatus between August 2019 and December 2021, there's quite a bit of ground to cover. Due to the vastness, I decided in December to split the coverage up into a few installments that covered six months each. Some people thought this was a good idea, since covering an entire year in a single issue would make it unmanageably large. Others thought this was stupid, since they were getting talk page messages about crap from almost three years ago. Ultimately, the question of whether each issue covers six months or a year is only relevant for a couple more of them, and then the problem will be behind us forever.
	== ] ==

			Of course, you can also look on the bright side – we are making progress, and this issue will only be about crap from almost ''two'' years ago. Today we will pick up where we left off in December, and go through the first half of 2020.
	I have no idea what connection there is between the video link cited by the bot and any of my cited print sources. I don't do video; dunno how. Fascinating link though.

			<span style="font-size:150%">'''Overall'''</span><br />
			In the first half of 2020, there were 71 ]s. Of these, {{yeac}} 59 were approved, and 12 were unsuccessful (with {{nayd}} 8 denied, {{idkc}} 2 withdrawn, and ] 2 expired).

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''January 2020'''</span>
			{{multiple image
			\| total_width = 400
			\| height1 = 60
			\| height2 = 60
			\| height3 = 60
			\| height4 = 60
			\| image1=Albino Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus).jpg \| alt1=A python
			\| image2=Albino Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus).jpg \| alt2=A python
			\| image3=Albino Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus).jpg \| alt3=A python
			\| image4=Albino Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus) (cropped to 40%).jpg \| alt4=0.4 pythons
			\| footer = Yeah, you're not gonna be able to get away with this anymore.
			}}
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ], ]
			*A new ] release dropped support for ], and it was expected that support for ] would be removed in coming updates. ] itself planned to drop Python 2 support in 2022.
			*Two new bots dropped in January 2020: ], the successor to ], and ], whose task was to perform a weekly update of four "massive" wikitables for ].
			*], an ] operated by ] since 2006, was ] after going berserk on categories that hadn't yet been ]'d.

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''February 2020'''</span>
	] (]) 03:04, 24 May 2010 (UTC)
			]
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ]
			*On February 1, some ] were raised about ] performing "nonsense" edits. Semi-active operator ] (who originally coded the ] of ]) was pinged. Meanwhile, the bot was temporarily <span class="plainlinks"></span> for several hours until the issue was diagnosed and resolved.
			*On February 18, ] got into a <span class="plainlinks"></span> with ], and had to be partially-blocked from ].

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''March 2020'''</span>
	== Sure Fire Hit feature Film and copyright issues that Misplaced Pages is having. ==
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] ·] ]
			* In March, a long ] was started at ] by ] about the troubling trend of bots "expiring" without explanation after their owners became inactive. This can happen for a variety of reasons -- ] changes break code, hosting providers' software updates break code, hosting accounts lapse, software changes make bots' edits unnecessary, and policy changes make bots' edits unwanted. The most promising solution seemed to be ] hosting (although it has some problems of its own, like the occasional necessity of refactoring code).
			* Some of the twelve bot tasks approved this month were ] (removing blocked users from ]), and ] (removing ''unblocked'' users from ]). ] was approved to refine geographic stub tags. New bots approved this month were ] (to patrol ]), ] (to merge stub tags), and ] (fixing DISPLAYTITLE modifications, DEFAULTSORT errors and broken behavior switches in ]).
			<span style="font-size:125%">'''April 2020'''</span>
			]
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ] ·] ]
			*A ] on the bot noticeboard, "Re-examination of ListeriaBot", was started by ], who pointed out repeated operation outside the scope of its BRFA (i.e. editing pages in mainspace, and adding ] to others). Some said it was doing good work, and others said it was operating beyond its remit. It was <span class="plainlinks"></span> on April 10; the next day it was unblocked, reblocked from article space, reblocked "for specified non-editing actions", unblocked, and indeffed. The next week, several ] were implemented in its code by Magnus; the bot was allowed to roam free once more on April 18.
			*] joined the stable in April, after a BRFA started in December was finally completed. As an adminbot, it was authorized to block ]es belonging to ], public ]s, and ]s. New tasks approved for existing bots included ] (] categories), ] (taking over some tasks from the inactive ]), and ] (updating data at {{tl\|Interactive COVID-19 maps}}). Also, ] was approved to scale down non-free ]s — I didn't even know that was a thing.
			* A ] at ] was started by ] about whether ] should explicitly specify that bot operators must be responsive to concerns raised on English Misplaced Pages specifically (as opposed to ], ], ], et cetera). Eventually, the policy was amended to its ]:
			:<blockquote>Issues and enquiries are typically expected to be handled on the English Misplaced Pages. Pages reachable via ], like a talk page at ] or at ] could also be acceptable External sites like ] or ] (which require separate registration or do not allow for IP comments) and email (which can compromise ]) can supplement on-wiki communication, but do not replace it.</blockquote>

