User:Vermont/CVUA/GreyPage

Hello GreyPage, and 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 in your answers, 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 my talk page.

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

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.


 * In the space below, please explain the difference between a good faith edit and a vandalism edit, and how you would tell them apart.


 * A good faith edit is an edit that the user thinks is true and/or helpful, but contains or is made up of inaccurate and false information. For example, a user might say that their are 2.28 feet in a meter, but in truth, there are 3.28 feet in a meter.


 * Vandalism is an obvious or hidden edit that negatively changes a page. This can involve deleting large sections of a page (or all of its content), changing peoples names to something else, replacing random things on the page with nonsense, and so on. For example, changing all of the names on a page to "oof", or "asdf".

Good definitions, and good examples. It's important to be able to recognize that vandalism does not need to be blatant, and when an edit is borderline vandalism, we assume good faith. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC)


 * It is easy to tell apart some vandalism from good faith edits, such as in the example above, where the user changes names to nonsense characters. Often, it is much harder to tell the difference. When in doubt, assume good faith. One way to check if the user is vandalizing is to check their contributions page. If the user has vandalized multiple other pages, and the information is obviously false, this is most likely vandalism. Another thing to look for is if the user is an IP address, or a logged in user. Many vandals will use IP addresses to vandalize, so as not to get their account blocked. If the problem with the entry is only a misspelling, that would not be vandalism, or if the user has made many other good entries and edits, but made a small fact mistake, then assume good faith.

Correct, although commonly vandals don't make accounts, and just use IP addresses. Other times, they only use accounts. Many administrators will enable an autoblock that, if someone attempts to edit with the blocked IP, will stop them from editing. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC)


 * 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

This link brings up 23 revisions, which include blatant vandalism. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC) This revision is someone changing the name of an apparently commonly confused animal. It was not reverted, and is still present in the article. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC) Good. Although it's good faith, it's also spam/advertising. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
 * 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carry_On,_Mr._Bowditch&diff=841073836&oldid=803621071
 * 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chickens_as_pets&diff=815138428&oldid=813975480
 * 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chickens_as_pets&diff=619609447&oldid=619609257


 * Vandalism

Blanking. Blatant vandalism. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC) Good. Blatant vandalism. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC) Good. Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
 * 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carry_On,_Mr._Bowditch&diff=prev&oldid=841073180
 * 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carry_On,_Mr._Bowditch&diff=prev&oldid=841072424
 * 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chickens_as_pets&diff=756818414&oldid=756818208

I am sure you understand what good faith is, although please find 2 more examples to replace the first two, or if it was a mistake, please clarify. Sorry for the long wait in my response. Thanks, Vermont (talk) 22:30, 13 June 2018 (UTC)

Here are the revised links

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paintball&diff=809368953&oldid=808308201

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poseidon&diff=819130899&oldid=819056743


 * Good! I'll add your next task below. Vermont (talk) 00:31, 6 December 2018 (UTC)

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:
 * Why do we warn users?


 * When would a 4im warning be appropriate?


 * Should you substitute a template when you place it on a user talk page, and how do you do it?


 * What should you do if a user who has received a level 4 or 4im warning vandalises again?


 * Please give examples of three different warnings (not different levels of the same warning and excluding the test edit warning levels referred to below), that you might need to use while recent changes patrolling and explain what they are used for.

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