UESPWiki:Bots/Archived Proposals

This is an archive of past UESPWiki:Bots discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page, except for maintenance such as updating links.

Please add newly archived proposals to the TOP of this page.

HoodBot

HoodBot (talk⁺ • contribs • edit count • logs • email)

As many of you know, I've been working on a replacement for HotnBOThered for quite some time now. At long last, I feel the bot is ready to start taking on jobs. While there's certainly a lot of development left to get it to the same point as HnB in terms of how quickly I can get common jobs running, all the basic necessities are there, already including many features that HnB lacks. This includes all of the requirements listed above. Because this is an entirely new bot, with almost no source code ported from the old one, our rules and Wikipedia's require that I get the new bot approved, so this is me doing that.

Some of the advantages of HoodBot over HnB include:

• HoodBot is signficantly faster and better designed. No more reliance on an inelegant and rather buggy bot framework that I didn't design. The only code I'm using not written by myself or Microsoft is Json.NET, a framework so well known and professional that Microsoft is apparently planning on integrating it into their own code in the future.
• Deeper integration of basic functionality. Basically, all of the requirements listed above, and some that aren't, are baked in at a very low level, allowing the bot jobs themselves to focus on what they need to do without me having to manually code a lot of things that aren't directly part of the job. This means faster development time for jobs. Even simple things like namespace restrictions were largely done manually in HnB. Now, violating the restrictions listed above (for jobs like link replacement, that should be allowed to edit user pages) is the more difficult task.
• Much better speed control, increasing speed when the wiki can handle it, and decreasing speed when it's lagging. Talk page checks can also often be done inline with other requests, significantly cutting the number of requests made to the wiki.
• HoodBot has many, many more wiki-related features, including e-mailing users, processing watchlists, integrating with MetaTemplate to look at saved variables, and virtually anything else that users can do. Most of the MediaWiki API is fully implemented in the bot and made easy to access, so things like loading all pages that transclude any page in Lore space, to use a recent example, takes only one or two lines of code, and the bot is already ready to start examining/editing the page data. Admin functions are also available should we ever develop a need for an admin bot.
• Much more direct integration with a universal TES file reader that I'm currently developing as a separate project. Once done, the bot will have the ability to edit the wiki based on Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim/SSE data, largely agnostic as to which game it's actually dealing with. Assuming that TES6 follows the same basic principles as the previous games, integrating that will be relatively easy as well.
• For more details, and a link to the source code on GitHub, head over to HoodBot's user page.

Okay, I think that's enough about HoodBot. Any questions? I know I focussed mostly on the technical aspects here, but if there are any specific questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know! – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 08:39, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

• Support: Robin Hood obviously knows how to use a bot and with good judgment. Having more efficient and advanced functions available will be great for the wiki! —Dillonn241 (talk) 20:55, 17 February 2019 (UTC)
• Support: Completely agree with Dillon, not much more to add. --Ilaro (talk) 20:12, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
• Support: I'm down with this. It can do everything the current bot does and more. I don't see why we shouldn't approve it. MolagBallet (talk) 20:18, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
• Support: I trust Robin's judgement, and if he thinks it's ready for use, then let's put it to use! --Enodoc (talk) 20:46, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

Consensus: Support. Actually done by Dave...I'm just closing it and adding the tag. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 02:05, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

CyrusBot

For a while I've had a program that is able to read the wiki using the MediaWiki API for a few useful tasks. Creating excel sheets mostly, but also producing lists of pages based on their content or title. I recently added editing and moving functions to the bot and have tested them quite a bit on a local wiki I set up.

I wrote a summary of what the bot does on its user page. The most important features to note here are that it can preview any job and will stop if its talk page is edited. I've written it from scratch in Java without any framework and its core functions are bug-free as far as I can tell.

The main purpose of this bot is to share some of the load with HotnBOThered. I make a lot of bot requests through Discord, and all of them can be accomplished with CyrusBot. —Dillonn241 (talk) 18:49, 17 September 2018 (UTC)

• Support: Dillon and I have had many chats in Discord about functions that his bot might need and the pros and cons of different implementations. This discussion has led me to feel confident that Dillon understands various issues like previewing jobs before actually running them, not flooding the server with requests, and not editing things that shouldn't be edited.

On a side note, while previous bot discussions have been conducted like talk page discussions, that's largely because there have been so few of them and a lot of processes weren't in place at all. Now that we have a dedicated bot page and proposals/archived proposals, I'm doing this like we do all other nominations (i.e., admins, patrollers, etc.) and using a Support/Comment/Oppose format. If anyone sees any issues with this, by all means say so. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 23:35, 17 September 2018 (UTC)

• Support —Legoless (talk) 23:33, 19 September 2018 (UTC)

• Support --FioFioFio (talk) 18:27, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

• Support Echo (talk) 19:31, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

Consensus: Support. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 20:00, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

Enobot (pywikibot)

I would like to propose Enobot, running the Pywikibot framework. This is a collection of pre-written bot scripts. Pywikibot is a bot that I have used before, primarily on Fable Wiki, to do a bunch of mundane and repetitive tasks. Unfortunately I cannot explain in detail how the bot works, as I did not write any of it myself, but I do know that it is written in Python and makes edits on a wiki using the MediaWiki API. A quick overview can be found here. One of the main reasons that I'm proposing this bot is so that I would have the opportunity to run a few mundane tasks like link updates without having to request a job for HnB. While pywikibot is not as extensive as HnB, it would provide an alternative option for anyone looking for certain jobs to be performed, all of which are documented so anyone looking for a job run would know what is possible.

