Editing Encyclopedia:Vandalism (section)

==How to respond to vandalism==
{{anchor|Handling}}
{{policy shortcut|WP:RVAN}}

Upon discovering vandalism, [[Help:Reverting|revert]] such edits, using the undo function or an [[Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism/Tools|anti-vandalism tool]]. Once the vandalism is undone, [[#Warnings|warn]] the vandalizing editor. Notify [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrators]] at the [[Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism|vandalism noticeboard]] of editors who continue to vandalize after multiple warnings, and administrators should intervene to preserve content and prevent further disruption by [[Wikipedia:Blocking policy|blocking]] such editors. Users whose [[Wikipedia:Vandalism-only account|main or sole purpose is clearly vandalism]] may be blocked indefinitely without warning.

If you see vandalism on a list of changes (such as your [[Wikipedia:Watchlist|watchlist]]), then revert it immediately. You may use the "undo" button (and the automatic edit summary it generates), and mark the change as minor. It may be helpful to check the [[Help:Page history|page history]] to determine whether other recent edits by the same or other editors also represent vandalism. Repair all vandalism you can identify.

For a new article, if all versions of the article are pure vandalism, mark it for {{strong|[[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion|speedy deletion]]}} by tagging it with {{tlx|Db-g3}}.

To make vandalism reverts easier you can ask for the [[Wikipedia:Rollback|rollback feature]] to be enabled for your registered Wikipedia account. This feature is only for reverting vandalism and other obvious disruption, and lets you revert several recent edits with a single click. See [[Wikipedia:Requests for permissions]].

If you see that a user has added vandalism you may also check their {{strong|[[Help:User contributions|other contributions]]}}. If most or all of these are obvious vandalism you may report the user immediately at the [[Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism|Administrator intervention against vandalism noticeboard]], though even in this case you may consider issuing a [[wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace|warning message]] first, unless there is an urgent need to [[Wikipedia:Blocking policy|block]] the user. Otherwise, you can leave an appropriate warning on the user's {{strong|[[Wikipedia:Talk page#User talk pages|talk page]]}}. Remember that any editor may freely remove messages from their own talk page, so they might appear only in the talk history. If a user continues to cause disruption after being warned, report them also at the Administrator intervention against vandalism noticeboard. An [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrator]] will then decide whether to block the user.

For repeated vandalism by an [[WP:IP|IP user]] it is helpful to trace the IP address (e.g. http://whois.domaintools.com/) and add {{tlx|whois|{{var|Name of owner}}}} to the user talk page of the address. If it appears to be a [[Proxy server|shared IP address]], add {{tlx|SharedIP|{{var|Name of owner}}}} or {{tlx|Shared IP edu|{{var|Name of owner}}}}. The ''OrgName'' on the IP trace result should be used as the <code>{{var|Name of owner}}</code> parameter in the above three templates.

===Undetected vandalism===
Sometimes vandalism takes place on top of older, undetected vandalism. With undetected vandalism, editors may make edits without realizing the vandalism occurred. This can make it harder to detect and delete the vandalism, which is now hidden among other edits. Sometimes [[Wikipedia:Bots|bots]] try to fix collateral damage and accidentally make things worse. Check the [[Help:Page history|page history]] to make sure you're [[Help:Reverting|reverting]] to a "clean" version of the page. Alternatively, if you can't tell where the best place is, take your best guess and leave a note on the article's [[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines|talk page]] so that someone more familiar with the page can address the issue—or you can manually remove the vandalism without reverting it.

===For beginners===
{{See also|Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism}}
For relatively inexperienced Wikipedians, use these simple steps to quickly respond to what you consider vandalism. This is essentially an abridged version of the above page.

