Stewards' noticeboard

All The Tropes - spam flood and request for Checkuser
I have just had to change user rights on All The Tropes so that non-Confirmed users cannot create new pages. This is because we have received more spam in the form of new pages in the last 24 hours than we received in any form for the two weeks preceding.

There has also been an excessive number of new accounts created on All The Tropes in the last two weeks, compared to the number of accounts that are usually created on the wiki in comparable timeframes. At a rough guess, there have been anywhere from 10 to 20 times as many accounts being created so far in December as there were in all of October.

We request Checkuser on all new accounts created in the last two weeks at All The Tropes. Since it is extremely rare for anyone on this wiki to have more than one account (and the second account would be for a bot and have the appropriate rights), anyone with more than three accounts may safely be assumed to be a spammer. Special:Log/newusers.

--Robkelk (talk) 20:50, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I can lock a bunch of the spambots, but would prefer to leave the CheckUser portion of the request to or, if that's alright, mainly because either of them are more experienced and will be faster at it. In the meantime, have you thought of enabling Moderation, which allows local administrators and any moderators to "approve" all "good" edits (i.e., those of non-autoconfirmed users)? It's one of the most effective spam prevention tools. Dmehus (talk) 21:07, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * As an FYI, I suggested for to bring it to the Stewards Noticeboard, just so you know. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) 21:09, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, we don't have enough moderators to be able to keep up if we activate Moderation.
 * Also, since I changed the settings so that non-Confirmed users cannot create pages, we've been getting new accounts created at a rate of one every five minutes (when it's usually closer to one every six hours). I'm about to disable new user creation on All The Tropes just so we can catch our breaths and deal with the fallout of what's already happened.--Robkelk (talk) 21:15, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Confirmed spambots, all caught in the last hour:
 * Snakefowl42
 * Choi08molloy
 * Greecefreeze6
 * Floyd82mackinnon
 * Welchmcclure6
 * Greenbergenemark54
 * Amounttoe70
 * I don't know how many other new accounts are spambots, since I disabled new users' ability to create new pages. --Robkelk (talk) 21:26, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Sure, we can look into those spambots specifically. I'm just going through your AbuseLog and locking the spambots from the past two months that have been flooding your wiki's abuse logs. Regarding the Moderation extension, what I was suggesting is you could basically grant the  group to anyone you'd trust with   or even , really, to assist administrators in reviewing the queue. Something to think about, perhaps? Disabling new account creation on the wiki could be a good temporary measure, yes. Dmehus (talk) 21:34, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I've ✅ on  from the abuse logs going back to 27 September 2020. I will take a look at the spambot page creations going back the past couple of weeks or so, and, ideally, have checked to see of NDKilla or Void are available to see if we can investigate the spambots and effect some additional rangeblocks to prevent, or slow, spambot account creation. Please do consider creating a local   group that could be granted to your wiki's more trusted contributors, as I think your community would likely support such a group in a local discussion on your forums, perhaps. Finally, if you would authorize it, I can ping stewards and Global Sysops to this thread to check your wiki at least once daily and revert any blatant spam user page creations, regardless of the length of time it's been waiting for local administrators to action, as we would likely be able to assist in this regard. You would, of course, specify the duration of this local authorization. Dmehus (talk) 22:37, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Wow, 141 accounts? That's incredible. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) 22:46, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the help. I've asked the other Bureaucrats and Administrators whether they want to institute Moderation; I expect to have a consensus on the matter by early next week. As for having Stewards and Global Sysops look in on the wiki, there might not be too much to look at while we have new account creation disabled... I'll let you know about this at the same time that we have a consensus to report on Moderation. --Robkelk (talk) 22:51, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * We have activated the Moderation extension, and given moderation rights to rollbackers and administrators. We've also re-activated account creation (although we've had two accounts created within two minutes of each other, both within ten minutes of reactivating account creation, so we're still on the spammers' radar., we'll take you up on the offer of having Stewards and Global Syops look in on the wiki regularly for the next 30 days, please. --Robkelk (talk) 17:41, 12 December 2020 (UTC)
 * A follow up to this message will be forthcoming. Relisting. Dmehus (talk) 07:20, 27 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Moderation has now been enabled on All The Tropes for two weeks. While it is keeping spam out of view of the users, it is doing nothing to stop the flood, and is tying up all of the administrators on the wiki. We request that a Steward do a Checkuser on the posters of all of the posts in the Moderation "Spam" log (1280 posts as of this posting - average over 90 spam posts a day at a wiki that is accustomed to no more than 30 spam posts per month - and I haven't finished clearing the Moderation log yet this morning), and take the necessary action - including IP range blocks. --Robkelk (talk) 16:05, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

