Talk:IP Editing: Privacy Enhancement and Abuse Mitigation

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Move request[edit]

This page should be moved to Access to temporary account IP addresses/FAQ as this is a subpage. Thingofme (talk) 02:56, 1 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hey @JrandWP, thanks for coming to us with your idea! I'm replying after long months because apparently, no one noticed your comment until I started cleaning up the pages related to the project. That's also why I've taken the liberty to move it to the main talk page.
I'll consider renaming the page. However, I'm not sure on what wiki it should ideally live. You see, the policy itself is on the Foundation Governance wiki. So the FAQ should either be together with all Temporary Accounts project pages (wherever they are) or on Foundation Governance. Both options have downsides.
I'll think about it. Thanks! SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 14:01, 11 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As the username of the temporary account is start from ~, this task should be renamed to “Inform username accounts prefixed with "~"” if the plan of renaming all accounts start from ~ still exist. 132.234.229.68 02:13, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! Thanks for bringing this up. We haven't changed this because we're not 100% sure what the prefix will finally be, whether it would be a ~, or ~2, or perhaps even ~20. We'll start announcing this months before making the changes on wikis. It seems that the first deployments will happen in April, May, or even a bit later (there's a delay compared to the dates shared in the latest update.) SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 13:23, 23 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It seems that the first deployments will happen in April, May, or even a bit later First I've heard of this. Where else has this been shared, and what's causing the delay (insofar as you can disclose)? Nardog (talk) 12:26, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hey @Nardog. You're totally right to be hearing this first time, because it's the only time anyone has wrote exactly this so far :D
The only source is a hint in the latest update. Specifically, the sentences: "This change to the structure may have an effect on the timeline of this project. We will have more updates to share as we develop a roadmap for the new team." The word "may" is used there because when we were drafting that, we didn't know what changes would happen, but we knew there may be some. Now we know that there will be some delay indeed. When we agree on a new roadmap with specific timelines for different projects, we'll post a new update.
Thanks! SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 16:10, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I get that any future date is subject to change. I also know the Earth is round. I asked specifically what the changes you now know will happen that are causing the delay are. If you can't divulge that then that's fine, say so, but frankly if what you've written is all you can say I wish you hadn't said anything because it's just condescending. Nardog (talk) 16:46, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry to read that. I didn't want my comment to feel condescending. We're discussing the new roadmap, and I don't have anything specific to share yet. SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 17:20, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@SGrabarczuk (WMF): I would suggest that the prefix should still remain ~. If you set the prefix to ~2, there will be a problem when it approach to year 3000 (though there is still a long time) or year 2100 if using ~20 as the prefix. 132.234.228.96 03:15, 27 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hi @SGrabarczuk (WMF): What is the current plan of renaming those users? Are all users with prefix ~ will be renamed or just some of them will be renamed? And also what is the target names (or the target prefix) those users will be renamed to? 132.234.228.16 04:12, 2 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, we finally have an answer to this question :) We've agreed to rename only those whose usernames begin with ~2. Last time we checked, there were only two such users. Timeline: before March. The relevant task on Phabricator is here: T349509. Thanks! SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 02:42, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Finding out what Wikimedia is doing to your computer[edit]

Everything has gone quiet. My "cookie settings" display currently shows:

Cookies in use
The following cookies were set when you viewed this page
>en.wikipedia.org
>wikipedia.org
Name............No cookie selected
Content.........No cookie selected
Domain..........No cookie selected
Path............No cookie selected
Send for........No cookie selected
Created.........No cookie selected
Expires.........No cookie selected
Select........................Done
About en.wikipedia.org
Connection is secure..........>
Permissions for this site...Tracking prevention OFF
Cookies (2 cookies in use).......>
Tracking prevention for this site (Balanced)
Trackers (0 blocked).............>No trackers were blocked on this site

