 | This page documents an English Wikipedia editing guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
The edit filter or abuse filter is a tool that allows editors in the edit filter manager group to set controls, mainly[1] to address common patterns of harmful editing. The current filters can be found at Special:AbuseFilter. A filter automatically compares every edit made to Wikipedia against a defined set of conditions. If an edit matches the conditions of a filter, that filter will respond by logging the edit. It may also tag the edit summary, warn the editors, revoke their autoconfirmed status, and/or disallow the edit entirely.[2]
The AbuseFilter extension was enabled on the English Wikipedia in 2009. The term "edit filter" rather than "abuse filter" is currently used for user-facing elements of the filter, as some edits it flags are not harmful;[1] the terms are otherwise synonymous.
Because even the smallest mistake in editing a filter can significantly disrupt the encyclopedia, only editors who have the required good judgment and technical proficiency are permitted to configure filters. This page does not discuss technical issues concerning the feature; technical information relating to the operation of the edit filter can be found at Extension:AbuseFilter.
There are currently 142 edit filter managers and 23 edit filter helpers.