I'll try and provide a more detailed update in the next couple of days. Dmehus (talk) 03:33, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Wiki deletion
Can you delete the wiki “Worrying US Counties Wiki”, as it talks about specific US counties, and even though it is closed, it may have some private information. Blubabluba9990 (talk) 21:19, 13 January 2021 (UTC)


 * ❌ Blubabluba9990, Stewards are only concerned with whether a wiki violates Content Policy. Additionally, deletion would generally not be the first course of action taken. Stewards would work with local wikis to remediate problems. In any case, your "report," which is really more of a question, doesn't (a) link to a specific wiki, (b) explain how it violates Content Policy, and (c) contain any evidence. Thanks. Dmehus (talk) 21:32, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Ok. It is private anyway so it may not be that big of a deal. Blubabluba9990 (talk) 21:34, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Blubabluba9990 Private wikis are still subject to Content Policy just the same, but my question is, if it is private, how would you know about its contents? Dmehus (talk) 21:39, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah maybe I was unclear. I mean it cannot be seen, thus I would have no way of knowing if it violated the content policy, I just guessed based on the name. Blubabluba9990 (talk) 21:41, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Blubabluba9990 Thanks. Actually, I've checked the wiki in question. It's a public wiki, so you can see it. However, it is closed, so it will (likely) be deleted eventually in accordance with Dormancy Policy. Hope that helps. Dmehus (talk) 21:42, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Global lock for spambots
Special:Contributions/MelindaSqe Special:Contributions/AimeeKeel006496 Special:Contributions/LiamLyke754 Special:Contributions/CheryleCecil083 Special:Contributions/RachaelWilliamso Special:Contributions/GarryCosgrove85 Special:Contributions/KendraWortham3 Special:Contributions/EarthaJqp57730 Special:Contributions/PatrickEubanks Special:Contributions/DrewBarker85 Special:Contributions/DorcasRosson Naleksuh (talk) 00:00, 14 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I recall seeing those in TestWiki's AbuseLog, so was on my to-do list. Anyway, those spambots are now ✅. I'll investigate them further to see if any open proxies / web hosts are being used, to try and prevent account creation. Dmehus (talk) 00:40, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

Delete my Phabricator account
Sorry for my mistake to create Phabricator account. I give a wrong email (my email=kayser491@undefinedgmail.com, given email=kayse491@undefinedgmail.com) to Phabricator account, so delete the Phabricator account. Please Kayser Ahmad (talk) 14:10, 14 January 2021 (UTC)


 * This is out of scope of Stewards; however, as (and others here) are also system administrators, I'm going to ping him to this thread as you've given a decent reason for deletion of your Phabricator account, so you can reregister a Phabricator account with the same username and the correct e-mail address. He may also just be able to update your e-mail address as well, as it's an obvious typo. Thanks. Dmehus (talk) 15:27, 14 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Phabricator accounts are only deleted if there is not much activity on them, otherwise there are technical problems that occur. I should be able to change the email for you, would that be okay? Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 11:38, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Well, just rename it then that sounds reasonable and ideal, actually. Dmehus (talk) 14:30, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Ok thanks Kayser Ahmad (talk) 14:51, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 20:50, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Spam-only accounts are re-appearing on the Mad Gender Science Wiki again.
Just look at the number of spam-bots that just came today. I'd pay attention to the keyword "Ecotourism", because they've been getting created every 5 to 10 minutes. Also, some of them have just recently tripped the Abuse Log 10 times in a row. What's your best course of action for now, if I may ask? DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 16:31, 17 January 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. Some global rangeblocks ✅ to (hopefully) mitigate some of the spam only account creations. Thanks for your report. Dmehus (talk) 18:35, 17 January 2021 (UTC)
 * No problem. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 18:56, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

Private wiki deletion
Hello.

I was directed here after a question on the Discord.

