أرابيكا:Bot policy

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Bot policy covers the operation of all bots and automated scripts used to provide automation of Wikipedia edits, whether completely automated, or human assisted. It also covers the procedures of the Bot approvals on Arabic Wikipedia.

Definitions

  • Bots are programs or scripts that make automated edits without the necessity of human decision-making.
  • Assisted editing covers tools and scripts that can assist users to make decisions but leave the actual decision up to the user.

Bot usage

Because bots:

  1. are potentially capable of editing far faster than humans can; and
  2. have a lower level of scrutiny on each edit than a human editor; and
  3. may cause severe disruption if they malfunction or are misused

the community expects high standards before a bot is approved for use on designated tasks. Operation of unapproved bots, or use of approved bots in unapproved ways outside their conditions of operation, is prohibited and may in some cases lead to blocking of the user account and possible sanctions for the operator.

Bot accounts

  • Contributors should create a separate account in order to operate a bot.
  • The account's name should identify the operator or bot function by using the word "Bot" at the beginning or the end of the account name.
  • Bots must only edit while logged into their account.
  • The contributions of a bot account remain the responsibility of its operator, who must be prominently identifiable on its user page.
  • The bot operator is responsible for the repair of any damage caused by a bot which operates incorrectly.
  • All policies apply to a bot account in the same way as to any other user account.
  • Bot accounts should not be used for contributions that do not fall within the scope of the bot's designated tasks. In particular, bot operators should not use a bot account to respond to messages related to the bot. Bot operators may wish to redirect a bot account's discussion page to their own.

The 'bot' flag

Bot accounts will be marked by a bureaucrat upon requesting a bot flag at bot request page and after complying with the required requirements listed below. This is a flag on their account that indicates that the account is used by a bot, and reduces some of the technical limits usually imposed by the Mediawiki software. Edits by such accounts are hidden by default within recent changes.

Bot requirements

In order for a bot to be approved, its operator should demonstrate that it:

  • is harmless
  • is useful
  • does not consume resources unnecessarily
  • performs only tasks for which there is consensus
  • carefully adheres to relevant policies and guidelines on Arabic Wikipedia
  • uses informative messages, appropriately worded, in any edit summaries or messages left for users

The bot account's user page should identify the bot as such using the {{bot}} tag. The following information should be provided on the bot account's userpage:

  • The user name of the Bot operator with a link to their user page
  • A link to the approval page
  • Details of the bot's task (or tasks)
  • Whether the bot is manually assisted or runs automatically

Good communication

Users who read messages or edit summaries from bots will generally expect a high standard of cordiality and information, backed up by prompt and civil help from the bot's operator if queries arise.

Restrictions on specific tasks

Context-sensitive changes

Unsupervised bot processes should not make context-sensitive changes that would normally require human attention. Exceptionally, such tasks may be allowed if – in addition to having consensus – the operator can demonstrate that no false positives will arise. Examples of context-sensitive changes include, but are not limited to:

  • Correcting spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes.
  • Converting words from one regional variation to another.
  • Applying context-sensitive templates, such as {{weasel word}}.

Categorization of people

Assignment of person categories should not be made using a bot. Before adding sensitive categories to articles by bot, the input should be manually checked article by article.

Interwiki links

Operators of interwiki bots creating new links to articles that do not already link back must be familiar with the languages to which they are linking. Bots running standard tools such as the pywikipedia framework should be updated to the latest version daily. Globally-approved interwiki bots are permitted to operate on Arabic Wikipedia. Interwiki bots should not run unsupervised in Template namespace unless specifically designed to run on templates. They must make sure that interwiki links added to templates are not transcluded on all pages using the template.

Cosmetic changes

Cosmetic changes should only be applied when there is a substantial change to make at the same time.

Mass page creation

Any large-scale automated or semi-automated article creation task must be approved at the village pump. The same restriction is applied to mass category creation, where those categories are visible in the article space (not including hidden maintenance categories). Anything more than 50 pages is considered to be large-scale page creation. Bot operators must ensure that all article creations are strictly within the terms of their approval.

Approval process

Requests for approval

All bots that make any logged actions must be approved before they may operate. Operators may carry out limited testing of bot processes without approval, provided that test edits are very low in number and frequency. In general, the bot must make between 20 to 50 test edits as a necessary step for its approval.

Bots withouth bot flag

Bot operators who wish to request a flag for their bot account should apply at the bot request page. Requests should state precisely what the bot will do, as well as any other information that may be relevant to its operation. The request will then be open for some time during which the community may comment or ask questions. The decision to approve a request should take into account the requirements above, relevant policies and guidelines, and discussion of the request. The "bot" flag will be assigned by any bureaucrat when consensus on operation is reached. Prospective bot operators should be editors in good standing, and with demonstrated experience with the tasks the bot proposes to do, and has a high level of civilized communication skills.

Modification of the bot task or adding a new task

Should a bot operator wish to modify or extend the operation of a bot, they should ensure that they do so in compliance with this policy. Completely new tasks usually require a separate approval request at the technical village pump. New request should indicate the nature of modification or the new task with a few test edits. The request will then be open for some time during which the community may comment or ask questions. The decision to approve a request should take into account the requirements above, relevant policies and guidelines, and discussion of the request. When consensus on operation is reached, the bot operator should put a link for the discussion on the Bot account user page. Some operators prefer having a separate bot account for each of the new tasks.

Appeals and reexamination of approvals

Requests for reexamination should be discussed at the technical village pump, when the bot did not comply with any of this policy or other policies of wikipedia. Requests for deflagging a bot should be discussed at bot request page.