Page MenuHomePhabricator

Allow users to be blocked from creating a specific page (e.g. FIFA World Cup 3034) (aka redlink blocking)
Closed, DeclinedPublic

Description

As part of T190350: Epic: ⚡️ Partial blocks we plan to build in an option for T199918: Allow a user to be blocked from creating pages only which blocks a user from creating any page in all namespaces. There could be a case for a user to be blocked from just creating a few specific pages.

Examples:

  • A user keeps creating self-promotional articles for themselves, their business, or their garage band
  • A user is topic banned/blocked from a topic where new pages are commonly created (e.g. annual sports events, etc.)

In T2674: Allow users to be blocked from editing a specific article or all articles inside a namespace we are planning to store the pages by pageID to allow for page renames (e.g. a user should still be blocked from 'Hello World (album)' if it is renamed 'Hello World (FooBar Fighters album)'). This also solves for most cases of page deletions.


Requirements
  • In the Special:Block interface, an admin can specify non-existent pages (never created or deleted) to block a user from.
  • The blocked user should not be able to create that page.
  • If the page is created by another user, the blocked user should not be able to edit that page.

Event Timeline

@TBolliger Do we have any idea how many admins are looking for this feature?

It was recently raised on Meta: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Community_health_initiative/Per-user_page,_namespace,_and_upload_blocking#Allow_admins_to_block_non_existing_pages

This will require us to store pagenames, not just page IDs. This may be an insurmountable blocker for database reasons.

This may be an insurmountable blocker for database reasons.

Nothing is insurmountable.

I love your optimism. :)

Let me rephrase: "The prioritization of this task will rely on the technical estimation. If this requires significant database changes (including proposing schema changes, RFCs, and other planning work) it may be declined due to other Anti-Harassment team commitments."

TBolliger renamed this task from Allow users to be blocked from creating a specific page (e.g. redlink blocking) to Allow users to be blocked from creating a specific page (e.g. FIFA World Cup 3034) (aka redlink blocking).Aug 17 2018, 7:12 PM

@TBolliger If you wanna do this anytime in the near future, we should probably make some changes to T197144 now (imho), or we can change the schema later, up to you and @aezell. :)

Unless the effort required to add this is extremely low we can hold off. We're very unlikely to build this, given other projects.

Unless the effort required to add this is extremely low we can hold off. We're very unlikely to build this, given other projects.

The effort is really low, but it does open up the schema changes to a new discussion that might take time. :/

Then it's a no. Maybe later, if partial blocks are a roaring success and this is a much clamored-for feature. (which seems unlikely)

I can also think of a handful of workarounds:

  1. Leave the page created, block the user, then delete the page
  2. Create the page, block the user, then delete the page
  3. Create the page as a redirect, then block the user
  4. Create a stub article, then block the user
  1. Leave the page created, block the user, then delete the page
  2. Create the page, block the user, then delete the page
  3. Create the page as a redirect, then block the user
  4. Create a stub article, then block the user

1 and 2 will not work since when a page is deleted, it is completely removed from the database (id and all). It would prevent the user from restoring the page (if they have permission), but not from re-creating the page with the same title (which generates a new id).

Though, those issues might be fixed for us when T196950 is completed.

3 and 4 should work just fine. :)

I think salting (creation protection) or social solutions already work pretty well in the situations described in this task; seems like this would get limited use.

Niharika added a project: MediaWiki-Blocks.
Niharika subscribed.

I think salting (creation protection) or social solutions already work pretty well in the situations described in this task; seems like this would get limited use.

Given Joe's comment and the previous discussion here, I am going to decline this task.

Just want to ask, if you create a page, and ban user to edit the page and then delete the page, so is the ban still valid? If so, then this can be done as a solution.

Hmm, why was this reopened? Please keep its status intact - thanks a lot.