I have a private wiki (seldir.miraheze.org) that I used for personal worldbuilding purposes. I recently migrated to a self-hosted wiki using another software and have successfully converted all the content of the Miraheze wiki. Thus, I don't need this wiki anymore, and wish for it to be deleted to save if even a tiny amount of space on Miraheze's server without waiting for dormancy. I was the only active user (the only other "user" was a friend who never used the account anyways) and all the content was made by me (I even used an "all rights reserved" licence).

I also wish the files I uploaded be deleted, I don't know if it's tied to the wiki or not.

Thank you, Noudeulle (talk) 12:59, 18 January 2021 (UTC)


 * ✅ per the above stated reason in your request. Dmehus (talk) 13:35, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Removal request of Compress Revisions ($wgCompressRevisions) for chakuwiki
I have tried enabling Extension:Replace Text in order to fix some issues only to find I can't, because  is enabled. Unfortunately, I can't uncheck it by myself because it is restricted on ManageWiki.

Could you uncheck it instead of us local bureaucrats so that we can fix some issues by replacing the codes?

Thanks in advance, Bakaba (talk) 13:51, 18 January 2021 (UTC)


 * This is apparently normally done by system administrators after a large import request, which you'd previously requested on Phabricator. However, as you've articulated a clear need for this, to be able to use the ReplaceText extension, I've ✅ this for you. Thanks. Dmehus (talk) 13:59, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your quick action :) Bakaba (talk) 14:29, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
 * No problem. Dmehus (talk) 15:24, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Please note that, following my conversation with John, I have ✅ the above settings change, principally because it's rather useless in that disabling  won't allow you to use the ReplaceText extension on pages that have been compressed by system administrators following a very large import for you wiki that you'd requested on Phabricator. Your wiki's database size, following the import, necessited the revision compression. So, barring you requesting deletion and recreation of your wiki, John did let me know that you can instead enable and use the MassEditRegex extension, as that is compatible with wikis whose revisions have been compressed. Hope that helps. Dmehus (talk) 19:15, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

My block on the Chronicle Stories Wiki.
A little while ago, blocked me on his wiki for removing content from pages (although I undid his edits by mistake on one page, and that I thought it there was vandalism). I tried to reach out to him, but didn't get a response from him since. I wanted to let him know that what I did was unintentional and wanted to apologize to him for my hasty revert. I am more than willing to communicate with him, and I'd like to hear what he has to say. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 17:55, 18 January 2021 (UTC)


 * ❌ Please try reaching out to TheOrcNamedGrognak on their Meta user talk page if your local user talk page access has been revoked on the local wiki. Explain the situation, articulate how you will discuss potentially controversial edits with that wiki's community if unblocked, and I think you'd stand yourself in good stead to the user unblocking you. Dmehus (talk) 18:34, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Alright then. That's what I'll do. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 18:35, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Dmehus (talk) 18:36, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Local request for BlackWidowMovie0 on
BlackWidowMovie0 requested local  on IRC, in the  channel, on 6 January 2021. The user was advised to hold a local election. On 19 January 2021, BlackWidowMovie0 advised Stewards to assess their local election page (permalink). Ordinarily, BlackWidowMovie0 would make this request for himself; however, his sitewide block on Meta on precludes this, so, as with before, I'm posting this request on his behalf. The user acknowledged on 6 January 2021 to being cognizant of the policy, qualifies through meeting the global prerequisites for interwiki administrators (whether including or excluding the 47 contributions from the user's deleted but as yet dropped the user's ), and will be guided closely by Stewards, principally, by me in the near- to medium-term. Dmehus (talk) 17:50, 19 January 2021 (UTC)


 * ✅. Dmehus (talk) 17:57, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

Requesting deletion of the Dreadful Music Wiki.
I don't really need this wiki anymore, so I'd like it deleted as soon as possible. It's been sitting there for months collecting dust, and therefore, it should be removed. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 17:50, 19 January 2021 (UTC)


 * DarkMatterMan4500 Ordinarily, we would prefer for you to mark the wiki as closed and see this deleted in accordance with Dormancy Policy. However, in this case, seeing as you are the only contributor to this wiki, having made only 9 editing contributions, and because your wiki has no other content pages other than the default main page, this is essentially a wiki for testing purposes. So this is ✅. Dmehus (talk) 18:21, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much . DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 19:43, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