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''May 2020'''</span>
	Hi there
			]
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ], ], ] · {{idkc}} ]
			*], an impressively meta bot task, was approved this month for maintaining a list of bots running on the English Misplaced Pages. The page, located at ], is updated every 24 hours; it contains a list of all accounts with the bot flag, as well as their operator, edit count, last activity date, last edit date, last logged action date, user groups and block status.
			*Other approvals for this month were ] (processing redirects in {{tl\|R from scientific name}}), ] (allowing users to schedule bot reminders for themselves), ] (removing blocked/locked users from ]), ] (updating ]), ] (adding <nowiki>{{</nowiki>]\|living=no<nowiki>}}</nowiki> to talk pages where their associated article is in a year of death category), and ] (deleting and nominating empty categories).
			*General syntax fixing tasks were approved for ], ], ], ], ], and ], as well as ] ], ], and ].
			*Seven bots who fell below ] (with neither the bots nor their operators having any edits or logged actions in two years) had their bot flags removed. They were ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
			*On May 12, ] was ].

			<span style="font-size:125%">'''June 2020'''</span>
	I need help
			]
			* {{yeac}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] · {{nayd}} ] · {{idkc}} ]
			*In July 2017, ] made a ] that a section of the ] be devoted to bots and technical issues. In November 2019, ] code was written superseding ]'s tasks on that page, and operator ] was asked to stop them so that the new code could be deployed. After no response to pings, a ] of Legobot for the dashboard was proposed. Some months later, on June 16, Headbomb said: "A full block serves nothing. A partial block solves all current issues Just fucking do it. It's been 3 years now." The next day, however, Legoktm disabled the task, and the dashboard was successfully refactored.
			*On June 7, ] blocked ] for ], saying it was "still removing links after request to stop". A couple weeks later, a ] was opened, saying "it is a widely-used and useful bot, but it has one of the longest block logs for any recently-operating bot on Misplaced Pages". While its last BRFA approval was in 2011, its code and functionality had changed dramatically since then, and ] requested that BAG require a new BRFA. Maintainer ] responded that most blocks were from years ago (when it lacked a proper ]), and problems since then had mostly been one-off errors (like a ] in which a ] had "weaponized" the bot to harass editors).
			*] opened a discussion about ], and proposed that they not. He cited a recent case in which a maintainer had said "I can only suppose that the code that is available on GitHub is not the actual code that was running on ". Some disagreed: ] said that "I like free software as much as the next person, and I strongly believe that bot operators should make their bot code public, but I don't think it should be that they must do so".
			*Two new bots had their first BRFAs approved: ], to replace ] for handling the ], and ], to remove {{tl\|user sandbox}} from articles in draftspace using ].

			<span style="font-size:150%">'''Conclusion'''</span><br />
	Chris Noth, actor, is starring in my feature film, Sure Fire Hit.
			* What's next for our intrepid band of coders, maintainers and approvers?
	I have tried to add and edit the page that is linked on his page but I keep getting copyright issues with the sites www.surefirehit.co.uk, www.surefirehitmovie.com.
			:*Will Citation bot ever be set free to roam the project?
	I own the script, I own the rights to the film, I own the copyright to make the film and distribute it through Cupsogue Pictures. I have invested a lot of my own money into this project to get it made this year.
			:*What's the deal with all those book links that ] is adding to articles?
	I am the producer and director of the film. Have tried filling in the pages/messages but it still doesn't seem to get the page up... I really need some help as I am meeting Mr. Noth on Thursday, the investors want this up and sorted as part of the press pack..
			:*Should we keep using Gerrit for MediaWiki?
			:*What if we had a day for bots to make cosmetic edits?
			These questions will be answered — and new questions raised — by the February 2022 ''Bots Newsletter''. Tune in, or miss out!

