Page protection

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```wiki

  1. Page protection

Page protection is a crucial administrative function in MediaWiki that controls who can edit a specific page or set of pages. It's a vital tool for maintaining the stability and integrity of a wiki, preventing vandalism, and ensuring the quality of important content. This article will provide a comprehensive guide to page protection for beginners, covering the different levels of protection, reasons for using it, how to apply it, and best practices.

== Why Protect Pages?

The primary goal of page protection is to prevent unwanted or disruptive edits. Several scenarios necessitate protection:

  • **High-traffic pages:** Pages like the Main Page, popular help pages, or frequently referenced templates are often targets for vandalism. Protection prevents unauthorized alterations that could disrupt the user experience.
  • **Semi-protected pages:** These are pages that may be targeted by anonymous or newly registered users. Protection against these users can greatly reduce vandalism.
  • **Stable content:** Once a page has reached a consensus-based, stable state, protection can prevent edit wars or unintentional changes that could degrade the quality of the information. This is particularly important for policy pages or guidelines.
  • **Sensitive information:** Pages containing potentially sensitive data (though such data should ideally be avoided on a public wiki) may require protection to restrict access.
  • **Featured Content:** Featured articles and Featured pictures often require protection to maintain their high quality and prevent degradation.
  • **Templates:** Templates are used across many pages. Protecting a template prevents changes that could affect all pages using it. This is critical for maintaining consistency.
  • **Cascading Protection:** Protecting a page and all pages that transclude it (like templates) is vital for complex systems.
  • **Edit Wars:** If users are repeatedly reverting each other's edits on a page, protection can temporarily halt the conflict and allow for discussion and consensus-building. See Conflict resolution.

== Levels of Page Protection

MediaWiki offers several levels of page protection, each with different restrictions on who can edit the page. The available levels may vary depending on the wiki's configuration, as determined by the administrators.

  • **Fully Protected:** This is the highest level of protection. Only administrators and bureaucrats can edit fully protected pages. This is typically reserved for the most critical pages, such as the wiki's configuration files, the Main Page during major events, or pages experiencing severe vandalism.
  • **Semi-Protected:** Only autoconfirmed users can edit semi-protected pages. An autoconfirmed user is generally one who has been registered for a certain period (typically 4 days) and has made a minimum number of edits (typically 10). This level is commonly used for pages susceptible to vandalism by new or unregistered users.
  • **Template Protected:** This level protects templates from all but administrators. Similar to full protection, but specifically for templates. Given the impact a template change can have, this is often applied.
  • **Cascading Protection:** When enabled, this extends the protection level to pages that *transclude* the protected page. For example, if a template is fully protected with cascading protection enabled, all pages that include that template are also fully protected. This prevents edits to pages that indirectly modify the protected content.
  • **Extended Confirmed Protection:** This level allows only extended confirmed users to edit the page. Extended confirmed users are those with more than 30 days of account age and over 500 edits. This is a higher bar than autoconfirmed, useful for pages needing a more experienced editing base.
  • **Sysop Protection:** This level restricts editing to administrators and bureaucrats. It’s similar to full protection but can be applied by a wider range of users with sysop (administrator) rights.
  • **Edit Protection (Deprecated):** In older versions of MediaWiki, "edit protection" was a common term. This generally referred to semi-protection. Modern MediaWiki typically uses the term "semi-protection" directly.

== Applying Page Protection

Applying page protection requires appropriate user rights. Typically, only administrators and bureaucrats can protect pages. Here’s a general outline of the process:

1. **Navigate to the Page:** Go to the page you wish to protect. 2. **Access the Protection Log:** Click the "View history" tab. Then, find the "Protect" link, usually located in the sidebar or at the top of the history page. (The exact location may vary based on the wiki's skin). 3. **Select the Protection Level:** A protection dialog will appear. Choose the desired protection level from the dropdown menu (Fully protected, Semi-protected, Template protected, etc.). 4. **Set Expiration (Optional):** You can specify an expiration date and time for the protection. This is useful for temporary protection during edit wars or high-traffic events. If no expiration is set, the protection is indefinite. 5. **Enable Cascading Protection (Optional):** If you want to protect pages that transclude the protected page, check the "Cascade protection" box. 6. **Add a Protection Log Entry:** Enter a brief reason for the protection in the "Reason" field. This is crucial for transparency and helps other administrators understand the rationale behind the protection. 7. **Submit the Protection:** Click the "Protect page" button to apply the protection.

== Viewing and Modifying Protection

Administrators can view the protection status of a page by following the same steps as applying protection. The protection dialog will display the current protection level, expiration date (if any), and the reason for protection.

To modify or remove protection, administrators can:

1. **Access the Protection Log:** As described above. 2. **Change the Protection Level:** Select a different protection level or choose "No protection" to remove the protection entirely. 3. **Update Expiration:** Modify the expiration date or remove it to make the protection indefinite. 4. **Update Reason:** Change the reason for protection if necessary. 5. **Submit the Changes:** Click the "Protect page" button to save the changes.

