Wiki Spam
Moderator: Lucifer
- INW
- Reverse Outside Corner Grinder
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
Wiki Spam
I've noticed the spam on the wiki lately and it looks like dlh is banning a bunch of dumb accounts.
Is there a way to fix that or is deleting the pages and banning the accounts the only way?
Is there a way to fix that or is deleting the pages and banning the accounts the only way?
Re: Wiki Spam
Yes, there are many more ways to combat spam.
I think the ConfirmEdit extension should be installed. With the default settings, a captcha is only required when adding a URL to a page, creating an account, or if your login fails. We could additionally introduce a new group, in which trusted users would be exempt from these captcha triggers ($wgGroupPermissions['trustedplayers']['skipcaptcha'] = true;)
Requiring email registration may also help.
When Lucifer hosted the wiki there was a custom bot filter page. I don't remember exactly how it was implemented, but it helped filter out some spam.
I think the ConfirmEdit extension should be installed. With the default settings, a captcha is only required when adding a URL to a page, creating an account, or if your login fails. We could additionally introduce a new group, in which trusted users would be exempt from these captcha triggers ($wgGroupPermissions['trustedplayers']['skipcaptcha'] = true;)
Requiring email registration may also help.
When Lucifer hosted the wiki there was a custom bot filter page. I don't remember exactly how it was implemented, but it helped filter out some spam.
- Tank Program
- Forum & Project Admin, PhD
- Posts: 6711
- Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2003 7:03 pm
Re: Wiki Spam
I've looked into ConfirmEdit, but it appears there's some sort of incompatibility with ReCaptcha going on that I just don't have time to solve right now.
Re: Wiki Spam
Some more people need to step forward, and help remove spam. I can assign user rights if you'd like to help out.
- INW
- Reverse Outside Corner Grinder
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
Re: Wiki Spam
I asked to grab some permissions a little while ago but was rejected.
I can help because it is really annoying me.
I can help because it is really annoying me.
Re: Wiki Spam
You can delete pages and block users now. If there's an issue outside of removing spam and blocking spammers, try to consult first with another admin.
Re: Wiki Spam
Also: if you're deleting a spam page, replace the default change summary message (content was: …) with “spam”. Sometimes links are included in that message.
- INW
- Reverse Outside Corner Grinder
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- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm
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Re: Wiki Spam
Ya. I just figured that out after I deleted the page and noticed both you and Jonathan just put "spam".
I'll do it next time.
I'll do it next time.
- INW
- Reverse Outside Corner Grinder
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
Re: Wiki Spam
There was a good bunch of spam on the wiki last night.
I know by clicking on "hide" patrolled edits, all the junk that we delete and block doesn't show on the wiki.
Is it possible to make that the default value?
On the recent edits page, blocking users and deleting pages spams the recent edits page itself.
I know by clicking on "hide" patrolled edits, all the junk that we delete and block doesn't show on the wiki.
Is it possible to make that the default value?
On the recent edits page, blocking users and deleting pages spams the recent edits page itself.
Re: Wiki Spam
That's an option in your preferences: Recent Changes → Hide patrolled edits in recent changes.
To change the default value for everyone, which I think is a good idea, this needs to be added to the local config: This would only have effect on new user accounts, unless you followed the manual to update all user accounts.
To change the default value for everyone, which I think is a good idea, this needs to be added to the local config:
Code: Select all
$wgDefaultUserOptions = array('hidepatrolled' => true);
Last edited by dlh on Fri Jul 15, 2011 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- INW
- Reverse Outside Corner Grinder
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
Re: Wiki Spam
What I also noticed is if I revert an edit back to what it used to be like a rollback, hiding patrolled edits will hide that edit and the normal user will not see the updated version of that page.
Would the value only hide blocks and deleted pages? That would work best I think.
Would the value only hide blocks and deleted pages? That would work best I think.
- Jonathan
- A Brave Victim
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- Location: Not really lurking anymore
Re: Wiki Spam
You do realize that patrolled edits are much broader? If I go and actually patrol a bunch of edits, they would disappear from the default view, just because I marked them as non-spam. Admin edits, whether related to admin ability or not, wouldn't appear at all.
ˌɑrməˈɡɛˌtrɑn
Re: Wiki Spam
I didn't realize that. Not a good default, then.Jonathan wrote:You do realize that patrolled edits are much broader? […]
The “Use enhanced recent changes (requires JavaScript)” option is better at hiding the spam/delete/block changes. Edit: Nevermind… it makes the recent changes page difficult to understand, because the events aren't sequential, and instead grouped by type.
Last edited by dlh on Fri Jul 15, 2011 6:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- INW
- Reverse Outside Corner Grinder
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
Re: Wiki Spam
So many accounts have been made recently (near 15 in 1 day) and I am sure all of them are spam. But I'm not going to block them unless they throw spam.
It is pretty obvious though.
It is pretty obvious though.
Re: Wiki Spam
The wiki is being spammed in a much higher volume now. Some more preventative measures would be nice to have…