This is the talk page for BLPWatchBot, a bot used by BLPWatch.

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Resolved

Stuff that's considered, to discuss:

1. Bot needs to run monitoring in a basic version, during approval for other functions.

    Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:50, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

2. "Blpwatch" in an edit summary causes bot to load page and check for tagging?

    Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:50, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

3. Log file location?

    Done [1] --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:50, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

4. Consider a regular !reset synchronization (8 hourly??) to catch up any missed tags

    Won't fix per my comments in "Slight bugs and fixes" point 4. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:50, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

5. Clarify on help page if <article> is with or without [[...]] and the format and scope of edit id's

   Always without [[]], edit ids are a plain number. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:50, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

6. Dump format - wikitable sortable.

    Working --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:50, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 13:30, 31 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Category shows 2 items; bot after !reset reports 3 then "done"
• Delisting User:FT2/Snips has not been reported, nor has editing to Hal Turner.

Is it picking up the RC feed?? FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 21:32, 31 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

1. Slight bug, but, a bug nonetheless. Could possibly be abused in some fashion.

[04:24:20] <SQLDb> *test* [[Max Mosley]] Foo!
[04:24:22] BLPWatchBot ◊ #9: *test* [[Max Mosley]] Foo!

HTH! SQL^{Query me!} 08:24, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

 Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:36, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

2. Also this happened:

[!info User:FT2]
<BLPWatchBot> User:FT2 not tagged.
[I tagged my user page]
<BLPWatchBot> #15: [[User:FT2]]  http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:FT2&diff=202501920&oldid=202499191 * FT2 * (+31) test tagging this

(reported the tagging edit somehow, even though supposedly not being watched)

FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 08:48, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It is capable of watching a page that has been !added if the page does not have a tag. !info would not report if that is true. This should be considered a feature, not a bug.

3. And this:

<FT2> !info
<BLPWatchBot> Watching 5 articles. !reset to reload category. Commandlist: !tag <article> <template>; !untag <article>; !revert <id>; !redate <article>; !reason <article> <newreason>; !info <article>; Maintainer: ST47
<FT2> !info User:FT2
<BLPWatchBot> User:FT2 not tagged.
<BLPWatchBot> #15: [[User:FT2]]  http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:FT2&diff=202501920&oldid=202499191 * FT2 * (+31) test tagging this
<BLPWatchBot> #16: [[User:FT2]] M http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:FT2&diff=202501999&oldid=202501920 * FT2 * (-31) detag
<BLPWatchBot> [[User:FT2]] has had the BLPwatch template removed.
<FT2> !add User:FT2
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run:
<FT2> !info
<BLPWatchBot> Watching 6 articles. !reset to reload category. Commandlist: !tag <article> <template>; !untag <article>; !revert <id>; !redate <article>; !reason <article> <newreason>; !info <article>; Maintainer: ST47
<FT2> !add User:FT2
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run:
<FT2> !info
<BLPWatchBot> Watching 7 articles. !reset to reload category. Commandlist: !tag <article> <template>; !untag <article>; !revert <id>; !redate <article>; !reason <article> <newreason>; !info <article>; Maintainer: ST47
<FT2> interesting

See http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:BLPWatchBot/dump&oldid=202502413

FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 08:49, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

 Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:44, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

4.

• "Blpwatch" in an edit summary picked up and article added to bots list if needed?

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:47, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• On startup, is the list of detected adds/removes posted to channel?

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:47, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Auto-synch check (!reset) every (typically 8) hours as an option? Ie, if its > 8 hrs since last reset, it posts "synchronizing..." and executes a !reset (which will post "done" when complete). To trap accidentally omitted matters. Or not needed/bot won't miss things once running?? FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 08:56, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

   Won't fix - not necessary, since the bot really shouldn't miss anything. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:47, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

5.

• Can surrounding [[...]] in article names be removed if present? As someone's bound to paste them! :)

   Done --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 21:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Can !dump say "Done - <link>"

   Done --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 21:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Just edited Hal Turner again, bot didnt report the edit.

   Works for me --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 21:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• After startup or reset, the message simply reads "Removed since last run". Can this be expanded:

Checking for pages added or removed since last run...
   Found addition: <pagelink>
   Found addition: <pagelink>
   Found addition: <pagelink>
   Found removal: <pagelink> -- PLEASE CHECK VALIDITY OF DETAGGING!
   .....
   (Or: "None", if none)
Bot successfully synchronized to wiki, commencing monitoring.

(and yes the caps are intentional! So are the links - allows easy clicking.)

