Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard

This is a message board for talking about tasks on Wikipedia that only administrators can do. Please put new messages at the bottom of the talk page or click here to start a new discussion.

Please note that the messages on this page are archived periodically. A message may therefore have been archived. Note however, that the archives must not be modified, so if something needs discussing, please start a new discussion on this page.

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• This is the Simple English Wikipedia. Click here for the Administrators' Noticeboard on the regular English Wikipedia.
• Use Vandalism in progress to report serious and urgent vandalism from other users to administrators.
• Use Requests for permissions to request administrators to give you tools that can help you do things faster on Wikipedia, such as rollback.
• Use Simple talk to ask general questions about Wikipedia and how to use it.
• See meta:Steward requests/Username changes to change your user name or take another user name.
• See WP:RFCU for CheckUser requests.
• See WP:OS for oversight.

Dark mode!

I typically edit over on enwiki but I would like to start doing more work here, and I was wondering if the dark mode gadget could be enabled. These pages will need to be created in WP:MediaWiki namespace: w:MediaWiki:Gadget-dark-mode.css, w:MediaWiki:Gadget-dark-mode-toggle-pagestyles.css, and w:MediaWiki:Gadget-dark-mode-toggle.js. If this isn't a change that the administrators want to make, that's fine. Philipnelson99 (talk) 22:17, 2 February 2023 (UTC)

@Philipnelson99: I use Dark Reader on both Chrome and Firefox for converting all websites (not just Wikipedia) to dark mode. It's configurable and tweakable and open source. It's not the answer to the Gadget request you're looking for, but might help anyway. Operator873 ^connect 23:01, 2 February 2023 (UTC)

@Operator873 it's not the dark mode gadget but it definitely works, thanks! Philipnelson99 (talk) 20:07, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Operator873 Any option available for mobile editors too? Otherwise I think the Wikimedia community needs to really think about this and provide us a dark mode tool as I usually edit on this theme only. Rejoy2003 (talk) 06:20, 28 February 2023 (UTC)

Rejoy2003, per m:Community Wishlist Survey 2023/Results, the community has overwhelmingly voted for dark mode to be an option in preferences, and work is now being done to add it as a feature. --Ferien (talk) 21:00, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

That's great to hear! Thanks for letting us know! Philipnelson99 (talk) 21:12, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

That's great! thank you for the reply. When will I know the mode has been implemented? Rejoy2003 (talk) 21:14, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

Rejoy2003, you can subscribe to phab:T26070 to get email updates on its progress. --Ferien (talk) 15:00, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Request for oversightership

This is a notice to announce that there is a request for oversightership open for comments. --IWI (talk) 00:10, 13 March 2023 (UTC)

Rogue Filter Blocks Specific Edits of Lautenberg Article

I've edited Frank Lautenberg in various ways but any time I try to so much as identify his defeated opponent of 1994 as the Republican (let alone delete the implication that his defeat of that Republican was part of that year's pro-Republican wave) the edit gets "identified as harmful" and blocked. Why is there protection of particular misleading language? 12.144.5.2 (talk) 01:33, 13 March 2023 (UTC)

Those identifications are false positives. I have made some changes to the filter. Please try again. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 01:52, 13 March 2023 (UTC)

Protection request (GRP)

Talk:List of Nobel Peace Prize winners (change · talk · history · links · watch · logs · delete)

Latest target of GRP. JavaHurricane (talk) 05:26, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

@JavaHurricane done — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 05:44, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protection for Digital marketing

Digital marketing is a spam magnet, which has been spammed by 3 new users in the last 24 hours. Can it be semi-protected? Lights and freedom (talk) 08:04, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

(Non-administrator observation) According to xtools, I have made 20+ edits to here and I remember almost all of them were anti-spam reverts. I would welcome a longer term of semi-protection to reduce the counter-spam workflow of our community. MathXplore (talk) 08:08, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected the page for 6 months. Let's see if that helps. Eptalon (talk) 11:45, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Nova Lee LeClair (again)

The article was created again without any improvements, should be deleted and semi-protected. MathXplore (talk) 08:54, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

Deleted, and semi-protected. Eptalon (talk) 09:12, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

uw-spamblock

Currently, the {{uw-spamblock}} template is the only blocking template pertaining to spamming/advertising that the Simple English Wikipedia has. The wording on it implies that it should be used for cases where the user is blocked for spamming and having a promotional username (Your account has been blocked... because it is being used for advertising. followed by See Wikipedia's username policy for more information.). The current wording also doesn't flow quite well either. After explaining that the user should read the username policy, it tells the user that This kind of activity is considered spamming, except this is neither related to the previous sentence, nor is this activity explained.

