Wikipedia:Edit filter
 | This page documents an English Wikipediaediting guideline. Editors should generally follow it, thoughexceptionsmay apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflectconsensus.When in doubt, discuss first onthis guideline's talk page. |
Theedit filterorabuse filteris a tool that allows editors in theedit filter managergroup to set controls, mainly[1]to address common patterns of harmful editing. The current filters can be found atSpecial:AbuseFilter.A filter automatically compares every edit made to Wikipedia against a defined set of conditions. If an edit matches the conditions of a filter, that filter will respond by logging the edit. It may alsotagthe edit summary, warn the editors, revoke theirautoconfirmedstatus, and/or disallow the edit entirely.[2]
TheAbuseFilter extensionwas enabled on the English Wikipedia in 2009. The term "edit filter" rather than "abuse filter" is currently used for user-facing elements of the filter, as some edits it flags are not harmful;[1]the terms are otherwise synonymous.
Because even the smallest mistake in editing a filter can significantly disrupt the encyclopedia, only editors who have the required good judgment and technical proficiency are permitted to configure filters. This page does not discuss technical issues concerning the feature; technical information relating to the operation of the edit filter can be found atExtension:AbuseFilter.
There are currently144edit filter managers and23edit filter helpers.
Basics of usage
Edit filters are mainly[1]used to identify and mitigate harmful edits by comparing edits with filtering criteria that address patterns of harmful editing. Filters are created and configured by edit filter managers, but they can berequestedby any editor.
When an edit that is being saved "triggers" an active filter, the effect depends on a setting associated with that particular filter:
- The strongest setting isdisallow.In this case, the edit is rejected, and the user will see a customizable message (this oneby default). A link is provided for reporting false positives. It is also possible to have a user's autoconfirmed status revoked if a user trips the filter.
- The next highest setting is towarn.In this case, the user will see a customisable message (this oneby default) that the edit may be problematic. The user then has the option to either proceed with the save, or abandon the edit.
- The next highest setting is toshow a CAPTCHAto the user. This requires the person performing the edit to solve aCAPTCHAto proceed with the edit, if they do not possess the
skipcaptcharight, which is part of theautoconfirmedlocal usergroup, and theglobal CAPTCHA exemptiongroup. - The next highest setting is toadd a tag.In this case, the edit istaggedfor review by patrollers.
- The lowest setting is tolog the edit.In this case, the edit is merely added to theabuse log.When testing new filters, this is the suggested setting to use.
Recommended uses
Except in urgent situations, new edit filters should generally be tested without any actions specified (simply enabled) until a good number of edits have been logged and checked before being implemented in "warn" or "disallow" modes. If the filter is receiving more than a very small percentage of false positives, it should usually not be placed in "disallow" mode. If a filter is designed to catchgood faithedits, it should not be placed in "disallow" mode without an appropriate consensus.
Edit filter managers should be familiar with alternatives that might be more appropriate in a given situation. For example, problems on a single page might be better served withpage protection,and problems with page titles orlink spammay find thetitle blacklistandspam blacklistmore effective, respectively. Because edit filters check every edit in some way, filters that are tripped only rarely are discouraged.
Edit filters should only be set to "disallow" to prevent edits that good-faith editors would substantially agree are undesirable, or where a clear consensus has been reached that a specific type of edit should not be allowed. Any doubts regarding setting a filter to "disallow" should be discussed with other edit filter managers.
Except in urgent situations, new edit filters must not be set to "disallow" without thorough testing and a notice atthe noticeboardto give other edit filter managers and the community time to review the filter for technical accuracy and necessity.[3]In urgent situations, the notice may be made after-the-fact. Prior to and during the review of an edit filter which is set to "disallow" due to an emergency, the editor placing the edit filter is responsible for seeing that the logs are regularly monitored and false positives are minimized. Editors should avoid altering filters in modes other than log-only without some form of testing.[4]
User right
Only members of the edit filter manager group are allowed to modify filters, though edit filter helpers and administrators can view private filters. Edit filter managers also have the ability to edittags.This group is assignable byadministrators,who may also assign the right to themselves.
The assignment of the edit filter manager user right to non-admins is highly restricted. It shouldonlybe requested by and given to highly trusted users, when there is a clear and demonstrated need for it. Demonstrated ability that one can and will use it safely is absolutely critical. This is because widespread disruption of the entire encyclopedia can easily occur—even unintentionally—with the smallest of mistakes in changing edit filters. Therefore, demonstrated knowledge of the extension'ssyntaxand an understanding and craftingregular expressionsis absolutely essential.[5]Editors who are not edit filter managers should consider helping out atrequested edit filtersand troubleshooting atfalse positivesto help gain experience and demonstrate these skills.
