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Note: I encourage you to add some of the things on this essay thats constructive in some way (this essay could use some expansion). No vandalism please! Vandalism is not tolerated and will be reverted in seconds. It will also leave a nasty warning on your talk page! Think twice, OK?
I have seen users everyday leave because of the treatment of vandals (Example: User:H). Don't go there! It is painful to see established users leave because of the work of vandals. I will list all the things that are a likely target of vandalism and if you're one of these "things", be prepared for a vandal attack. You are a likely vandal target if...
- ...you have a history of reverting vandalism. (Vandals dislike it when their "art" is destroyed and as a result, some vandals defame your user page or harasses you)
- ...you have a fancy userpage. (Vandals target these userpages thinking that you spend a lot of time with your user page and stuff, only to turn to dust. Luckily every revision is stored (except deletion so reverting is ease as pie).)
- ...you are quick to anger. (Vandals will LOVE that kind of attitude because they feel they "disrupt" the project and also feel they have "attention". Plus, if you have that kind of attitude then you are at potential risk of leaving Wikipedia because of all the reasons stated above. Best change it if you have that kind of attitude.)
- ...you are an admin. (Vandals will often try to push admins to leave Wikipedia so they can try to "dominate" Wikipedia. Most admins know the motivation of a vandal and they are often prepare for attacks. There are a few admins that are exposed to vandals, and those admins often leave as a result.)
- ...you have dealt with or blocked sockpuppets of banned users. (It is pretty much obvious. When you block a sockpuppeter or any of it's sockpuppets, he/she will create an army of sockpuppets to attack your user (talk) page and may actually harass you in life which does happen, but rarely.)
- ...you have an obvious username (i.e User:Bob) (When you have an obvious username, you will be a literal vandal target. Vandals tend to intentionally/accidently use the User: namespace so they can find a common target. If you have an obvious username, be prepared for a heavy vandal attack. Alternatively, you can change your username per request by a bureaucrat.)
- ...you reveal sensitive personal information (phone number, adress, etc.) (An abusive editor can figure out who you are in real life if you reveal just enough info on your userpage. If that happens you are very likely to be harassed/threatened by that abusive editor.)