I suggest that we split {{uw-spamblock}} into two versions: advertising/spamming and having a promotional username, and advertising/spamming without having a promotional username. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 13:50, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

Personally in the past, I have just used {{uw-block3}} giving advertising as a reason for any account that is used for advertising without a promotional username. I don't see a need for a new template for promotion-only accounts without bad usernames, as we don't get too many of those to warrant a new block template. The {{uw-spamblock}} template definitely needs rewording though. --Ferien (talk) 18:58, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

Fair enough. I'll try to rewrite the current blocking template sometime next week. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 09:23, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

A4 reword proposal

• A notice that I am proposing a change to the deletion policy here to reword the A4 quick deletion criterion. Thanks, --IWI (talk) 02:05, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

User talk:GraffitiPig

Another admin might want to take a look at revoking talk page access for the user above. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 13:47, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

(Non-administrator observation) I think there is enough evidence to do that. MathXplore (talk) 13:55, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done Revoked. --IWI (talk) 19:03, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

Tara Strong

There seems to be a content dispute at here, maybe protection needed. MathXplore (talk) 14:20, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Looks more like long-term abuse to me. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 14:23, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

May I ask what type of LTA is doing this? MathXplore (talk) 14:24, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

not all are known by names, but because a bigger range has been doing a similar thing for almost two years, i'd say it's long term enough. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 14:27, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Twinkle interface edit request (QD R2)

In the current Twinkle interface, the description of QD R2 says "Redirects from mainspace to any other namespace except the Category:, Template:, Wikipedia:, Help: and Portal: namespaces". But since our project doesn't have Portal namespace, I think this should be "Redirects from mainspace to any other namespace except the Category:, Template:, Wikipedia: and Help: namespaces". MathXplore (talk) 16:05, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

 done --Ferien (talk) 18:51, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

Page move request (Ogendegbe)

• Ogendegbe (surname)
• Gbenga Ogendegbe
• Ogendegbe of Ilesa

I think these page should be moved per enwiki title, but they seem to require admin permissions. MathXplore (talk) 16:12, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done --Ferien (talk) 19:31, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

166.113.16.20

Can TPA be disabled? They're just using it to continue vandalism. Thank you, Justarandomamerican (talk) 17:10, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done Revoked TPA and reset the block to last another 31 hours. --Ferien (talk) 18:52, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

ChatGPT

I noticed that there is a user making articles with ChatGPT. I know that this project does not allow unauthorized bots, but do we allow chatbots to make articles? MathXplore (talk) 12:12, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

@MathXplore: (Non-administrator observation) This probably needs discussion at a wider venue, as it could become a real problem. That's just my two cents, though. Justarandomamerican (talk) 12:15, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

I just posted here because the articles may need to be taken care by admins, but I do not mean to oppose against taking this discussion to WP:ST. MathXplore (talk) 12:20, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

I think that's what I am going to do, as there doesn't appear to be anything against semi-automated article creation in the manner that this user does. Justarandomamerican (talk) 12:31, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

I thionk an article should say why it's notable, so if you ask some piece of computer program to write an article for you which then gets accepted that's fine. But I think at the moment, such bots are easy to recognize. Remember, we have specific rules how to write articles; simple EnWP copy-pastes usually get deleted quickly. Also note, that the training data that was used for ChatGPT likely doesn't allow it to write unrecognizable pages in Simple English. So, likely not a problen. Eptalon (talk) 12:32, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

The problem isn't unrecognizability, it's factual inaccuracy. ChatGPT and other LLMs do not have access to the internet, unfortunately, so they can be very inaccurate, especially in technical subjects. Justarandomamerican (talk) 12:36, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

The problem mentioned above may be solvable through scrutiny, of course, but it's still a problem. Justarandomamerican (talk) 12:38, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Technical inaccuracy isn't the isssue; thats fixable. But if the article I just deleted was produced by such software, then it is really easy to recognize, and to make a difference between a piece of software writing the article, and a real person doing this. Also, in the past, people have been blocked for not declaring automated tools they use. If we get a few articles from the same user showing the pattern that's what's likely going to happen. Eptalon (talk) 12:43, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

