Log actions should support bot flag (e.g. to hide from Special:RecentChanges)
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	• MZMcBride
	Dec 27 2008, 10:07 PM

Description

When making an edit via the API, edits can be marked as bot edits. This corresponds to the rc_bot field in the recentchanges table, so that users can filter out bot edits in Recent Changes. Logged actions, like deleting or protecting a page, or changing user rights, however, cannot be marked as bot actions explicitly.

Users can filter out most bot edits in Recent Changes, because the Recent Changes UI can filter logged actions made by accounts which have the Bot user group, but cannot filter out bot edits by accounts which do not currently have that group. Sometimes automated contributions are made in a way that warrants using the Bot flag, but are not made from an account with the bot user group.

The other problem this would solve is in Special:Log, where information about the bot status of the logged user is not accessible.

We would like for log actions to be able to be marked as Bot edits (T21322), and the first step is to enable each of the possible log actions to be made with a 'bot' designation, as with edits. This includes:

Deletion
Protection
User rights change
Blocks
Patrol
...

Details

Reference: bz16816

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Status	Assigned	Task
Open	None	T120764 Improve Special:Log
Open	None	T21322 Special:Log needs a way to show only activity from humans (Hide bots)
Open	None	T18816 Log actions should support bot flag (e.g. to hide from Special:RecentChanges)

Event Timeline

• bzimport raised the priority of this task from to Medium.Nov 21 2014, 10:25 PM

• bzimport added a project: MediaWiki-Recent-changes.

• bzimport set Reference to bz16816.

• bzimport added a subscriber: Unknown Object (MLST).

• MZMcBride created this task.Dec 27 2008, 10:07 PM

mike.lifeguard+bugs wrote:

(In reply to comment #0)

It should be possible to mark actions like delete and protect as bot (to avoid
clogging RecentChanges) if a user has the 'markbotedit' right. This is probably
custom enough that it needs to only be implemented in the API.

Why would it be the markbotedit right as opposed to the bot right? Not sure whether both would make more sense, but certainly bots making these actions should be hidden, if that's not already the case.

(In reply to comment #1)

(In reply to comment #0)

It should be possible to mark actions like delete and protect as bot (to avoid
clogging RecentChanges) if a user has the 'markbotedit' right. This is probably
custom enough that it needs to only be implemented in the API.

Why would it be the markbotedit right as opposed to the bot right? Not sure
whether both would make more sense, but certainly bots making these actions
should be hidden, if that's not already the case.

Yeah, any action performed by a bot, both edits and entries made to Special:Log are hidden from recent changes.

Using both the normal UI and the API, logged entries seem to be getting the bot flag when done by a flagged bot (a user with the "bot" right).

I didn't test everything (tested delete, undelete, protect through normal UI; delete, move through API), if something isn't checking for the bot flag, this can be reopened.

I don't think this should be expanded to the "markbotedit" right, as that's currently just used to hide mass rollbacks by admins.

Reopening. The goal here is to be able to mark actions as bot without being in the bot group. Ideally, this would be implemented into the API first and then subsequently implemented in the interface later (sort of like 'move without redirect'). Probably would be best to have a new right "markbotaction".

(In reply to comment #4)

Ideally, this would be implemented into the API first and then
subsequently implemented in the interface later (sort of like 'move without
redirect'). Probably would be best to have a new right "markbotaction".

It should be implemented in the *backend* first. When that's done, it's quite simple to update the API and UI to pass a $markBot parameter to the backend function and add a parameter (API) or checkbox (UI) to toggle it.

Through my work with the write API I've become familiar with some of the backend functions concerned, but I've got better things (i.e. API stuff) to do at the moment. I'll take this if no one else does, but the API has a higher priority for me, so it might take me a while to get to it. In the meantime, it would of course be nice if someone else took this bug.

Changed component to "RecentChanges"