			Signing off... <span style="font-variant:small-caps; whitespace:nowrap;">''']'''×''']'''</span> 23:22, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
	I hope you guys can help.. I really do...
			----

			<small>(You can subscribe or unsubscribe from future newsletters by adding or removing your name from ].)</small>
	My IMDb page that shows my movie career is http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3013405/
			\|}
			<!-- Message sent by User:JPxG@enwiki using the list at https://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Misplaced Pages:Bots/Spam&oldid=1066996263 -->

			== The Dark Nebula ==
	Thanks again

			Hi, I tried to place this entry on Misplaced Pages some years ago & was cited as plagiarising an entry on comixpedia. That listing was indeed by me so i was not copying that post but, instead, reposting on Misplaced Pages, unaware that was not appropriate. I am attempting to post this on Misplaced Pages again & would like to know what is required to be removed or altered so that it would indeed be complying with the rules. I'm 62 years of age & not as tech-savvy as i would otherwise like to be.
	Regards

			I should point out that comixpedia is no longer what it was. In fact, if you click on the link for Comixpedia or more specifically the entry regarding The Dark Nebula it is all an Indonesian Gaming/Gambling site, nothing to do with The Dark Nebula or Comics in any way, shape or form.
	Darren S Cook
	Director & Editor
	Mob: +44(0)7528 229631
	http://www.darrenscook.com
	http://www.surefirehitmovie.com
	http://www.scruffybear.com
	http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3013405/
	http://www.uk.filmcrewpro.com/cv/darrens.cook <small><span class="autosigned">—Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) 09:48, 24 May 2010 (UTC)</span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
	:Please read ] to donating your own copyrighted material to Misplaced Pages. Note that, in addition to copyright requirements, the article must still comply with ], ] and avoid ]. — ] <sup>]</sup> 12:21, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

			To be clear the substance of the proposed entry originated from me, including images. I hope a resolution can be reached.
	== Karpatska Rus' ==

			I leave this in your hands.
	The swipebot cite on ] is to document the date of the name channge from ''Lemko'' to ''Karpatska Rus' ''. Other citations are provided. The newspaper is an important example of foreign-language newspapers for immigrants in the U.S. I have removed the bot tag. ] (]) 10:53, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

			Thank you
	== Naïve (disambiguation) ==
			] (]) 08:57, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

			== Ten years later ==
	], a page recently created by {{user\|JHunterJ}}, was tagged as a copyvio of a site that in all likelihood copied from our ] page. I think I know what happened and imagine it might not be possible to prevent this type of a false positive, but just in case I thought I'd let you know. ''']]]''' 13:35, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

			Hi Coren,
	== Stephen Auerbach on wikipedai ==

			I resolved when I became an admin that I'd swing by here the first time I had a block overturned, even if you were inactive; and after 6 months and 1,421 blocks that's finally happened, sadly, so here I am. You probably don't remember me, but ten years and two usernames ago (''Francophonie&Androphilie'', kinda cringe name) you indeffed me and then reversed yourself after objections at AN/I. I expected I'd have something to say, when this day did come, about what I've learned from having a block overturned, but really all I can say is that it's unpleasant—both getting it wrong and being told you got it wrong—which is no great insight. But I guess I thought it might please (or at least amuse) you to know I stuck around and am an admin now; and also thought I'd take this as an opportunity to say hi and ask how you've been doing. Maybe you won't see this for a year or won't see it ever, but can't hurt to ask.
	I created a wikipedia page for Stephen Auerbach, per Stephen Auerbach. He took his bio, which he wrote and has posted on his personal website, and wanted it copied to wikipedia. So we own the material. With that said, can you please allow the materials I posted to stay up on the site. You can email me back at superdavit@hotmail.com. Thanks,

			<span class="nowrap"> <span style="font-family:courier">-- ]</span><sup>]'']</sup> (she\|they\|xe)</span> 22:13, 7 November 2022 (UTC)
	David McElroy <small><span class="autosigned">—Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) 17:49, 24 May 2010 (UTC)</span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
			== Nomination for deletion of ] ==
			]] has been ]. You are invited to comment on the discussion at ].<!--Template:Tfdnotice--> – ] (]) 15:36, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
			== Nomination for deletion of ] ==
			]] has been ]. You are invited to comment on the discussion at ].<!--Template:Tfdnotice--> – ] (]) 16:52, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