Request for local on
Hi stewards,

Last week, I have launched a community vote on  for requesting  's rights (you can see the vote here). So, I would be good if a steward can close it, thanks. HeartsDo (Talk / Global / Wiki Creator) 17:54, 19 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Dmehus (talk) 17:58, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. See closing comments. Dmehus (talk) 18:08, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks! :p HeartsDo (Talk / Global / Wiki Creator) 18:12, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. It's my pleasure, as I'm I here to serve you and your wiki community's wishes. Dmehus (talk) 18:17, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

Barrage of spam-only accounts are now on the World University And School Wiki.
I'd pay attention to the ones that were randomly created. Also, this user changed his user page from this to this seems awfully suspicious to me. Another thing to take note of is the abuse filter that has been tripped today. Could someone investigate this if it's necessary? DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 19:37, 19 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Wait, aren't you going to lock them up for being spam-only accounts, since you deleted a barrage of spam pages? DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 22:10, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * DarkMatterMan4500 Yes, that'll be the next step in the process. I wanted to focus on deleting the spam page and spam only account user page creations, then I will continue with the next steps for this wiki without active local administration. The wiki does have some legitimate anonymous IP editors, so restricting editing too  would be too restrictive. Rest assured, I will aim to have this resolved and complete by tomorrow. Dmehus (talk) 22:15, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Ok, done deal to me. You do what you have to do, and ✅ Those spam-only accounts will hit the dust in no time. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 23:07, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

Import request
I added Template:User python to this wiki, so if you could import it to Login Wiki, that would be great. --Integer talk 19:56, 19 January 2021 (UTC)


 * ✅. Dmehus (talk) 21:26, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Integer talk 22:35, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

Request for Locking My Alternate Account
Could you please lock my alternate account TranslationHelper? It malformed and edited pages on Meta without me first requesting a bot flag for it. I am investigating what went wrong. Till then, you may want to keep it locked. Thanks. 20:12, 19 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Do note that the edits were all legitimate and constructive as they fixed an issue regarding translated categories appearing as having 0 members. They have only been reverted as they were undesired. 20:14, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * And I of course, sincerely apologise for the issues it may have caused. 20:18, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * You can find proof of me owning the account here. 20:23, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I have an idea about what went wrong but if you consider this to be harmful for Miraheze or at least for Meta (even though technically this should up to Meta bureaucrats), then please let me know. Thank you. 20:42, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * If this is just temporary and limited to Meta, wouldn't a local block be more effective and less disruptive to you? Dmehus (talk) 21:06, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * There is no way it can even affect Meta right now. I have dealt with the issue. It is just in case you people have any concerns. 21:09, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * And when I wrote it, I was in a hurry and really worried. 21:11, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Alright, sounds good then. I'm going to mark this as ❌, with the usual provision that any Meta administrator can always be requested to locally block an approved or unapproved bot account that is malfunctioning in some way. So, this won't need any action from Stewards. Dmehus (talk) 21:14, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

Username reservation request
Do you think it is okay if we reserve User:Example1 and User:Example2 purely to serve as demos? It will be super helpful to have two reserves, at a bare minimum. Thanks, Integer talk 21:23, 20 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Please note that I have procedurally moved this here from Administrators' noticeboard as that is for requests to Meta administrators. Stewards and Global Sysops are the only groups who can perform these actions. Also, please note that we already have User:Example. Thank you. 21:41, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Integer We have these usernames already, as far as I'm aware, with Example users 2 through 5. They're all globally locked, though. In the past, we tried having shared access Example user accounts for demonstration purposes, but suffice it to say, it didn't work out well, thus why they're locked. I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to add  to the Title blacklist, though. Dmehus (talk) 23:29, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Could we put something on these user pages similar to what is on this? Integer talk 00:58, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

Request for Undeleting
Could someone please undelete. It has been requested by the wiki's bureaucrat here. Link for undeleting the wiki, for your convenience- Special:ManageWiki/core/musiccupwiki. Thank you. 22:30, 20 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Done -- Void  Whispers 22:38, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much. 07:50, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

More sneaky spam-bots have appeared and returned on 2 other wikis.
For the Mad Gender Science Wiki and the Permanent Future Lab Wiki Pay attention to the ones that have names like "Paperbags" and this wiki also has the exact same issue with the keyword being "Paper" and "Bags". I understand that one of you has already investigated the World University and School Wiki for spam-bots, but these 2 have brand-new sneaky spam-bots that should be carefully examined. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 21:45, 21 January 2021 (UTC)