If this crazy scheme gets off the ground, how will the display change? Immediately after editing the unregistered editor clears the surveillance cookie (see the discussion at en:User talk:Risker#IP Block Exemption). She then edits again. Will the cookie be added back? If it is, that's what I would call online harassment. 62.140.210.130 16:42, 26 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Will the cookie be added back? No. It can't be. Nobody knows what that cookie said, so they can't put the same one back. WhatamIdoing (talk) 22:46, 23 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Header improvements[edit]

I started playing around with the header to fix a couple of things that seemed like they might've been bugs. Then I continued to make some improvements, with a vague game plan of where I wanted to go with it, but in the end I didn't have the time to go on, and had to abandon it halfway there. Maybe there's some useful stuff there, maybe not. If you want to have a look, it's in Template:IP Editing: Privacy Enhancement and Abuse Mitigation/header2/sandbox. Thanks. Mathglot (talk) 09:43, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks @Mathglot! I appreciate your ideas. Just wanted to clarify one thing - why I have introduced the label "Legal". Currently, it's linked with the legal policy FAQ; that's not flawless, I take your point. Because the policy itself lives on a different wiki, the policy FAQ seems to be the main legal-related page here on Meta-Wiki. Perhaps this label should be linked to the legal updates instead... I'll think about it. Anyway, I wanted to make a strong indication that the background for this project is of legal nature. There is a set of legal-related pages, so there should be a label "Legal".
Also this page will become the main FAQ about the project, esp. when it's expanded. (I may decide to transclude the legal FAQ into it.)
What do you think about this? Thanks, SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 20:42, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, you nailed the exact point I was mulling over, namely how to deal with the labels Legal and FAQ while trying to decide on a path forward, and realized it wouldn't make sense for me to pick one path over the other, not having been involved heretofore, thus missing the backstory, and likely future considerations. What you say about legal makes sense, and reminds me of how en-wiki does it wrt some "policies with legal considerations" (and I guess, all xx-wikis do, because it derives from terms of use related to legal issues), and I've always thought at en-wiki there isn't sufficient separation or tagging of policies with legal implications. A favorite peeve of mine, for example: you *must* provide copy or translate attribution in the edit summary because it's in ToU § 7; that's non-negotiable wrt consensus, Rfc, ArbCom, IAR, or anything else. But by the time you get to the policy pages, it kinda looks like any other policy that maybe you can skirt or ignore in extreme circumstances. Anyway, end-rant about my pet peeve...
It's validating that you mentioned the FAQ/Legal thing, because that's exactly where I was. If I were to make one further change, it would probably be a hidden comment, separating the second-line labels that appear sometimes in smaller font below some of the major tabs, when they are active. Remind me later about your FAQ question, maybe I'll have time to look at it when it becomes germane. Keep up the good work! Mathglot (talk) 02:32, 13 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

IP viewing abilities cross-wiki?[edit]

I have a question (and I apologize in advance if this has already been answered) regarding cross-wiki permissions to view IP addresses of editors instead of their mask account. If (for example) I'm an administrator and CU on the English Wikipedia, and I need to investigate potential cross-wiki abuse by an LTA that appears to have spilled over to the Wikimedia Commons, would I also see IP addresses instead of mask accounts there, or would I have to have certain user rights or request this access? I know that I would be able to see full IP information on en-wiki, but would I also have this ability on other project pages?

If the answer is 'no', then I have concerns that this may cause issues in regards to abuse patrollers and investigators being able to fully perform their duties out of the gate (especially when this something they could do before this project is deployed). I believe that restricting the ability to view full IP information in place of mask accounts on a per-project level will add unnecessary red tape and create a request process that users may find frustrating to get through. I'd have to request this access on each project site that I'd be potentially tracking cross-wiki abuse over. An idea would be to give Stewards the ability to grant this permission to an account globally. If anything, it'll cut down on the need to make multiple requests on other projects.