•  Won't fix Not really compatible with error checking - bot needs to not flood the channel in case of an issue. The logfile is always available (or will be..) --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 21:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reopen? Messages need to be clearer somehow. These aren't errors but items needing specific attention and checking when they happen, and messages that are a bit confusing. Even just "Checking for pages added/removed since last run:" and "None" (if none were found) + "Commencing monitoring", would help.

• Strange dialog:

<FT2> !add User:ST47
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run:

Perhaps the above will fix or clarify this too.

•  Invalid This is a feature. Any change to the list results in a review of the category contents. It is only really effective on start, however when placed elsewhere, it provides a second report of the removal for additional review. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 21:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reopen? Then needs to be more clear is all? "Checking for pages added/removed since last run: None." would be clear enough.

• odd message: "<BLPWatchBot> Edit summary of contained blpwatch, but template is not present."

<BLPWatchBot> Edit summary of  contained blpwatch, but template is not present.
<BLPWatchBot> Edit summary of  contained blpwatch, but template is not present.
<BLPWatchBot> Edit summary of  contained blpwatch, but template is not present.
<User> What does this mean?

•  Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• This sequence is also problematic: the bot reports articles as new that are already reported:

<FT2> !reset
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run:
<BLPWatchBot> Added since last run: Ashley Alexandra Dupré, Don Murphy, Hal Turner, Max Mosley, Rachel Marsden, Sally Kern,
<FT2> !reset
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run:
<BLPWatchBot> Added since last run: Ashley Alexandra Dupré, Don Murphy, Hal Turner, Max Mosley, Rachel Marsden, Sally Kern,

•  Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Query: originally I set up the template with "date=xxxx". But probably in hindsight, that parameter should be changed from "date=" to "from=". Date is inherently ambiguous as to whether it means start or end date. Long term, before people get too used to it, this would probably be helpful for clarity.

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• !reset only seems to respond if given in lowercase.

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• !dump query - is a new dump always saved? What about if the list hasn't changed? It seems if a dump won't be saved, which would be fine, but in that case can "Done. <URL>" be replaced by "Done. No changes. Old dump is at <URL>." ?

   Fixed as discussed on Skype. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• BAG trial approval mods --

1. making edits is permitted for the trial period.
2. Context splitting or tracking down the issue (stated by SQL to be important)
3. Edit summary of any edits (not just reverts!) to state "This bot is being trialled as a way to help watch "at risk" BLPs. [[Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/BLPWatchBot#Bot trial|Comments welcomed]]."

•  Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Ease of use formatting - are the following two possible for output?

• Reorder information and add visual cues:
  <BLPWatchBot> #6: [[Sally Kern]]  AMK1211 (+557) http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sally_Kern&diff=202986491&oldid=202939828 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 202927709 by [[Special:Contributions/Netkinetic|Netkinetic]] ([[User talk:Netkinetic|talk]])
  It's not perfect but it's better than at present and on a quick try, the best I can do.

•  Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:53, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• Using blpwatch in an edit summary didn't result in any action. Bot should report all of these, followed (as with removals) by a 2nd line: [[Page]] checked and found to [be/not be] tagged. Article [will/will not] be monitored.:

<BLPWatchBot> #4: [[page]]  <difflink> * FT2 * (+330) test of blpwatch in edit summary
<BLPWatchBot> [[Page]] checked and found to NOT be tagged. Article will NOT be monitored. <orange>EDIT SUMMARY

•  Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 21:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  Further fix needed -- adds it to monitoring, but message as above + edit summary not shown.

   Additional information needed Don't understand the motivation for this one, ask me about it next time we talk. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 22:49, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• After startup category checking, a simple "Commencing monitoring" message would be nice. Also for the !reset and startup reports, removing "!" from "Done!" messages too.

  You don't like my emotional bot? (Also, monitoring commences as soon as the bot enters the channel.) --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 22:49, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:17, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• This sequence is confusing and disturbing:

Made this edit: [2]

<BLPWatchBot> Edit summary of Ashley Alexandra Dupr contained blpwatch, but template is not present.

Made this edit: [3]

No report by BLPWatchBot

Made this edit: [4]

<BLPWatchBot> Edit summary of Ashley Alexandra Dupr contained blpwatch, but template is not present.

All other tagged pages were reported correctly when the template was edited. Left for you to figure why this one wasn't.

