User:PSaxena (WMF)/IP Info update sandbox
IP Info product development is well underway. We wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about where we are at and get your feedback on the direction.
User interviews & task model edit
We conducted user interviews to understand how editors currently patrol IPs. This gave us a rough understanding of the IP patrolling process, information required and tools used. Based on this research we came up with a model of how the task of IP patrolling is usually conducted. After a few rounds of feedback from design, engineers, research and T&S folks here is what we came up with:
As we understand it now, the IP patrolling process usually starts from RecentChanges, an editor’s Watchlist or from a page that the editor knows gets vandalized often. When looking at the edits of such a page the patroller first looks for clear red flags like edit flooding, lack of edit summary, large deletions etc. They then look for more specific on-wiki information like if the IP has a talk page, if it has ever been blocked in the past, its global and local contributions, and in the case of English Wikipedia, if there is a mention of the IP on the LTA page.
Based on this initial research they decide if an IP is worth looking into further. If it is, they use external tools to find more information about the IP, like: location, proxy usage and organization that the IP might be linked to. This process is not completely accurate since different databases have different information on the same IP. Oftentimes, based on the location of the IP and the location of the IP tool, the information given might be very different.
Finally, based on the information collected they decide which action would be most appropriate. Again, this decision takes into account various factors like the policies of that wiki, the scale of the collateral damage caused by a range block, consistency in editing patterns etc.
Mock-ups edit
Based on feedback from the first round of user interviews, we have settled on the following product approach.
-
Popup shown on IP addresses, showing on-wiki information about the IP. -
Accordion box on top of Special:Contributions that shows both IP and on-wiki information.
| IP Info | Minimum required user right |
|---|---|
| Location | Admin / CheckUser |
| ISP/Domain | Admin / CheckUser |
| ASN | Admin / CheckUser |
| Organization | Admin / CheckUser |
| Connection type | Autoconfirmed |
| User type | Autoconfirmed |
| Proxy info | Autoconfirmed |
| Static / Dynamic | Autoconfirmed |
| Number of users on IP | Autoconfirmed |
Since the patrollers need on-wiki information about the IP before they decide to investigate it we are going to add a popup that shows block and contribution information. The popup would be accessible by clicking an information icon next to the IP address on pages like RecentChanges, Watchlist and History.
If the patroller decides to dig deeper into an IP address by going to their Contributions page, they'll be able to see a collapsible box that shows more IP related information.
Access to information and risk to anonymous editors edit
By making the IP information so readily available we hope to remove some of the barriers that our non-technical patrollers might be facing in reliably getting this information. At the same time, we hope this streamlines the process for users who are currently relying on external tools. We also recognize that easy access to this information might be putting our anonymous editors at risk. Especially because some of the IP information like location and organization, that can easily help in identifying a person. We need to balance the concerns of ease of use and risk to anonymous editors. To do this we plotted the different pieces of IP information on a graph with Risk on the Y axis and Usefulness to patrolling on the X axis:
This exercise wasn't completely scientific and was based on the learnings from research and estimates of the team (please see the questions below if you'd like to contribute). Two possible clusters appeared, the high risk one mostly containing information that could reveal an editor’s location.
We are planning to show all on-wiki information to all editors that are auto-confirmed and above. Auto-confirmed and above editors will also have access to IP information that doesn't reveal possibly personal information about anonymous editors. This would include things like proxy and static/dynamic-ness of the IP. Finally, Admins and Checkusers will have access to more IP information like location, organization and domain.
Questions edit
- Is there any other information you look at before deciding to investigate an IP?
- When investigating an IP what kinds of information do you look for? Which page are you likely on when looking for this information?
- What kinds of IP information do you find most useful?
- What kinds of IP information when shared, do you think could put our anonymous editors at risk?