Template talk:Bot

message: I have archived this talk page to clear up any confusion and left the above proposal here. Cj005257 (talk) 19:49, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Archived 

message:   }}, please [{{fullurl:Special:Block|wpBlockAddress={{PAGENAMEE}}&wpBlockExpiry=indefinite&wpAnonOnly=0&wpEnableAutoblock=0&wpCreateAccount=0&wpBlockReason=Bot%20malfunctioning:%20}} block it] {{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{awb}}}}}|yes
  |or remove from the [[Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/CheckPage|approved accounts]]
This (and some earlier lines) creates the following with the default templates: "Administrators: if this bot is malfunctioning or causing harm, please block it ."
I want that space moved so it appears only for AWB bots, which seems to be what the one who added it wanted.
  }}, please [{{fullurl:Special:Block|wpBlockAddress={{PAGENAMEE}}&wpBlockExpiry=indefinite&wpAnonOnly=0&wpEnableAutoblock=0&wpCreateAccount=0&wpBlockReason=Bot%20malfunctioning:%20}} block it]{{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{awb}}}}}|yes
  | or remove from the [[Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/CheckPage|approved accounts]]
81.231.245.214 (talk) 19:29, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: That won't quite work. Try | or remove instead. The full requested edit may be seen here. Anomie⚔ 21:02, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
replies: text:  — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 13:21, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request from 81.231.245.214, 31 May 2011 

message: |inactive
Should be changed to
 |inactive = File:Crystal Clear inactive bot2.png
This will add clarity to the difference between inactive bots and unapproved ones. Thanks. FinalRapture - † ☪ 18:49, 1 September 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 20:56, 1 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Change inactive icon 

message: I recommend that the coding be changed on this template so that the status displays more obviously (perhaps in bold). Currently it is not obvious what the status is. --Kumioko (talk) 23:49, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: IMO it's fine. No need for every little detail to be in-your-face bolded. Anomie⚔ 02:58, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Ok, its no big deal to me really. The way it is now its easier to scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the category than to read the whole message to see what the status of the bot is. But since only a fraction of the bots are marked correctly anyway (active, inactive, AWB use, etc) its not really that big of a deal anyway I guess since the message isn't really that trustworthy anyway. --Kumioko (talk) 03:07, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Nulling the template per OP's response. Killiondude (talk) 08:55, 30 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Make status more obvious 

message: Please replace this:



with



—cyberpower ChatOnline 21:28, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: This contains a minor grammer fix where the current wording of it encourages unapproved bots to continue editing outside of their userspace.—cyberpower ChatOnline 21:51, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: You should really just ask for the specific part you want changed or update the sandbox with your code so the reviewing admin doesn't have to try and figure out what you're changing. For instance, it would be simpler to just say "Please add the word 'not' after 'should' in the  switch option." or "Please sync with the sandbox." — Bility (talk) 22:16, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I find it easier to do this because all the admin has to do is copy the new code and hit the "Show Changes" button to see what's been changed.—cyberpower ChatOnline 22:22, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Done, with tweaks. - Jarry1250 [Deliberation needed] 22:30, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks.—cyberpower ChatOnline 22:31, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

text:  On the other hand, pasting it into the talk page clutters up the edit window and the diffs. Using the sandbox subpage avoids both those issues, and makes it easy to test the proposed edit (by simply transcluding  with appropriate parameters). Anomie⚔ 22:52, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Noted.—cyberpower ChatOnline 23:03, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request on 20 March 2012 

message: Please add to the wording about stopping bots. I suggest the following instruction as a least-controversial start, but maybe it could be improved by showing the link without a pipe, or even using the redirect=no parameter in the link. Suggested change is from
:To stop this bot until restarted by the bot's owner, edit its talk page.
to
:To stop this bot until restarted by the bot's owner, edit its talk page. If this page is a redirect, edit the original redirecting page, not the target of the redirect.
Vadmium (talk, contribs) 03:31, 24 March 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: with slight adjustment to wording. DMacks (talk) 06:20, 24 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request: How to stop if the talk page is a redirect 

message: There is a redundant word "here" in the following excerpt from the source which points people to a bot's local approval:
: In addition, its local approval can be viewed here here.
The first "here" should be deleted, so that the line becomes:
: In addition, its local approval can be viewed here.
Since this is a minor typographical error, I am omitting step 1 of Wikipedia:Edit requests#Procedure as suggested for uncontroversial changes.
Thank you!
TheSophera (talk) 01:48, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Done Anomie⚔ 10:45, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request on 22 June 2012 - Redundant word "here" in local approval link 

message: Is there a way to suppress the text "the relevant request for approval can be seen here" in this template?  User:BattyBot has 20 BRFAs, and linking to the first approval may give the impression that it is only approved for that task.  Thanks!  GoingBatty (talk) 04:38, 25 March 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: There's the  parameter that lets you point to a different subpage of Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/. For AnomieBOT, I created Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/AnomieBOT/TaskList as a redirect to a list of all AnomieBOT's BRFAs. Anomie⚔ 12:36, 25 March 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Hmmm - I discovered if I give fill in  with an invalid parameter, it suppresses the text.  Since my list of tasks (and their corresponding RFBA links) are directly below the  template, this works perfectly for me.   Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!  GoingBatty (talk) 19:53, 25 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Suppress link to BRFA? 

