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<onlyinclude>{{short description|Project to deal with vandals and vandalism on Misplaced Pages}}
{{Misplaced Pages:Counter Vandalism Unit/Nav|}}
<noinclude>{{pp-semi|small=yes}}</noinclude>
{| class="messagebox cleanup collapse" style="border-radius: 8px; padding:5px; width:75%; font-size:90%; valign=top;" cellpadding = 5
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| ]
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:You want to revert vandalism, but don't yet know the ropes?
:You want to share your experience in training the next generation of vandalism fighters?


:Either way, '''your search stops here''', at the ''']'''!
{{Wdefcon}}
|}
{{Shortcut|]<br />}}
{{Colored box
| title = Introduction
| icon = OOjs UI icon lightbulb.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/TopPanel
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{shortcut|WP:CVU|WP:VANDWAR}}
The '''Counter-Vandalism Unit''' ('''CVU''') is a ] whose aim is to help detect and remove ] on Misplaced Pages by using tools and experience, and to provide advice on dealing with vandals. All members of the Misplaced Pages community can revert vandalism at any time. Active vandalism patrollers who join this project will receive occasional newsletters with information on training, software updates, and new or modified policies and guidelines.


Some active members have volunteered to train other editors in countering vandalism. If you would like to learn more about the process or if you think you would like to train others, please see the ].
==Announcements ==
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
*<font color=red size=larger>'''The language prohibiting the removal of legitimate warnings contained in ] has existed for months and is supported by the results of ]. Very recently, this language has been repeatedly removed or altered, against consensus, on the basis of the reverter's personal analysis of its merits -- for example, see . To ensure that the votes in ] actually count, please help to restore the consensus version of ].'''</font> 23:28, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
}}
*Vandalism requiring administrator intervention may be reported at ''']''' 07:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; flex-wrap: wrap;">
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 1 40em;">
{{Colored box
| title = Goals
| title-color = #FFF
| background-title-color = #36C
| icon = OOjs UI icon articleCheck-ltr-invert.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Goals
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Goals}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Help
| title-color = #FFF
| background-title-color = #36C
| icon = OOjs UI icon userTalk-ltr-invert.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Help
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Help}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Associates
| title-color = #FFF
| background-title-color = #36C
| icon = OOjs UI icon wikitrail-ltr-invert.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Associates
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Associates}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Recognition
| title-color = #FFF
| background-title-color = #36C
| icon = Goldenwiki 2.png
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Recognition
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Recognition}}
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}}
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 1 40em;">
{{Colored box
| title = Questions?
| title-color = #FFF
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| icon = OOjs UI icon help-ltr-invert.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Questions
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism_Unit/Questions/home}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Discussions
| title-color = #FFF
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| icon = OOjs UI icon speechBubbles-ltr-invert.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Discussions
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Discussions}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Divisions
| title-color = #FFF
| background-title-color = #36C
| icon = CVU puzzle.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Divisions
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Divisions}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Participants
| title-color = #FFF
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| icon = OOjs UI icon userAvatar-invert.svg
| link = Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Participants
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| content = {{Misplaced Pages:Counter-Vandalism Unit/Participants}}
| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
}}
{{Colored box
| title = Vandalism Status
| title-color = #FFF
| background-title-color = #36C
| icon = OOjs UI icon userAvatar-invert.svg
| link = Template:Vandalism information
| link-color = #a2a9b1
| content = {{Vandalism information|prefix=User:Ebe123/}}


| style = flex: 1 1 auto;
*We have implemented a new system of verification on to prevent vandals from monitoring us. Please request access at the ]. - 22:00, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
}}
*''']''', a proposed policy to restrict anonymous editing by users connected through shared IP addresses has been rejected. Proposal and discussion retained for historical interest. 21:28, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
</div>
{{WikiProject status}}
{{Noticeboard Links|notoc=yes}}
{{Misplaced Pages community|state=collapsed}}</onlyinclude>


]
*''']''', a downloadable application which contains some powerful tools for detecting and reverting vandalism and administering appropriate warnings to vandals has become available (see ]. 16:28, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
]
*''']''' has been updated, allowing users the option of only monitoring edits within the article namespace and providing a non-admin rollback function. In addition, a new live spellcheck mode has also been included. 05:23, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
]
*''']''', a cross-platform VandalProof-like application, is currently in beta. At the moment it has only been confirmed to run on ]. 19:01, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
*A change was made to the descriptions of one of the barnstars to specifically mention the CVU. 08:33, 18 September 2006 (EDT)

==General information==
===The Counter-Vandalism Unit===
The Counter-Vandalism Unit (CVU) aims to help in cleaning up ] on Misplaced Pages by producing tools to assist in removing vandalism, provide advice on dealing with vandals, and to share information with other Wikipedians dealing with the same issues. Removing vandalism is a task open to all members of the Misplaced Pages community, and the CVU intends to make that task easier.

