Wikipedia:WikiProject User warnings/Help:Introduction

This page is part of the WikiProject on User Warnings documentation.

Documentation: table of contents or all documentation
intro
template usage
template coding

Introduction

This page is a general introduction to user warnings. If you would like more information on any particular subject, see the appropriate inline wikilinks. For a basic introduction to Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Introduction.

About warnings

Any edit deliberately intended to damage Wikipedia's content, attack a person, or oppose the community is termed vandalism. Particularly, edits which go against Wikipedia's policies and guidelines are generally considered vandalism.

If you spot someone vandalising Wikipedia, you should revert their changes to a previous version. You can leave a message on their talk page to notify them that they've violated a policy or guideline, and that you've reverted their changes. There are various user warning templates available to simplify this by outputting automatic, standardised messages directly onto the talk page.

Using warnings

To use a user warning template, choose a standardised template from the main page of the WikiProject on User Warnings. Every template has a family of about four levels, from a polite pointer to the sandbox to a stern demand that they desist or face consequences. It's not necessary to start at the first level; rather, you should choose one based on how vicious the vandalism is. For example, {{test1}} is appropriate for someone who adds "Hi Joe!" to a page, whereas a rapid multiple-revert vandal should only be given one warning ({{test4}}).

On the talk page you'd like to place the message on, type {{subst:template name}}, where template name is the name of the template. For example, if you want to use Template:test1, you can type {{subst:test1}}.

The "subst" causes the text of the template to be substituted into the page when you save it, rather than having the page link to the template every time it is viewed. (See Wikipedia:Template substitution for reasons this is strongly recommended.)

On user talk pages that are getting multiple warnings, it is best to keep things organized by using section headers. Type "==Warnings==" and "===November 2024===" above the first warning, adding a new header for each month. Old sections should be removed on anonymous user talk pages after a few months.

Edits from IP addresses

Some edits originate from anonymous IP addresses. Some people have static addresses (they keep the same address all the time), particularly if they are broadband subscribers. However, many users are assigned random addresses each time they log in to their Internet service provider, or are part of a network of computers that all connect to the Internet via a proxy server with a single IP address. Because of this, a warning posted on the talk page of an IP address may not be received by the person whom you intend it to be received by.

Before posting escalating warnings to an IP address's talk page, you should check the address's contribution history to see if there has been a change in contribution style or a significant time lapse since the last series of edits. If you're not sure that it's the same person using the IP as the last time, it's best to use the lower level warnings rather than the higher ones to avoid alienating legitimate users.

After using warnings

If the user doesn't stop vandalizing after being given a few warnings, including a "strong warning" (ie a level 3 or 4 warning), you can report them to administrators for intervention. To do so, add their username to Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism (WP:AIV). Note that this usually gets the attention of an admin within seconds or minutes.

Rate of warnings

If a user continues to make problematic edits after receiving a warning, it is not necessary to wait before escalating to the next warning level, or adding them to WP:AIV. So, a series of malicious edits, corresponding warnings, and WP:AIV could take place over a few minutes.