User:Cassiopeia/CVUA/EpicPupper

Hello, 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 when under my instruction, 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 User talk:Cassiopeia/CVUA/EpicPupper.

Make sure you read through Vandalism as that's the knowledge which most of the questions I ask you and tasks you do will revolve around.

This page will be built up over your time in the Academy, with new sections being added as you complete old ones. Each section will end with a task, written in bold type - this might just ask a question, or it might require you to go and do something. You can answer a question by typing the answer below the task; if you have to do something, you will need to provide diffs to demonstrate that you have completed the task. Some sections will have more than one task, sometimes additional tasks may be added to a section as you complete them. Please always sign your responses to tasks as you would on a talk page.
 * How to use this page

Once you graduate I will copy this page into your userspace so you have a record of your training and a reference for the future.

Twinkle Twinkle is a very useful tool when performing maintenance functions around Wikipedia. Please have a read through WP:TWINKLE.
 * Enable Twinkle (if haven't already) and leave a note here to let me know that you have enabled it.


 * I've enabled Twinkle.

Good faith and vandalism
When patrolling for vandalism, you may often come across edits which are unhelpful, but not vandalism - these are good faith edits. It is important to recognise the difference between a vandalism edit and a good faith edit, especially because Twinkle gives you the option of labelling edits you revert as such. Please read WP:AGF and WP:NOT VANDALISM before completing the following tasks.

Answer:
 * Please explain below the difference between a good faith edit and a vandalism edit, and how you would tell them apart.

In general, good faith edits are edits that are not intended to cause harm. These include not including an edit summary, content blanking (potentially on BLP articles), or general stubbornness in terms of specific content section. Vandalism edits are edits that have the explicit intention to cause harm, or damage Wikipedia in any way. Personally, I differentiate between them using edit summaries, the language used in edits, and the user's talk page, if applicable. With edit summaries, per Wikipedia:NOTVANDALISM, I do not judge an edit to be vandalism just because an user has not added an edit summary, but edit summaries such as "haha" and "poopyhead" (I've encountered these personally while patrolling recent changes) are a red flag. The language used in edits is the biggest factor for me, if it looks like the user is trying to contribute in some way, it's not vandalism. Finally, user talk pages are a helpful tool, as you can quickly identify if that user has been warned before for vandalism (as some may be LTAs). Although "vandalism" may be interpreted broadly, in my opinion it is better to judge an edit as good faith/non constructive/other rather than vandalism, as it may contribute to biting the newcomers.


 * This is a 3 part question. Pls re-read the question and re- answer again. Cassiopeia(talk) 02:14, 30 April 2021 (UTC)


 * ✅. I like that you would check their talk page /history log to gauge the editor normal behavior. The key here is intention. If an editor intends to help Wikipedia, and the edit is considered disruptive, they are still considered a "good faith" editor especially the new editor does not aware their edits are disruptive. Vandalism is a deliberate attempt to harm Wikipedia. Editor might edit adds incorrect or unsourced information and this does not necessarily mean a user is a vandal; they key is their "intention". Cassiopeia(talk) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

Answer:
 * Please find three examples of good faith but unhelpful edits, and three examples of vandalism. You don't need to revert the example you find, and I am happy for you to use previous undos in your edit history if you wish.
 * Good faith

(1) I believe that this is a good faith edit. Although it is unhelpful, it does not look like it is made with malicious intent. Rather, the user may have decided that a rewording might have been better, although the edit caused the title to be unnecessarily long and not detailed.
 * ✅. Cassiopeia(talk) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

(2) This also looks to be a good faith edit. The user has added the adjective "grim" to multiple purely numerical statistics, on a page that is mainly for recording statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that the user was affected by COVID-19 themselves and might have gone to Wikipedia to spread awareness.
 * ✅. Cassiopeia(talk) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

(3) Although I am a bit skeptical on this one, I have still assumed good faith. This might be a joke or vandalism edit, but I believe that this edit was made in good faith. The user left an edit summary, and they might be young and believe their edit was justified.
 * ✅.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Answer:

(1) I believe that this was vandalism. The user did not provide an edit summary, and did not provide justification on why the title was changed.
 * ✅.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

(2) The user looks to have arbitrarily modified important dates/numbers, without any reliable source justification in their edit or in an edit summary.
 * . Unsourced edit is not a vandalism edit even the editor does not provide an edit summary unless the nature of the unsourced edit is harmful/vandalism edit. When it comes to stats of an athlete, do check online if the changes are correct. If you are not sure/not familiar with the subject/sport, then leave the edit alone and let other counter vandalism editors/editors who have a lot of knowledge of the subject/sport to action. In this case, the edit is correct - see here for the subject's stats.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

(3) The content that this user edits looks like to be out-of-place, they did not provide justification for their edits.
 * ✅."kalbo" in Filipino languages means bald. -see here.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

