Last Edited: 01 May 2008 by superuser Importered from old WiKi -- 30/04-08 18:04.
Wiki Security
* wikis are self-policing
* A roll back function means the inappropriate can be easily changed
* We can use the ACL's for temp shut down of pages ONLY to registered users
* WikiWebs are not bulletin boards/forums - please use the forum
Vandalism
The open philosophy of most wikis - of letting anyone edit content - does not ensure that editors are well-intentioned. Most public wikis shun mandatory registration procedures; nevertheless, many major wiki engines (including MediaWiki, MoinMoin, UseModWiki and TWiki) provide ways to limit write access. Some wiki engines allow individual users to be banned as editors - accomplished by blocking their particular address or, if available, their usernames; however, many service providers (ISPs) assign a new IP address for each login, so IP bans often can be circumvented relatively easily, and may prevent legitimate users from accessing features. To deal with this problem, temporary IP bans are sometimes used - and extended to all IP addresses within a particular range - ensuring, thereby, that the vandal cannot edit pages within a given time; the underlying assumption is that this is often a sufficient deterrent. It may, however, still prevent some non-problematic users, from the same ISP, from using the service for the ban's duration.
A common defense against persistent vandals is simply to let them deface as many pages as they wish, knowing that they can easily be tracked and reverted after the vandal has left. This policy quickly becomes impractical however in the face of systematic defacements born out of either anger or frustration.
As an emergency measure, some wikis allow the database to be switched to read-only mode, while others enforce a policy in which only established users - registered prior to an arbitrary cutoff date - can continue editing. Generally, any vandal's vandalism can be reverted, quickly and easily. More problematic, though, are subtle, undetected errors inserted to pages - for example, changing album release dates on discographies.
Many wikis allow pages to be protected from editing; in most wikis, this is used only in extreme and rare cases. Protected pages on Wikipedia, for example, can be edited only by the administrators, who can also revoke the protection (as well as induce it). Generally, such actions are considered as against the basic wiki philosophy, and are therefore usually avoided. At any given time, the English Wikipedia has perhaps thirty protected pages, out of hundreds of thousands.
