:Wikipedia talk:Bot policy

Hi! I have nominated myself for BAG membership. Your comments would be appreciated on the nomination page. Thanks! – DreamRimmer (talk) 14:04, 18 January 2025 (UTC)

Special:Contributions/Ptrnext, possibly undisclosed contracted editing. Looking at their edits on 17 February 2025, it's not realistically humanly possible to make these sorts of edits across nine articles within one minute. Is this something that should be considered a bot like editing? If so, is there something that should be done about it and where should I raise this potential issue? Graywalls (talk) 23:10, 23 February 2025 (UTC)

:I will quite often open up multiple pages in multiple tabs, make the same or similar edits to all of them sequentially, and then save all of them sequentially. Am I surprised that they are making as detailed of edits across that many pages? Slightly. Do I think they are using a script? Unlikely. I don't see any obvious connection between the handful of articles I looked at that they edited. I guess at the end of the day I'll shrug and say that if it bothers you, it might be worth leaving them a note to slow down a little, but given it only happened once or twice it's not really worth getting too worked up over. Primefac (talk) 01:10, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

::{{re|Primefac}}, thanks for your response. If it was just once, it wouldn't have me wondering. It's a pattern. For example, 11 edits, spread across 11 articles on 8 February 2025, or 11 edits in one minute, which seems only possible with scripted semi automation. I think with all the AI issues going around, I'm just attentive to it. Graywalls (talk) 06:14, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

:::Fair enough. There's no harm in asking them why they're doing what they're doing, and if they could consider slowing down. Primefac (talk) 12:05, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

I have made a script that helps me detect when an article needs attention (specifically, for template swap and citations). It runs by getting a URL, checking the links in the URL for a specific issue, and then outputting links in need of attention. The script does not modify the page's content, nor open it in my browser. However, it does give me text to copy-paste into the article in order to swap templates or add citation. When using the script, I will open a lot of tabs, make edits to each one and then submit all edits more or less simultaneously (alt+tab and submit very fast). Do I need permission to operate such a script? or should I just treat each detected page individually without doing many at the same time? (treating them individually will take me a significant amount of extra time) NorthernWinds (talk) 16:14, 27 May 2025 (UTC)

:Assuming that you are double checking the script's output, sounds like WP:SEMIAUTOMATED editing to me. This isn't regulated as strictly as fully automated editing (bots), but care should still be taken. Please read over that page and let us know if you still have questions. –Novem Linguae (talk) 18:46, 27 May 2025 (UTC)

::I have reviewed the policy prior to asking. My main concern is getting flagged due to too many edits. I have used this method of mass-submitting in the past, but back then it did not involve any script. NorthernWinds (talk) 07:14, 28 May 2025 (UTC)

:::So long as you actually review your edits and don't forget to use your brain, i.e. don't behave like a mindless bot, you should be fine. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 07:41, 28 May 2025 (UTC)

::::Agreed. I would also suggest maybe slowing down with the alt-tabbing (from like... rapid fire to a more leisurely pace), but if no one is saying anything, I guess you're probably okay for the time being. Primefac (talk) 09:05, 28 May 2025 (UTC)

:::::Thank you @Headbomb and @Primefac, I will be slower with the edits. NorthernWinds (talk) 10:29, 28 May 2025 (UTC)

If I were to create a bot, but it only edited under my userspace (say, for testing purposes) without having been approved, would that be a violation of the policy, or can I test a bot like this? Element10101 T ~ C 16:54, 31 May 2025 (UTC)

:{{ping|Element10101}} See WP:BOTUSERSPACE. I.e. it's fine. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 17:00, 31 May 2025 (UTC)

::Ok, thanks! Element10101 T ~ C 19:09, 31 May 2025 (UTC)