Mailing List Archive: New username validation

New username validation

vibber at aludra

Jun 6, 2003, 1:07 PM

Post #1 of 23 (1096 views)

Currently, before creating a new user account we do some limited
validation on the given name:

* Trim beginning and trailing whitespace

* Check if it looks like an IP address (four sequences of 1-3 digits with
dots between them), if so reject it.

* Check if there's a slash character, if so reject it [.I just added this
check; it was I think supposed to be added when we set up partial subpage
support for userspace, which conflicts with the slash character in names
if remaining problems with the contribs/email sidebar links are fixed.
Unless there's some huge objection... there don't appear to be any valid
usernames on this pattern. Note also that this check applies only to new
names; existing ones which are legitimate would be grandfathered in.]

*Canonicalize the name (run through the title canonicalizer and take the
version without underscores) and check for an exact existing match. If
there is one, reject it.

We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check, and/or a
same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I think it could use some
tidying up.

-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 6, 2003, 1:23 PM

Post #2 of 23 (1099 views)

--- Brion Vibber <vibber@aludra.usc.edu> wrote:
> Currently, before creating a new user account we do
> some limited
> validation on the given name:
>
> * Trim beginning and trailing whitespace
>
> * Check if it looks like an IP address (four
> sequences of 1-3 digits with
> dots between them), if so reject it.
>
> * Check if there's a slash character, if so reject
> it [.I just added this
> check; it was I think supposed to be added when we
> set up partial subpage
> support for userspace, which conflicts with the
> slash character in names
> if remaining problems with the contribs/email
> sidebar links are fixed.
> Unless there's some huge objection... there don't
> appear to be any valid
> usernames on this pattern. Note also that this check
> applies only to new
> names; existing ones which are legitimate would be
> grandfathered in.]
>
> *Canonicalize the name (run through the title
> canonicalizer and take the
> version without underscores) and check for an exact
> existing match. If
> there is one, reject it.
>
>
> We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check, and/or
> a
> same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I
> think it could use some
> tidying up.
>
> -- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)

of course, you expect my "what do you mean by a
same-except-for-accent" I hope ? :-)

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

Jun 6, 2003, 1:28 PM

Post #3 of 23 (1098 views)

On Fri, Jun 06, 2003 at 01:07:40PM -0700, Brion Vibber wrote:
> Currently, before creating a new user account we do some limited
> validation on the given name:
>
> * Trim beginning and trailing whitespace
>
> * Check if it looks like an IP address (four sequences of 1-3 digits with
> dots between them), if so reject it.
>
> * Check if there's a slash character, if so reject it [.I just added this
> check; it was I think supposed to be added when we set up partial subpage
> support for userspace, which conflicts with the slash character in names
> if remaining problems with the contribs/email sidebar links are fixed.
> Unless there's some huge objection... there don't appear to be any valid
> usernames on this pattern. Note also that this check applies only to new
> names; existing ones which are legitimate would be grandfathered in.]
>
> *Canonicalize the name (run through the title canonicalizer and take the
> version without underscores) and check for an exact existing match. If
> there is one, reject it.
>
>
> We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check, and/or a
> same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I think it could use some
> tidying up.

For ISO 8859 wikis it sounds right, but we may need stronger checks
for Unicode wikis to protect against people pretending to be someone else.
There are many ways how to make 2 binary different Unicode strings look the same.
Converting to one of normal forms and then checking using allowed range
of characters should do the thing. We may use different allowed sets per-wiki,
so that Asians can use Han characters, Russians can use Cyrillic etc.

But it's not very important right now.

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

Jun 6, 2003, 1:41 PM

Post #4 of 23 (1093 views)

On Fri, Jun 06, 2003 at 01:23:40PM -0700, Anthere wrote:
>
> --- Brion Vibber <vibber@aludra.usc.edu> wrote:
> > Currently, before creating a new user account we do
> > some limited
> > validation on the given name:
> >
> > * Trim beginning and trailing whitespace
> >
> > * Check if it looks like an IP address (four
> > sequences of 1-3 digits with
> > dots between them), if so reject it.
> >
> > * Check if there's a slash character, if so reject
> > it [.I just added this
> > check; it was I think supposed to be added when we
> > set up partial subpage
> > support for userspace, which conflicts with the
> > slash character in names
> > if remaining problems with the contribs/email
> > sidebar links are fixed.
> > Unless there's some huge objection... there don't
> > appear to be any valid
> > usernames on this pattern. Note also that this check
> > applies only to new
> > names; existing ones which are legitimate would be
> > grandfathered in.]
> >
> > *Canonicalize the name (run through the title
> > canonicalizer and take the
> > version without underscores) and check for an exact
> > existing match. If
> > there is one, reject it.
> >
> >
> > We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check, and/or
> > a
> > same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I
> > think it could use some
> > tidying up.
> >
> > -- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
>
> of course, you expect my "what do you mean by a
> same-except-for-accent" I hope ? :-)

a' = a` = a, = a: = a
e' = e` = e' = e^ = e
etc.

