User:AmiDaniel/VandalProof

VandalProof is an application that runs on the Microsoft Windows operating system and was developed for the English language Wikipedia providing several tools to make finding and reverting vandalism easier. You can find helpful VandalProof users and moderators in #vandalproof on the freenode network.

Overview
VandalProof allows users to peruse recent changes, watch lists, and user contributions; then if vandalism is found, in one click they can revert it, post the appropriate warning template on the vandal's talk page, add that person to their blacklist and add the revert to their automated vandalism log. Deciding on the correct warning is also easy, as a user's warning history is automatically found and clearly displayed.

When it comes to finding vandalism to revert, VandalProof again shows its power. The automatic RSS feed or alternative standard list of recent changes is displayed in a clear manner, colourising edits based on user preferences, clearly marking suspect edits and filtering everything against a comprehensive bad-words list.

VandalProof has a large tool kit, with many more features at users' disposal. Articles can be proded or nominated for speedy deletion, and Interwiki moves can be completed with one click. The Notify Contributors feature means that the editors of the articles can be contacted with just a few clicks, and sending a message to them is done automatically. Furthermore, VandalProof provides tools such as the ability to easily report users to WP:AIV, to monitor user contributions, and to post a variety of common templates and warnings on user talk pages.

The vandalism log feature allows user's to keep track of all their reversions - this can be uploaded for others to view, or can be kept offline for viewing at your leisure. Mistakes happen, and these can be shown in the log as well. The warnings posted by the program provide more information to users, allowing them to find where they went wrong.

VandalProof has over 1400 users, all of whom help stop vandalism on Wikipedia. You can help too - register for VandalProof!

The VandalProof Team
The following users are responsible for maintaining the VandalProof authorisation list, looking after and developing VandalProof and providing general support to the program.

VandalProof Administrators

 *  (Most frequently online at: 00:00 - 11:00 UTC)

VandalProof Moderators

 * (Most frequently online 05:00 to 10:00 UTC, IRC nicknames Daniel-Bryant and IKnowNothing)
 * (Most frequently online from 19:00 to 06:30) best found on #vandalproof)
 * (inactive since March 2007, and only a few edits since February)
 * (Most frequently online at: 00:00 - 14:00 UTC}
 * (Most frequently online at: 13:00 - 02:00 UTC)
 * (Most frequently online at: 00:00 - 11:00 UTC)
 * (inactive in this role)
 * (Most frequently online from 12:30 - 22:00 UTC - always online in #vandalproof)
 * (inactive since September 2006)
 * (Most frequently online from 12:30 - 22:00 UTC - always online in #vandalproof)
 * (inactive since September 2006)

Update

Use VandalProof!
To start using VandalProof, just follow these simple steps:

(1) Register
For security and statistical reasons, all users must be approved before they can use VandalProof. New users with fewer than 250 mainspace edits and users who have recently been involved in edit wars or have a recent history of vandalism will probably not be accepted.

To request permission to use VandalProof, add your username to the Awaiting Approval list. Moderators should inform you if you are approved or rejected. Please be aware that it can take a number of days for requests to be processed.

(2) Download
Download the latest version of the software (currently version 1.3.6) from AmiDaniel.com or from ftp://amidaniel.com (ftp tends to be faster than http). Extract the file VP136_bin.zip to whatever directory you wish to run VandalProof from, then run the executable 'VandalProof 136.exe'.

If it has problems locating any libraries, consider copying the files it fails to find to your System32 directory. If any needed files cannot be found in the zip file, please let us know!

NB. If you have already installed VandalProof 1.30 or earlier, you may wish to remove the old executable. If you want to preserve your previous settings, user lists, vandalism log and RC preferences etc., you will need to ensure that the corresponding .txt files are in the same directory as your new version of VandalProof..

(3) Run
To use the program, simply run the executable. You will be prompted to connect to VandalProof. If you are already logged in to Wikipedia, your username will be automatically detected, and if not you can log in. VandalProof will then verify that you are authorised (which may take a few moments).

If you are unable to connect, check your internet connection and confirm that you are logged in with the correct username (you will need to be logged in using Internet Explorer with cookies enabled), and that you are authorized to use the program.

If there are still problems, then see below, visit the discussion and help page, or (for confirmed bugs) the bug report and tracker page.

(4) Start Hunting for Vandalism!
When you have connected successfully, you are ready to start hunting for vandalism! The following sources may provide you with help, should you have any questions or problems:


 * The instruction manual for using VandalProof can be found here.
 * Any questions about VandalProof can be posted on the discussion page.

VandalProof Userbox
You are also welcome to add  to your user page, which allows a degree more flexibility in the text.

Known problems and workarounds

 * This section lists known problems, and associated workarounds (if any) with the current version of vandalProof. The current version is 1.36.


 * 1) There may be a problem caused by script engine errors on Internet Explorer. VandalProof uses Internet Explorer internally and can be affected by any unforeseen issues within Internet Explorer's scripting environment. Common symptoms of this include script errors reported on startup or when trying to access Wikipedia's database and pages, or unusual failures that suggest a VandalProof script is not executing correctly.
 * Workaround - try disabling scripting in Internet Explorer preferences, and see if this allows Vandalproof to start normally. Scripting can be disabled through Internet Options → Security → Custom Level, and disabling the three options that appear under "Scripting".