== Best Practices for Page Protection

  • **Use Protection Sparingly:** Don't protect pages unnecessarily. Overuse of protection can discourage legitimate editing and create a perception of censorship.
  • **Provide Clear Reasons:** Always provide a clear and concise reason for protecting a page. This helps other administrators and users understand the rationale behind the decision.
  • **Consider Semi-Protection First:** When possible, start with semi-protection to address vandalism by new or unregistered users before resorting to full protection.
  • **Use Expiration Dates:** Set expiration dates for temporary protection. This ensures that the protection is automatically lifted when it's no longer needed.
  • **Discuss Protection with the Community:** Before protecting a page, especially if it's a controversial one, discuss the issue with the community on the Village Pump or relevant talk pages. Consensus-building is crucial.
  • **Monitor Protected Pages:** Regularly review protected pages to ensure that the protection is still necessary and that no legitimate edits are being blocked.
  • **Understand Cascading Protection:** Use cascading protection carefully. It can be very effective, but it can also inadvertently block legitimate edits to many pages.
  • **Document Protection Decisions:** Keep a record of protection decisions, especially for complex or controversial cases. This can help with transparency and accountability.
  • **Review Protection Logs Regularly:** Administrators should regularly review the protection logs to identify patterns of vandalism or abuse and to adjust protection levels as needed.
  • **Consider Alternative Solutions:** Before resorting to protection, explore alternative solutions such as using edit summaries, monitoring recent changes, and engaging with users to address concerns.

== Tools and Related Pages

== Advanced Considerations

  • **Abuse Filters:** Combine page protection with abuse filters to proactively prevent vandalism and disruptive edits. Abuse filters can block edits based on patterns, keywords, or user behavior.
  • **CAPTCHAs:** Implement CAPTCHAs for editing to deter automated bots and vandalism.
  • **Revision Control:** Understand the role of revision control in MediaWiki. Protection doesn't replace the ability to revert to previous versions if necessary.
  • **Monitoring Tools:** Utilize tools like Special:RecentChanges and watchlist features to monitor changes to protected pages.
  • **External Tools:** Explore external tools for analyzing wiki activity and identifying potential vandalism.

== Technical Analysis and Strategies (Related Concepts – Not Directly Page Protection)

While not directly related to page protection, understanding these concepts is useful for managing a dynamic wiki:

  • **Moving Averages:** Analyzing edit frequencies over time can reveal patterns.
  • **Support and Resistance Levels:** Identifying key pages that consistently attract edits.
  • **Trend Analysis:** Tracking the types of edits being made to identify emerging issues.
  • **Volume Analysis:** Measuring the number of edits per page to detect surges in activity.
  • **Fibonacci Retracements:** (Metaphorically) Identifying key revision levels.
  • **Bollinger Bands:** (Metaphorically) Detecting volatility in editing patterns.
  • **MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence):** (Metaphorically) Identifying changes in editing momentum.
  • **RSI (Relative Strength Index):** (Metaphorically) Measuring the intensity of editing activity.
  • **Candlestick Patterns:** (Metaphorically) Recognizing patterns in edit history.
  • **Elliott Wave Theory:** (Metaphorically) Identifying cycles in wiki development.
  • **Risk Management:** Assessing the potential impact of unprotected pages.
  • **Diversification:** Protecting a variety of page types, not just the most popular ones.
  • **Correlation Analysis:** Identifying relationships between edits on different pages.
  • **Time Series Analysis:** Analyzing edit history over time.
  • **Statistical Arbitrage:** (Metaphorically) Identifying inconsistencies in content.
  • **Algorithmic Trading:** (Metaphorically) Automating the monitoring of edits.
  • **High-Frequency Trading:** (Metaphorically) Rapidly responding to vandalism.
  • **Scalping:** (Metaphorically) Making small, frequent edits to maintain quality.
  • **Day Trading:** (Metaphorically) Focusing on short-term stability.
  • **Swing Trading:** (Metaphorically) Managing long-term content development.
  • **Position Trading:** (Metaphorically) Developing comprehensive content strategies.
  • **Hedging:** (Metaphorically) Implementing safeguards against vandalism.
  • **Portfolio Management:** (Metaphorically) Balancing the protection of different page types.
  • **Technical Indicators:** Using tools to monitor editing activity.
  • **Fundamental Analysis:** Assessing the importance of pages based on their content.
  • **Market Sentiment Analysis:** Gauging the community's opinion on specific topics.
  • **Black Swan Events:** Preparing for unexpected vandalism or disruptions.

Understanding these concepts, while applied metaphorically, can provide a framework for approaching wiki management with a systematic and analytical mindset.

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