User:Neuropol/CVUA/Student blueprint

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Welcome to the CVUA!

Welcome to your personal Counter-Vandalism Unit Academy page! Here, you will be trained to graduate the Counter-Vandalism Unit Academy.

Before proceeding

Before proceeding, make sure that this page is added to your watchlist. If you have not already, please read the introduction to my CVUA model,and have added this page to your watchlist. Please also read the student resources in my CVUA home page

Information

Here, you will be taught according to the syllabus of the CVUA. In order to pass, you will need to:

• Complete the tasks on this page
• Demonstrate vigilance, conscientiousness, civility, and competence during your time here.
• Respond to criticism respectfully and rectify errors
• Participate in at least one teamwork exercise between other students as prescribed by me

There are also some specialization programs you can take after your final exam. You do not have to specialize to pass, but they are valuable in learning in-depth about some elements of counter-vandalism. These include:

• Academy instructor
  • If you want to become an instructor yourself, this pathway is for you. Here, you will observe me, other instructors, and other students as you learn.
• Integrity and dispute resolution
  • Here, you will learn about counter-vandalism in the Counter-Vandalism Unit and other related patrols. This includes pointing others in the right direction, noticing revert vandalism, resolving disputes, negotiating, and discussing issues with other editors.
• Subtle vandalism
  • If you're interested in the subtle vandalism task force, you may be interested in this pathway. Here, you will learn how to identify and rectify subtle vandalism with speed and accuracy.

Please note: None of these pathways are required to pass the CVUA or to do anything, they are simply programs to hone your knowledge. They do not provide any other benefit.

Who am I?

Hi, I'm Neuropol. I'm an editor and CVUA graduate. I'm here to serve as your instructor and helpfully guide you to be the best counter-vandal you can be. Please feel free to correct and refute me in a civil if you believe I am incorrect or mistake.

Part 1 of 8: Getting to know you

As your instructor, I want to understand you so we can accomplish the academy to the best of our abilities together. It is not required of you to answer any questions here which you are uncomfortable answering.

Knowing you

What would you like me to call you? (can be a username, first name, shortened username, or something completely different)

What is your timezone?

Your philosophy

What interests you about counter-vandalism?

What bothers you about Wikipedia?

Are you interested in specializing during your time in the CVUA? If so, what specialty are you most interested in?

Part 2 of 8: Tools

Twinkle

Twinkle is a very useful tool for counter-vandalism. It is highly recommended that you install it. It allows you to find and revert vandalism, as well as warn and report other users, with ease. In the browsing section here, you can find and install Twinkle.

Do you have experience with Twinkle?

If not, are you more experienced with a similar alternative?

WikiDefcon

The WikiDefcon system is a bot-updated scale which is helpful in determining the current rate of vandalism on Wikipedia. It goes from a scale from 5 to 1, with 5 being low rates of vandalism, and 1 being severe. Most commonly, the WikiDefcon system sits at levels 4 and 3.

It may be helpful to add this to your user page. Alternatively, it will be present at the top of this page for you to view at any time.

Recent changes filters

Counter-vandalism commonly takes place by patrolling the recent changes page. Filters on this allow you to more accurately locate vandalism and problematic editing. Please make a filter you are comfortable with. Alternatively, you can use the filter that I use most often, which is here.

Do you have any questions on tools before proceeding?

Part 3 of 8: Reverting, reporting, and warning basics

Reverting edits

One of the features you will be using the most is the ability to restore an older version of a page. There are 3 main ways you will be doing this with Twinkle.

First off is the [restore this version] button visible on the older version when reviewing diffs. This is useful for restoring a version when multiple intermediate versions from different users exist. An instance may be vandalism from multiple IPs on a single page in a short period of time. Simply go to the page history, click (prev) on the version after the desired version, and simply click [restore this version] which appears over the menu for your desired version.

Second off is the Twinkle menu which appears over current diffs. It appears as follows:

[rollback (AGF)] || [rollback] || [vandalism]

These three options and their purposes are important. In the next part, we will go more in-depth about good faith edits, test edits, and vandalism. If you are ever not sure, use the [rollback] button.

Lastly is the rollback feature. This requires a special user right to obtain. If you do not have it, I will issue you a voucher to obtain it after your graduation. It appears simply as an option that reads (rollback) next to the newest version. It is no more monumental than using the Twinkle option, however, the Rollback right does give you access to new tools such as AntiVandal.

Warning users

After reverting edits, you should issue a notice to the user whose edit you revert. It is not required that you use a premade template, and you can feel free to make your own templates as you please, but they typically follow a 5-level system.

