Guild Wars Wiki:Sysop guide

Note: This is a work-in-progress meta-documentation effort to help sysops become acquainted with their tools and cultural issues surrounding their use. Feel free to pitch in!

Blocking

A sample blocking form

Blocks are applied via the form at the special page Special:Blockip. There are several steps to applying a block:

1. Specify the IP address or user to be blocked. Enter the IP address to be blocked, or the name of the registered user account to be blocked, in the "User" field of the form. Note that nonexistent usernames can also be blocked, so be certain you have the correct username. You can also block a range of IP addresses; see range blocks (below) for more information.

   Usually, you'll be blocking people from the "Block this user" link in the sidebar or the "Block" link next to the username/IP address in the Special:Recentchanges listing.

2. Specify a duration for the block. You can select a predefined duration from the drop down box labelled "Expiry", or you can enter a custom value, using the GNU standard format, in the "Other time" field. If the duration given is "indefinite", then the block will not expire, although the IP address or user account may still be unblocked by a sysop.

   While the form accepts quite a large variety of date entry types (Fortnights, "Next Thursday"), you should generally confine yourself to the standard "years, months, weeks, days, hours and minutes".

   You can use decimals. Hence, "8.725 fortnights" is a valid (if strange and somewhat annoying) block duration.

3. Specify a reason for the block (optional). This reason will be displayed to the blocked user if they attempt to edit a page.

   The more descriptive, the better (especially when using some of the blocking options below). If possible, consider linking to evidence.

Click "block this user" to apply the block. All blocks are recorded in the block log, and all currently active blocks are listed at the list of active blocks.

Blocking options

The blocking page has three important options associated with the block:

1. Block anonymous users only: When blocking an IP user, selecting this option will allow any registered users to continue editing from that address. This option has no effect on a block of a registered user, but it does modify any autoblocks (see below) caused by that block.

   Generally speaking, this isn't a very useful option. Many of the IP users that are blocked are from spammers or spam bots - if they create an account, they'll still be able to access from that location. This option is really only for use when considering a block of a proxy, tor exit node, or dynamic IP address (such as AOL), as it minimizes the likelihood of restricting actual contributors.

2. Prevent account creation: Anyone that tries to access from the blocked IP address will not be able to create an account.

   This option should generally be turned on when dealing with an IP spammer, since they've been known to create usernames such as "Ki3H5x" to evade blocks. This also works when blocking a registered user - even though we can't see the IP address, the MediaWiki software takes care of it in the background

3. Automatically block the last IP address used by this user, and any subsequent addresses they try to edit from: (Autoblock, for short) This option only applies to blocks of registered user accounts. When enabled, this option will cause the block to also apply to the most recent IP address, and any other addresses that they try to log in from.

   This is the mack daddy of blocking. This is the block for that l33t h4x0r d00d who thinks that he can get around a block by having his mother drive him to the library so that he can vandalize Izzy's page again. This option should usually be set when blocking a registered spammer/spambot, as it has a decent chance of blocking another address or two before they figure it out.

   Autoblocks are taken care of in the background by the MediaWiki software, and last for 24 hours. These blocks only appear on the Special:Ipblocklist page (not in the regular block log) because they are added automatically.

   Be careful when using the autoblock function, especially in the case of dynamic IPs (AOL being the prime example) as it can result in temporarily blocking large numbers of innocent users.

Range blocking

Range blocking is a way to block all IP addresses in a certain range. Hence the name. This type of blocking should only be used under extreme circumstances and should not be done without careful consideration. Knowledge of how to do a successful range block to restrict the block to the minimal number of addresses possible is essential.

An IP range takes the form of 69.208.0.0/24 (for reference, that's the range between 69.208.0.0 and 69.208.0.255) - it shows the IP address at the low end of the block (more or less) and the number after the "/" shows the number of significant bits (it makes more sense in binary, take a look at MW:range blocks). In other words, the "69.208.0.0/24" range actually blocks all IP addresses of the form 69.208.0.XXX. Since an IP address consists of 32 bits, a block of "69.208.0.0/32" is exactly the same as blocking "69.208.0.0."

Make sure to check the IP range multiple times before range blocking, due to the massive possibility of error. One useful site is the netmask calculator, which will automatically compute the necessary values to block all addresses between the two you provide.

Please note that individual IP addresses cannot be unblocked from a range block. Any attempts to unblock that IP will not take effect unless the entire range is unblocked.

Effects of a block

Blocked users may still read pages, but they cannot create, edit, or move pages, nor can they upload files. In general, all additional user rights (deletion, protecting, assign user rights) will be disabled for the duration of the block, but this does not apply to block/unblocking abilities. Any user that has blocking and unblocking abilities will be able to use them during their block (which allows them to unblock themselves).

Unblocking

An IP address or registered user account can be unblocked via the list of active blocks. Find the IP address or registered user account you wish to unblock in the list (you can enter the address or name in the "search" field to help you find the entry), and click the "Unblock" link displayed to the right of the block's expiry time.

