Wikipedia talk:Bots/Requests for approval/DannyS712 bot 68

Denied

@Primefac: reading through the VPT discussion, the only available alternative seems to be User:SD0001/W-Ping, which

• Doesn't show up when using m:User:DannyS712/Global watchlist, which appears to be more widely used than W-Ping, based on a search and Wikipedia:User scripts/Most imported scripts
• Doesn't show up across wikis
• Doesn't send email notifications

Thus, the script doesn't perform all of the functions that the bot would. While, as you note, the script does store pings privately, it comes at a cost of functionality that the bot could implement. I don't see any objections to the bot, so why not have both available? --DannyS712 (talk) 21:55, 26 March 2020 (UTC)

A few thoughts

• SD0001 would be the one to talk to about syncing the two scripts. For the record, though, W-ping has 12 enwiki users and your script only has 5. We're not really concerned with what meta or other projects' users do.
• An enwiki bot wouldn't work across wikis
• Fair point.

As I said on the request page, there is no issue with you using this bot in your own userspace without explicit approval. There was a general "meh" opinion from those here and at VPT. If there is an expressed interest from other editors about using this reminder, then I have no issues with re-opening the discussion. Primefac (talk) 17:20, 27 March 2020 (UTC)

@Primefac: An enwiki bot wouldn't work across wikis, but the notifications from the messages that are left would appear crosswiki (since they would not be marked as minor edits) DannyS712 (talk) 20:54, 27 March 2020 (UTC)

It's possible to extend W-Ping to deliver email notifications (the emails will be sent from the user's own account). But API:Options doesn't provide a way to retrieve existing options (it can only set options, retrieval is done is done simply by accessing the mw.user.options object, which is exported on every page load), so it isn't possible to use it show reminders set on one wiki on other wikis.

I don't know if the ability to show reminders while on other wikis is enough of an advantage to warrant having a bot in addition to the script. But personally, I see no harm in having a bot for this. If you're gauging interest or looking for users who would want to use this, it would be wiser to post to a non-technical forum like VPM or VPR. SD0001 (talk) 07:53, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

@SD0001: You can fetch the user's options using action=query&meta=userinfo&uiprop=options. If you're wanting to do cross-wiki notifications, I'd recommend storing the options on one wiki (meta?) rather than trying to poll all 900-ish wikis. Even better, of course, would be adding the functionality server-side... Anomie⚔ 12:31, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, that's useful to know. But I myself have no plans to improve W-Ping (it only has a dozen users anyway). I'll leave it to DannyS712 on whether they want to continue with the bot idea, extend W-Ping, or add the functionality server-side (in increasing order of desirability). SD0001 (talk) 13:21, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

Jumping in with some thoughts: Article reminders were the 8th most supported request out of 212 proposals in the 2019 community wishlist. There's certainly demand for this. For users who aren't technically-inclined enough to install a user script, I imagine a bot for this purpose would be useful. Also, I would love to help out in any way I can, including turning over the User:RemindMeBot account Enterprisey (talk!) 06:43, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

(and some pings, in case this falls off people's watchlists: SD0001, Primefac, and DannyS712) Enterprisey (talk!) 06:44, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

@Enterprisey: I'd like to use my current bot account for now, as I try to get this up and running (if it is sent to trial / approved) so that I don't have another thing to deal with (separate credentials for login in addition to the new code) but if it works I may ask you for the account DannyS712 (talk) 06:47, 15 April 2020 (UTC)