You can associate with the CVU by adding one of the following userboxes to your user page:

<table border="2"><tr><td>'''Code:'''</td><td>'''Results in:'''</td></tr>
<tr><td>{{t1|user CUV}}</td> <td>{{user CUV}}</td></tr>
<tr><td>{{t1|user CVU1-en}}</td><td>{{user CVU}}</td></tr>
<tr><td>{{t1|user CVU2-en}}</td><td>{{user CVU2-en}}</td></tr>
<tr><td>{{t1|user CVU3-en}}</td><td>{{user CVU3-en}}</td></tr>
</table>
{{clear}}

If you prefer not to use userboxes, you can add yourself to ].

===Resources===
*]
*]
*IRC channels: (Not owned, operated by, or affiliated with the Counter-Vandalism Unit.)
** Primary ] bot listing/CVU meeting place (''] registration required; voice invitations available on request at '')
** User vandalism and alternate RC bot listings (''NickServ registration required'')
** Discussion/experimental bots channel (''if you would like to report vandalism on IRC without registering, please do so here'')
** ] reporting channel
** Channel for bot testing.
** Requests for ] (''only works when a sysop with checkuser is online'')
*]
* (Not owned, operated by, or affiliated with the Counter-Vandalism Unit.)

===What the CVU is not===
* Identifying with the CVU's role by one of the methods above does '''not''' grant you any special rights or privileges on Misplaced Pages.
* The Counter-Vandalism Unit is not, and has not requested to be, sanctioned as an official project of the ].
* The unit is merely a collection of individuals dedicated to removing vandalism, and does not seek to represent itself as anything more. "Unit" is shorter and snappier than "]".

==Current issues==
{{WikipediaVandalism}}

See ] for current vandalism reports.

==Guidelines==
====Determining what is vandalism====
The ] definition of ''']''' is "needless damage or destruction of property, usually someone else's property or common or shared property".

On Misplaced Pages, '''vandalism is defined in ]'''. It is imperative to understand that not every destructive edit is classified as ], in particular '''content disputes are not vandalism'''. There is a procedure to be followed in dealing with edits classifiable as vandalism. Note that different-language versions of Misplaced Pages language have their own rules, but these rules tend not to differ widely.

The key is to ]. First time offenses at worst should warrant a warning via the posting of &#123;{]:]}} <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki> on the user's talk page, followed by additional test template messages from ].

]. Many activities classifiable as vandalism may be just newbie mistakes. Proper procedure is placing a simple <nowiki>{{subst:test}}</nowiki> on their talk page and/or explaining to them why what they are doing is inappropriate. Another way to think of this is that if you "bark" at someone not to do something, they are more than likely to at least try it or to do it just to annoy you — a simple rule of crowd management (see also ]).

====Dealing with bad edits====
Not all kinds of bad edits are vandalism, and not all vandalism is equal. The following remedies have been found to be consistent with policy.

=====Severe vandalism=====
If you are an administrator, it is warranted to block these violations on sight. If you are not an admin, report the incident on the ] or ].
*'''] and rapid vandalism''' - A rapid submission of edits from the same user(s)/IP(s) that are intended to disrupt. An example of this would be page move vandalism, made particularly troublesome because undoing page move vandalism frequently requires administrator assistance.
*'''Page widening''' - Posting repeated sections into a page on Misplaced Pages (often making it ]s long) can make accessing or editing the page difficult or impossible.
*'''Intentionally exploiting bugs in the Misplaced Pages site software''' to permanently delete content, make it difficult to revert changes, etc.
*'''Posting images, creating pages, or creating ]s to potentially offensive images or pages''' with the intent of insulting/offending others and with no encyclopedic aims. See ] for an example.
*'''Choosing a username to impersonate or insult existing usernames'''. To handle this, apply &#123;{]}}, &#123;{]}}, &#123;{]}} or &#123;{]}} as appropriate.

=====Ordinary vandalism=====
For these violations, ] should be used. If the violations recur, short-term blocks may be warranted if you are an administrator (remember to leave a notice on their userpage). Non-admins should post the incident on the ] or ] to receive assistance.
*'''Page blanking''' - Edits removing much or all text from articles. The majority of such edits are vandalism; however, there are legitimate "page blankings", such as for ] where reverting to an old version is not practical. For an example, see .
*'''Page gibberish''' - Edits adding a large quantity of nonsense text, generally repetitive sentences. See .
*'''Minor vandalism''' - This is often actually just experimentation with people new to the ] concept, but does include malicious edits, such as changing dates or other numbers to false values or adding insignificant amounts of nonsense to pages. See , , and another .

