Wikipedia:Bots/Noticeboard

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The following bot can be deflagged as neither it nor its operator (Σ) has edited in two years.

• User:lowercase sigmabot

* Pppery * _{it has begun...} 16:32, 22 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Notification left, though for the record you're also perfectly able to add them yourself. Primefac (talk) 22:19, 22 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is it time to deflag now? * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 00:13, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sure. Primefac (talk) 01:02, 2 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:List of Wikipedians by number of edits/Unflagged bots updated. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 07:00, 2 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A few days ago, I saw option for thanking bots. At first I thought it was a glitch/fluke of some kind. But the option is still there as of today. Is this some desired or undesired change? —usernamekiran (talk) 17:09, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Desired. m:Requests for comment/Allow thanking bots * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 17:37, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The bot has not tagged any requested moves since yesterday. Is anyone able to investigate? Raladic (talk) 23:09, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like an attempt was already made to inform the botop at User talk:RMCD bot#Bot stuck/not running for requested moves? and User talk:Wbm1058#Bot frozen?, which is good. Ping @Wbm1058. –Novem Linguae (talk) 23:21, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It happened before two or three years ago when Wbm1058 went off the grid for a couple of days, and his home suffered a power outage at the same time, where the bot was running from. I remember suggesting to Wbm to use toolsforge to run the bot, and he tried (I think). I am not sure where the bot is currently running on currently. A side question to @Primefac, can there be a limited (in time) approval for another bot to take over the work temporarily until Wbm returns. The scope of the edits will be the same as RMCD_bot's work. I volunteer myself if so. The source code is available at User:RMCD bot/requestedmoves.php and it was last updated 100 days ago. I had just used it to generate the listing at WP:RMC and it seems to be working fine. – robertsky (talk) 03:23, 17 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sure, ping me when you file the BRFA and I'll see about getting pushed through. Primefac (talk) 12:23, 17 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

With the sad passing of JamesR mentioned at Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard#JamesR, plans may need to be discussed to change maintainers for his two bots, HBC AIV helperbot5 and AdminStatsBot. Thoughts? –Novem Linguae (talk) 09:04, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

• Per Special:PermaLink/1235239503 at WP:BN the operator of User:HBC AIV helperbot5 and User:AdminStatsBot has died. These bots have been deactivated as they would be running without control. Interested operators may look in to using a different bot to take over those functions. — xaosflux ^Talk 09:50, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  Was blocking quickly necessary? Sounds like they were not malfunctioning. This kind of compresses the timetable for getting them replaced from leisurely to urgent. –Novem Linguae (talk) 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  Agreed; we should have left them running until they stopped working as intended or a replacement was found. Clearly they were still running properly at the time of blockage, which was after the time of death of the operator. Too little too late now... Primefac (talk) 10:29, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  Well, then it's time for admins to start clerking blocked users at AIV and UAA if HBC AIV helperbot5 stays blocked. Nobody (talk) 10:32, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  These bots were publishing revisions under CC-BY-SA, however as the actual person who would own the copyright to those revisions has deceased, they are no longer eligible to issue such licenses. — xaosflux ^Talk 12:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  In my opinion, these bots could have continued to run as it was, publishing revisions under CC BY-SA, until it is stopped for one reason or another as a result of an action (the bot programming to be looped indefinitely) and intent (explicitly instructions in the program to publish under the T&Cs of Wikipedia) by the the operator to publish as so as when they were alive. Now that the bots' operations have be interrupted, a continuance would be ill-advised unless a bot operator takes up the mantle. – robertsky (talk) 13:20, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  This...is not correct at all. Machine created works are not eligible for copyright protection (currently, see debates over LLM-created works). There is no mechanism in which I, as a bot operator, am constantly giving my approval under the CC licenses just by virtue of being alive. Or: there are plenty of plausible reasons to block accounts controlled by someone who is sadly deceased, copyright is not one of them. Legoktm (talk) 13:51, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  Should we unblock HBC AIV helperbot5? It appears to be the bot clerk for important pages such as WP:AIV and WP:UAA, and it is unclear how long it would take to spin up a replacement. –Novem Linguae (talk) 14:28, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  The LLM debates have little bearing on this situation. Unlike LLMs, the inputs are known; the process to transform the data is known or can be deduced; the outputs are known. – robertsky (talk) 14:36, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I am interested in taking over AdminStatsBot functionality. – robertsky (talk) 09:57, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]