From Gunpedia
For any web site that deals with editing by anonymous sources, vandalism is a problem. To deal with vandalism, Gunpedia has put forth this document.
Fixing Vandalism
Fixing vandalism on a page is a 2 step process.
Reverting Vandalism
To fix vandalism is to revert vandalism. To revert a page from its vandalism if it was blanked or edited beyond recognition there are a few steps:
- Click the history tab on the page
- Click on the date of the most recent entry before the vandalism
- Click edit on that page
- Click save page
If it was a minor edit to the article, and you recall the text replaced, simply edit the page to fix it.
Reporting Vandalism
Now that you have reverted the page, you will now have to report the vandalism to an administrator so he may ban the user according to the banning policy. To report a vandal:
- Go to the history tab on the page
- Look at the entry before your revert. Copy the name or number right of the date.
- Paste the name or number on the Administrator's Talk Page. The admin will need to verify the vandalism, so add the page name/names that the vandal vandalised, too.
Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure, a symbol or information against the will of the owner/governing body. In the context of an online community project, it is a deliberate attempt to damage the usefulness of content for others.
Assuming good faith
Useful community content is that which most concisely and accurately reflects the widest range of relevant information on a topic. In the context of a wiki project, intent to reduce relevant information to that of a single viewpoint could be considered vandalism. In keeping with assume good faith, however, it may be possible to look at a one-viewpoint edit as additional information that the user feels should be incorporated or is under-represented. In such a case, it benefits the project to explain more effective methods of bringing this information to light while retaining the existing knowledge in the article. While calling someone a vandal almost always makes the accusation true, extra patience instead can enable one to become a beneficial editor.
Avoiding critical mass
Vandalism usually starts as a form of heavy-handedness which is never effective at getting a point across in a wiki community. We can nip it in the bud by explaining more effective ways of making proposals and working with others. If we alienate the editor, however, vandalism can turn into a form of vengeance. The wiki engine is written to minimize the effect of pranksters, and can even handle a few full blown vengeful vandals, but it cannot handle a vandalism movement that has reached critical mass, a situation where we react to vandalism by assuming bad faith and thereby create more vengeful editors. As a project approaches crisis levels, it becomes harder and more time intensive to assume good faith, but every act of kindness and patience moves the project away from critical mass.
Dealing with vandalism
See also