Level 1 warnings as a "push in the right direction"

Level 2 warnings as a small warning.

Level 3 warnings as a cease and desist.

Level 4 warnings as a final warning.

Level 4im warnings as an only warning.

Usually, these warnings should be followed in succession from one another, besides 4im, which should be issued as an only warning before reporting, for particularly egregious and obviously bad faith offenses. Sometimes, you should take liberties. Remember to be bold! It may be acceptable sometimes to skip levels, just remember to use your best judgment.

You can administer these warnings easily using Twinkle. While on a talk page, in the top right menu, use the dropdown labeled TW and click "warn." Here, a menu will appear where you can include the article in question, the level of warning with the relevant offense, and any additional comments.

Soon, you will be experiencing your first practice scenarios. You will be interacting with a legitimate sock of mine, NeuropolsDummy. Please do not report this user. When interacting with this sock, please use the following talk page templates:

{{User:Neuropol/1Practice}}

{{User:Neuropol/2Practice}}

{{User:Neuropol/3Practice}}

{{User:Neuropol/4Practice}}

{{User:Neuropol/4imPractice}}

Make sure to use these templates ONLY for interacting with this sock! They are not real warnings, and are intended for practice only.

You can add these templates to your Twinkle warning box. Using the TW dropdown, click "config" and go to the "warn user" section. Here, you can add custom warning templates. Make sure to save your changes! Then, when warning a user, scroll all the way down in the option selection to "Custom warnings," where the new warnings will then appear.

Why do you think the standard Wikipedia warning system contains 4 levels? Would you prefer to give users more chances? Less?

Reporting vandalism

When a user has failed to cease their behavior in spite of warnings, or has acted incredibly egregiously, the last resort is to report them to the noticeboard for administrator intervention against vandalism, or AIV. To do this, simply open up the Twinkle dropdown in the top right corner, and click "ARV." ARV, or Advance Reporting and Vetting, is Twinkle's system for reporting users. To report a user, type the primary page in question, select the necessary diffs, and fill any relevant checkboxes. You should not notify a user of their AIV report. From there, an administrator will take whatever action is necessary.

Reporting usernames

If you have not already, please read the username policy.

Some users have chosen usernames which violate Wikipedia's username policy. It's important to remember that usernames can be changed, and that should be a preferable alternative to instantly warning a user.

If you find a user with a violating username, you are faced with either the decision to report or to discuss with the user. Remember to use common sense! For most usernames, you should discuss the issue at hand with the user civilly. However, usernames which imply or promote an organization should be reported instantly.

Why do you think organizations may make Wikipedia accounts to promote themselves?

Edit wars

If you have not already, please read about the three-revert rule.

For a patroller, it can be particularly frustrating to be given "a taste of their own medicine." When reverting a problematic edit, some user will return the favor and revert your edit. When this happens, it may be tempting to hit them back and revert the edit again, but this only prompts them to revert you again. Now, you could be in an edit war.

The first thing to do when being hit by an edit warrior is to step back and stop engaging on the article. Once you have hit three reverts, or preferably two, STOP! Attempt to engage with the user. Leave them a personalized talk page message, or ping them on the relevant article's talk page, and express your desire for mediation and the ending of the conflict. Often, the user may continue making problematic edits on the article, and not engage with you. Once they have made more than three reverts (please do not exceed this limit either), use Twinkle's ARV feature, select "username" on the top dropdown, and list the article and each relevant diff as asked.

Why do you think edit wars occur?

Part 4 of 8: Civility

Being a civil counter-vandal is a pillar to the CVU.

Faithfulness of edits

In general, there are three types of edits which may be present on Wikipedia. These are:

• Good faith edits
• Test edits
• Vandalism

If you have not already, please read: identifying test edits, vandalism, and assuming good faith.

How might you tell the difference between disruptive editing and vandalism?

When can bad faith be recognized?

Reflect on the times you have identified these. Fill out the table below.

Diff	Faith of edit	How did you determine this?	What actions did you take as a result?
1	Good
2	Test
3	Bad

Problematic users

Users may be problematic in behavior outside of edits. It is important that you do not allow this to cloud your judgment of the faithfulness of their edits.

For example, imagine that you are a new user who is adding information about a topic you know about, but it is unsourced and incongruent with the manual of style. Despite your knowledge that these edits are true, they keep being reverted because of this. You are left with users asking you to cease your behavior, and are becoming increasingly frustrated. Despite the good faith and truthfulness, your frustration may lead you to aggression, insults, and profanity. This behavior is unacceptable, but remember that your edits were done truthfully and in good faith.