It should also be noted that I have found no way to tell pywikibot to stop editing if its talk page is edited, so following on from this discussion, I would always be around when the bot is running, and given that I would be using only the existing scripts, the scope for it running wild is minimal.

Thanks, Enodoc (talk) 23:46, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

I forgot to actually create the bot account. Here it is! User:Enobot. --Enodoc (talk) 13:03, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

More bots is a good thing, and Enodoc is clearly experienced with using this one. —Legoless (talk) 19:22, 3 August 2017 (UTC)

I have no issues with this at all. It'll be nice to have another bot to share the load with, and I trust Enodoc's judgement in using it completely. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 19:45, 3 August 2017 (UTC)

I have only theoretical knowledge of bots, but as Pywikibot is used on Wikimedia Foundation projects and I trust Enodoc's judgement, experience and explanations, I also support the proposal. --Holomay (talk) 22:04, 3 August 2017 (UTC)

1000000000% support. Please. Approve now. Jeancey (talk) 22:32, 12 August 2017 (UTC)

Consensus: Support. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 01:43, 10 September 2018 (UTC)

Wabbajack

I have been working on a bot for some time now, and after a successful full-scale run last night, I feel that it's time to officially propose Wabbajak. I made it for the primary purpose of renaming images to conform with our site's image naming policy. There are currently over 26,000 uploaded files on the wiki, but because we've only decided on (and followed) image naming standards in the last couple of years, the vast majority of non-Skyrim images do not conform to our naming conventions (I'd estimate that it's well above 15,000 images, maybe even 20,000 images). However, I've designed the bot to be easily expanded upon, so it could perform a wide variety of other tasks, like HotnBOThered.

Note that this robot is not yet complete. I have a number of changes to implement, which are listed on Wabbajak's to do list. I'm proposing the bot now while it's still in the design phase so that way, if there is any controversy over its purpose, design, or even existence, that can be taken care of now.

Currently the bot is heavily supervised by me. Right now, in order for it to run, I feed it two lists - one with the files to rename, and one with what to rename them to. It generates a large index of what pages link to those files, moves the files, and then goes through each page and updates the files. Every step of its operation is watched over by me, and I am in the IRC whenever it runs, so that way if someone notices something unusual they can contact me directly (or they can edit Wabbajak's talk page to stop the program).

I feel that this should be fairly straightforward, as Wabbajak's purpose is unobtrusive, and it has been shown that he works well. • JA^T 20:12, 1 February 2013 (GMT)

First, for anyone who's wondering, yes there's a Bot Proposals section on the Bots page, but that's a proposed policy, not a fully implemented one, and honestly, I'd rather see bot proposals on the Community Portal anyway, where everyone will notice and have the ability to comment. At least two out of the three current bots were discussed on CP prior to their implementation. I didn't see anything for RoBoT in the CP archives off-hand, but there was a request on DaveH's talk page, which half the wiki probably monitors anyway. :)

Now on to the actual proposal: I'd be happy to see another bot in operation, and I believe that Jak has demonstrated that he's aware of the bot's errors when they're made, and works to fix them. Renaming images is a great place to start, as it's relatively straight-forward, but not "too" straight-forward, as Jak has already discovered based on conversations elsewhere. (And I should note that HotnBOThered went through almost the exact same trials and tribulations when I gave it the ability to rename images.) He's obviously already thinking ahead to functionality that differs from HotnBOThered's, and I look forward to seeing where Wabbajak will go. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 21:39, 1 February 2013 (GMT)

I guess the bot will need some things ironed out over the next time, but I believe Jak will take care of that, as his todo list shows. Meanwhile Wabbajak can do useful stuff without flooding the RC. And it will be good to have a tested backup bot, just in case. --Alfwyn (talk) 22:22, 1 February 2013 (GMT)

As I said on Jak's talk page earlier, I'm looking at this with great interest, both to see how well it does and in consideration for creating my own bot at some point (something I probably should've considered doing a while ago, given how much bot-like stuff I've found myself doing by hand.) Not sure whether I'd want to base mine off of HotnBOThered's code or Wabbajak's, but I'd like to at some point see both to decide which is easier to work with, if that's alright with you guys. Any rate, getting sidetracked - short of it is Wabbajak has my full support, as we definitely could benefit from another bot or two around here, given that both of the other bot-users aren't around these days. TheRealLurlock (talk) 00:09, 2 February 2013 (GMT)

I support it only through what I've read above and seen on the IRC. That Jak seeks input and is open to advice from people like Alfwyn and RH, TRL, other smart and experienced people, I can confidently say I support it myself. And thanks for all your great stuff, Jak. --JR (talk) 07:01, 13 February 2013 (GMT)

Consensus: Support. Since this proposal has now been up for two weeks without objection, I've called it and asked Dave to add Wabbajak to the bot group. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 20:41, 15 February 2013 (GMT)

Older Bots

The bots below predate the formal bot approval process. Discussion of the bots by their respective owners is included here for reference.

