User:AutomaticStrikeout/Adopt/Twinkle

After the mega-lesson on vandalism, it's time for a shorter look at some of the things you can do with Twinkle. If you don't already have it enabled, you will definitely need to do so for this lesson. You'll find information on how to do so in the "Gadgets" section of "My Preferences". Aside from Twinkle's vandal-fighting tools, it has several other features.

Talkback

Talkback is a feature that allows you to notify a user that you've responded to their message at another page. To use it, go the user's talk page, mouse over the TW button in the editing interface and select "TB". A window will pop up and you will be asked to name the page on which your reply was made. All you do is type the name of the page (everything in the URL after en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) and click submit query. If you'd like to link to a section, remember that it's case-sensitive, and type the name of the section. You can also add an additional message along with the Talkback template. It's really easy to use.

RPP

You can also request page protection using Twinkle. Go to whatever page you want to have protected and click "RPP" under the Twinkle dropdown menu. It will ask you to provide some information. Do so and then click submit.

AIV

You probably figured this out in the last lesson, but you can report a vandal to administrators, or an inappropriate username to WP:UAA, using Twinkle. Click "AIV" or "ARV", depending on what type of page you're on, and fill out the information that you are asked for. Noticing a pattern?

Tags

You can also add maintenance tags to an article using Twinkle. You can select whatever maintenance tag you'd like, and click submit. This feature is located under "Tag" (a truly creative name, I know). Of course, you should do your best to ensure that you are using the tag appropriately and you should also consider fixing whatever problems the article has instead of just tagging it instead.

Rollback

Another Twinkle gadget is the "rollback feature". When looking at a current diff, Twinkle gives you three options to rollback an edit: Rollback AGF (assume good faith) which is in green and should be usually be used with newer editors who are acting in good faith, but whose edit wasn't constructive. This type allows you to leave an edit summary, which you should do so the good faith editor knows why you undid his or her edit. Also, there's a plan Rollback, which is in light blue. This may be used the most often when rolling back an edit; again, you can (and should) leave an edit summary. Lastly, there's the Rollback Vandal choice, which as soon as you click reverts the edit leaving an automated edit summary. You should then follow up at the vandal's talk page, leaving a warning template, which you can easy do using Twinkle.

Miscellaneous other uses

Welcome

You can welcome new users via Twinkle. To do this, either click the yellow text that says "Welcome" next to a user's name, as seen when looking at a diff, or select "Wel" in the Twinkle drop-down menu. You'll then be prompted to select a welcome template. Of course, you should only use this feature with users that need to be welcomed and if you welcome a user, be prepared to help him or her too.

Deletion

You can also use Twinkle to nominate a page for deletion. You can tag the page for speedy deletion or open an XfD discussion instead. In some cases, you can PROD the page, (propose it for deletion). If a PROD is not contested after a week, the page may be deleted. When you use Twinkle to nominate a page for deletion, it will automatically notify the page creator.

Last diff

When you select "Last" from the Twinkle dropdown menu, you can see the most recent diff for the page that you are on.

Unlink

You can use "Unlink" to remove some or all backlinks, which are links that are located on another page but link to the page that you are on. The primary use of this tool could removing links to an article has been deleted.

A word of caution

Twinkle can make many editing tasks much easier to perform. However, while it is a very valuable tool, there is great potential for abuse. Don't do something just because Twinkle gives you the ability to do it easily.

Questions

Well, this wasn't that short, but it should be a little easier to grasp. Questions, or are you ready for the test (using that word lightly in this case).