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Bots Newsletter, December 2021

Bots Newsletter, December 2021

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

BRFA activity by month

Welcome to the eighth issue of the English Misplaced Pages's Bots Newsletter, your source for all things bot. Maintainers disappeared to parts unknown... bots awakening from the slumber of æons... hundreds of thousands of short descriptions... these stories, and more, are brought to you by Misplaced Pages's most distinguished newsletter about bots.

Our last issue was in August 2019, so there's quite a bit of catching up to do. Due to the vast quantity of things that have happened, the next few issues will only cover a few months at a time. This month, we'll go from September 2019 through the end of the year. I won't bore you with further introductions — instead, I'll bore you with a newsletter about bots.

Overall

Between September and December 2019, there were 33 BRFAs. Of these, Y 25 were approved, and 8 were unsuccessful (N2 3 denied, ? 3 withdrawn, and 2 expired).

September 2019

Y Monkbot 16, DannyS712 bot 60, Ahechtbot 6, PearBOT 3, Qbugbot 3 · N2 DannyS712 bot 5, PkbwcgsBot 24 · ? DannyS712 bot 61, TheSandBot 4
TParis goes away, UTRSBot goes kaput: Beeblebrox noted that the bot for maintaining on-wiki records of UTRS appeals stopped working a while ago. TParis, the semi-retired user who had previously run it, said they were "unlikely to return to actively editing Misplaced Pages", and the bot had been vanquished by trolls submitting bogus UTRS requests on behalf of real blocked users. While OAuth was a potential fix, neither maintainer had time to implement it. TParis offered to access to the UTRS WMFLabs account to any admin identified with the WMF: "I miss you guys a whole lot but I've also moved on with my life. Good luck, let me know how I can help". Ultimately, SQL ended up in charge. Some progress was made, and the bot continued to work another couple months — but as of press time, UTRSBot has not edited since November 2019.
Article-measuring contest resumed: The list of Wikipedians by article count, which had lain dead for several years, was triumphantly resurrected by GreenC following a bot request.

October 2019

Y OAbot 3, DannyS712 bot 47, Pathbot 2, PearBOT 2, DannyS712 bot 59, DannyS712 bot 62, HasteurBot 14, PearBOT 4, WOSlinkerBot 4, MilHistBot 5
Curb Safe Charmer adopts reFill: TAnthony pointed out that reFill 2's bug reports were going unanswered; creator Zhaofeng Li had retired from Misplaced Pages, and a maintainer was needed. As of June 2021, Curb Safe Charmer had taken up the mantle, saying: "Not that I have all the skills needed but better me than nobody! 'Maintainer' might be too strong a term though. Volunteers welcome!"

November 2019

Y BHGbot 4, YiFeiBot 2, DannyS712 bot III 64 · ? PearBOT
Old bots do new tricks: DannyS712 bot III 64 prowled redirects, YiFeiBot 2 archived GoCE requests, and BHGbot 4 removed links to portals deleted at MfD (until its authorization was revoked in January at operator BrownHairedGirl's request).

December 2019

Y DemonDays64 Bot, DannyS712 bot III 66, Bot1058 6, Monkbot 15, MilHistBot 6, PearBOT 5, DannyS712 bot IV 65 · N2 SportsStatsBot · Xinbenlv bot, SteveBot 8
Redirects to be autopatrolled: A RfC took place at WP:NPP, closing with unanimous consensus that new redirects should be automatically marked as patrolled by bot. DannyS712 wasted no time, and submitted DannyS712 bot III 66 the next day; it passed two days after that.
200,000 bios get short descs: Along a similar vein, Bot1058 6 was approved to remove disambiguation pages from Category:Monitored short pages and a new bot (DemonDays64 Bot) changed lots of http links to https using JavaScript Wiki Browser. One particularly neat task, PearBOT 5, automatically generated short descriptions for more than 200,000 biographies.

In the next issue of Bots Newsletter:
What's next for our intrepid band of coders, maintainers and approvers?

