Different users have access to different functions of the site. While anyone can do most things on the site, including reading and editing, users with rollback, often nicknamed "rollback'rs" or the like, have access to one additional tool in combating vandalism.
Users can request rollback at Smashpedia:Requests for rollback. A complete list of Smashpedia's users with rollback can be found at Special:Listusers/rollback. Additionally, all of Smashpedia's admins have access to the rollback command.
Rollback tool
Users with rollback are not necessarily administrators; however, administrators have access to rollback as well. The most important additional ability granted as rollback is the ability to quickly undo all consecutive edits to a page by the most recent editor. This is to be used only for the reversion of vandalism, or else the cleanup of a merge. You do not need to confirm this action, so it is good for reverting mass vandalism, e.g. page blankings. The log in the page's history will read:
- m Reverted edits by User A (talk) to last version by User B.
Users with rollback should not use their additional power to revert non-vandal edits or as part of an edit war; such behavior will likely incur a demotion as well as a ban.
If there is any doubt about whether an edit should be rolled back, do not use this feature. While the undo function allows for an edit summary and thus an explanation of your reversion, the rollback automatically creates a different entry in the page's history.
While the undo function can be used for anything, including content dispute, as long as it doesn't break 1RV, it is expected that the edit summary is manually modified to explain content edits. This is because rollback does not allow you to modify the edit summary to explain why you are reverting.
How it works
How reverting a vandal works:
- Without rollback rights:
- Open the history of a vandalized page and wait for history to load
- find the most recent version before the vandal's edit and go to that version and wait for page to load
- hit edit at that version and wait for page to load
- hit save, then move on to do something else in a different window/tab
- Rollback method:
- Go to the vandal's Contributions page and wait for it to load
- Ctrl+Click on all the Rollback links on that page, and move on to do something else in a different window/tab.
They effectively do the same thing, but Rollback is significantly easier and faster.
Comparison to Undo
Every user has access to (undo) on the revision difference and revision history screens.
Differences
- Undo can be attempted on all diffs. Rollback can only be performed against the most recent revision of a page.
- Undo requires choosing a particular range of revisions to undo. Rollback automatically targets all consecutive revisions performed by the most recent contributor.
- Undo can undo a range of edits by different users. Rollback only affects an unbroken sequence of edits by the most recent contributor.
- When performing an undo, additional edits may be performed in the wiki text, and edit summary may be edited. Rollback automatically revert to the version before the current contributor, and the edit summary cannot be altered.
- Undo requires an additional "Save" click. Rollback is performed as soon as the "Rollback" link is clicked.
- When the original article contains a link blacklisted by the spam filter, a regular Undo cannot be saved until the link is removed from the blacklist or added to the whitelist. Rollback can directly "edit" the page back to the original version.
Similarities
- All the revisions that are reverted stay in the page history. The Undo/Rollback action effectively act as a new edit on top of the previous edits that brings the article to the state of a prior version.
Other abilities
Rollbackers are also able to move files in order to help them enforce Smashpedia's image naming guidelines, though note that rollbackers do not have the ability to suppress redirects, so the old image name will need to be deleted by an administrator.
Finally, rollbackers have the ability to edit forum and message wall messages left by other users.
When should one request rollback?
A user should only request rollback with the intention of using the power against vandalism. Before voting on a request for rollback, the following are likely to be considered:
- Does the user have a history of reverting vandalism? Users should only support the rollback request of users with a record of removal of vandalism even while the user lacked rollback powers.
- Do not request rollback just for the sake of having the power; it is only to be requested by those users with the intent of actively reverting vandalism and performing other janitorial work around the site.