This will lead you to a confirmation page. Enter the reason for unblocking (optional) in the "reason" field, and click "unblock this address" to remove the block. All unblockings are recorded in the block log.

Deleting

• Get familiar with deletion policy.

Hiding individual revisions

Sample delete revision form

Sometimes it is necessary for a single revision to be deleted, rather than the whole page. This is useful when a user adds personal or sensitive information, such as access keys and passwords. If you see this, revert it immediately, and hide the revision. The Delete/undelete revisions page can be accessed through the history page.

Hiding a revision removes the text, edit summary and/or the user's name or IP address from public viewing. Only other sysops can see the hidden revision.

The following options are available:

1. Hide revision text. Almost always used.
2. Hide edit comment. Only to be used if the edit summary contains sensitive information.
3. Hide editor's username/IP. Unlikely to be used.

Protecting

Protecting a page restricts it from being edited. The source code is always visible. This is primarily used for pages that have a high chance of being vandalized (Main Page) or as a temporary measure on a page that is the subject of an edit war or mass vandalism. There are three different kinds of protection:

• Semi-protection: Only registered users are allowed to edit the page. Any anon (IP) contributors will still be able to see the source code, but are unable to make any changes.
  • This version makes a lot of sense on a page that is getting a lot of anon vandals, but it's not very useful in preventing an edit war.
• Full-protection: Only administrators are allowed to edit the page.
  • This version should mainly be used on high-profile pages (the Main Page), pages that should never be changed by a non-administrator (Guild Wars Wiki:Copyrights) or as a very temporary measure to stopping an edit war. Please note that, when dealing with an edit war, no matter which revision you choose to protect, it will be the wrong one. Try to keep any pages protected for as short of a time as possible.

Move Protection

By checking the "unlock move permissions" box on the "Confirm protection" screen, the page move rights can be restricted independently of page editing. This is most often used on Project pages that anyone should be able to edit, but that should generally not be moved.

Create protection

If a page does not exist, it can be protected against creation in the same way that an existing page can be protected from moving and editing. This is generally only done for pages which are frequent vandalism targets with no reason to exist, such as index.php.

Protecting images

To protect an already uploaded image from being replaced with a newer version (such as images used on the Main Page, you can simply use the Protect button like with any other article.

Once in a while you may come across some image filename that shouldn't be uploaded at all to the wiki, (f.i. Image:Example.jpg). To achieve this, simply edit the page of that image, (for example to add a reason why that page was protected). After this page has been created, the Protect button for that article will be available, and users trying to upload the image after that will receive a warning message that the page has been protected and will be unable to proceed.

Notes on protection

When used to temporarily stop an edit war, protection may be viewed as an endorsement of that particular version. This is not the case. Be careful to remind other users of this and start a discussion on the talk page of the article to resolve the conflict.

Rollback

Any user can revert a page by going through the page history. Administrators gain access to an additional rollback link to expedite the process. To revert the edits of one user to the last version by the previous editor, click rollback on the page history, the user contribution list, or on the diff page. The reversion will be marked as a minor edit and given an automatic edit summary based on the contents of MediaWiki:Revertpage.

Impartiality

Most active sysops also actively edit the wiki. This occasionally causes conflict of interest. For example, if people start personally attacking you after an edit to an article, blocking them yourself makes it appear as if you're using your sysop tools to control wiki content.

Thus:

• If you're editorially involved in a conflict, request another sysop's intervention.
• If you're personally involved with a member of a conflict, request another sysop's intervention.
• Only mention your sysop status when justifying or explaining an administrative action.

Cultural reverence of sysops

In theory, sysops do not have any say in the editorial process beyond that of any other editor. However, sysops unintentionally have a bit more clout than non-sysops in discussions. This is primarily due to the selection of sysops from the crop of experienced users, ideally those that are able to mediate between other users and contribute positively to discussions. Sysops should be careful not to stifle discussions by weighing in too early on one side of a debate.

Some possible ways to avoid abusing non-systemic sysop authority:

• Be a little more explanatory than usual. Justify edits more completely. Post on discussion pages more often if something might become controversial. This is good advice for everyone, but it's doubly important for sysops — a lack of an edit summary for any non-minor edit can give the impression of unilateral action.
• Occasionally remind people that usual cultural considerations apply to sysops, too. For example, occasionally add "if you disagree, please revert" to your edit summary or talk post. Even though people are always free to revert like this, explicitly stating so helps them get over the fear of reverting an administrator.
• If you get administratively involved with an article, avoid being editorially involved with that article for some time. There's more than one sysop for this reason.

Other useful notes

• Watching (and watchlisting) the Admin noticeboard is useful for awareness of currently requested tasks. Remember though, that an issue being listed there does not necessarily mean that sysop action is required.
• You can use IP Lookup Tools (find them through a search engine) to check whether an IP is listed on any RBLs (Reputation and Block Lists) and why they are listed. Useful info that can be found here is whether that's a shared dynamic IP, open proxy, known spammer, and so on. It's not foolproof and false positives are not unheard of, but it's certainly handy.