Requests for assignment of the group to non-admins can be made at theedit filter noticeboard,where a discussion will be held before a decision is made; discussions are normally held open for 7 days. Such requests must be initiated by the user requesting the right. In addition, a small number of WMF staff have the right, which they may request from the Trust and Safety group, following WMF procedures.
If an edit filter manager is misusing the user right, the concern should first be raised with them directly. If discussion does not resolve the issue, a request for discussion or removal of the user right may be made at the edit filter noticeboard.
Requesting edit filters
Edit filters can be requested at the requests page. Edit filter managers monitor this page and implement edit filters when a good case is made. If there is a disagreement, try to build aconsensus.The desirability of an edit filter may also emerge from discussions elsewhere on Wikipedia or through communication on the mailing list.
If it would not be desirable to discuss the need for a given edit filter on-wiki, such as where the purpose of the filter is to combat harassment by an abusive banned user who is likely to come across the details of the request, edit filter managers can be emailed directly or on thewikipedia-en-editfiltersmailing list atwikipedia-en-editfilters
lists.wikimedia.org.
If an editor (who need not be an edit filter manager) believes that an existing edit filter is unnecessary, is preventing good edits, or is otherwise problematic, they should raise their concerns on theedit filter noticeboardor directly with the edit filter manager who created or enabled the filter for further discussion.
Private filters
While edit filter settings and logs are by default publicly viewable, some are set to be private. For all filters, including those hidden from public view, a brief description of what the rule targets is displayed in thelog,the list of active filters, and in any error messages generated by the filter. Edit filter managers should take care not todiscuss the specifics of hidden filterspublicly.
Filters should only be hidden where necessary, such as inlong-term abusecases where the targeted user(s) could review a public filter and use that knowledge to circumvent it. Filters should not generally be named after abusive editors, but rather with a simple description of the type of abuse, provided not too much information is given away.
Edit filter managers may share the contents of private edit filters with non-administrators on the basis of their good judgment. Be careful not to test sensitive parts of private filters in a public test filter (such as1): use a private test filter (for example,2) if testing is required. Similarly, be careful not to post sensitive parts of private filters on talk pages or persistent pages of external sites.
Sensitive issues concerning private filters may be raised by emailing filter managers or by contacting them via thewikipedia-en-editfiltersmailing list atwikipedia-en-editfilterslists.wikimedia.org.
Mailing list
The mailing listwikipedia-en-editfiltersis a private list in which only administrators, edit filter managers, and edit filter helpers are subscribers. The list's primary function is for discussion of private filters, both between edit filter managers and with non-admins, who can email the list atwikipedia-en-editfilterslists.wikimedia.org.The mailing list should not be used as a venue for discussions that could reasonably be held on-wiki.
Tools and resources
A watchable page of recent changes to public filters is generated atUser:MusikBot/FilterMonitor/Recent changes,which will show up even if your watchlist is set to hide bot edits. There is also a formatted template{{recent filter changes}}that shows this same data.
Edit filters sometimes make use of relatively large (though not usually complex)regular expressions(regexes). External tools such asRegex101can be useful for testing these.[6]Because regexes are extremely fragile and almostanytypo in one will cause it to malfunction, use of such a tool is recommended. Use ofthe test interfacewhen creating or editing filters is also recommended.
There are some userscripts which aid in filter development and testing:
- User:Suffusion of Yellow/batchtest-plus.js- tools to test filter code against past hits, and do a quick check for false positives/negatives before saving a filter
- User:Suffusion of Yellow/filterDiff.js- adds a "Show changes" button to AbuseFilter pages
- User:Suffusion of Yellow/effp-helper.js- helps respond toEdit Filter - False Positivesreports
- User:Enterprisey/abusefilter-diff-check- checking if a diff triggered any filters
- User:Ingenuity/AbuseFilterContribs.js- shows edits disallowed by an abuse filter in contributions pages
See also
- Special:AbuseLog
- {{User wikipedia/Edit filter manager}}– auserboxtemplate to indicate you have the edit filter manager user right
- {{User edit filter manager since}},a userbox to display having edit filter manager with period of time
- {{edit filter manager topicon}}– atop icontemplate to indicate you have the edit filter manager user right – adds a category to page automatically
Notes
- ^abcEdit filters can and have been used to track or tag certain non-harmful edits, for example, addition ofWikiLove.
- ^The extension also allows blocking, but these features are disabled on the English Wikipedia.
- ^Non-admins in good standing who wish to review a proposed but hidden filter may message the mailing list for details.
- ^Testing could include using the batch testing interface, temporarily disabling the filter, or using a second filter, or use aTest Wikipediafilter to test.
- ^abThe extension usesPerl-style regular expressions, which is the most common style, but is substantially different from and more extensive thanScribunto(Lua) patterns. Seethis pagefor documentation.
- ^Be sure to set such tools to its "Perl" or "PCRE" (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) mode; avoid using a tool if it doesn't have such a mode. Also this will not be useful with "ccnorm" strings.[5]