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 6, 2003, 2:11 PM

Post #5 of 23 (1099 views)

--- Tomasz Wegrzanowski <taw@users.sourceforge.net>
wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 06, 2003 at 01:23:40PM -0700, Anthere
> wrote:
> >
> > --- Brion Vibber <vibber@aludra.usc.edu> wrote:
> > > Currently, before creating a new user account we
> do
> > > some limited
> > > validation on the given name:
> > >
> > > * Trim beginning and trailing whitespace
> > >
> > > * Check if it looks like an IP address (four
> > > sequences of 1-3 digits with
> > > dots between them), if so reject it.
> > >
> > > * Check if there's a slash character, if so
> reject
> > > it [.I just added this
> > > check; it was I think supposed to be added when
> we
> > > set up partial subpage
> > > support for userspace, which conflicts with the
> > > slash character in names
> > > if remaining problems with the contribs/email
> > > sidebar links are fixed.
> > > Unless there's some huge objection... there
> don't
> > > appear to be any valid
> > > usernames on this pattern. Note also that this
> check
> > > applies only to new
> > > names; existing ones which are legitimate would
> be
> > > grandfathered in.]
> > >
> > > *Canonicalize the name (run through the title
> > > canonicalizer and take the
> > > version without underscores) and check for an
> exact
> > > existing match. If
> > > there is one, reject it.
> > >
> > >
> > > We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check,
> and/or
> > > a
> > > same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I
> > > think it could use some
> > > tidying up.
> > >
> > > -- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
> >
> > of course, you expect my "what do you mean by a
> > same-except-for-accent" I hope ? :-)
>
> a' = a` = a, = a: = a
> e' = e` = e' = e^ = e
> etc.

Ah. yes.

So,

anthère would be acceptable for another user than me
(well is actually acceptable since that is the case)

but

ant'here would not be acceptable ?

?!?

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

Jun 6, 2003, 2:30 PM

Post #6 of 23 (1097 views)

On Fri, Jun 06, 2003 at 02:11:55PM -0700, Anthere wrote:
> > > of course, you expect my "what do you mean by a
> > > same-except-for-accent" I hope ? :-)
> >
> > a' = a` = a, = a: = a
> > e' = e` = e' = e^ = e
> > etc.
>
> Ah. yes.
>
> So,
>
> anth?re would be acceptable for another user than me
> (well is actually acceptable since that is the case)
>
> but
>
> ant'here would not be acceptable ?

the other way around

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

saintonge at telus

Jun 6, 2003, 6:39 PM

Post #7 of 23 (1104 views)

Anthere wrote:

>>a' = a` = a, = a: = a
>>e' = e` = e' = e^ = e
>>etc.
>>
>
>Ah. yes.
>
>So,
>
>anthère would be acceptable for another user than me
>(well is actually acceptable since that is the case)
>
>but
>
>ant'here would not be acceptable ?
>
>?!?
>
You may have noticed that I tend to be one of those people here who
enjoys playing with words. :-) To say that we do not accept ant'here
is very close to saying "qu'on accepte pas de fourmis ici".

As for RK's difficulty with your gender, on the one hand we have the
fact that "anthère" is a feminine noun in French to represent the male
part of a plant, as does the corresponding English "anther". No wonder
he's confused!!! :-)

Ec

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

jwales at bomis

Jun 7, 2003, 4:21 AM

Post #8 of 23 (1097 views)

Brion Vibber wrote:
> We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check, and/or a
> same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I think it could use some
> tidying up.

Unless someone thinks of some interesting objection to this, it sounds
like a good idea. I know that Anthere had a problem with a
fake-Anthere over on the French wiki, and that just seemed silly and
easy enough to prevent.

--Jmibo

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 7, 2003, 4:23 AM

Post #9 of 23 (1100 views)

--- Ray Saintonge <saintonge@telus.net> wrote:
> Anthere wrote:
>
> >>a' = a` = a, = a: = a
> >>e' = e` = e' = e^ = e
> >>etc.
> >>
> >
> >Ah. yes.
> >
> >So,
> >
> >anthère would be acceptable for another user than
> me
> >(well is actually acceptable since that is the
> case)
> >
> >but
> >
> >ant'here would not be acceptable ?
> >
> >?!?
> >
> You may have noticed that I tend to be one of those
> people here who
> enjoys playing with words. :-) To say that we do
> not accept ant'here
> is very close to saying "qu'on accepte pas de
> fourmis ici".