(4) Answer: (Blanking a big chunk of sourced content) -
 * ✅.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 02:39, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

(5) Answer: (Hoaxing vandalism on WP:BLP page) -, not a BLP though, I unfortunately couldn't find any.
 * ✅.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 02:39, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

(6) Answer: (Spam external linking for promotion / placing degrading curse words) - Unfortunately didn't find any new ones, same as 3 above.
 * . External spamming and promoting would usual come wiht URL where it pointed to a website either promote/selling something.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 02:39, 3 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Hey, I put this under "placing degrading curse words" (as noted in the question). Could you take a look at this again? Thanks!
 * Then that would be a vandalism edit and not spamming. Pls read my previous comment again.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 23:11, 6 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Answer again: 🐶 EpicPupper (he/him | talk, FAQ, contribs) 23:56, 19 June 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:46, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

-

Good day. Any question regrading the assignment, please let me know here. For other questions not relating to the assignments, ping me on the talk page of this subpage  Here. See above the first assignment. Pls provide "all" hist diffs (revert diff, report diff, deletion diff, talk page diff and etc.) and your reasons/analysis/judgement/explanation of your answers based on Wikipedia guidlines on your all assignment Welcome to CVUA. Ping me here when you are done and ready for review. Stay safe and best.::<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:02, 27 April 2021 (UTC)""
 * Hi, I've finished. EpicPupper (talk) 18:40, 29 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Pls read the comment in Q1 and re-answer the question again.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 02:14, 30 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi, I've added some more information. Is this enough? Thanks, EpicPupper (talk) 18:24, 6 May 2021 (UTC)
 * , Sorry for the late reply. I have been travelling and will be moving to another city; but I will look at the assignment as soon I have some free time.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 00:58, 11 May 2021 (UTC)
 * See comments above and pls provide additional 3 vanslism edits (question 4-6). Note: Adding an unsourced edit is not considered a vandalism edit, we usually remove the edit and place a unsourced warning message on the editor talk page (We will cover this in Assignment 3), and if an editor remove an unsourced content from an article, we will leave the edit alone for unsourced content can be removed from Wikipedia. Once you have done the additional question, pls ping me. Stay safe and best.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:23, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi, I've finished. Could you take a look at my responses? Thanks! EpicPupper (talk) 21:55, 31 May 2021 (UTC)


 * See comments above and let me know if you have any questions or you are ready to move on to the next assignment. Stay safe and best.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 02:39, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

Hello there, unfortunately, I haven't found any new diffs. Could I move on to the next assignment? Thanks! 🐶EpicPupper (he/him | talk, FAQ, contribs) 06:46, 13 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Spam/vandalism edits are very easy to find. When you find them, then add the hist diff and ping me.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 09:50, 13 June 2021 (UTC)


 * , I think I'm done, could you take a look please? Thanks! 🐶 EpicPupper (he/him | talk, FAQ, contribs) 15:20, 19 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Reviewed.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:46, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

Warning and reporting
When you use Twinkle to warn a user, you have a number of options to choose from: you can select the kind of warning (for different offences), and the level of warning (from 1 to 4, for increasing severity). Knowing which warning to issue and what level is very important. Further information can be found at WP:WARN and WP:UWUL.


 * Please answer the following questions:
 * (1) Why do we warn users?
 * Answer: Warning is important for notifying the user that there is a problem with their contributions. Warning is not only for bad-faith editors, but can also be helpful with good-faith editors, with warnings such as for edit summary usage or talking inside the article.
 * . We warn editors to let them know that they have violated a policy or guidelines so that they will hopefully learn from the gentle warning at warning level 1 since many editor, especially the new ones, may not be familiar with policies / guideliens. We also can send a personal message to the editor if the standard warning message does not convey the specific issues at hand by providing them a guidelines links.  However, the main purpose is to "educate" the editors on constructive editing, especially those who are new to Wikipedia and to "deter" them of such actions with stronger warnings leads up to a block.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 06:19, 1 August 2021 (UTC)


 * (2) When would a 4im warning be appropriate?
 * Answer: Usually a 4im warning is only used as the only warning, for extremely serious vandalism. This warning assumes bad faith, and has very strong language.
 * . 4im is only for widespread and particularly egregious vandalism and for use lower warning for less egregious vandalism.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 06:19, 1 August 2021 (UTC)


 * (3) Should you substitute a template when you place it on a user talk page, and how do you do it?
 * Answer: Yes, the template should be substituted, so that if the user decides to edit their talk page, they can see the formatting and the links linked inside the warning, and understand how the template works. Substituting can be done with adding to the template after the  see example below.

Hello, I'm Cassiopeia. I wanted to let you know that one or more of your recent contributions have been undone because they did not appear constructive. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. If you have any questions, you can ask for assistance at the Teahouse. Thanks.