message: The wording of the "awb=yes" option needs to change. Thanks to Wikipedia:Notifications, I don't think an AWB bot can be stopped by posting to its talk page. -- John of Reading (talk) 20:53, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: bugzilla:47962 is the bug tracking fixing the hasmsg API, which I assume AWB uses. Legoktm (talk) 21:02, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: FYI - This bug has been fixed, so an AWB bot can be stopped by posting to its talk page.  Happens to BattyBot all the time.  GoingBatty (talk) 17:36, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  AWB Bots 

message: :Category:Wikipedia bots by status says "In theory, this category shouldn't contain any pages itself; they should be moved to one of the subcategories."  However, the  template is adding pages to this category, even when the  parameter is used properly.  (See User:BattyBot for an example.)  Could someone please update the template?  Thanks!  GoingBatty (talk) 17:39, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: We seem to have eight categories here (some are duplicated). Of these, four (, , , ) are set in the  parameter of the , and four (, , ,  are set in the  parameter. --Redrose64 (talk) 19:08, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

text: Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. After Rose's comment, it's not quit clear what needs to be done here. —  (t • e • c) 13:14, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: , I believe  and  are indicating that this template is categorizing pages directly to :Category:Wikipedia bots by status, which it should not, because that cat is tagged as a container category (only subcats permitted). It should only be categorizing pages to one of the subcategories. A suggestion might be changing the line in the template   |#default = Category:Wikipedia bots by status to   |#default = Category:Unapproved Wikipedia bots, with the rationale that the safest default subcat is 'unapproved' (i.e. for situations where no cat has been specified). --Slivicon (talk) 15:38, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Technical 13 can't do anything about it, even if they knew what to do. I don't know exactly what you want doing either, so  Not done: please make your requested changes to the template's sandbox first; see WP:TESTCASES.. I suggest that you begin by freshening the sandbox (which presently dates from 2013) so that it matches the live template. --Redrose64 (talk) 19:21, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  I've updated the sandbox as requested and included my suggested change based on 's original request. --Slivicon (talk) 19:45, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't see what that will change about e.g.  or , both of which are in  ( isn't any more). --Redrose64 (talk) 20:35, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: This does not fix the problem of bots not being categorized properly. Those bots are not specifying any category, so they are being categorized (incorrectly) by default by the template (Wikipedia bots by status). They will continue to be categorized by default by the template (to Unapproved Wikipedia bots) until the bots are updated to specify the appropriate subcategory under :Category:Wikipedia bots by status via supplying the parameter to this template. The only point of this suggestion (and I believe this request) is to address a very specific problem: That since nothing should ever be categorized directly within a container category, as by definition, it allows only subcategories (see notice box), a template categorizing by default to a container category is a violation of the definition of a container category. (Bot) users of this template still need to supply a category parameter to be categorized by the template appropriately, and I do believe that was likely the intent of the template design, but categorizing into a container category is not the correct way to go about it. Perhaps 'Wikipedia bots by status' was not a container at the time the template was originally designed. However, it is now, and steps should be taken to avoid mechanisms (like this template) attempting to categorize pages directly to container categories. Hope that helps to clarify. --Slivicon (talk) 22:13, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Why should it default to unapproved? Why not create a new category for bots that don't specify a status? Alakzi (talk) 13:05, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:   Unapproved was just a suggestion, as it is likely the safest. There is also the option of having the template not assign a default cat at all. Creating a new category of not specifying a status is yet another option. My point (and I think 's) was simply that assigning to a container cat is wrong, period. Where else it goes is secondary and arguably separate - the fact that it is categorizing directly to a container is wrong and the sole issue being addressed here (although perhaps it is being missed because I'm not explaining it well or something). --Slivicon (talk) 13:31, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Right, but since we're gonna change the category anyway, can we agree on which category to use? Alakzi (talk) 13:45, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  I would suggest :Category:Wikipedia bots with unknown status. This flags bot makers to fix the template call more than dumping them in with the thousands of unapproved bots. --Ahecht (TALKPAGE) 14:46, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

text:   I believe I started this thread because I tried to populate the appropriate parameters but the page was still in the the container category.  I don't mind if pages with incomplete templates are n the container category.  GoingBatty (talk) 18:36, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

