Forum:Protectall - A new special page

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I'm working on a new extension for Wikia (and specifically for WikiFur) that will allow admins to block various aspects of the site for some period of time - edits, moves, page creation, and uploads - for anonymous or anon+registered users. This would allow them to lock the site to changes while reverting things and allow for control of what can and cannot be done at any particular time. It would have a timeout like a block (meaning it'll turn off automatically) and will be possible to switch off manually (basically identical to a block in this regard).

Does this sound like a good idea?

Discuss. Dawg 07:18, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * It seems useful to me. Anyone else? --GreenReaper(talk) 04:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * It's sad that it's necessary, but yeah, it's sometimes needed. --Rat 04:36, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Has it been tested yet? Spirou 05:04, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Not yet, it's still in development (on a test wiki). --GreenReaper(talk) 06:23, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Sounds like a great idea to me!DuncanDaHusky(talk) 12:55, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

This is now installed. See Special:Protectsite. The permission is currently set to 'sysop' and 'staff' (you may need to logout/login to see it). Please test it, but PLEASE limit testing to as few times as possible and off-peak hours as well. This has been tested on 1.8 trunk and a copy of wikia's 1.7, but has not been tested behind the cache servers thoroughly.

Notes:
 * 1) Default access level is bureaucrat, but for most wikia this would (if used) probably be set to staff. On furry.wikia it is set to sysop due to testing and recent rash vandalism.
 * 2) Default time is 24 hours, which may be excessive. On furry.wikia it is set to 8 hours (worst case scenario: one admin available, who might need 8 hours sleep).
 * 3) It puts a log entry into Special:Log/protect when protecting or manualy unprotecting, but not when timeout/expiring. It can not show the 'reason' for the block, as it removes the rights in a hacky-way. It shows the default messages as if the rights in LocalSettings.php had been removed from those user groups, eg "Login required to edit" or "Uploads restricted to sysops". A sitenotice should be put up to alert users as to the level and duration of protection.
 * 4) It might be somewhat system intensive when in play, but should be transparent when not.
 * 5) Sysops can check if the site is protected (and in what method) by going to Special:Protectsite. Regular users must check Special:Log/protect and do the math, or rely on a sitenotice. Keep this in mind when protecting.
 * 6) Staff cannot edit when the site is protected unless they sysop themselves. This should be resolved in 1.8 (maybe).

Any questions or errors found (such as things being disabled when they shouldn't be, or things not being disabled when they should) should be left here. --Splarka (talk) 23:46, 7 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Oh, that looks cool, thanks for putting it up!
 * Who wants to test it at 3 AM? :-) --Douglas Muth 23:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)