=====Not vandalism=====
The following should not automatically be considered to be vandalism and should be dealt with in other ways:

*'''NPOV violations''' - Violations of ]. Revert and state on the talk page of the article (or user, if appropriate) your reasons for doing so. Obtain further input from the community if needed on ] or as a ]. If the user persists in reverting to his prefered version of the article, however, that may be considered vandalism.
*'''Revert wars''' - Repetitive changes between versions of an article by multiple editors, often in violation of ]. Seek assistance on IRC or from an administrator. If you are an administrator, read relevant policy if unsure. Depending on the circumstances, this may be considered vandalism on part of certain users.
*'''Copyright violations''' - Inserting content that we have no license to or cannot use the license for. Revert the changes if there is an old version of the article that is not a copyvio, otherwise blank the article and put the copyvio tag on it. See ]. Persistent and defiant insertion of such content should however be considered vandalism.

==Dealing with vandalism==
There are many ways and places to fix/deal with vandalism on Misplaced Pages. However, a major risk in combating vandalism is forgetting ]. For non-severe vandalism, users should be warned with appropriate warning templates. See the ''']'''. You can transclude an abbreviated version of this to a personal user page with <nowiki>{{</nowiki>]<nowiki>}}</nowiki>.

Below are a few of the many methods in combatting vandalism here on wikipedia.

===Detection, reversion, and warning===
The following several are tools and methods useful for detecting and reverting vandalism as well as applying appropriate warning templates:
* ''']''' is the manual analysis of recent changes for suspicious edits.
* There are several bots that automatically process the ] feed and determine what may be vandalism, such as ]. Note that the bots are not 100% accurate in detecting vandalism.
*''']''' is a downloadable application under development by ] which allows to revert a page, warn the vandal appropriately and put them on a "black" list with just one click. Also allows the revert of all of a user's contributions at once. Requires the author's permission to use.
*''']''' (CDVF) is an open-source program that displays a live feed of recent changes (RC) but contains extra functionality to assist in vandal fighting. The bot works on all language Wikipedias, though some features currently only work on the English Misplaced Pages (see changelog). This tool is available to both administrators and users.
*The ''']''', pgkbot, by ] runs on the IRC channels above.
*''']''' catches what CDVF and IRC bots miss. It monitors the RSS feed for recent changes, checks those edit diffs for common vandalism terms, and lists them for reversion if they contain flagged terms. It also now contains a live spellcheck feature. This tool is available for both admins and users. Note that the latest version is considerably more resource-efficient than the original version.
*''']''' is an IRC-aware program which auralizes recent changes using the metadata "about changes", and regular expressions. It both shows color-coded output from the IRC bot, and maps each RC diff onto a bird-call or other nature sound. Both admins and non-admins can use this to view RC.
*''']''' gives non-admins revert, filter, and popup tools while using the (default) monobook skin .
* '''''' adds reversion options to the browser for non-admins.
*''']''' is a page which simplifies the process of warning vandals by allowing warnings to be submitted to specific users directly from the page.
*See the list of ''']'''.
**The ''']''' link will display recent changes to all pages listed on ], for those who wish to follow vandalism on Misplaced Pages but who are unable or do not desire to use IRC bot tools.
*'''Temporarily put the daily ] on your ]''', as it is an obvious target for vandals.
*'''Check a vandal's other contributions''' when reverting vandalism. There may be other recent vandalism by the same user which has not yet been reverted.
* '''''' created by ] &ndash; still being worked on.
* '''''' &ndash; a new tool made by ] to find newly uploaded orphaned images. This is useful for finding various copyright violations and people who are using Misplaced Pages merely as an image hosting service.
** How to use it:
**# Look for images which mention "copyrighted", "fair use" or "public domain" in the edit summary column; these are the most frequently abused.
**# Look for edit summaries in any language other than ]; these images are typically webspam/vanity.
**# Look for edit summaries which mention an image hosting services like ], ], etc.; typically these images are uploaded with the intent of using Misplaced Pages as an alternative image hosting service.
**# Use common sense; if an image is uploaded without an edit summary by a red-linked (no user page) user, check it out.
*''']''' is a feature-wise port of ] to ]/], bringing its featureset to ] users. A beta is available.

===Stopping vandals===
*'''Reporting vandals''' ], especially on the IRC channels mentioned earlier. This will likely earn you the fastest results, as there are generally admins available to block vandals. However, you might consider viewing the block log for the account/IP before reporting, as people on the IRC channels monitor Misplaced Pages closely and the account may be blocked already. Additionally you can report more complicated, less blatant acts of vandalism to ] to request a prompt admin inspection.
*See the Misplaced Pages '''''' if you want to make direct contact with administrators via their talk pages.