text:   OK. Well, I do mind, as I'm working on improving container categories (that's how I noticed this) and container categories explicitly state subcats only. Also, my understanding of WP:CAT#T is that templates should not be categorized in the same place as the content. I'm fairly new around here, though, so I may be missing something. Someone who I've communicated with in the past regarding container categories,  might be interested and able to shed more experienced light than me in the discussion. Slivicon (talk) 18:47, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Re CAT#T: My interpretation (it probably could do with more clarification/examples) of WP:CAT#T is that a content category (e.g. Category:Foos) shouldn't contain templates (e.g. Template:Foos or Category:Foo templates). That's also consistent with Category:Foos really meaning "Category:Articles about foos" and templates (like wikiprojects and dab pages) being kept out of :Category:Articles. I think Slivicon is interpreting CAT#T to mean that Template:Wikipedia foos shouldn't be in Category:Wikipedia foos, but we should be wary of extrapolating guidance written with content in mind and applying it to wikipedia administration pages. IMO the case for separating (in categorization) templates from non-template wp admin pages is much less strong than the case for separating templates from articles - and (unlike with content categories) in some cases if a template is removed from a wp admin category the category text should be changed to provide a link to the template. DexDor (talk) 20:48, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

text:  Re whether :Category:Wikipedia bots by status should be tagged as a container category: I'm not that bothered (it's much more important to sort out content categories than wp admin categories which tend to be more complicated). However, if this category is a container category then any template that defaults to categorizing pages directly into it (not in a subcat) should display a message on the page saying that the template hasn't been used properly. If templates are being used properly and are placing pages directly in this category then it shouldn't be tagged as a container category. DexDor (talk) 20:48, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

text: Done Alakzi (talk) 20:59, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Remove container category from template 

message: Hello all,
I have created a  photo for inactive bots, and I wonder if mine could be implemented. 
Here is the link. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inactive_Bot_tag_(wikipedia).png
I do not know if this is okay because of the continuity of the Crystal Clear bot images, but my photo makes it clearer that the bot is inactive.
Also I am not an admin so I cannot edit it.
Cheers,
Groiglery1217 (talk) 14:49, 10 May 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm sorry, but that looks awful. There is no way we would use that. Anomie⚔ 22:13, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

text: Doesn't it already say "The bot is currently inactive but retains the approval of the community."? I agree that the status sentence gets lost in all the text. Perhaps moving it to its own line or bolding it for all the templates would help. --Ahecht (TALKPAGE) 15:37, 11 May 2017 (UTC)
replies: text:  No, it doesn't. I wish it could though. I like it more than my photo. I would just like it to be more obvious Groiglery1217 (talk) 15:44, 11 May 2017 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yes it does.  Anomie⚔ 18:31, 11 May 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I created an alternative version of this template that makes the status a little more obvious at : .It could be merged into this template if there is consensus. --Ahecht (TALKPAGE) 21:36, 11 May 2017 (UTC)
replies: text:  I'd personally rather not have that merged into this one. Anomie⚔ 01:39, 13 May 2017 (UTC)

text:  It's definitely jumping the gun creating it directly in template space without more discussion. That said, I do like it more than just plain text. —  HELLKNOWZ  ▎TALK 13:47, 13 May 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inactive Bot photo 

message: Change #default=}} to #default=}} (as per https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Bot/sandbox&diff=848215099&oldid=848215049) in order to fix the error in the last (newly added) testcase on Template:Bot/testcases (use your browser's find within page function (ctrl+f, cmd+f, etc) with the text "mwparserfromhell" to jump directly to the sandbox/main testcases for this testcase). Garzfoth (talk) 14:05, 30 June 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed. Thanks for the report! Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 14:21, 30 June 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Template-protected edit request on 30 June 2018 

message: Rephrase:
 -> 
See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20accordance%20with and https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20accordance%20to
Thanks, --DannyS712 (talk) 21:34, 26 January 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 21:36, 26 January 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Template-protected edit request on 26 January 2019 

message: I have discovered a bug in this template. If an interlanguage link prefix is used in , the template doesn't link to the user page properly (displaying like: ()), because the link is interpreted as an interlanguage link. This affects about .
I have fixed this in the sandbox by adding a colon so the interlanguage prefix will be escaped and link as expected: diff
I have also added a new testcase for this (though the diff showing it added is a bit messed up because I also changed the name from "John Smith" to "Example" in the same edit.) Retro (talk | contribs) 19:05, 10 June 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Done DannyS712 (talk) 19:10, 10 June 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Template-protected edit request on 10 June 2019 