HotnBOThered

I'm not quite sure how to go about this, as the Bots policy is ages old and in limbo, and we've only ever had two bots running on the site, both of which are more than two years old at this point. So I figure I'll ask here and take it from there.

As some of you are aware, I've been running HotnBOThered for some time now, entirely as a read-only bot with absolutely no editing capability whatsoever. In the next few days, I hope to change that, albeit only in the most minor of ways: keeping a log of its otherwise read-only activities. Eventually, this will lead to other read-write capabilities as I get more familiar with how to use it that way.

While I'm willing to patrol all of HotnBOThered's edits if that's the community's decision, I'd rather apply for bot status sooner rather than later, so that I hopefully won't have to (and others won't have to if I miss some). As has been the case all along, HotnBOThered should not be making edits outside its user space for now. Does anybody have any objections if I ask for bot status so that those edits are auto-patrolled? ‒ Robin Hood↝talk 04:10, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

I'd be fine with adding it to the bot group, as long as you sign the unofficial bot-runner's pledge: "I solemnly swear that since it's my bot, I'll fix things when it screws up" :) I've had to make good on that once or twice when RoBoT disregarded my instructions I messed up the coding. rpeh •T•C•E• 23:32, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

I trust that RobinHood will be careful enough with the implementation of his bot, taking it a step at the time (as shown by his long testing period of read-only actions). I agree with rpeh on the cleaning up bit, but I've seen RH working on cleaning up his testing work whenever he was in the works on optimizing currently running articles (templates). --Timenn-<talk> 11:10, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Ditto. I have no concerns with RH maintaining a bot-account. --GK^talk2me 19:13, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

Could an Admin ask Dave to make the change then, please? There's no rush, I'm definitely not doing any programming today (4.5 hours sleep), and don't really have any firm plans to do so in the immediate future. – Robin Hood↝talk 23:34, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Would it have to be an admin? There aren't that many of them, and it seems like anybody could link to the discussion here.--TheAlbinoOrc^{any_questions?} 16:33, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

I've given the account bot rights. Also, I fixed this issue with bot patrolling. --Nephele^Talk 17:11, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

(←) Albino: Technically, no. I or anybody else could have done so. Historically, though, rights changes have normally been requested by Admins to Bureaucrats, so I figured an Admin should do that here as well.

Nephele: Thanks on both counts! (And sorry for forgetting that you were a Bureaucrat! To quote the some-time image on my talk page: "I have the dumb.") – Robin Hood↝talk 22:19, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

RoBoT

If you've got a minute, please could you give the account RoBoT bot status please? It's a new bot in the same vein as NepheleBot that will hopefully take some of the pressure of Nephele. It uses exactly the same safeguards as hers does and will be run with the same hand-holding. It's only going to get the easy stuff at first to make sure it's not being too silly. Thanks. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 05:52, 27 January 2008 (EST)

Done. I assume this is your bot? -- Daveh 11:23, 27 January 2008 (EST)

Yes it's mine - sorry, I should have said. Thanks for making the change. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 13:50, 27 January 2008 (EST)

NepheleBot

Because organizing one insanely large project (i.e., #Oblivion Places Redesign Project) isn't enough to distract me from doing any real editing around here, I've decided to start another: NepheleBot. Basically I'm proposing to create a bot account that will be used to do automated maintenance-type editing of UESPWiki pages. The details are provided on the user page, and I'd welcome any feedback on the idea at User Talk:NepheleBot. Since this is the first bot to be used at UESP I wanted to make sure that the community is aware of it and make sure that there aren't any objections. --Nephele^Talk 21:36, 16 May 2007 (EDT)

I made some tests last night using NepheleBot, in particular to make sure that the bot scripting is properly responding to the various controls and limits that I've put in place. All the tests were successful, so I feel like I'm ready to move ahead and start making full use of the bot. And based on responses it seems like nobody would object to giving this idea a try. So I'm proceeding with asking Daveh to give the NepheleBot account official "bot" status. --Nephele^Talk 17:01, 28 May 2007 (EDT)

NepheleBot is now fully operational, and I've kept the bot busy the last few nights getting some tasks completed (and after three days the bot is already #9 on the active users list... although the bot probably shouldn't even be shown on that list). As far as I can tell, everything has been going really well (and many of the fixes I've had to make were from me trying to manually add links to the bot's automatic list). If anyone else has noticed any problems, or has any suggestions for things that need to be changed, let me know! --Nephele^Talk 11:56, 2 June 2007 (EDT)