:-))) (might be some more around burial)

Yes; I love your words games. You gave a good laugh
more than once ;-)

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

saintonge at telus

Jun 7, 2003, 10:43 AM

Post #10 of 23 (1095 views)

Brion Vibber wrote:

>Currently, before creating a new user account we do some limited
>validation on the given name:
>
>* Trim beginning and trailing whitespace
>
Perhaps underscores should also be in this category.

Ec

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

toby+wikipedia at math

Jun 8, 2003, 1:20 AM

Post #11 of 23 (1104 views)

Brion Vibber wrote in part:

>We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check, and/or a
>same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I think it could use some
>tidying up.

We'll probably never think of every way to mimic a previous user.
If there's an easy check to do (and there clearly are some),
then go ahead, but ultimately we'll need to rely on policy:
If somebody creates a username for fraudulent purposes
(as [[Fr:Utilisateur:Anthère]] was), then it should be removed
(as [[En:User:Throbbing Monster Cock]] was, for other reasons).

-- Toby

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 8, 2003, 6:00 PM

Post #12 of 23 (1095 views)

--- Toby Bartels <toby+wikipedia@math.ucr.edu> wrote:
> Brion Vibber wrote in part:
>
> >We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check,
> and/or a
> >same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I
> think it could use some
> >tidying up.
>
> We'll probably never think of every way to mimic a
> previous user.
> If there's an easy check to do (and there clearly
> are some),
> then go ahead, but ultimately we'll need to rely on
> policy:
> If somebody creates a username for fraudulent
> purposes
> (as [[Fr:Utilisateur:Anthère]] was), then it should
> be removed
> (as [[En:User:Throbbing Monster Cock]] was, for
> other reasons).
>
>
> -- Toby

Hum. Today, on the french wiki, a utilisateur:Fare
appeared.

We also have a utilisateur:Faré, who is the same (I
guess, I am not even entirely sure) than the
user:Faré.

On the en wiki, you also have a user:Fare, who I guess
is the same person than user:Faré.

I am not entirely sure than User:Faré is the same than
Utilisateur:Faré though, for en appear to accept
entirely Faré edits, when these are considered highly
POV on french wiki.

However, in any case, I doubt very much that
utilisateur:Fare is the same than utilisateur:Faré.

You might consider it is not important. But I have 4
user names here. And I don't think I have 1 person. It
does not help human relationships and trust.

Anthere (the most famous one, not the others :-))

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

gblanchard at arcsy

Jun 8, 2003, 7:55 PM

Post #13 of 23 (1103 views)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthere" <anthere6@yahoo.com>
To: <wikitech-l@wikipedia.org>
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Wikitech-l] New username validation

>
> --- Toby Bartels <toby+wikipedia@math.ucr.edu> wrote:
> > Brion Vibber wrote in part:
> >
> > >We may wish to do a case-_in_sensitive check,
> > and/or a
> > >same-except-for-accents check. Or not. Anyway, I
> > think it could use some
> > >tidying up.
> >
> > We'll probably never think of every way to mimic a
> > previous user.
> > If there's an easy check to do (and there clearly
> > are some),
> > then go ahead, but ultimately we'll need to rely on
> > policy:
> > If somebody creates a username for fraudulent
> > purposes
> > (as [[Fr:Utilisateur:Anthère]] was), then it should
> > be removed
> > (as [[En:User:Throbbing Monster Cock]] was, for
> > other reasons).
> >
> >
> > -- Toby
>
> Hum. Today, on the french wiki, a utilisateur:Fare
> appeared.
>
> We also have a utilisateur:Faré, who is the same (I
> guess, I am not even entirely sure) than the
> user:Faré.
>
> On the en wiki, you also have a user:Fare, who I guess
> is the same person than user:Faré.
>
> I am not entirely sure than User:Faré is the same than
> Utilisateur:Faré though, for en appear to accept
> entirely Faré edits, when these are considered highly
> POV on french wiki.
>
> However, in any case, I doubt very much that
> utilisateur:Fare is the same than utilisateur:Faré.
>
> You might consider it is not important. But I have 4
> user names here. And I don't think I have 1 person. It
> does not help human relationships and trust.
>
> Anthere (the most famous one, not the others :-))

It's exactly why I'm for showing IP like before with UseMod Wiki.
It can not figure out all problems but can solve a great part of them.
If the french community agree, can we have this feature back to
fr.wikipedia.org ?