Abuse
By registering, downloading, and using this tool you agree not to use it in any way that is destructive or harmful, and you further agree to abide by Wikipedia's policies and guidelines when editing with VandalProof. VandalProof is not a bot, and all edits made with it are the responsibility of the user, save for proven cases of application malfunctions.

All edits made using this tool will include in their edit summary "using VandalProof." If you observe anyone making questionable edits with this tool, using this tool in an edit war, or otherwise misusing the tool, please contact AmiDaniel or report the incident to VandalProof/Abuse immediately.

Furthermore, if any user of this tool is legitimately blocked for any reason (especially for vandalism or violation of 3RR) and it is reported to a moderator, he/she may no longer be allowed to use VandalProof.

System Requirements

 * Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 or Later (Microsoft Windows XP is recommended) *
 * Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 4.0 or later must be installed
 * Screen resolution: 800x600 or larger (preferably 1280x1024 or larger)
 * Wikipedia Skin: Monobook
 * Other restrictions: Using the Enhanced Recent Changes preference will cause the RC feature of VandalProof to malfunction.

* VandalProof can be run on *nix-based systems using WINE. A guide to doing this can be found here. Use of VandalProof on *nix systems has no technical support nor assurance of working.

Get the Source Code
"As I no longer plan on contributing to the VandalProof project, at least not significantly, and as multiple people have approached me requesting access to the source to implement much-needed bug fixes, I've decided to allow a limited number of contributors in good standing to pursue this task.

I must warn you, first and foremost, that the source code for this project is horribly, horribly illegible. VP began as a simple rollback gizmo and never had an architecture in place that would allow it to grow into the disgustingly horrible thing that it is now--because of this, new features were added by blindly dumping hundreds of lines of code into a variety of methods without annotation, making sweeping, undocumented changes to its primal data structures, and completely eradicating all order. If you are capable of understanding the code, you will be far ahead of me.

Nonetheless, many think they may have luck at fixing the darn thing. If you are among them, you must also meet the following conditions to get access to the source code:
 * 1) Access will only be given to Wikipedia contributors in good standing, preferably administrators (although not a necessary condition), with a minimum of 500 mainspace contributions, no recent blocks, and no history of disruptive editing and user interactions.
 * 2) Users must have advanced knowledge of the VB6 programming language, ActiveX and COM development, javascript, and MediaWiki. Preferably, users should have partaken in other programming projects on Wikimedia, such as WP:AWB, WP:WDM, WP:EDITCOUNT, etc.
 * 3) Preference will be given to users who have assisted or are willing to assist in the WP:VP2 project (either in hosting bots, moderating, or application development, which requires knowledge of Java 1.5) and users who are willing to beta-test and help develop the WikiMonitor project.

If you believe you meet these conditions, please e-mail AmiDaniel using WikiMedia's email function. Include in the e-mail the following:
 * 1) Your Wikipedia username.
 * 2) The name under which you wish to receive accreditation for your contributions to the project (preferably your real name). This name will be used in copyright notices and release notes associated with the software.
 * 3) The username you would wish to use to access the project. This username may contain only alphanumeric characters; prohibited characters included spaces (" ") and underscores ("_").
 * 4) The password you would wish to use to access the project. DO NOT USE AN IMPORTANT PASSWORD! Keep in mind that you are emailing it to me, and everyone knows I can't be trusted :D. After you have logged in with it once, you will be able to change it should you choose to.
 * 5) A brief explanation of how you wish to improve the project and of your previous programming and Wikimedia experience.
 * 6) A statement that you agree not to publish the code, in part or in whole, or to reuse parts of the code without permission. You must also state that you agree to release your contributions to the project under joint copyright by Daniel Cannon and all other VP-contributors. You will retain ownership over any code you submit and document in your release notes; however, by submitting it, you authorize its use within the VandalProof project.

An example of what this e-mail shoud look like can be found here.

You should receive a response from me within 24-hours stating that I got your e-mail, and within a week, you will receive a response via Special:Emailuser that your request has been declined or informing you that it has been approved. Once an account has been created for you, you will be able to access the source by logging into phpCollab."

License
Daniel Cannon, the author of VandalProof, reserves the right to distribute this application and any corresponding source code at his own discretion.

The software is NOT licensed under an Open Source license, but rather it is freeware. You may redistribute the binary version of the application at your own will; however, source code will only be made available at an appropriate time to well-trusted developers who share the common interest of improving the tool.

This program is distributed AS-IS in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Any questions may be addressed to AmiDaniel (Talk); though it is recommended that you post them on the discussion page.

&copy; Daniel Cannon, 2006.

Credits
While the program is solely my original work, I still feel it necessary to give credit where it is due. Thus, I would like to thank:


 * Lupin whose Anti-Vandal Tool inspired me to write this app and whose popups tool provided the revert technique I originally implemented in VandalProof,
 * Crypto Derk's VandalFighter, which, though I used it for only a short period of time, inspired many of the features of this app (such as whitelists and blacklists),
 * All of the users who have given me feedback and suggestions,
 * And, of course, the thousands of wonderfully belligerent and immature vandals who work day and night to destroy Wikipedia, and who were the main inspiration for this program.