What happens when two bots want to clerk the same page?
What happens when an adminbot goes hog wild?
Will reFill ever get fixed?
What's up with ListeriaBot, anyway?
Python 3.4 deprecation? In my PyWikiBot? (It's more likely than you think!)

These questions will be answered — and new questions raised — by the January 2022 Bots Newsletter. Tune in, or miss out!

Signing off... jp×g 04:29, 10 December 2021 (UTC)

(You can subscribe or unsubscribe from future newsletters by adding or removing your name from this list.)

Bots Newsletter, January 2022

Bots Newsletter, January 2022

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

BRFA activity by month

Welcome to the ninth issue of the English Misplaced Pages's Bots Newsletter, your source for all things bot. Vicious bot-on-bot edit warring... superseded tasks... policy proposals... these stories, and more, are brought to you by Misplaced Pages's most distinguished newsletter about bots.

After a long hiatus between August 2019 and December 2021, there's quite a bit of ground to cover. Due to the vastness, I decided in December to split the coverage up into a few installments that covered six months each. Some people thought this was a good idea, since covering an entire year in a single issue would make it unmanageably large. Others thought this was stupid, since they were getting talk page messages about crap from almost three years ago. Ultimately, the question of whether each issue covers six months or a year is only relevant for a couple more of them, and then the problem will be behind us forever.

Of course, you can also look on the bright side – we are making progress, and this issue will only be about crap from almost two years ago. Today we will pick up where we left off in December, and go through the first half of 2020.

Overall
In the first half of 2020, there were 71 BRFAs. Of these, Y 59 were approved, and 12 were unsuccessful (with N2 8 denied, ? 2 withdrawn, and 2 expired).

January 2020

Yeah, you're not gonna be able to get away with this anymore.

Y ST47Bot, Seppi333Bot, Qbugbot 4 · N2 PkbwcgsBot 25, PkbwcgsBot 26
A new Pywikibot release dropped support for Python 3.4, and it was expected that support for Python 2.7 would be removed in coming updates. Toolforge itself planned to drop Python 2 support in 2022.
Two new bots dropped in January 2020: ST47Bot, the successor to STBot, and Seppi333Bot, whose task was to perform a weekly update of four "massive" wikitables for WikiProject Molecular Biology.
Cydebot, an adminbot operated by Cyde since 2006, was blocked after going berserk on categories that hadn't yet been CfD'd.

February 2020

Y AnomieBOT 78, Cewbot 2, DannyS712 bot 67, DannyS712 bot III 63, PearBOT 6, DemonDays64 Bot 2 · N2 PearBOT
On February 1, some concerns were raised about ListeriaBot performing "nonsense" edits. Semi-active operator Magnus Manske (who originally coded the Phase II software|precursor of MediaWiki) was pinged. Meanwhile, the bot was temporarily blocked for several hours until the issue was diagnosed and resolved.
On February 18, ST47Bot got into a tussle with Amalthea (bot), and had to be partially-blocked from Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/Cases/Overview.

March 2020

Y MajavahBot, SDZeroBot, TheSandBot 6, TheSandBot 7, Bitbotje, FACBot 6, TheSandBot 8, Qbugbot 5, Cewbot 3, SDZeroBot 2, PrimeBOT 31, WikiCleanerBot 12 · AntiCompositeBot
In March, a long discussion was started at Misplaced Pages talk:Bot policy by Skdb about the troubling trend of bots "expiring" without explanation after their owners became inactive. This can happen for a variety of reasons -- API changes break code, hosting providers' software updates break code, hosting accounts lapse, software changes make bots' edits unnecessary, and policy changes make bots' edits unwanted. The most promising solution seemed to be Toolforge hosting (although it has some problems of its own, like the occasional necessity of refactoring code).
Some of the twelve bot tasks approved this month were TheSandBot 6 (removing blocked users from Category:Misplaced Pages usernames with possible policy issues), and TheSandBot 7 (removing unblocked users from Category:Wikipedians who are indefinitely blocked for promotional user names). SDZeroBot 2 was approved to refine geographic stub tags. New bots approved this month were MajavahBot (to patrol WP:EFFPR), SDZeroBot (to merge stub tags), and Bitbotje (fixing DISPLAYTITLE modifications, DEFAULTSORT errors and broken behavior switches in draftspace).