Aoineko

PS : Anthere, I send you the Anthère password, change it then no one else
will be able to use it. For other names, I can't help.

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

toby+wikipedia at math

Jun 9, 2003, 5:14 PM

Post #14 of 23 (1101 views)

Anthère (who now has the password on [[fr:]]! ^_^) wrote:

>Hum. Today, on the french wiki, a utilisateur:Fare
>appeared.

>We also have a utilisateur:Faré, who is the same (I
>guess, I am not even entirely sure) than the
>user:Faré.

[[Fr:Utilisateur:Fare]] works on the same articles
as [[Fr:Utilisateur:Faré]], and they immediately got into edit wars.
It looks pretty deliberate to me -- this is another imposture.
(My French isn't good enough to understand the substance of the edit wars
without a lot more work than I'm willing to do, however. ^_^)

>On the en wiki, you also have a user:Fare, who I guess
>is the same person than user:Faré.

>I am not entirely sure than User:Faré is the same than
>Utilisateur:Faré though, for en appear to accept
>entirely Faré edits, when these are considered highly
>POV on french wiki.

They seem to me to be the same.
[[en:]] will take longer to adjust to Faré than [[fr:]], I guess.
I don't agree with Faré's point of view as expressed on [[en:]]
(although I haven't checked if they're violating NPOV there),
but that wouldn't excuse imposture.

>However, in any case, I doubt very much that
>utilisateur:Fare is the same than utilisateur:Faré.

>You might consider it is not important. But I have 4
>user names here. And I don't think I have 1 person. It
>does not help human relationships and trust.

There should be a way for developers to end this.

-- Toby

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

saintonge at telus

Jun 10, 2003, 3:52 PM

Post #15 of 23 (1095 views)

Toby Bartels wrote:

>>Hum. Today, on the french wiki, a utilisateur:Fare
>>appeared.
>>
>>We also have a utilisateur:Faré, who is the same (I
>>guess, I am not even entirely sure) than the
>>user:Faré.
>>
>
>[[Fr:Utilisateur:Fare]] works on the same articles
>as [[Fr:Utilisateur:Faré]], and they immediately got into edit wars.
>It looks pretty deliberate to me -- this is another imposture.
>(My French isn't good enough to understand the substance of the edit wars
>without a lot more work than I'm willing to do, however. ^_^)
>
>
>I don't agree with Faré's point of view as expressed on [[en:]]
>(although I haven't checked if they're violating NPOV there),
>but that wouldn't excuse imposture.
>
Anthere has already raised the issue on my talk page in French, and I
have aleady responded in French. Although my French is adequate to the
task, it will take someone with a more formal understanding of the
political philosophy of liberalism and libertarianism as well as their
respective histories to sort this out. Faré seems to be confounding the
two ideas, and he currently has the link from [[en:Libetarianism]]
pointing to [[fr:libéralisme]] as though the two were equivalent.
Faré's opposition seems to be too busy waving the "Ban the vandal"
placards to come up with any meaningful solution. Sounds like down home
week on Fr:Wiki. :-)

Ec

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

toby+wikipedia at math

Jun 11, 2003, 5:57 AM

Post #16 of 23 (1096 views)

Eclecticology wrote:

>Faré seems to be confounding the
>two ideas, and he currently has the link from [[en:Libetarianism]]
>pointing to [[fr:libéralisme]] as though the two were equivalent.

You seem to be assuming the [[fr:libéralisme]]
is equivalent to [[en:Liberalism]].
My understanding is that it's actually
closer in meaning to [[en:Libertarianism]],
though [[en:Classical liberalism]] might be even better.

But I'm not sure either. ^_^

-- Toby

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

alvaro69 at web

Jun 11, 2003, 7:16 AM

Post #17 of 23 (1097 views)

Toby Bartels wrote:

>Eclecticology wrote:
>
>
>
>>Faré seems to be confounding the
>>two ideas, and he currently has the link from [[en:Libetarianism]]
>>pointing to [[fr:libéralisme]] as though the two were equivalent.
>>
>>
>
>You seem to be assuming the [[fr:libéralisme]]
>is equivalent to [[en:Liberalism]].
>My understanding is that it's actually
>closer in meaning to [[en:Libertarianism]],
>though [[en:Classical liberalism]] might be even better.
>
>But I'm not sure either. ^_^
>
>
>-- Toby
>_______________________________________________
>Wikitech-l mailing list
>Wikitech-l@wikipedia.org
>http://www.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitech-l
>
From here, in continental Europe, it seems (to me ! I'm not even 93%
sure) that [[fr:libéralisme]] is somewhere between [[en:liberalism]] and
[[en:classical liberalism]]. So I moved the link on [[fr:libéralism]]
from [[en:libertarianism]] to [[en:classical liberalism]]. Faré did not
react (for the moment), I conclude that he agrees. Maybe because he also
contributed to [[en:classical liberalism]] ;-) ?

