Help:Administrator tools

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Protection

Administrators can edit protected pages and protect and unprotect pages from editing and moving.

Versions of edit protection are:

  • Administrators only: protection of a page against editing by a non-admin.
  • Cascading protection:
    • Protecting a page against editing by a non-admin, but also protecting images embedded on the page, and also applying the same protection to transcluded pages for as long as they remain transcluded in the page (thus it works recursively).

Move protection is protection of a page against moving by a non-admin.

Protection procedure

  • To protect a page, click the protect tab. This will lead to a confirmation screen with two menus and a checkbox. In the menu, the administrator can choose to protect the page from editing by Administrators only. Similarly, the page can be protected from moves by Administrators only (the system automatically adds the same level of protection to moves as it does to edits, but the protection level can be changed by checking the "Unlock move permissions" checkbox). Cascading protection is enabled by checking a separate checkbox. Enter the reason for page protection in the box and press "confirm." This will be logged.
  • To unprotect a page, click the unprotect tab. This will bring up the exact page as above, only this time the two menus will already be selected. Unprotection only involves selecting "(default)" under the "Edits" menu and pressing confirm. A reason for unprotection should be given as well. This action will likewise be logged.

Notes

  • Edit or view source: Depending on the status of the user and the status of the page, a user is provided an edit link or a link to just view the wikitext. After pressing edit on a fully protected page, an administrator is presented a warning at the top of the page informing about this page status.
  • Images: Protecting an image is mostly the same as protecting a page (see above). When the protect tab is clicked on the image description page, both the page and the image are protected. The image description page will be protected, and non-sysops will not be able to revert the image to an earlier version, or upload a new version over it.
  • Cascading protection of an important page is a crude measure, mainly for emergencies. If a template has to be protected just because it is transcluded in an important page, while it is also used elsewhere, it is better to make a copy for the transclusion in the important page, and use the other copy elsewhere. When this care is taken it makes little difference whether we use the automatic cascading protection or "manual cascading protection", i.e., protect the special copy of the template in the ordinary way. Initially, the main application of cascading protection is therefore the protection against creation, by transcluding non-existing pages on a page specially prepared for this purpose.

Deletion

Administrators can delete pages and their history, and can view and restore deleted pages and their history. They can also delete images, which can be undeleted as normal.

Deletion procedure

  • To delete a page, click the delete link on the page that is to be deleted. This will bring up a new page asking for a confirmation that the page should be deleted, as well as an explanation of the deletion. A message should be typed into the input box to explain the deletion to other users. After the page has been deleted, it might have an existing talk page which should be deleted as well. Any links that point to the deleted page should be removed or corrected—whichever is the most appropriate action.
  • Pages can be undeleted for as long as they are in the archive. This archive is occasionally lost in database crashes. If a page has not been recreated since it was deleted, there will be a message on the page indicating how many deleted revisions there are. Clicking on this (or the undelete tab) will bring up a page displaying all the deleted revisions which can each be looked at separately. To undelete a page, click the restore button which appears on the confirmation page; this will restore all deleted revisions by default. Undeletion occurs as soon as the button is clicked, and will be logged just like deletions; if some revisions are not restored, the log will record how many were restored.If a page already exists but an administrator wants to restore previous revisions, the administrator must go to the page history. There will be a link to undelete as described above.

Notes

  • Delete revisions
    • Delete article revisions
      • Delete article revisions for the first time: To delete/keep just one or more revisions from the history, delete the article normally, then begin the undeletion procedure. Before clicking the "Restore" button, check the revisions you want to restore—all others will remain deleted.
      • Delete article revisions not for the first time: if the article already contains previously deleted revisions, be sure to follow Wikipedia:WP:Selective deletion.
    • Delete image revisions: To delete one version of an image, click the (del) link beside that version under the "File history" heading. The most recent version cannot be deleted without deleting all previous versions.
  • Merge edit histories: the edit histories of two articles may be merged into one. To merge histories, delete the page where all the histories are supposed to be restored. Move the other page to the page just deleted, and then restore all the deleted revisions. This cannot be manually undone, and it is very difficult to split edit histories.
  • Split an edit history: To split an edit history, manually delete all revisions, then restore those belonging to one article (which may be difficult to recognize). Move the undeleted page to a new title to split off those revisions. Restore the revisions belonging to the deleted page (now a redirect), then revert to a the penultimate revision (before the redirect).

Rollback

Any user can revert a page by going back through the page's history. Administrators have a rollback button to expedite the process. To revert the edits of one user to the last version by the previous editor, click rollback on the page history, the user contribution list, or on the diff page. The reversion will be marked as a minor edit and given an automatic edit summary based on the contents of MediaWiki:Revertpage.

Blocking

Administrators can block IP addresses and user accounts from editing, uploading files, moving pages, and, if they have been granted such rights, protecting/unprotecting and deleting/undeleting pages. It is important to remember that blocks are preventative, rather than punitive.

Blocks are applied via the form at the special page Special:Blockip. There are several steps to applying a block:

  1. Specify the IP address or user to be blocked. Enter the IP address to be blocked, or the name of the registered user account to be blocked, in the "User" field of the form. Note that nonexistent usernames can also be blocked, so be certain you have the correct username. You can also block a range of IP addresses; see blocks for instructions.
  2. Specify a duration for the block. You can select a predefined duration from the drop down box labelled "Expiry", or you can enter a custom value, using the GNU standard format, in the "Other time" field. If the duration given is "indefinite", then the block will not expire, although the IP address or user account may still be unblocked by a administrator.
  3. Specify a reason for the block. This reason will be displayed to the blocked user if they attempt to edit a page.

Click "block this user" to apply the block. All blocks are recorded in the block log, and all currently active blocks are listed at the list of active blocks.

Note that in addition to manually entering the IP address or user account to be blocked into Special:Blockip, you may also follow the "Block this user" link from the toolbox in the sidebar when viewing the "User" or "User talk" page of the IP address or user account. You can also click on the "block" link next following an IP address or user account name in the recent changes list.

Blocking options

  • Block account creation: This option changes the effect of a block when blocking a user or an IP address. When it is enabled, the registration of new user accounts from that IP address will be disabled while the block is in effect.
  • Automatically block the last IP address used by this user, and any subsequent addresses they try to edit from: This option changes the effect of a block when blocking a registered user account. When it is enabled, the IP address most recently used by the account, and any IP addresses that the account subsequently attempts to edit from will be automatically blocked.

Effects of being blocked

Blocked users may still read pages, but they may not create, edit or move pages, or upload files. Users with certain other user rights will not be able to use those rights when they are blocked; for example, users with the rights to delete and undelete or protect and unprotect pages will not be able to do so when they are blocked. However, users with the rights to block and unblock users will still be able to do so when they are blocked.

Users who are blocked and attempt to edit a page (or move a page, or upload a file) will see the "user is blocked" message informing them that they have been blocked.

Unblocking

An IP address or registered user account can be unblocked via the list of active blocks. Find the IP address or registered user account you wish to unblock in the list (you can enter the address or name in the "search" field to help you find the entry), and click the "Unblock" link displayed to the right of the block's expiry time.

This will lead you to a confirmation page. Enter the reason for unblocking in the "reason" field, and click "unblock this address" to remove the block. All unblockings are recorded in the block log.

Note that if a range is blocked, then the unblock must cover the whole range to be effective. Attempting to unblock an individual IP address in the range will not be effective.


(This text is a customised partial copy from the MediaWiki pages Manual:Administrators and Help:Block and unblock)

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