Wikitroid:Requests for Comment/Non-Sysop RC Patrollers

Well, I think this might be the fastest, most non-controversial RfC ever. (Ok, admittedly, I am expediting this so that we can get patrollers implemented before the number of edits to be patrolled becomes completely overwhelming)

So... this RfC was closed by FastLizard4 {ADMIN} (Talk&bull;Contribs&bull;Logs) at 08:51, September 12, 2010 (UTC) with the final resolution of implement non-sysop RC patrolling in the form of a separate "patrollers" user group/user right.

So, tonight, I'll send off the email to Wikia staff requesting implementation, and once it's implemented (hopefully sometime within the next 20 or so hours), I'll write up the requests/policy page, and hopefully we'll be all set to start granting the patroller right to users requesting it within the next couple of days.

'''This RfC is closed. Please do not modify it.'''

Non-Sysop RC Patrollers
Currently, administrators have access to a system called "RC Patrolling" (RC stands for Recent Changes) which, summed up, requires that all edits and page creations be reviewed by an administrator, who will either approve the edit/page creation or revert/delete it. However, with the recent influx of edits caused by Metroid: Other M and natural growth of the wiki, as well as administrators' availability, the list of edits waiting to be approved (or "marked as patrolled") has grown to enormous proportions, and can take hours for a single administrator to handle. My proposal is to allow interested users to also be allowed to use the RC patrolling system, in conjunction with administrators. There are many benefits to this, including:
 * Edits can be marked as patrolled faster, reducing load for all administrators and other users patrolling edits
 * Vandalism or spam that is missed by non-patrollers can be caught faster if there are more users patrolling
 * When there are many patrollers, the chance of two or more being online at the same time increases; when this occurs, the patrollers can use IRC to coordinate their efforts and clear the patrol queue (the list of edits waiting to be patrolled) faster.

There are two ways to implement this. One is to create an entirely new user right, called "patrollers". Users that are granted this userright by a bureaucrat (in a process that will probably be similar to Requests for Rollback) will have access to the RC Patrolling system and will have their own edits be automatically marked as patrolled, just like an administrator. Of course, no other administrative rights would be granted. In addition, in this case, rollback would be required to have the patroller right, and the patroller right would be much more strictly controlled than the rollback right, since the patroller right is very much abusable (as approved edits are usually ignored by other patrollers and administrators).

The other method if implementation is to simply stack the patroller rights onto the rollback rights; that is, rollbackers, in addition to having access to the rollback function, would also be able to patrol edits like an administrator, and they would also have their own edits patrolled. In this case, the rollbacker userright would become more strictly controlled due to the abusability it gains. Note that, in this case, existing rollbackers would not be effected by any new restrictions placed on grating the userright.

The following are the draft guidelines I have made for the patroller right. They are written as if there is a new usergroup called "patrollers" (the first implementation method), however, these would be modified and applied to the rollbackers userright should the rollbackers method (the second implementation method) be chosen. Feel free to suggest changes to these guidelines with your input.


 * NOTE: The headings are deliberately in their raw format (e.g., == The Patroller Userright == ) to prevent spamming of the Table of Contents at the top of the page.

 == The Patroller Userright == 

RC patrolling is a system which provides a last defense against spam and vandalism, requiring that edits be reviewed for spam and vandalism and either be approved or reverted.

The patroller userright allows users to take advantage of the RC patrolling system (administrators have this ability included in their "sysop" userright). The two specific permissions the patroller userright adds are:
 * 1) Ability to view the list of edits that have not been patrolled (called the "patrol queue") and the ability to mark edits and new pages as patrolled.
 * 2) Users with the patrollers userright automatically have their own edits patrolled

 === Minimum Requirements === 

Because the patroller userright can be abused (for example, edits that are marked as patrolled are generally not checked by other patrollers or administrators), its use is more strictly controlled. To gain the patroller userright, you must:
 * 1) Have been an active editor for at least three months (to ensure at least basic familiarity with wiki policies)
 * 2) Have at least 500 edits (for the same reason)
 * 3) Must not have any recent significant policy violations or blocks (at the discretion of the bureaucrat reviewing the request for patroller permissions)
 * 4) Must have the rollbacker userright (if you don't already have this, it will be granted if you are granted patroller rights)
 * 5) Must demonstrate consistent use of proper English spelling and grammar (see the list of things patrollers should do, below)

 === Patrolling === 

Detailed instructions on exactly how to patrol will go here. Also a note that our IRC RecentChanges feed can also be useful for realtime patrolling.