message: I had a bot previously in good standing, and which was BAG approved (I was a BAG member and was and still am an admin). The bot - User:Kingbotk - last edited in 2008. It's quite reasonable that after 10 years of inactivity the bot was blocked, but as I link to the account from my own user page it is quite disheartening for it to display "This bot does not yet have the approval of the community, or approval has been withdrawn, and therefore shouldn't be making edits" and for it to be in :Category:Indefinitely blocked Wikipedia bots. Separately and together these messages seem to me to paint a picture of misbehaviour which just isn't the case.
I have a couple of questions:
1. Could we have a status=expired with "nicer" text to cover bots which were approved but are no longer active?
2. What purpose does the :Category:Indefinitely blocked Wikipedia bots serve other than naming and shaming?
--kingboyk (talk) 23:36, 15 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: If someone whats to code a , that's fine by me. As for the indef category, I don't see that at implying misbehavior. It's a tracking category, and serves to tell people who might wonder 'Hey, I haven't seen FooBot edit in a while, I have something it could do, let's ask the operator to run the bot on these pages" that the bot isn't operating at the moment, and that they are probably better off making a WP:BOTREQ.  Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 23:58, 15 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for the reply. I'm not convinced that we need a category for 'Hey, I haven't seen FooBot edit in a while' as it's likely easier to visit FooBot's user page and see their status than it is to find the category. --kingboyk (talk) 00:01, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: One thing I find silly is that the category is manually populated. If anything, it should be populated by the template. There would be a high degree of redundancy with the inactive bot category though, which is really the actually useful category.  Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 00:45, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes that does seem odd. I'd prefer to nuke the category, but if is to stay populating it from the template would imho be the better way to do it. --kingboyk (talk) 00:54, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Creating an "expired" status and perhaps a "Retired Wikipedia bots" category seem useful to me. I am not convinced that categorizing bots by blocks is useful; bots are blocked when they malfunction, are against policy or are retired and there is no scope in having an open-ended catch-all list especially when not all retired bots are blocked. A "Retired Wikipedia bots" category would serve the tracking purpose better. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 12:41, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I've added status=expired as an alias for the existing status=retired. Setting  to either of those will automatically place it in the category :Category:Retired Wikipedia bots. Wug·a·po·des​ 20:04, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: That's much nicer - thank you very much! --kingboyk (talk) 07:16, 23 July 2019 (UTC)

text: there is also  which gives a "deactivated" banner - we often use this when formally retiring bots who are inactive that also have inactive operators after 2 years. — xaosflux Talk 01:51, 27 July 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  status=expired 

message: As a developer hoping to understand the logic implemented by bots, I would love if we encouraged linking to the bot's deployed source code and configuration.  Introducing template parameters such as download and configuration would be one easy way to do this.  Or maybe there's a reason I'm not aware of, that we shouldn't publish bot source code?  Adamw (talk) 22:46, 31 July 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  download and configuration template parameters 

message: @ OM BOX TEXT
-This user account is a bot
+This user account is a bot
@ PURPOSE
-It is used to make repetitive automated or semi-automated edits that would be extremely tedious to do manually, in accordance with the bot policy.
+It is used to make repetitive automated or semi-automated edits that would be extremely tedious to do manually, in accordance with the bot policy.
Summary: Change wikilinks to direct link rather than link to redirects. ~riley (talk) 04:01, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Not done: No need for cosmetic edits. qedk (t 桜 c) 17:38, 7 January 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: Template-protected edit request on 07 January 2020

message: In the sandbox here, I've added an overridable automatic short description, "Wikipedia editing bot run by [User]", similar to what  does for non-bot users. It applies only in userspace non-subpages and only if a single bot operator is specified. Please let me know if there are any concerns before I implement. Cheers,  talk 20:46, 22 November 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: (a while ago).  talk 20:42, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Automatic short description 

message: Many (if not most) bots these days have multiple tasks, but this template handles them poorly. Unless overriden with , it links only to the first BRFA while claiming that it's linking to all of them. Could we set it up so that if there are multiple BRFA pages, it changes its wording somehow accordingly?  talk 20:44, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I have no issue with changing it so it links to "approved BRFAs" as is done elsewhere, but I will note a small semantic issue in that the text says  "" with "here" being a link to the first-approved BRFA. In my opinion that sentence does not indicate that it links to all BRFAs by the bot so I don't think it needs updating from that perspective. Primefac (talk) 10:03, 2 January 2022 (UTC)

text: Most bots with a lot of tasks just make a custom table. — xaosflux Talk 14:42, 1 February 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Handles bots with multiple tasks poorly 

message: I propose changing
to
The real purpose of that sentence is not to encourage administrators to go blocking bots for little things, it is to get them to block it with autoblocks off. So I think making this more explicit would be helpful. Thoughts? –Novem Linguae (talk) 23:57, 10 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  This template's message to administrators