•  Fixed This issue and all other issues related only to this particular article should be fixed. If they are not, please advise. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 23:28, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• For some reason it reported edits to non-tagged pages:

This edit [5] and then !reset led to: <BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run: Template:Blpwatch,

This edit [6] and !reset led to: <BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run: Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/BLPWatch,

 Won't fix That's because it doesn't realize that it's nowikied. There's no easy way to fix this. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 23:34, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ahhhh! Okay, didn't spot that one. As long as it has a good reason I'm fine with it :)

• !Tag command syntax: "!tag page ((< optional "blpwatch<whitespace>|"> < optional "from<whitespace>=" > MM/YYYY | < optional "reason<whitespace>=" > REASON))" It can automatically add the rest of the template.

 Won't fix Not feasible, since the !tag command syntax uses the opening of the tag to to find the end of the article name. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 23:34, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

makes sense. FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 23:46, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• !redate/!reason/!untag a non-tagged name or non-existent article says "Done"
• !redate/!reason an existing but untagged article doesn't do the action (good!), but reports "Done"

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:17, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• !reason seems to fail: <FT2> !reason Rachel Marsden test2

 Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:44, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Noted it needs !reason ARTICLE reason=<narrative>

• !info states: "Rachel Marsden tagged. Parameters: blpwatch | date=04/2008 | reason=Per DRV." not "From".

This needs to be fixed in the article, by changing to the correct parameter name. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:44, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

 Fixed - done FT2 ^{(Talk | email)} 10:53, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• !revert (bad number) -> "<BLPWatchBot> Revert on attempted per FT2"

   Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 10:44, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Open

• Piped link clarity: replace instances of "[[PAGE LINK|TEXT]]" by "[[PAGE LINK|TEXT]]"

• Edit summaries need updating:

• !revert <narrative> edit summary: "Reverted by [[User:Example|Username]] using [[User:BLPWatchBot|BLPWatchBot]]: <narrative> (Bot being trialled, [[WP:BRFA-BLPWatchBot|comments welcome]])"

Trim the <narrative> if there is overflow! Total length of narrative should be at most, 200 - ([length of 1st part] + [length of last part])

 Fixed --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 00:53, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Further fix needed - edit summary not working

• !tag edit summary: "Tagged for BLPWatch by [[User:BLPWatchBot|BLPWatchBot]] by request of <name>. Stated reason is "<reason>". (Bot being trialled, [[WP:BRFA-BLPWatchBot|comments welcome]])"
• !redate edit summary: "Restarted monitoring for BLPWatch by request of <name>. Stated start date is <from>. (Bot being trialled, [[WP:BRFA-BLPWatchBot|comments welcome]])"
• !reason edit summary: "Updated BLPWatch monitoring reason by request of <name>. New reason: "reason" (Bot being trialled, [[WP:BRFA-BLPWatchBot|comments welcome]])"

and "user" in edit summary should be Wiki-account link if applicable, else "nice formatted" irc name "name (a!b@c)".

• Its own edits should be visible via its own reports. (Either not filtered out, or some other means to check they went through.)

 Fixed It's filtered out to limit spam. That filter has been removed for the time being. --uǝʌǝsʎʇɹoɟʇs(st47) 23:34, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Recheck - !reason, !tag, !redate, !untag etc and other commands causing edits, don't get reflected in the channel for verification. (I do have a thought on this, talk some time... :) )

• Typing !revert <number> twice for the same (valid) number, the 2nd time doesn't report properly.

• Explicit "color=1" needed before: "#nnn: Page user (+0)"

• !info syntax for !reason is probably inaccurate. Should be "!reason <article name> reason=<new reason>". Plus, debug check, what happens if you try to tag and then !reason Kant's "A Critique of Pure Reason"?

• !redate and !reason didn't work, though !tag and !untag did. Commands tried:

<FT2> !tag User:FT2 ((blpwatch|    from=04/2008|reason = test2))
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<BLPWatchBot> Removed since last run: 
<FT2> !redate User:FT2 03/2008
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<FT2> !reason user:FT2 reason=reason change text
<BLPWatchBot> Done.
<FT2> !untag user:FT2
<BLPWatchBot> Done.

Page history shows an untag and tag only...

• Unicode bug again:

<FT2-away> !info Ashley Alexandra Dupré
<BLPWatchBot> Ashley Alexandra Dupr� not tagged.

However edits to this article are being correctly reported - it's more commands like info, and possibly tag/untag etc that might not.

• Attempt to !tag a protected page says "successful" but isn't. It's not checking the RC feed to verify. May affect other commands.

• TO CHECK: 1/ does the bot handle a malformed tag (eg no closing "))" or missing data) or more than one tag in an article; 2/ !revert (once narrative fixed)

The link to Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/BLPWatchBot in the edit summary can probably be removed now. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 09:50, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]