Protect Your Wikipedia Page Against Vandalism

Wikipedia is an excellent resource for information, which is why it is known as the online encyclopedia. Editing Wikipedia is free; anyone can edit a Wikipedia page as long as they are not blocked.

However, being an open platform like that exposes it to higher risks of vandalism and other negative risks. And one way Wikipedia deals with negative content is by deleting them, meaning your page can be deleted without you making any mistakes.

Therefore, how do you ensure your page is not vandalized or deleted?

How to ensure your page is not vandalized or deleted

Administrators are tasked with protecting pages that might be under vandalism to prevent any form of vandalism. But first, how do you know your page is probably facing vandalism?

Noticing changes on your Wikipedia page is the only way to detect potential vandalism. In fact, recent changes to a Wikipedia page are listed on the Special: Recent changes page, while all changes are registered in the page history. Therefore, obvious defacement can automatically be reversed by robots.

And so, the first step to protecting your page is to add it to your personal watchlist to track all changes conveniently.

Besides this option, you can also protect your page for some time by adding it to Protected Pages. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to do so:

Steps on how to protect your page against vandalism

 Step 1: Start by going to that article you would like to add to the protected pages

Step 2: At the top of that article's page, you will see where it says "Protect," click it.

Step 3: A new page will open, and on this page, you will see several option boxes to conform to your protection: Edit, Move, and Pending changes.

However, by default, in some instances, the "Edit" is the only option available; this is because most pages do only require this option. But if you need any other protection, you can check the 'Unlock further protect options' box to unlock move or pending pages protection.

Step 4: In the edit box section, you will notice that the "Allow all users" option is already checked. And so, there will be two other options remaining, which are:

a.      To Fully Protect the page: Check the "Allow only administrators" option

b.     Semi-protect the page: Check the "Allow only autoconfirmed users" option

Step 5: On the dropdown menu titled "Expires," located at the bottom of the edit box. choose your proposed protection duration on this page since the default setting is "infinite." And so, for example, you can set a 1-day (24 hours) duration time for your protection.  

Step 6: Still on the same page, you will have to explain why you are requesting page protection. To do this, scroll down until you see "Reason."

You will note that there are already common reasons pre-phrased for you. So, if any of the listed meets your needs, choose one. However, if you have another reason or want to write down your reason by yourself, you can do that through the "Other/additional reason."

Step 7: Now press confirms button for your page to be protected.

Step 8: Don't forget to add the {{pp-protected}} to the top of the page. This is important as it shows the page has been semi-protected. 

Step 9: Press the "Save page" button, and now your page is semi-protected

Can you unprotect a protected page?

Yes, just like you can protect your page, you can also unprotect it. This is a pretty straightforward step as well. All you need to do is head to the article you wish to unprotect. At the top of that page, you will note where it says "Change protection." Click on it and follow a similar process to the one used to protect your page.

You can check out Wikipedia: Administrators' guide/Protecting for a full step-by-step guide for this process,

What are the processes for deletion on Wikipedia?

Here is an overview of several processes that Wikipedia uses for the deletion of articles:

a)     Speedy deletions

This is a process that Wikipedia employs to delete articles that don't meet Wikipedia's standards immediately.

Examples of articles that qualify for speedy deletion include:

·        Spammy articles

·        Articles that are blatantly advertising

·        Redundant articles

·        Articles that are not valid encyclopedia type of article

·        Copyright infringing articles

b)     Proposed deletions

Articles that fall under this category of deletion are the ones that have been proposed for deletions and do not meet speedy deletion requirements.

In fact, on Wikipedia, anyone can propose an article to be deleted. However, the creator of that specific article has the final say on whether or not the article should be removed. 

c)     Discussed deletions

Wikipedia has a 'deletion log,' a public list comprising all articles proposed for deletion.

And this process involves articles that are usually listed in a log, which means they have to be discussed on whether or not to be deleted. Anyone can access this log, and anyone can also contribute to the discussion.