]
]
]

]
]
]
]
==Recognition==
There is a ] to recognize the efforts of people fighting vandalism.
{|
|-

|]
|{{tlsp|The RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar|message <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>}}
|'''The RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar'''
The ''RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar'' (formerly the ''Anti-Vandalism Barnstar'') may be awarded to those who show great contributions to protecting and reverting attacks of ] on ]. For more information on fighting vandalism, please see ].

This award was introduced on ], ] by ], and was designed by ]. This award was renamed on ], ] in appreciation of the efforts of former Wikipedian ] in fighting vandalism.
|}

Latest revision as of 09:35, 16 November 2024

Project to deal with vandals and vandalism on Misplaced Pages

You want to revert vandalism, but don't yet know the ropes?
You want to share your experience in training the next generation of vandalism fighters?
Either way, your search stops here, at the CVU Academy!
Introduction Link Shortcuts

The Counter-Vandalism Unit (CVU) is a Misplaced Pages project whose aim is to help detect and remove vandalism on Misplaced Pages by using tools and experience, and to provide advice on dealing with vandals. All members of the Misplaced Pages community can revert vandalism at any time. Active vandalism patrollers who join this project will receive occasional newsletters with information on training, software updates, and new or modified policies and guidelines.

Some active members have volunteered to train other editors in countering vandalism. If you would like to learn more about the process or if you think you would like to train others, please see the Counter-Vandalism Academy.
Goals Link

Our goals are:

  1. Protect Misplaced Pages from disruption.
  2. React to vandalism in progress.
  3. Inform active counter-vandalism users on updates and new software.
  4. Train new counter-vandals.
  5. Study the effects of vandalism on the encyclopedia.
Help Link

How to help:

  1. Identify that an edit qualifies as vandalism.
  2. Restore the page to the last non-vandalized version.
  3. Inform the editor that the edits were perceived as vandalism.
  4. Report the editor if vandalism persists.
Associates Link
New Pages Patrol — review New Pages to detect copyright violations, vandalism, attack pages, hoaxes and spam, making minor improvements, and listing inappropriate pages for deletion.
ClueBot NG — a bot that uses a vandalism-detection algorithm to automatically revert most vandalism.
Recent Changes Patrol — users who regularly patrol Recent Changes in real time and, among other things, remove vandalism.
Counter Vandalism Network (CVN) — recent changes broadcasted live on IRC channel #cvn-wp-en with information on how likely the edit is to be vandalism.
Recognition Link
The Anti-Vandalism barnstar The Anti-Vandalism Barnstar

may be awarded to those who show great contributions to protecting and reverting attacks of vandalism on Misplaced Pages. Use barnstars sparingly – don't dilute their importance.

The Silver CVU Award The Silver CVU Award

is awarded to those who make significant contributions to The Counter-Vandalism Unit or to counter-vandalism.

The Gold CVU Award The Gold CVU Award

is awarded for outstanding contributions to The Counter-Vandalism Unit or to counter-vandalism where the Silver CVU Award would be insufficient.

Questions? Link

If you have any questions about counter-vandalism, feel free to

post them here.
Discussions Link

Discussions that may be of interest to CVU members:
New Pages Feed
Unwatched pages

https://meta.wikimedia.org/IP_Editing:_Privacy_Enhancement_and_Abuse_Mitigation
Divisions Link
The Academy

For users wishing to learn more about Counter-Vandalism.

 Vandalism Studies

For research on unconstructive edits.

 Subtle Vandalism Taskforce (SVT)

For resources and discussion about subtle, sneaky vandalism.

 Tools

Descriptions of various tools and scripts used to counter vandalism.

Participants Link

See this list for all unit members.

CVU Userboxes
Code: Results in:
{{User wikipedia/CVU-Vandal Fighter}}
This user fights vandalism.
{{user CVU1-en}}
This user is a member of the
Counter-Vandalism Unit.
{{User CVU9-en}}
This user trains others to fight vandalism at the Counter Vandalism Unit's Academy.
{{User CVU10-en}}
This user learns to fight vandalism at the Counter Vandalism Unit's Academy.
CVU Topicon
Code: Results in:
{{CVU topicon}} A little CVU seal will be displayed in the same way as it does here, in the top-right corner.
If you prefer not to use userboxes or a topicon, you can add yourself to Category:Wikipedians in the Counter-Vandalism Unit.
Vandalism Status Link
Green Alert. Any Misplaced Pages Security Personnel would be helpful.
2.40 RPM according to EnterpriseyBot 12:10, 25 December 2024 (UTC) change 		4
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