 === Job Description === 

Patrollers are expected to make certain checks, and asked to make other checks when patrolling edits.

'''Remember that patrolling is a time consuming process. If you are not willing to spend this time patrolling, do not request the patroller userright. Patrollers are expected to clear the patrol queue of edits waiting to be patrolled and are expected to patrol thoroughly, and not just patrol the five or six edits at the top of the queue.''' It is recommended that patrollers attempt to coordinate their efforts with other patrollers and administrators on IRC. It is always recommended that patrollers patrol older edits before newer ones.

 ==== What Patrollers MUST Do ==== 

This is a list of checks a patroller MUST make when patrolling edits. MUST means MUST, patrollers must make these checks or else they may lose their patrolling rights.
 * Check the edit for vandalism or spam
 * If the edit is spam or vandalism, use the rollback function to revert the edit(s). Note that rollbacking will automatically mark the reverted edits as patrolled.  Remember that rollback is not to be used if the edit(s) being reverted are not spam, vandalism, etc..
 * If a new page is created that is entirely vandalism or spam, patrollers should patrol the page creation (and subsequent edits) and blank the page and tag the page for speedy deletion if not already done so (remember that when blanking a vandalism-only page, the speedy deletion tag should not be removed). Patrollers should remember to include Vandalism or Spam as the reason for requesting speedy deletion (e.g., using {&#123;d|Spam-only page&#125;} or {&#123;d|Vandalism-only page&#125;}.  Administrators may simply delete these pages outright instead of patrolling them or edits to them.
 * Check for edit warring. If edit warring is taking place on a page, ask the editors that are warring to stop and use the talk page.  If they do not stop, ask an administrator to protect the page, but remember to keep patrolling edits, preferably as they happen, which is less stressful than letting them build up for patrolling later.  Adminsitrators may simply protect the page at their discretion.
 * For new pages, check to see if the page is fanon. If it is, tag it for speedy deletion with "fanon" as the reason, or if you're an administrator, simply delete the page.
 * If you notice an article category being added to a userpage (e.g., Category:Characters), remove it.

 ==== What Patrollers SHOULD Do ==== 

This is a list of checks a patroller SHOULD make when patrolling edits. Patrollers are recommended to make these checks; however, patrolling is not intended to substitute editing of other users, so these are not absolutely required.
 * Check the edit for proper spelling, grammar, structure, etc.
 * Check the edit for Manual of Style errors (such as italicizing game names and bolding the subject's name in the first sentence) and POV errors
 * If you recognize the edit as plagiarism, it can usually be safely reverted, with a request for the user to indicate the source of the writing made on the user's talk page.
 * If you recognize the edit as fanon, you may revert it. However, do not edit war over this.  If the user reverts your revert, ask them on their talk page or ask another experienced user.

 ==== What Patrollers CAN Do ==== 

This is a list of checks a patroller CAN make when patrolling edits. Patrollers CAN make these checks; however, they can take some time, and they may not always be performable. Again, regular user interaction with articles is not to be substituted by patrolling.
 * Check the edit for accuracy, but only if you're knowledgeable in the field.
 * If the edit is baseless speculation, remove it

 === Granting and Removal of the Patroller Userright ===   This will be expanded with detailed instructions for requesting the userright, which will probably proceed similarly to Requests for Rollback. Bureaucrats reviewing requests will be reminded about the minimum requirements, etc. It will also be noted here that the patroller userright will be removed if a user is caught patrolling inappropriately (for example, missing vandalism, etc.), and instructions for how a user can request removal of the patroller userright will be added here.

