Page MenuHomePhabricator

Lost edits / overwrite due to concurrent editing
Open, Needs TriagePublicBUG REPORT

Description

Steps to replicate the issue (include links if applicable):

What happens?: There are unintentional overwrites due to concurrent editing on high-traffic articles. I observed multiple cases where edits are silently undone when two editors saved around the same time, without getting a clear edit-conflict warning.

Usually when there's an edit conflict, the site occasionally informs you there is one. But other times, it doesn't inform you and your edit simply override/revert the previous editor's edits.

What should have happened instead?:
When you edit an article, it should be able to detect any edit conflict and inform the user flawlessly. It should obviously not let you undo other people's work if that is not even your intention. An improved warning system may help resolve.

Software version (on Special:Version page; skip for WMF-hosted wikis like Wikipedia):

Other information (browser name/version, screenshots, etc.):I am using Chrome browser on Android phone. Another user who reported the same issue, stated they had used IOS Apple phone app.

Event Timeline

I know nothing about how Wikimedia works internally, so I don't know if this would be viable, but maybe something like how Google Docs handles multiple concurrent editors? Here's a link I found.