User:AntiVandalBot/FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
This page attempts to answer common questions about Tawkerbot2, the user who commonly reverts pages for suspected vandalism. This FAQ doesn't include everything. If you have any further questions, please leave a message at Tawkerbot2's talk page.

Note to advanced wiki editors: Please keep this page simple for new users. Tawkerbot2's user page has more information.

What is Tawkerbot2?

Tawkerbot2 is an automated computer program, or bot (short for robot), which performs boring but similar tasks. Think of it as a virtual industrial robot. Its purpose is to watch for and revert edits that are suspected of being vandalism.

It is not a human editor and can't reply to messages by itself. In the general vernacular, you may see the bot referred to as "Tawkbot", "Tawkbot2" or just "TB2".

What is vandalism?

Vandalism on Wikipedia essentially entails someone making an edit that deliberately makes Wikipedia worse. See Wikipedia:Vandalism for the full rundown.

Does Tawkerbot2 make mistakes?

Tawkerbot2 is not infallible; however, the accuracy rate is estimated to be 98%.

If it makes mistakes, why do you still run it?

Wikipedia is a very popular website that records tens of edits per second and hundreds or thousands of edits per minute. There just aren't enough people to check every one of those edits and still contribute themselves to the encyclopedia. Therefore, Tawkerbot2 is a technical aid that allows editors to spend more time improving articles and less time fixing vandalism.

What should I do if I've been warned for a good edit I made?

If you were warned for what you think is a good contribution, you can leave a message on the bot's talk page with the name of the page it reverted and the bot's owner(s) will look into it.

What should I do if I've been warned for an edit I KNOW I didn't make?

If you are warned for doing something you know you didn't do, it likely means that many people share your IP address. Simply registering an account is the easiest way of ensuring that you are only contacted about the edits YOU make.

Can Tawkerbot2 block me?

No, the user account "tawkerbot2" is not an administrator — it CANNOT enact user or IP blocks. However, you might be blocked by Tawker who is an administrator - Tawker is a human, Tawkerbot2 is not!

You may also be blocked by another administrator who is watching Tawkerbot2's contribution.

I'm upset about Tawkerbot2's warning, where can I get satisfaction?

If it was a legitimate edit, please leave a civil message and we'll work to prevent this from happening again. Accept our apologies for the mistakes Tawkerbot2 makes, we appreciate your positive contributions. If it really was vandalism, then you aren't going to get much satisfaction here!

Can I remove the incorrect warnings?

If you were warned about an edit you made and you honestly feel it was a legitimate change, feel free to remove the "warning". If the warning concerns an edit you didn't make, leave it. That way the person responsible might see it.

For which edit did I get this warning?

The bot should tell you the name of the article in its message; you will need to check the article's history to see the exact edit.

I was reverting someone else's vandalism, and Tawkerbot2 reverted me(!)

There are several possible reasons why this could happen. As each revert is unique, you'd have to contact one of the bot's owners for an explanation. If it genuinely was a reversion to a vandalized version, feel free to revert it back. The Wikipedia:Three-revert rule explicitly does not apply to reverting vandalism.

Do I have to report mistakes?

No. Many users are surprised to receive a warning and want to tell us about it, and we use that information to improve Tawkerbot2's performance. However, if this page has answered your questions about the warning you received, please feel free to move forward and do some more editing without contacting us.