GuildWiki talk:Bot tasks

Mind if I add maybot as a bot, since its a bot account without a bot flag? &mdash; Warw/Wick 20:20, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Only accounts in the Bots group, Special:Listusers/bot, are actually bot accounts. Your Maybot is simply a shoepuppet.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 20:33, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Task pages
I think it would be best to document each script that gets run by the bots, thus I made a subpage for the Builds task. Let me know if I'm missing anything important. Also, please note that the password is passed in from the command line - a good security measure (I learned at work) so that I don't have to remember to edit it out whenever I post a script here. &mdash;Dr Ishmael 20:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Good ideas. I feel quite secure with you on this lol. &mdash;♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 20:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Heh, thanks. I work for a company that manages consumer data, including credit card and social security numbers.  They indoctrinate new employees with nearly a week's worth of security training, so it's no wonder that I'm quite conscious of security issues.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 21:11, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Edit interval
What would be a good editing interval for bots here? At WP, they suggest 10 seconds (360 edits/hour) for non-urgent tasks, while urgent tasks can go down to around 4 seconds (900 edits/hour). User:Galil.bot was always run with a 10-second interval (after it got the botflag), so I based mine on that. While none of the proposed tasks so far are urgent, we probably have a much lower server load than WP, so I'd think we could use a smaller interval. (Sorry for being a bit spammy with questions 'n' stuff, but we should work this stuff out before we start running anything. (Gee, I certainly like using parentheses, don't I?)) &mdash;Dr Ishmael  21:27, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm running mine at 4, but i'll cut down to 10 Random Time  21:35, 29 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I support 10sec per edit just as a good standard to use. We may have a visits, but we probably also don't have as good servers compared to WP, so you can't really compare server load that way.  Is there a feedback mechanism so that if Wikia is being slow (or just your own internet), the bot detects that and pauses? -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 21:36, 29 April 2008 (UTC)


 * http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Maxlag_parameter We can use that if Wikia runs on a replicated database cluster.  Otherwise, the script could ping Wikia before each edit. &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 21:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Maxlag works - try this and reload a few times. &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 23:18, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

My Policy Proposal
If my policy proposal makes it, it will be manditory that we have a request section on this page; you guys just want to add it here anyway, it would be useful if my policy makes it through or not :o) -- Shadowphoenix  03:39, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Future improvement
Maybe the edit summary can link to the bot task page, such as Bot tasks/Builds redlinks rewrite. Not necessary to do it for the current task, but can be something nice for the future. -User:PanSola (talk to the ) 22:37, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Gah, feels like I should've thought of that now. >< Ah well, next time! &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 23:20, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Still getting my feet wet
So, I moved Raisu Palace (mission) to Raisu Palace (mission), how do I propose a bot task for the 500-odd links that need to be changed? &mdash; Powersurge360 Violencia  17:36, 12 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I think you add it to the list on GuildWiki_talk:Bot_tasks/Links_to_unnecessary_redirects. --◄mendel► 17:59, 12 July 2008 (UTC)


 * This would fit better on Bot_tasks/Relinking_moved_pages, actually, since the page has just been moved. &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 19:40, 12 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually, all of the (Mission)/(Location)/(Explorable) articles should be renamed by ULC, shouldn't they? I can work on all that this evening.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 19:43, 12 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Suppose so. Have fun, I say. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG|Ohaider!]]-- (s)talkpage  19:45, 12 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yay, fun! I've got the find/replace rules in AWB set up to take care of all necessary renames at once, the final punctuation characters are to make sure I only change it if it's in a link:

(mission)| --> (mission)| (mission)]] --> (mission)]] (location)| --> (location)| (location)]] --> (location)]] (explorable)| --> (explorable)| (explorable)]] --> (explorable)]]
 * There actually aren't very many pages that link directly to the mission articles, most of them are linked through a template. Most of the ones that do link directly are creature articles (in the Location section) and skill articles (in the Acquisition section).  I'm going to edit the templates first (mission navboxes and mission progression tables), then all other articles, so that null edits to articles that use the templates will properly update the link tables.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 04:08, 13 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Blarg, I gotta crash now. Finished up the Prophecies missions through Gates of Kryta - I have a list saved of all the pages I moved, I will continue working on them tomorrow.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 06:48, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Use watchlist?
I am undecided about telling my bot to put all edits on the watchlist. Opinions? --◄mendel► 08:04, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Con: makes the server do more work (adds extra work to each edit, plus makes for a watchlist of 3000+ edits)
 * I could clear the watchlist a few days after a bot run.
 * Pro: I can check a day after a bot run to see whether bot edits have been corrected by other users, and take action if necessary
 * In most cases that require action, I'd expect the correcting editors to post a notice to the talkpage anway.


 * The Contributions list would do the same, right? It notes (top) if the editor has the last edit. It's how I mass RV'ed vandals. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG|Ohaider!]]-- (s)talkpage  10:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Ah, I didn't know that, thank you. This is the kind of information that needs to make it into RC patrol. I think that decides me. The disadvantage of using that over the watchlist is that I can "top" myself, i.e. if the bot revisits the page (because of a false start) the old edits will no longer be "top". And of course the watchlist allows me to "hide my edits" so I only see the edited articles and don't have to look though a long list. Anyway, I'm going to use the contributions list for now and see how that works out. --◄mendel► 10:26, 14 September 2008 (UTC)