Ze7707
1
If someone trolls a post do you say anything like add something to their talk page?
I think you report to wikiHow admin. They should put a warning , or block a troll.
Ze7707
3
Like if someone puts swear words all over a page. What do you do?
If it’s on an article, revert that edit and send them a coaching message. If it’s on someone’s talk page, revert it too and send a {{warning}} or {{mean}} template. If they continue their trolling, report them to an admin or on the administrator notice board ( wikiHow:Administrator Notice Board - wikiHow
) and an admin will soon take an action. If someone is swearing on your talk page and trolling, report them to an admin immediately and don’t reply to their messages. Don’t feed the trolls!
Ze7707
5
So, if its on a article I revert then send them a {{Warning}} ?
Yep or you can also send the customized coaching message for first-timers and probably one-timers. If they are repeatedly spamming, report them.
While Shinako has it right, remember to assume good faith
Not all people who post swear words on articles are trolls; there are some cases where one could simply be interested in how wikis work and curious about how we would react with profanity plastered all over articles.
system
10
I don’t think you should use the {{warning}} template if a user swore on a talk page. Not the first or second time, anyway. It lowers the power of that template. I personally think it should be used only when the offence is serious enough to evoke a ban the next time it is committed.
Yeah, it’s when they severely vandalize an article, especially a featured article. For people who swore, the {{mean}} template would be enough.
system
12
Over time, you’ll get a feel for what is “normal” and what is “excessive” in terms of spam and bad faithed editing. In the meantime, there are a couple of “rules of thumb” that can keep you on track while patrolling recent changes: 1 - Assume Good Faith Is there ANYTHING helpful or “keepable” in the edit? Was the user being at all helpful to the site? Does it look as if they might have been TRYING to be helpful to the site? If so, strip out the profanity and/or unhelpful portion and keep the helpful information. You can then post one of the coaching templates… with a friendly nudge in a better direction for any future edits. 2 - Frequency of bad faith edits from a user Is this a one-edit vandal? An edit test? Anons do this all the time to see how the site works. Roll it back and be done with it. The chances of them returning to visit wikiHow again on the same IP to see your warning are between extremely slim and none. 3 - Severity of the bad faith edits Is this a multiple article spammer? A multiple article blanker? A profanity spewer whose clear objective is the disruption of the site? Go ahead and post a warning… and mention them to an admin for possible blocking in the near future. The Administrator Notice Board is a great tool for this. 4 - What type of page the edit is on. Talk pages are generally left alone so long as no one is attacking anyone else. If someone is getting slammed/flamed/etc, you should step in and roll the edit back, but if the poster is keeping their comments focused on the ideas or merit of the article and not the authors, it’s generally allowed. Mild profanity is tolerated on talk pages so long as it is not used frequently. The one talk page “no no” is when you see a few users using wikiHow as their personal chat room. This practice is discouraged, but not completely banned. Give them a “chat” template and mention them to an admin only if they continue to hog site resources for irrelevant chit-chat after being asked to curtail that activity. User pages are generally edited ONLY by the users themselves. If you see someone editing another users userpage, you should check to see if the user has requested those changes. In a few cases, editing another person’s user page is necessary for safety reasons or decency reasons… ie: if they’ve posted inappropriate pictures etc. but that is pretty rare. Articles are generally sacrosanct. Keep them on topic, helpful, and spam free under any circumstances. Roll back any profanity, first person references, spam links and irrelevant commentary. If it’s a repeat problem? Warn the editor and mention them to an Admin for a potential time out. Feel free to ping my talk page with specific situations if you’d like to discuss them further.
^Awesome advice there, Lois!
system
14
I wish you could give thumbs up to forum posts.