April 2020

Y TheSandBot 9, BHGbot 5, DannyS712 bot 69, SDZeroBot 3, ST47ProxyBot, WugBot 4, SDZeroBot 4, DatBot 10, WikiCleanerBot 11, WikiCleanerBot 13, WikiCleanerBot 14, AntiCompositeBot 2, Cewbot 4 · N2 DaedanBot 1 · Creffbot
A discussion on the bot noticeboard, "Re-examination of ListeriaBot", was started by Barkeep49, who pointed out repeated operation outside the scope of its BRFA (i.e. editing pages in mainspace, and adding non-free images to others). Some said it was doing good work, and others said it was operating beyond its remit. It was blocked on April 10; the next day it was unblocked, reblocked from article space, reblocked "for specified non-editing actions", unblocked, and indeffed. The next week, several safeguards were implemented in its code by Magnus; the bot was allowed to roam free once more on April 18.
ST47ProxyBot joined the stable in April, after a BRFA started in December was finally completed. As an adminbot, it was authorized to block IP addresses belonging to open proxies, public VPN services, and web hosts. New tasks approved for existing bots included BHGbot 5 (diffusing categories), TheSandBot 9 (taking over some tasks from the inactive RonBot), and WugBot 4 (updating data at {{Interactive COVID-19 maps}}). Also, DatBot 10 was approved to scale down non-free SVGs — I didn't even know that was a thing.
A discussion at Misplaced Pages talk:Bot policy was started by Thryduulf about whether WP:BOTCOMM should explicitly specify that bot operators must be responsive to concerns raised on English Misplaced Pages specifically (as opposed to Phabricator, SourceForge, Toolforge, et cetera). Eventually, the policy was amended to its current form:

Issues and enquiries are typically expected to be handled on the English Misplaced Pages. Pages reachable via unified login, like a talk page at Commons or at Italian Misplaced Pages could also be acceptable External sites like Phabricator or GitHub (which require separate registration or do not allow for IP comments) and email (which can compromise anonymity) can supplement on-wiki communication, but do not replace it.

May 2020

Y MajavahBot 3, DannyS712 bot 70, CitationCleanerBot 5, Dreamy Jazz Bot 4, QEDKbot, William Avery Bot 2, DannyS712 bot 68, PrimeBOT 32, TheSandBot 10, Bot1058 7, BHGbot 6, EaglesBot 2, Cewbot 5, WikiCleanerBot 17 · N2 MDanielsBot, PhuzBot 3, Gedimon · ? PearBOT 7
MajavahBot 3, an impressively meta bot task, was approved this month for maintaining a list of bots running on the English Misplaced Pages. The page, located at User:MajavahBot/Bot status report, is updated every 24 hours; it contains a list of all accounts with the bot flag, as well as their operator, edit count, last activity date, last edit date, last logged action date, user groups and block status.
Other approvals for this month were William Avery Bot 2 (processing redirects in {{R from scientific name}}), DannyS712 bot 68 (allowing users to schedule bot reminders for themselves), TheSandBot 10 (removing blocked/locked users from Category:User talk pages with conflict of interest notices), Bot1058 7 (updating Misplaced Pages:Requested moves/Technical requests/Permalink), Dreamy Jazz Bot 4 (adding {{WikiProject Biography|living=no}} to talk pages where their associated article is in a year of death category), and QEDKbot (deleting and nominating empty categories).
General syntax fixing tasks were approved for DannyS712 bot 70, CitationCleanerBot 5, PrimeBOT 32, BHGbot 6, Cewbot 5, and EaglesBot 2, as well as WikiCleanerBot 15, 16, and 17.
Seven bots who fell below activity requirements (with neither the bots nor their operators having any edits or logged actions in two years) had their bot flags removed. They were NekoBot, Robert SkyBot, DASHBotAV, VoxelBot, JackieBot, ReferenceBot, and CensusBot.
On May 12, EmausBot was blocked.