Stay safe and best.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 01:50, 21 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I've finished, could you please check my answers, please? Thanks! 🐶 EpicPupper (he/him 04:47, 1 August 2021 (UTC)


 * See comments above and let me know if you have any questions or you are ready to move on to the next assignment.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 06:19, 1 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I've read all your comments thoroughly, and I think I'm ready for the next assignment. 🐶 EpicPupper (he/him 20:38, 1 August 2021 (UTC)

---

Tools
Recent changes patrol includes a list of tools and resources for those who want to fight vandalism with a more systematic and efficient approach.

What you have been doing so far is named the old school approach. As well as manually going through Special:RecentChanges, it includes undos, "last clean version" restores, and manually warning users.

There are a large number of tool which assist users in the fight against vandalism. They range from tools which help filter and detect vandalism to tools which will revert, warn and report users.

Twinkle
Twinkle, as you know, is very useful. It provides three types of rollback functions (vandalism, normal and AGF) as well as an easy previous version restore function (for when there are a number of different editors vandalising in a row). Other functions include a full library of speedy deletion functions, and user warnings. It also has a function to propose and nominate pages for deletion, to request page protection to report users to WP:AIV, WP:UAA, WP:SPI, and other administrative noticeboards.

User creation log
In my early days of fighting vandalism on Wikipedia, one of the strategies I would use to find vandalism was to patrol the account creation log. This is located at Special:Log/newusers, and it logs every time a new user account is created on Wikipedia. You'll notice that new accounts with no contributions so far will have a red "contribs" links, whereas new accounts with some contributions will have blue "contribs" links. One great way not only to find vandalism, but welcome new users to Wikipedia is to check the blue contribs links that come in.

Rollback
See rollback, this user right introduces an easy rollback button (which with one click reverts an editor's contributions). I'll let you know when I think you're ready to apply for the rollback user right.

Huggle
Huggle is also an application you download to your computer which presents you diffs (orders them on the likelihood of being unconstructive edits and on the editor's recent history) from users not on its whitelist. It allows you to revert vandalism, warn and reports users in one click. The rollback permission is required to use Huggle.

Make sure you keep in mind that some edits that seem like vandalism can be test edits. This happens when a new user is experimenting and makes accidental unconstructive edits. Generally, these should be treated with good faith, especially if it is their first time, and warned gently. The following templates are used for test edits:, and.

I just wanted to make sure you know about Special:RecentChanges, if you use the diff link in a different window or tab you can check a number of revisions much more easily. If you enable Hovercards in the Hover section of your preferences, you can view the diff by just hovering over it. Alternately, you can press control-F or command-F and search for "tag:". some edits get tagged for possible vandalism or section blanking.


 * Find and revert some vandalism. Warn each user appropriately, using the correct kind of warning and level. Please include at least two test edits and at least two appropriate reports to AIV. For each revert and warning please fill in a line on the table below

--


 * Good day. See assignment 3 above and do note this is the hardest assignment in this program, so do that your time.
 * (1) If Twinkle does not show the template in the drop down list, then manually subst it.
 * (2) Pls provide article name, hist diffs, editor talk page where you place the warning message, reports hist diffs and any links that is applicable.
 * (3) Pls provide the reasons/justification/explanate of your answers.
 * (4) For "You choice" question - Pls indicate what type of edit you are providing - example change "Your Choice" to "Delete" / "Spam" /etc.
 * (5) Pls note the edits/revert/warning messages should be made by you and from today onward. (no past edits)
 * (6) Again, if you are not sure about the edits wheather is vandalism or god faith edit, pls do nothing and let other more experience editors to acction. Stay safe and best.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FA0"> Cassiopeia</b>(<b style="#0000FF">talk</b>) 03:03, 2 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi, just to clarify, is it mandatory to use Huggle for the above table, or can I use other tools like RecentChanges or Twinkle? Thanks! 🐶 EpicPupper (he/him &#124; talk) 23:05, 7 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes you may.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FF8000"> Cassiopeia</b>  talk  00:22, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

Hi, I've finished. Could you check my answers, please? Sorry for the delay. Thanks, 🐶 EpicPupper (he/him &#124; talk) 23:30, 29 March 2022 (UTC)
 * could my assignment be reviewed, please? Thanks!
 * sorry for taking a little longer than usual. I was planning to review it last weekend; however, I was called to work the who weekend. I will review as soon as I have some time.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FF8000"> Cassiopeia</b>  talk  04:12, 4 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Reviewed. See the comments. Let me know if you have any questions. Pls work on the additional questions 16-20. Ping me when it is done. Stay safe and best.<b style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:105%;color:#FF8000"> Cassiopeia</b>  talk  05:43, 8 April 2022 (UTC)