If you have not done so already, please read dispute resolution and etiquette.

A new user has just added an image of Iron Man to the article Iron Man (song) mistakenly. When it is reverted, you receive the following message, "Hey, what the [expletive] is your problem? Why did you revert my edit?" How do you react?

Intermission: Theory in practice

Now that you are halfway through the Neuropolitan CVUA, the second part of the Academy has opened up.

Along with completing the rest of this document, you will be engaging in mock exercises. Some of these will require teamwork between you and your other students.

Please make sure you have added the provided training templates from above to your Twinkle, or have them ready. Make sure to substitute them if you use them manually!

You must complete at least two mock scenarios to unlock the final exam, along with the completion of this document. Please now add this page to your watchlist, and sign up for upcoming scenarios.

Once you have added that page to your watchlist, confirm that you have under this message, and you will unlock the rest of the Academy.

Part 5 of 8: Protection and deletion

Levels of protection

If you have not already, please read the page protection policy.

On Wikipedia, there are 3 levels of protection that you will encounter most commonly. However, there are many more. The ones you are more likely to encounter are:

Pending changes protection

Semi-protection

Extended protection

Pending changes protection allows any user to edit an article. However, for changes to display to unregistered users, they must first be approved by someone with the pending changes reviewer user right. This allows articles to be freely edited, while enacting a countermeasure for vandalism.

The most common levels of page protection are semi-protection and extended protection. Semi-protected pages require a user to have the autoconfirmed or confirmed user right. Autoconfirmed is given automatically to registered users with 10 edits and 4 days of service. The confirmed user right is only given under very specific circumstances.

Extended protection is an extra layer of protection applied when semi-protection may not suffice. Examples include very contentious topics such as the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and pages which have experienced problematic editing even from established users.

Requesting page protection

Requesting page protection can be done simply using Twinkle. Using the dropdown menu, select "RPP", specify the type and reason, the duration, and add your own comment.

Please request any level of protection for a page for any reason, and provide the diff below.

Criteria for speedy deletion

If you have not already, please read the criteria for speedy deletion.

Speedy deletion is a minimal-step process to remove problematic pages from Wikipedia. Pages with criteria for speedy deletion are uncommon, but it's important to recognize them anyway.

Most pages with CSD lie within the userspace. Often, new users will create pages within their userspace that are often pure advertisement. Remember to use the CSD tag sparingly, and when in doubt, use AfD (below).

Articles for deletion

If you have not already, please read the articles for deletion policy.

Articles for deletion is a more lengthy process of deleting an article. Typically, this is used for mainspace articles, and it involves a discussion which requires consensus. Discussions close after 7 days, but are often "renewed" twice or more by administrators wishing to foster further discourse.

Part 6 of 8: Critical thinking

Ignore all rules

If you have not already, please read ignore all rules.

On Wikipedia, no rule or guideline is "set in stone." Simply, if you believe that a rule prevents you from maintaining the encyclopedia, ignore it. It may be best to provide your rationale in your edit summary, though.

Remember to use common sense! It is unlikely that you will ever need to violate civility rules to maintain Wikipedia. Use this policy sparingly, and be ready to justify any decisions you make in the spirit of ignoring all rules. It is not a cheap cop-out to do whatever you want.

Name a specific circumstance in which IAR is useful.

Interacting with administrators

As a counter-vandal, you will almost surely encounter administrators in your time. Administrators are users who have extra tools, such as blocking, editing fully protected pages, and more.

You will most often be interacting with administrators regarding blocks when you report a user. If one questions your rationale, justify it!

All civility guidelines apply. Respectfully criticize if you must, but make sure it is necessary, productive, and civil.

The word "vandalism"

If you have not already, please read about vandalism.

"Vandalism" has a very specific meaning on Wikipedia. It refers strictly to edits which:

1. Are made in bad faith.
2. Harm the integrity of Wikipedia in some way.

As a result, it is recommended that you use the word very sparingly, if you must.

If you make the claim of vandalism, be prepared to justify it. You may be opposed by mistaken good faith editors and vandals alike.

Name a circumstance in which a good faith user may be mistaken for a vandal.

If you mistook a good faith user for a vandal, what would you do upon being proven wrong?

To continue, you must complete both required scenarios.