I suppose you're correct, let's just wait and see what happens to ChatGPT in the coming years. Justarandomamerican (talk) 12:48, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Another thing that is specific to the Simple English Wikipedia: ChatGPT cannot write in Simple English, and its tone is often too unencyclopedic. Whether or not we should allow AI to generate articles is a discussion worth having with the community. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 13:41, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

It is a discussion worth having. See WP:ST, I posted it there earlier. Justarandomamerican (talk) 13:42, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Category move requests (UK-related, organization -> organisation)

• category:Non-profit organizations of the United Kingdom‎
• category:Organizations based in Northern Ireland‎
• category:Scientific organizations based in the United Kingdom‎
• category:Organizations based in Scotland‎
• category:Organizations based in Wales‎
• category:Medical and health organizations in the United Kingdom‎
• category:Research organizations in the United Kingdom‎

Per enwiki and their parent category, I request these categories to be moved. MathXplore (talk) 12:26, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done --Ferien (talk) 13:49, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Move request (Jonathan d ross -> Jonathan D. Ross)

These entries are duplicate content but "Jonathan d ross" is not a good title (not capitalized) so I think this should be moved (history merge). MathXplore (talk) 12:10, 20 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done by Fehufanga. --Ferien (talk) 19:05, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

Bui Quoc Huy

Could another admin perhaps take a look at the page above? Anonymous editors and one registered editor keeps removing the RfD template. Since I created the deletion discussion, I refrain from taking administrative actions here. Thanks. — *Fehufangą ♮ ✉ Talk page 02:02, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

(Non-administrator observation) I agree to semi-protection, IPs with similar behaviour still appear. MathXplore (talk) 06:53, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done --Ferien (talk) 19:05, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

Protection Request for Adolf Hitler- at least semiprotected for 1 year

Looks like there's been tons of WP:VANDALISM there lately, judging from the changes log. Shadow of the Starlit Sky (talk) 18:11, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

 Done I've started the protection off at a month, although it has been protected before. We can always protect it for longer if necessary. --Ferien (talk) 19:08, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

Change in GA/VGA process

A discussion at Simple Talk about changing the article promotion process (PGA/PVGA) died and was then archived after no comments in 2 weeks. Will anything become of this, or will it just be treated as unsuccessful? Lights and freedom (talk) 04:37, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Ideally, we take it as an input to get the process going again. We know what the problems of the process are, this was a suggestion to move forward. Eptalon (talk) 18:10, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Create protection for History of timekeeping devices

Can an admin block IPs/new users from creating History of timekeeping devices? Lights and freedom (talk) 17:46, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Protected it (autoconfirmed needed for creation) for two weeks. Eptalon (talk) 18:11, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

NoraCook

Can someone block them from article namespace? They're repeatedly inserting all caps section headers, after 4 MOS warnings. They must have no clue that their talk page exists, as there has been no response from them. Justarandomamerican (talk) 12:59, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Djsasso blocked them and fixed the sections. --Ferien (talk) 13:27, 30 March 2023 (UTC)

Page protection request for Singapore

Semi protection for 1 year recommended- persistent IP vandalism from User:112.118.119.40. Shadow of the Starlit Sky (talk) 16:34, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Oh, and as an additional note, said IP's been blocked for 1 week as of now because of WP:VANDALISM. Shadow of the Starlit Sky (talk) 16:34, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

 Not done Shadow of the Starlit Sky, semi-protection should be used as a last resort. Apart from vandalism on that day from that IP, there hasn't been much vandalism on that page in months. In future, if there's one IP persistently vandalising, please report it to vandalism in progress. Thank you. --Ferien (talk) 13:30, 30 March 2023 (UTC)

Adam Walsh

Short biography without notability claims, redirect or QD A4? MathXplore (talk) 01:05, 29 March 2023 (UTC)

Deleted as A4 by Macdonald-ross. --Ferien (talk) 13:30, 30 March 2023 (UTC)

User:MathXplore/QD log/2023

Please apply indefinite semi-protection to this page. MathXplore (talk) 10:20, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

 Done --Ferien (talk) 10:21, 1 April 2023 (UTC)