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193 bytes added ,  6 May 2004
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A wiki '''bot''' is a software program that interacts with a [[wiki]] as if it was a real human editor; the most common case is editing wiki pages.  It typically must be coded very specifically to a [[content management system]], e.g. [[wiki code]], so it is not usually possible to simply use a generic bot against a new wiki. For instance, a '''Mediawiki bot''' is specific to [[MediaWiki]] (and possibly [[GetWiki]]).
A wiki '''bot''' is a software program that interacts with a [[wiki]] as if it was a real human editor; the most common case is editing wiki pages.  It typically must be coded very specifically to a [[content management system]], e.g. [[wiki code]], so it is not usually possible to simply use a generic bot against a new wiki. For instance, a '''Mediawiki bot''' is specific to [[MediaWiki]] (and possibly [[GetWiki]]).
It was a Wikipedia policy at some point that bot code should be kept secret [http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2003-March/003250.html].  As of 2004, there is at least one publicly available "Wikipedia robot framework"  [http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywikipediabot/].


Harmless and approved wiki bots have been employed on [[Wikipedia]] and other [[large public wiki]]s, mainly for maintainance and data-importing tasks.  See e.g. [[w:Wikipedia:History of Wikipedia bots]].
Harmless and approved wiki bots have been employed on [[Wikipedia]] and other [[large public wiki]]s, mainly for maintainance and data-importing tasks.  See e.g. [[w:Wikipedia:History of Wikipedia bots]].
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A '''vandalbot''' is a malicious wiki bot that acts like a human [[vandal]], to [[blank]], [[revert]] or [[garble]] page titles and content.  Vandalbots may cause [[denial of service]] and heavy server load.
A '''vandalbot''' is a malicious wiki bot that acts like a human [[vandal]], to [[blank]], [[revert]] or [[garble]] page titles and content.  Vandalbots may cause [[denial of service]] and heavy server load.


Several typical vandalbot attacks were launched against [[Recyclopedia]] within a week of its launch.  These blanked pages and moved them to random titles to maximize the difficulty of undoing the damage or tracking references to those pages.
Several typical vandalbot attacks were launched against [[Recyclopedia]] (which is based on [[GetWiki]]) within a week of its launch.  These blanked pages and moved them to random titles to maximize the difficulty of undoing the damage or tracking references to those pages.


The [[Consumerium Governance Organization]] must take a strong stand against the use of vandalbots or [[crapflood]] techniques to resolve political issues.  If it is targetted by such tactics, it must be able to respond legally, politically and technologically in tandem, to stay as resilient as possible.
The [[Consumerium Governance Organization]] must take a strong stand against the use of vandalbots or [[crapflood]] techniques to resolve political issues.  If it is targetted by such tactics, it must be able to respond legally, politically and technologically in tandem, to stay as resilient as possible.
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywikipediabot/ Python Wikipedia Robot Framework], a publicly-available MediaWiki bot.
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