So, now that that's out there...


 * Question: This RfC is to determine support for allowing non-sysops access to the RC Patrolling feature. All registered users are welcome to vote, and admins' input is requested.
 * Possible Positions for "Votes"*: Patrollers if you support allowing non-sysops to patrol and also support the "first method" (creating a new userright called "patrollers"), Rollbackers if you support allowing non-sysops to patrol and also support the "second method" (stacking the patrollers' abilities onto the rollbackers userright), or Disagree if you do not support allowing non-sysops to patrol edits.
 * ''Note: Wikia Staff have confirmed that both the patrollers and rollbackers method are possible and would work.
 * Default if no consensus: There will be no change made to the current system. Effectively, a no-consensus is a disagree result.
 * "Voters"* are also allowed to submit suggested changes to the above proposed patrolling guidelines (in the white box) with their "votes"*

* Remember that RfC isn't about voting in that the arguments behind each vote count more than the number of votes.

Proposal by: FastLizard4 {ADMIN} (Talk&bull;Contribs&bull;Logs) - Would you like to participate in the new forum trials? at 13:16, September 6, 2010 (UTC)

Discussion

 * Patrollers - As one of the few admins that actually patrols, I can definitely say that having some extra help would be good. Also, I have personally seen instances where vandalism that would have been reverted quickly if there were patrollers around has escaped the patrolling of normal users for a considerable amount of time.  In addition, the creation of a seperate userright (instead of stacking onto rollbackers) allows stricter privilege regulation and separation of rights.  -- FastLizard4 {ADMIN} (Talk&bull;Contribs&bull;Logs) - Would you like to participate in the new forum trials? 13:16, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * Patrollers - Actually FastLizard4, most admins patrol, or at least try. The only ones with really really low counts are Piratehunter and Ran. Ran is on break, and I remember what happened when I nagged Piratehunter. Anyways, I agree that there should be a patroller user right for the reasons listed. The MarioGalaxy2433g5  { talk /contribs/Logs} 15:09, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * I couldn't care less whether we go with Patrollers or Rollbackers, but both have my support. Since I can only get on during weekends (and even then only after all my homework is done) when school is in session, I can't log in that often. Please do realize that I patrol when I get on, but my time is limited. Having a group that helps in patrolling would be a relief in that I know I'm not leaving so few active admins to a flood. So yeah, I'm all for another group to help. Th e Ex t er m in at or  {ADMIN} ( talk  &bull;  e-mail  &bull;  contribs  &bull;  count  &bull;  logs ) 17:59, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * Patrollers - I'm all for it as well. For similar reasons as Exterminator, I can mostly only be on over the weekends. And even then I tend to find myself stretched to other corners of Wikia, working on other, dare I say, somewhat more pressing matters :/ Just so long as the individuals given these rights know the responsibility of it, as the last thing we want is for someone to inefficiently label a subtly vandalizing edit as patrolled and have it go unnoticed for months. Just so they realize the impact of said actions, there shouldn't really be a big problem. Also, we need to get more use out of the problems report widget, for a couple of reasons. That is why I would rather have a separate group then stacking onto Rollbackers, as FL said. -- P   i   r   a   t   e   h   u   n   t   e   r  {ADMIN} (Talk&bull;Contribs&bull;Logs) - Wanna see something really scary? (New Forums!) 19:48, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * Don't know if you care about non-admin opinions, but I'd just like to say that I manually patrol the RC anyway because I'm bored and I like fixing things. So for obvious reasons, I'm all for it. Dazuro 19:57, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * Which one? Patroller or Rollback. The MarioGalaxy2433g5  { talk /contribs/Logs} 22:54, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't know, whatever you think works best. Probably stacking the two together, as one allows the other to be done more efficiently. But if you want to distribute the power away from the standard users, that's understandable too. Dazuro 16:47, September 8, 2010 (UTC)