User:PxBot II/FAQ



What is PxBot II?

 * PxBot II is an automated computer program, or bot (short for robot), which performs boring but similar tasks. Think of it as a virtual industrial robot. Its purpose is to watch for and revert edits that are suspected of being vandalism. It is programmed in C# and it's open sourced. The source is here.


 * It is not a human editor and can't reply to messages by itself.

What is vandalism?

 * Vandalism on Wikipedia essentially entails someone making an edit that deliberately makes Wikipedia worse. See Vandalism for the full rundown. If you were merely trying to experiment, then please use the sandbox or the introduction page instead.

Does PxBot II make mistakes?

 * PxBot II is not infallible, and does make mistakes.

If it makes mistakes, why do you still run it?

 * Wikipedia is a very popular website that records tens of edits per second and hundreds or thousands of edits per minute. There just aren't enough people to check every one of those edits and still themselves contribute to the encyclopedia. Therefore, PxBot II is a technical aid that allows editors to spend more time improving articles and less time fixing vandalism.

What should I do if I've been warned for a good edit I made?

 * If you were warned for what you think is a good contribution, you can leave a message on the bot's error page with the name of the page it reverted and the bot's owner(s) will look into it.

What should I do if I've been warned for an edit I KNOW I didn't make?

 * If you are warned for doing something you know you didn't do, it likely means that many people share your IP address. Simply registering an account is the easiest way of ensuring that you are only contacted about the edits YOU make.

Can PxBot II block me?

 * No, the user account "PxBot II" is not an administrator — it CANNOT enact user or IP blocks.

I'm upset about PXBot II's warning, where can I get satisfaction?

 * If it was a legitimate edit, please leave a civil (and not all caps) message here and we'll work to prevent this from happening again. Accept our apologies for the mistakes PxBot II makes, we appreciate your positive contributions. If it really was vandalism, then you aren't going to get much satisfaction here!

Can I remove the incorrect warnings?

 * If you were warned about an edit you made and you honestly feel it was a legitimate change, feel free to remove the "warning". If the warning concerns an edit you didn't make, leave it. That way the person responsible might see it.

For which edit did I get this warning?

 * The bot should show the name of the article you edited.

I was reverting someone else's vandalism, and PxBot II reverted me(!)

 * There are several possible reasons why this could happen. As each revert is unique, you'd have to contact one of the bot's owners for an explanation. If it genuinely was a reversion to a vandalized version, feel free to revert it back. The 3RR explicitly does not apply to reverting vandalism.

Do I have to report mistakes?

 * No. Many users are surprised to receive a warning and want to tell us about it, and we use that information to improve PxBot II's performance. However, if this page has answered your questions about the warning you received, please feel free to move forward and do some more editing without contacting us.