June 2020

Y QEDKbot 2, AnomieBOT 79, WOSlinkerBot 6, Yapperbot 2, Yapperbot, AnomieBOT 80, Dreamy Jazz Bot 5, WikiCleanerBot 18, HasteurBot 15, MusikBot II 4, NoSandboxesHere · N2 RedWarn · ? Seppi333Bot 2
In July 2017, Headbomb made a proposal that a section of the Misplaced Pages:Dashboard be devoted to bots and technical issues. In November 2019, Lua code was written superseding Legobot's tasks on that page, and operator Legoktm was asked to stop them so that the new code could be deployed. After no response to pings, a partial-block of Legobot for the dashboard was proposed. Some months later, on June 16, Headbomb said: "A full block serves nothing. A partial block solves all current issues Just fucking do it. It's been 3 years now." The next day, however, Legoktm disabled the task, and the dashboard was successfully refactored.
On June 7, RexxS blocked Citation bot for disruptive editing, saying it was "still removing links after request to stop". A couple weeks later, a discussion on the bots noticeboard was opened, saying "it is a widely-used and useful bot, but it has one of the longest block logs for any recently-operating bot on Misplaced Pages". While its last BRFA approval was in 2011, its code and functionality had changed dramatically since then, and AntiCompositeNumber requested that BAG require a new BRFA. Maintainer AManWithNoPlan responded that most blocks were from years ago (when it lacked a proper test suite), and problems since then had mostly been one-off errors (like a June 2019 incident in which a LTA had "weaponized" the bot to harass editors).
David Tornheim opened a discussion about whether bots based on closed-source code should be permitted, and proposed that they not. He cited a recent case in which a maintainer had said "I can only suppose that the code that is available on GitHub is not the actual code that was running on ". Some disagreed: Naypta said that "I like free software as much as the next person, and I strongly believe that bot operators should make their bot code public, but I don't think it should be that they must do so".
Two new bots had their first BRFAs approved: Yapperbot, to replace Legobot for handling the Feedback Request Service, and NoSandboxesHere, to remove {{user sandbox}} from articles in draftspace using Category:Non-userspace pages using User sandbox.

Conclusion

What's next for our intrepid band of coders, maintainers and approvers?

Will Citation bot ever be set free to roam the project?
What's the deal with all those book links that InternetArchiveBot is adding to articles?
Should we keep using Gerrit for MediaWiki?
What if we had a day for bots to make cosmetic edits?

These questions will be answered — and new questions raised — by the February 2022 Bots Newsletter. Tune in, or miss out!

Signing off... jp×g 23:22, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

(You can subscribe or unsubscribe from future newsletters by adding or removing your name from this list.)

The Dark Nebula

Hi, I tried to place this entry on Misplaced Pages some years ago & was cited as plagiarising an entry on comixpedia. That listing was indeed by me so i was not copying that post but, instead, reposting on Misplaced Pages, unaware that was not appropriate. I am attempting to post this on Misplaced Pages again & would like to know what is required to be removed or altered so that it would indeed be complying with the rules. I'm 62 years of age & not as tech-savvy as i would otherwise like to be.

I should point out that comixpedia is no longer what it was. In fact, if you click on the link for Comixpedia or more specifically the entry regarding The Dark Nebula it is all an Indonesian Gaming/Gambling site, nothing to do with The Dark Nebula or Comics in any way, shape or form.

To be clear the substance of the proposed entry originated from me, including images. I hope a resolution can be reached.

I leave this in your hands.

Thank you The Dark Nebula (talk) 08:57, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Ten years later

Hi Coren,

I resolved when I became an admin that I'd swing by here the first time I had a block overturned, even if you were inactive; and after 6 months and 1,421 blocks that's finally happened, sadly, so here I am. You probably don't remember me, but ten years and two usernames ago (Francophonie&Androphilie, kinda cringe name) you indeffed me and then reversed yourself after objections at AN/I. I expected I'd have something to say, when this day did come, about what I've learned from having a block overturned, but really all I can say is that it's unpleasant—both getting it wrong and being told you got it wrong—which is no great insight. But I guess I thought it might please (or at least amuse) you to know I stuck around and am an admin now; and also thought I'd take this as an opportunity to say hi and ask how you've been doing. Maybe you won't see this for a year or won't see it ever, but can't hurt to ask.

-- Tamzin (she|they|xe) 22:13, 7 November 2022 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:WMFLabsIP

Template:WMFLabsIP has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – Jonesey95 (talk) 15:36, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Csb-day

Template:Csb-day has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – Jonesey95 (talk) 16:52, 10 July 2024 (UTC)