User:MediationBot1/Old Documentation

The following documentation is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent updates will be made to the current documentation, at User:MediationBot1. No further edits should be made to this page.

Notifications

Phase 1.0

MediationBot has the capacity to do mass notifications; this functionality is used primarily for notifying all Committee members of announcements via their talk page. It can also be used for notifying all parties to large cases where necessary. This function is ancillary to the primary case-management tasks.

Opening cases

Phase 2.0

MediationBot's first task is opening cases on Requests for mediation. At regular intervals, the bot scans all pages listed on the pending case list for {{Accepted case}}. When the template is found, MediationBot does the following:

1. Removes the case's listing (cases are transcluded) from Wikipedia:Requests_for_mediation/Pending.
2. Changes the category from Category:Mediation Committee pending cases to Category:Mediation Committee current cases.
3. Adds an entry to the open tasks list in the "Unassigned" section.
4. Notifies all listed parties of the acceptance.

This portion of the code runs at 15 minutes past the hour every four hours: 0:15, 4:15, 8:15, 12:15, 16:15, & 20:15 UTC.

Pending case listings

Phase 2.5

MediationBot watches Category:Mediation Committee pending cases for any case that isn't listed on Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Pending; cases created with the inputbox on RfM are automatically added to the category. Due to incorrect listings, which break the other functions of MediationBot, parties are no longer to list cases on the pending page themselves; MediationBot will do all listings automatically.

This phase of the code runs every 15 minutes, at 5, 20, 35, & 50 minutes after the hour, to decrease the load from all the other bots that run at 0 and 30 minutes.

Committee nomination listings

Phase 2.65

MediationBot watches Category:Mediation Committee Nominations/Pending for any nomination that isn't listed on Wikipedia:Mediation Committee/Current Nominations; nominations created with the inputbox on the Committee page are automatically added to the category. Due to incorrect listings, which break the other functions of MediationBot, parties are no longer to list cases on the pending page themselves; MediationBot will do all listings automatically.

This phase of the code runs at the same time as the Phase 2.5 code.

Talk page archival

Phase 2.75

MediationBot automatically archives Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation and Wikipedia talk:Mediation Committee; any section where the last timestamp is older than 7 days is automatically archived. Archiving takes place automatically at 00:15 UTC each day. Many thanks go to Misza13 for writing the code for this section.

Closing rejected cases

Phase 3.0

In the same manner that MediationBot opens cases on Requests for mediation, it can also close rejected cases. At regular intervals, the bot scans all pages listed on the pending case list for {{Rejected case}}. When the template is found, MediationBot does the following:

1. Removes the case's listing (cases are transcluded) from Wikipedia:Requests_for_mediation/Pending.
2. Changes the category from Category:Mediation Committee pending cases to Category:Mediation Committee rejected cases.
3. Adds an entry to the rejected case list.
4. Notifies all listed parties of the rejection.
5. Subst:'s the contents of the case page into the current rejected case archive.

As the contents of the case page has been subst:'d into the archive at the time the bot runs, the pages can be deleted in order to keep the subspace of RfM clean. Such pages are generally deleted after seven days, giving the parties ample time to view any comments on the page without the need to check the archives. An administrator (usually the Chair) handles the deletions: MediationBot does not have delete capability.

This portion of the code runs at 15 minutes past the hour every four hours: 0:15, 4:15, 8:15, 12:15, 16:15, & 20:15 UTC.

Additional tasks

Additional functionality may be added to the bot as determined by the Committee; envisioned future uses include automatic notification to all parties when a case's status changes (assigned/closed/reopened/etc.), automatic closing/archiving of stale cases, and automatic archival/delisting/party notification for rejected cases.

Cold case closure

Phase 4.0

MediationBot will scan Category:Mediation Committee current cases to determine potential "cold cases." Where a case hasn't had any edit to it within two weeks, it will notify the Chairman and the parties that it believes the case to be inactive, and request a status update via a subst:'d notice. It will also mark the page with {{Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Potential Cold Case}}, which will include the case in Category:Mediation Committee potential cold cases.

The bot will also scan Category:Mediation Committee potential cold cases, and will archive as stale any case that has been in the category for more than two weeks. It will add {{Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Closed|16:37, 17 July 2006 (UTC)|as stale}} to the top of the page, and remove it from all categories. The page will then be listed in the current archive.

Any case that is closed and archived as stale will have the parties and the Committee Chair notified of the closure.

Estimated time of arrival: As time permits.

Credits

The Mediation Committee expresses sincere thanks to Tangotango and Misza13 for their work in bringing MediationBot online.

Tangotango is responsible first and foremost for coding the case management functions to the Committee's specifications. Additionally, Tangotango has assisted in prepping the bot framework, and continues to help with developing new fuctions.

Misza13 is responsible for helping to setup the pywikipedia bot framework and for providing the mass-notification coding.

Additional thanks to Pgk for helping with necessary setup tasks.

Status

• Phases 1.0, 2.0, 2.5, 2.75, and 3.0 are complete; Phase 4.0 is in the development stage, and ideas are being considered for other tasks/phases. Essjay (Talk) 19:25, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
• After Essjay's departure from Wikipedia, the bot was moved to a new account (User:MediationBot1). Martinp23 18:43, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
• MediationBot is currently undergoing a re-write. The end product should be a more productive, efficient and stable resource for the Requests for Mediation page. The re-write is being undertaken between today and tomorrow. Anthøny 19:25, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

The above documentation is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent updates will be made to the current documentation, at User:MediationBot1. No further edits should be made to this page.