Part 7 of 8: Final steps

Monitoring period

You are almost done with the CVUA! If you are here, you have completed both required scenarios, as well as the necessary curriculum. Now, you will be intensely monitored over the next five days. Please edit as you usually would, and make sure to get counter-vandalism work in! After each day, please provide a summary of your day, and include any mistakes you think you may have made, and anything you are proud of.

I will provide a summary after each day as well. Please feel free to provide responses if you believe I am mistaken or wrong.

User summary of day one

Instructor summary of day one

User summary of day two

Instructor summary of day two

User summary of day three

Instructor summary of day three

User summary of day four

Instructor summary of day four

User summary of day five

Instructor summary of day five

Final exam

Congratulations on making it to the final exam! Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. You must get at least 9 correct answers (≥75%) to pass.

Knowledge (50%)

This section will test your general knowledge of counter-vandalism.

1. What is vandalism?
2. What is the purpose of an administrator?
3. What is the rollbacker permission?
4. List each type of warning and its purpose.
5. How might you identify a vandalism-only account?
6. What is an edit war?
7. How do you identify promotion?
8. When should an article be tagged for speedy deletion, and when should an article be tagged for deletion discussion?

Practice (50%)

This section will test your applied knowledge.

1. You notice a new user has been created called "VexBiotechInc". After some research, you have found that this is the name of a real biotechnology company. The user seems to be editing only biotech-related articles. How do you respond?
2. An IP user has recently blanked an entire page. When you revert the edit and go to their user talk page to warn them, you notice that this user has been blocked several times over the past few months for vandalism, but has not been warned since their last block. How do you proceed?
3. A new user has recently created a draft with the title "aidfuo8c" and has no content besides the text "3aweu9pdsjfh3eankdfjsbfkjdsafkjds." What do you do?
4. You have recently warned a new user for what seemed to be vandalism after they added unsourced and seemingly incorrect information to a document. Afterwards, they revert your reversion, and make a rude comment directed towards you in the edit summary. How do you approach this? And if they persisted?

Reflection

This section is for reflecting on your time here at the CVUA.

Reflect on a time during the CVUA you made a mistake. What was the mistake, when did you realize it, and how did you correct it?

1. What do you believe you have learned from me?
2. If you could improve this curriculum in any way, how would you do it?
3. Are you overall satisfied with your experience at the CVUA?

Final score

Part	Total questions	Correct answers	Weight
1	8	#CorrectP1	50%
2	4	#CorrectP2	50%
TOTAL	12	#CorrectAll	100%

Final comments

Part 8 of 8: Specialty academy (Academy)

Congratulations on passing the final exam! Your certificate has been deferred because you are now completing specialty training in becoming an instructor. Please note that if you fail or become inactive during this stage, you will still receive a certificate, but it will not include your specialty training.

You are now a junior instructor. You may now look at other users' training pages. Please refrain from providing instruction; however, you are free to provide commentary when it is helpful.

Also, please spend time on the Neuropolitan CVUA talk page. Here, try to provide help to other students, if you have not been doing so already.

General questions

What is the importance of the CVU Academy?

What do you think of the current system?

Are there any methods you have in mind which could actively improve how students learn?

Principles of education: philosophy

The neuropolitan CVUA is based around creating a neoteric model for counter-vandalism education.

Traditionally, CVUA curricula have been focused around providing diffs of edits, with little question, respect for philosophy, or proof of efficacy. The neuropolitan CVUA is not only intended to revolutionize this, but it is intended to adapt, keeping records of retention, blocks, and improvement after graduation.

It also seeks to encourage teamwork among editors. Wikipedia is becoming increasingly volatile, which is heavily damaging to productive editing.

Dealing with student issues

During their time at the CVUA, students may encounter a variety of setbacks and issues. Students may become stressed, causing them to go inactive, and may encounter other difficulties.

Part 8 of 8: Specialty academy (Subtle Vandalism)

Congratulations on passing the final exam! Your certificate has been deferred because you are now completing specialty training in subtle vandalism. Please note that if you fail or become inactive during this stage, you will still receive a certificate, but it will not include your specialty training.

Part 8 of 8: Specialty academy (Dispute Resolution)

Congratulations on passing the final exam! Your certificate has been deferred because you are now completing specialty training in dispute resolution. Please note that if you fail or become inactive during this stage, you will still receive a certificate, but it will not include your specialty training.

Completion

Thank you for participating in the CVUA! A diploma has been issued to you via your talk page, and this page will soon be moved to your userspace. You may add your certificate to your user page as a user award if you would like, and it includes an anti-vandalism barnstar.