Wikipedia:Recent changes patrol

• Special:Recentchanges is the wiki-based display of the latest edits. However it changes very rapidly and one of the following may make RC patrolling easier:

• CryptoDerk's Vandal Fighter is a small but robust Java based live RC scroller with many helpful features.

• #en.wikipedia.vandalism is an IRC channel which has a bot that flags likely vandalistic edits.

• Special:Newpages lists all new articles.

Other tools can be found here: Wikipedia:Tools.

• Look out for vandalism, and revert it. Be familiar with the {{test0}}, {{test}}, {{test2}}/{{test2a}} (2a is for blankings), {{test3}}, and {{test4}} templates. Starting with {{test}} (or sometimes {{test2}}/{{test2a}}), leave each template on the vandal's user talk page in turn after each vandalising edit. If the vandal has had a test4 message and is still vandalising, list them at Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism.

"Sneaky" vandalism - maliciously altering dates etc - can be hard to spot. If you are unsure about a change, list it in the odd edits section below.

• Look for Copyright violations and revert them. As per the instructions at Wikipedia:Copyright problems, just revert pages to remove copyright violations. However, take care to indicate in the edit summary that this is what you are doing.

Check new pages as they are created for the following problems:

• Newbie tests. These often take of form of typing exercises ("adsfjklasdfjkl") curious questions ("wow, what is this?") or miscellaneous irrelevant comments ("ed gruberman is gay"). These can be tagged with {{d}} so that they can be deleted by an administrator. You might also want to consider placing {{test}} on the creator's user talk page to help point him or her in the right direction.

• Unsuitable pages. Pages about individuals, places, or things which generally don't merit an encyclopedia entry should be listed at Wikipedia:Votes for deletion. What exactly qualifies as encyclopedic is debatable, though, so it's best to err on the side of caution and not delete or nominate for deletion too hastily.

• Primary source texts. These should be transwikied to Wikisource.

• Dictionary definitions. These can be transwikied to Wiktionary. Many may be redeemable as Wikipedia articles, if sufficiently refactored, rewritten, and expanded.

• How-tos or instructional materials. In some cases, these can be transwikied to Wikibooks; however, it's often possible to turn these into meaningful articles. Try to improve an article by adding some more material before moving it out of Wikipedia.

• Copyright violations. One way to check for a possible copyright infringement is to do an internet search; however, not all text is on the internet; search engines do not index all the internet's text, and some texts available through search engines are public domain and thus suitable for import into Wikipedia. These public domain texts include the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

• Orphaned articles. Checking the "What links here" link will tell you if any other page points to the newly created article. Sometimes orphans result from a mistitled article (see below). Other times you'll want to find a related article and link the new one to it.

• Mistitled articles. Simply to move a page to a more appropriate title using the "Move this page." Sometimes you'll find that an article already exists, in which case you should try to merge any new material from the newly created article into the old one.

• Stubs, which are the beginnings of meaningful and encyclopedic articles but which need a little help (a little wikifying, as it were). The basics of wikifying stubs:
  • Bold face the article title.
  • Link relevant terms.
  • Phrase the article in complete sentences, including the first.
  • Place {{stub}} at the end of the stub.

• Foreign language articles. Run the page through an on-line translator, such as Google translate. The page will probably need tagging for cleanup afterwards.

• Style problems. Add the {{cleanup}} tag for pages which need tidying up.

• Don't bite the newbies. If you see a new user or IP address contributing, {{welcome}} them if you're so inclined, and include a pointer or two of feedback about how they can make their contributions even better. Most will gladly welcome the support.
• Try not to step on people's toes. Many times, users will start an article as the briefest of stubs, and then expand it over the succeeding hours or days.
• Be hesitant to list articles on Wikipedia:Votes for Deletion if there's a chance they could be improved and made into a meaningful article.
• A tabbed browser can help increase efficiency when checking pages.

Remove older entries after a couple of days.

• Therealedisite is making attacks on the Edinburgh & Glasgow Airport pages: here and here - vandalism to replace a URL because you do not like the site's owner? Surely should be just added. This isn't the first time such edits have been made. --Wangi 12:45, 25 Jul 2005 (UTC)

• Only four edits by the user under that name. The two to Glasgow are fair edits. He did wipe Talk:Edinburgh Airport, which I undid, and he did replace a link as you suggested on Edinburgh Airport. --Durin 17:56, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• 213.52.162.226 is blanking articles by Lasibiede. I'm feeling to lazy to revert him right now. --Blu Aardvark | ^{(talk) | (contribs)} 14:09, 1 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• No longer an issue, apparently. --Blu Aardvark | ^{(talk) | (contribs)} 08:22, 4 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• 220.238.226.242 keep making pages about unknown (or at least non-described) music albums. I've speedy-tagged three of these already. Someone please look at this! --Titoxd 08:18, 2 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• 202.156.2.138 - adding copyrighted text to already established articles. I've reverted several of his edits to Jehovah's Witnesses, but he has also added copyvios to other articles, despite being warned. --Blu Aardvark | ^{(talk) | (contribs)} 08:22, 4 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• 202.156.244.68 also. The articles in question are any articles related to the Jehovah's Witnesses. It appears that this editor has a PoV to enforce, and is copy+pasting information from [1] and from [2]. --Blu Aardvark | ^{(talk) | (contribs)} 08:37, 4 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]