 * DarkMatterMan4500, thanks, I or another steward will try and take a look at this, as time allows. Measures have been put in place to prevent new page creation and editing of existing pages in  namespace on those wikis by non-  users, so any immediate priority&mdash;that of deleting spam only account-created pages&mdash;is not there. It just becomes a question of time and available resources. There definitely is a benefit to investigating spam only accounts, so rangeblocks can be put in place, but it's nearly impossible to check and manage them all. Hope that helps. Dmehus (talk) 22:33, 21 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Okay. Like maybe or you. But again, I'm glad you guys are stepping in to take drastic measures like restricting account creations for a short time. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 23:08, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

Database rename
I just requested rename. So I want to change the database name of my private wiki. How can I do it? Toyria (talk) 00:55, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

No I want to cancel rename request how to cancel,?--Toyrit (talk) 01:59, 23 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Do you mean cancel your wiki database rename request, or a global rename request? If the former, database renames are done by Site Reliability Engineers on Phabricator. If the latter, just say the word, and it's as good as cancelled. Dmehus (talk) 02:16, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Both (database rename, global rename) I want to cancel global rename request Toyrit (talk) 02:25, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Toyrit Have you requested the wiki database to be renamed on Phabricator yet or not? If not, then it just won't be done as there's no request. Dmehus (talk) 02:32, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Toyrit Your global rename request has been ✅. Dmehus (talk) 02:38, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry but I changed my mind so I think no need to rename the database now. Thank you for your reply. Toyrit (talk) 02:41, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

Global lock request for バスター
Hello, I would like to request for a global lock against CentralAuth/バスター for their cross-wiki abuse.

They have been blocked on Chakuwiki and Usopedia for attempting an attack against certain users. Bakaba (talk) 15:53, 23 January 2021 (UTC)


 * I should point out that I've been noticing some suspected LTAs that have been attacking your wiki for quite a while now. They should be getting some sort of investigation as well, not just the cross-wiki abusers. Hope that helps. :) DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 16:00, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * The account has been ✅ by Reception123 as a vandalism-only account and a possible LTA. Let them know if you see anymore, otherwise, I'd be keeping close tabs on those types of LTA users on the #cvt-feed via Discord. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 21:36, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your cooperation. It looks like in some cases, if not all, 未来切手, an already locked user, is involved in recent vandalism on chakuwiki. Bakaba (talk) 02:50, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Please remove my wiki from the list of global sysop-exempt wikis
I would like you to remove my wiki (LifeWiki) from the CVT-exemption list. Thank you. JJPMaster (talk) 17:15, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Your wiki are not on these list, so global sysops can intervene. HeartsDo (Talk / Global / Wiki Creator) 17:29, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
 * JJPMaster To add to what to HeartsDo explained well above, all wikis are opted in to Global Sysop counter-vandalism and spam remediation by default. I remember I was a bit confused by the WikiSet originally as well, as there's no horizontal line differentiating a difference between the "wikis" and "wikis not included" fields, the latter of which is all wikis opted in by default. Currently, there's not many wikis that have opted out, this wiki, Miraheze Commons, Revi's public wiki, and The Final Rumble Wiki, if I remember correctly. Additionally, though private wikis are listed, Global Sysops do not have global  access, so in practical terms, they cannot intervene. Importantly, too, Global Sysops should only intervene in accordance with policy, which which is mainly around blatant vandalism and spam. Local administrators will be given a "reasonable period of time" to remediate such problems, after which they may step in and assist. Dmehus (talk) 17:40, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

Global lock request for かいたくしや and other related accounts
Hi, I'd like to request for a global lock against the following accounts for spoofing and attacking a certain user. Perhaps we might need a CU investigation as well for further investigation. Thanks. Bakaba (talk) 06:04, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * かいたくしや
 * ば開拓者
 * 開拓者問題
 * 開拓者七九九二九


 * Although I don't speak for everyone, but I think this seems to be the right move. I shall thank you later. DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 19:50, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Global lock request for AnwirProta666
Hi,

On Meta, before I wake up, AnwirProta666 has commencing to replace content with a link to probally a spam website. So we have a wierd username + a guy who put a link = a spam only account. Can you lock this account please ? HeartsDo (Talk / Global / Wiki Creator) 06:18, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

PS: Thanks to Frigg to have revert this mess :p