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Update: The bot has been flagged and is ready to go!
After my recent "AWB-Massacre" on the wiki, I've noticed something, other than the flooding in Special:RecentChanges that I should've set up sandbags for earlier - the edit count.
AWB said I made over 250 edits, which is an awful lot for a human to make, let alone a non-bot account.
Speaking of bots, this is what I'm here to propose - a bot account. A bot is a piece of software capable of making edits automatically or semi-automatically to a wiki. Bots are in use all across Wikia, and four bots exist on all wikis - CreateWiki script (sets up the wiki when first created), Default (adds templates and placeholder messages for the wiki, as a foundation for people to get started), WikiaBot (automatically moves article comments when a page is renamed, along with a wide variety of other tasks), and Wikia (welcomes new users and adds userpage templates, when it's working. as of right now it's pretty faulty)
I don't have much, if any, knowledge on computer programming, but it's still possible for me to run a semi-automated bot using a program like AutoWikiBrowser (AWB).
Here's the deal:
- This bot will be called K6kaBOT. Reason being is that I'm out of ideas for bot names, and since this is the only bot I plan to operate, I may as well make it easy to identify.
- This bot will be given the bot flag before it is run. I can simply ask Wikia Staff to give the bot a bot flag, which will hide its edits from recent changes (You can view bot edits in recent changes by clicking "Show bots" at the top). This is especially useful, as it prevents disruption that a non-bot account mass-using AWB would cause.
- This bot will be used to change "Recycling Products" to "Recycling products", and "Recommended Gear" to "Recommended gear", and any additional changes as we develop our manual of style for the wiki. Of course, once that is done, the bot can always be used for any automated tasks we need to get done on the wiki.
- This bot will not make automated edits on its own. That's not possible with AWB. I have to initiate commands and tell the bot to edit in order for it to edit. AWB allows me to check every edit before it is published onto the server, so the amount of broken or faulty bot edits is reduced, and any mistakes are due to human error.
- This bot will not revert vandalism. Bots like ClueBot NG typically don't mark their edits as bot edits, so they do appear in recent changes. This is necessary so we can easily keep an eye on the bot so we can deal with false positives quickly. The thing is though, vandalism rates on this wiki are so low that there is no point in us operating such a bot. Besides, if we do run an anti-vandal bot, we generally should create a separate account for it.
- This bot will not make lunch for you. Sorry.
The reason why I want this bot is so I don't flood recent changes like I did today, which is probably very overwhelming. And, I'm not sure if people appreciated the free badge I earned from using a semi-automated editing program, and the free 250 edits.
However, other than that, nothing much will change other than the fact that I can run AWB freely on the bot account without worrying about disrupting the rest of the wiki. I need community input first before I create the bot account, though.
So, The Last Stand Wiki, do you approve of this bot account? Discuss below. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 21:43, July 9, 2014 (UTC)
Discussion[]
So what WILL this bot do? the same "How to Obtain obtain"? —ShoopDerWoop 01:31, July 10, 2014 (UTC)
- I already did that. Did all of them! This one's about the "Recycling Products" → "Recycling products" and "Recommended Gear" → "Recommended gear". The bot can also do other menial, repetitive, or otherwise tasks that would wear my arms out doing over and over again, and would flood recent changes in the process. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 01:36, July 10, 2014 (UTC)
- Well... just looking at some of the other articles, I can see there are lots of section titles that need some de-capitalization! But then again, such changes are necessary if the community wants a manual of style. I'm a bit hesitant on adding tons of exceptions (not to mention content) to the manual of style since that would be very reminiscent of instruction creep. There would be so much "exceptions" to the manual of style that we may as well not have one at all. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 01:41, July 10, 2014 (UTC)
- Well, there's always the {{Emergency bot shutoff}} template, which I've just created. In case the bot misbehaves it can be blocked in two mouse-clicks. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 13:28, July 10, 2014 (UTC)
- If it did go Skynet on the wiki, wouldn't it shut down whoever's trying to press the button? —ShoopDerWoop 06:18, July 14, 2014 (UTC)
- All the button is really just a fancy link to Special:Block/K6kaBOT, with a few extra parameters added. Only users with administrator access are actually able to use the button - for everyone else, they'll simply get an error message. And as mentioned, the bot doesn't make edits on its own. I need to give it orders for it to edit. Not only that, but the bot doesn't have administrator status (i.e. "admin-bot"). So no, it can't and won't do anything to whoever presses the button. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 13:10, July 14, 2014 (UTC)
As there appears to be some consensus for the bot's existence, I have gone ahead and created the bot account, K6kaBOT. I need to hear some more from the community before I request a bot flag from Wikia, since Wikia Staff needs to see the community approves of the bot. One or two users isn't a "community". Speak up, people! --k6ka (talk | contribs) 22:25, July 10, 2014 (UTC)
- This bot idea sounds like it could help make this wiki a bit neater...if so, then I say let it exist with everything it needs. --Minecraftproman1266, the good o'l Bostonian. (talk) 16:23, July 11, 2014 (UTC)
- One more thing: make sure K6kaBot fixes all the "versus" on weapons pages from "vs" to "vs." with a period, since that's the correct spelling... —ShoopDerWoop 00:22, July 16, 2014 (UTC)
- ...speaking of a to-do list, bot-task requests can go at my talk page. Also, the manual of style looks good and ready to go, so this bot has some work to do! --k6ka (talk | contribs) 01:35, July 17, 2014 (UTC)
- Less flooding on recent changes? I'm in for it. OrangeSkittles (talk) 02:20, July 18, 2014 (UTC)
As community consensus is evident and there are no objections, I have submitted a bot flag request to Wikia and will receive a response within two or three business days, depending on the mountain of paperwork they need to climb. --k6ka (talk | contribs) 15:29, July 21, 2014 (UTC)
The bot has been flagged. Thanks! --k6ka (talk | contribs) 19:04, July 21, 2014 (UTC)