# {{strong|Assess}} whether the edit was made in [[WP:good faith|good or bad faith]]. If in good faith, it is {{em|not}} vandalism as such, so question the accuracy of information on the talk page or add an [[:Template:Inline cleanup tags|inline cleanup tag]], such as a "{{tl|dubious}}" tag, to the disputed edit. If it is in bad faith, then it {{em|is}} vandalism and you may take the appropriate steps to remove it.
# {{strong|Revert}} the vandalism by viewing the page's history and selecting the most recent version of the page prior to the vandalism. Use an edit summary such as 'rv/v' or 'reverted vandalism' and click on 'Publish changes'.
# {{strong|Warn}} the vandal. Access the vandal's talk page and warn them. A simple note explaining the problem with their editing is sufficient. If desired, a [[WP:UWT|series of warning templates]] exist to simplify the process of warning users, but {{strong|these templates are not required}}. These templates include
#* Level one: {{tls|uw-vandalism1}} This is a gentle caution regarding unconstructive edits; it encourages new editors to use a sandbox for test edits. This is the mildest warning.
#* Level two: {{tls|uw-vandalism2}} This warning is also fairly mild, though it explicitly uses the word 'vandalism' and links to this Wikipedia policy. It is the first to warn that further disruptive editing or vandalism may lead to a block, however it uses the wording "loss of editing privileges" rather than "block".
#* Level three: {{tls|uw-vandalism3}} This warning is sterner. It is the first to warn that further disruptive editing or vandalism may lead to a block while actually using the word "block".
#* Level four: {{tls|uw-vandalism4|}} This is the sharpest vandalism warning template, and indicates that any further disruptive editing may lead to a block without warning.
#* Level four-im: {{tls|uw-vandalism4im|}} This warning template should be used only in the worst conditions of vandalism. It indicates that this is the only warning the target will receive, and that further disruptive edits will result in a block without warning.
# {{strong|Watch}} for future vandalism from the vandal by checking the user's contributions. If bad faith edits continue, revert them and warn them again, letting the users know that they can be blocked. Note that it is {{em|not}} necessary to use all four warning templates in succession, nor is it necessary to incrementally step through warnings.
# {{strong|Report}} vandals that continue their behavior after being warned to [[Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism]]. While not strictly required, administrators there are most likely to respond rapidly to requests which include at least two warnings, culminating in the level-four "last chance" template.

===Template and CSS vandalism===
If no vandalizing edits appear in the page's edit history, or the vandalism obscures the page tabs so you can't easily access the history or edit the page, it is probably [[Wikipedia:Template|template]] or [[Help:Cascading Style Sheets|Cascading Style Sheets]] vandalism. These are often not difficult to fix, but can be confusing.

To access the page history or edit the page when the "View history" or "Edit" tabs are inaccessible, use [[Wikipedia:Keyboard shortcuts|Wikipedia keyboard shortcuts]]. You can also access the history through a [[Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism|vandalism patrolling tool]] if you're using one, or from your [[Help:Watchlist|watchlist]] if you are [[Help:Watching pages|watching the page]]), or from your [[Help:User contributions|user contributions]] if you have edited the page. Or, enter the [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]] manually into the [[address bar]] of your browser: it will take the form <code>https://<nowiki />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/{{var|Name_of_article}}?action=edit</code> or <code>https://<nowiki />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/{{var|Name_of_article}}?action=history</code>.

If vandalizing edits do not appear in the page history, the vandalism is likely in a [[Wikipedia:Transclusion|transcluded]] template instead of the page itself. To find the template page, edit the article (using [[Wikipedia:Keyboard shortcuts|Wikipedia keyboard shortcuts]] if necessary); toward the bottom of the edit page is a list of all templates transcluded into the page. Look for vandalism in the transcluded templates not [[Wikipedia:Protection policy|protected]]. Alternatively, look for {{tlf|{{var|Template name}}}} or {{tlf|{{var|Template name}}|{{var|parameter{{nbsp}}...}}}} in the text, approximately where the vandalism appears, then go to the page Template:{{var|Template name}} and revert any vandalism. When you return to the original page, the vandalism should be gone, though you may need to [[Wikipedia:Purge|purge]] the page.

===Image vandalism===
[[WP:images|Images]] are occasionally used for vandalism, such as by placing shock or explicit images where they should not be. When an image has been created exclusively for vandalism, it can be requested for speedy deletion: under criterion [[WP:CSD|G3]] if hosted on Wikipedia or as [[Commons:Commons:Deletion policy#Self-promotion or vandalism/attack|vandalism]] if hosted on [[commons:|Commons]] (a file repository for [[Wikimedia Foundation]] projects). When an image is used for vandalism due to its explicit nature but has legitimate encyclopedic uses (Wikipedia [[WP:CENSOR|is not censored]]) or is hosted on Commons and has legitimate uses on other projects, it can be requested for being added to the [[MediaWiki talk:Bad image list|bad image list]], which precludes its addition on any page except those specified.