I am afraid that we went away a lot from the initial subject "New
username validation".

Merci for your advices.

Alvaro

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 12, 2003, 4:42 AM

Post #18 of 23 (1095 views)

--- Toby Bartels <toby+wikipedia@math.ucr.edu> wrote:
> Eclecticology wrote:
>
> >Faré seems to be confounding the
> >two ideas, and he currently has the link from
> [[en:Libetarianism]]
> >pointing to [[fr:libéralisme]] as though the two
> were equivalent.
>
> You seem to be assuming the [[fr:libéralisme]]
> is equivalent to [[en:Liberalism]].
> My understanding is that it's actually
> closer in meaning to [[en:Libertarianism]],
> though [[en:Classical liberalism]] might be even
> better.
>
> But I'm not sure either. ^_^
>
>
> -- Toby

Ola ! You are not making it easier Toby :-)

Faré was listed as a *vandal* for linking
[[fr:libéralisme]] to [[en:Libertarianism]].

It is a fraudulent move, right ;-)
No ?

I find curious that some editors are *vandals* on one
wiki, and regular editors not causing any pb on
another (I downgraded him at annoying user level, but
that is just terminology in this case I fear).

That confort me in the opinion that vandalism (and
banning) are or relative value.

Was Helga also said to be a vandal on the german wiki
?

Anthere

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

toby+wikipedia at math

Jun 12, 2003, 7:21 AM

Post #19 of 23 (1100 views)

Anthère wrote:

>Faré was listed as a *vandal* for linking
>[[fr:libéralisme]] to [[en:Libertarianism]].

Well, I don't know what a [[fr:vandal]] is,
but a good faith attempt at an interwiki link
can't make somebody a [[en:vandal]]. ^_^

-- Toby

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

gblanchard at arcsy

Jun 12, 2003, 8:09 AM

Post #20 of 23 (1098 views)

> Anthère wrote:
>
> >Faré was listed as a *vandal* for linking
> >[[fr:libéralisme]] to [[en:Libertarianism]].
>
> Well, I don't know what a [[fr:vandal]] is,
> but a good faith attempt at an interwiki link
> can't make somebody a [[en:vandal]]. ^_^
>
> -- Toby

Faré is not listed as a "vandal" on the french Wikipedia, but as
"problematic editor".

Aoineko

Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 12, 2003, 9:09 AM

Post #21 of 23 (1101 views)

Toby Bartels <toby+wikipedia@math.ucr.edu> wrote:
Anthère wrote:

>Faré was listed as a *vandal* for linking
>[[fr:libéralisme]] to [[en:Libertarianism]].

Well, I don't know what a [[fr:vandal]] is,
but a good faith attempt at an interwiki link
can't make somebody a [[en:vandal]]. ^_^

---------

key word : good faith ;-) Toby

^_^ (borrow it in good faith)

(Well, I have been said I was a vandal on en, so what do I know after all ?)

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

anthere6 at yahoo

Jun 12, 2003, 9:11 AM

Post #22 of 23 (1103 views)

Guillaume Blanchard <gblanchard@arcsy.co.jp> wrote:
> Anthère wrote:
>
> >Faré was listed as a *vandal* for linking
> >[[fr:libéralisme]] to [[en:Libertarianism]].
>
> Well, I don't know what a [[fr:vandal]] is,
> but a good faith attempt at an interwiki link
> can't make somebody a [[en:vandal]]. ^_^
>
> -- Toby

Faré is not listed as a "vandal" on the french Wikipedia, but as
"problematic editor".

Aoineko

------

True.

*I* removed him from the *vandalism page*, to downgrad him to the *problematic users* :-)

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Re: New username validation [ In reply to ]

toby+wikipedia at math

Jun 13, 2003, 7:11 AM

Post #23 of 23 (1095 views)

Anthère wrote:

>key word : good faith ;-) Toby
>^_^ (borrow it in good faith)
>(Well, I have been said I was a vandal on en, so what do I know after all ?)

You have been so called, but it was not accurate.

-- Toby