If I'm incorrect with any assumptions I made, or if anyone else has any kind of input regarding what I've talked about above, please pull up a chair and add your thoughts and any ideas. :-) Thanks in advance to anyone who responds or adds to this discussion. ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 23:15, 20 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Adding myself, and subscribing. Mathglot (talk) 07:19, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
+1. @SGrabarczuk (WMF): FYI. — Jules* talk 11:00, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
For reference, a previous discussion on the same subject: Talk:IP_Editing:_Privacy_Enhancement_and_Abuse_Mitigation/Archives/2023-06#What about cross-wiki investigations? (@Oshwah, Mathglot). — Jules* talk 21:46, 23 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Jules* - Thank you for linking us to this discussion. :-) ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 23:36, 25 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Any update soon?[edit]

Hello @SGrabarczuk (WMF) and NKohli (WMF): I hope you are doing well!

There has been no update since September 2023 on IP Editing: Privacy Enhancement and Abuse Mitigation/Updates. Will there be an update soon? Is the deployment for first pilote wikis still scheduled for April/May 2024, as said on IP Editing: Privacy Enhancement and Abuse Mitigation#Timeline? Not much info on phab:T348895 and phab:T340001 (not updated for a while).

Is there any news regarding the request for a tool that allows editors with IP Address Reveal right to see all temporary accounts who used an IP adress (in the previous 3 months)? See these comments + this discussion (ping @WhatamIdoing: with whom I discussed that when she was working for the WMF Community Relations team).

Best regards, — Jules* talk 21:44, 23 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hey @Jules*. Thanks for your comment. Right now, I can't answer your second question (I don't know the answer) but regarding the first one, this is what could be an official project update but isn't because I didn't want to post a "placeholder update":
  • After the team was merged, we focused on internal topics, also needed some time to adapt to this new setting. So we worked on temp accounts more slowly.
  • In the meantime, some stewards were worried that we'd stick to months as deadlines and introduce changes without first making sure that all essential tools work. So we (1) started to talk to stewards more frequently, giving them answers from both P&T and Legal, (2) decided to define "milestones" instead of months.
  • About the milestones: we prepared a long list of tasks that need to be done before any deployment, including updates to documentation (see the expanded FAQ, I'm also considering moving the pages to Temporary Accounts or mw:Temporary Accounts to make things simpler - what do you think?), engineering work, coordination with other WMF teams, updates to different extensions and their documentation, introducing new tools like Global User Contributions, etc.
  • This list was done just about two weeks ago, and we haven't published it on Phabricator yet. When we publish it, you'll see how close to pilot wiki deployments we are. I think we're still quite far, because we don't know how many things will need to be fixed after deployment on testwiki. It's difficult to predict.
I hope to post a more insightful update with links to new things soon. The milestones look like an obvious candidate. SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 15:45, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much for this, let's call it unofficial update, @SGrabarczuk (WMF).
Moving pages to Temporary Accounts seems a good idea to me. — Jules* talk 16:08, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

When is the exact date and time of the deployment of temporary account in testwiki?[edit]

In the section of timeline, I see that temporary accounts will be deployed in testwiki in this month, but as of now, IP address is still being shown in testwiki. This makes me want to know when will the temporary account be deployed in testwiki and when phab:T349507 will be completed. 132.234.228.106 08:15, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

additional question: when will tempaccounts will be deployed to test2wiki? TenWhile6 (talk | SWMT) 09:15, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
per answer above I don't think it's likely to happen soon. Johannnes89 (talk) 09:37, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, what Johannnes89 says. I'm not aware of any plan for deploying temp accounts on test2. We need to use testwiki to test temporary accounts on a production cluster wiki.
Regarding phab:T349507, we can do that any time now, for example next week, because it needs to happen some time before the test wiki deployment - a day or a month before. I'm not pointing at any particular date because this rename affects only two users, and none of them are active now. One of them has never edited (it's an account with 0 edits globally) and the other one edited only one day in 2020. SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 16:00, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]