Help:Blocking users

Kwj2772 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:00:33 GMT

Kwj2772: Quick-adding category Block (using HotCat.js)

{{PD Help Page}}
'''Blocking users''' is an action that [[Help:Sysops and permissions|sysops]] can perform upon users or IP addresses to prevent them from editing the wiki.

==Blocking==
Blocking users is fairly straightforward, visit [[Special:BlockIP]] and follow these steps:

# '''IP Address or username''': Enter in the username, IP address, or [[Help:Range blocks|IP range]] to block in the "User" field. If blocking a username, make sure to check the spelling since nonexistent users can be blocked as well. Instead of typing this information in manually, it is also possible to click on a "block" link in recent changes, contributions pages, or history pages, which will automatically fill in this field with the appropriate username or IP address. A "Block this user" link is also present in the toolbox when viewing User and User talk pages.
# '''Expiration''': Select when the block should expire from the drop-down, or manually type in an expiration time of the block. When manually typing in a time, follow the [http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual/html_node/Date-input-formats.html GNU standard format]. The default options in the drop-down may be modified at [[MediaWiki:Ipboptions]].
# '''Reason (optional)''': The reason selected from the drop-down combined with the other/additional reason specified will be used as the message displayed to the blocked user when they try to edit. The default reasons in the drop-down may be modified at [[MediaWiki:Ipbreason-dropdown]].
# '''Select additional block options (optional)''': Depending on if a username or IP is being blocked and other options that may have been enabled, some or all of these options will be displayed on the form. Please see [[Manual:Block and unblock#Configuration settings related to blocking]] for information of how to enable or disable some of the following options.
#* ''Block anonymous users only'': This option is only available when blocking an IP address. When selected, registered users who try to edit using a blocked IP address will still be able to edit. Otherwise, they will be unable to edit as well.
#* ''Prevent account creation'': Selecting this option will prevent the blocked username or IP address from creating new accounts.
#* ''Automatically block the last IP address used by this user, and any subsequent IPs they try to edit from'': This option is only available when blocking a username. When selected, the user's IP will become "autoblocked" (these show up as numbers such as #17 on [[Special:IPBlockList|the active block list]]) for a short period of time and any other IP addresses that the blocked user tries to edit from will be blocked as well.
#* ''Prevent user from sending e-mail'': This option is only available when blocking a username. When this option is selected, the user will be unable to use the [[Special:EmailUser]] interface.
#* ''Hide username from the block log, active block list and user list'': When selected, the blocked username or IP address will not be added to the [[Special:Log/block|block log]], the [[Special:IPBlockList|active block list]], or the [[Special:ListUsers|user list]]. Other users with the ability to view these hidden entries will still be able to see and unblock the username or IP address. This option is not enabled in a default installation of MediaWiki; the person putting the block in place must have the ''hideuser'' permission. See {{mediawiki|Manual:User_rights|Manual:User rights}}.
#* ''Watch this user's user and talk pages'': When selected, this adds the blocked user's user page and user talk page to your watchlist.
# Double-check everything you entered and click on '''Block this user'''. A message should appear saying if the block was successful or unsuccessful.

==Unblocking==
To unblock a username or IP address, go to the [[Special:IPBlockList|active block list]] and click on the (unblock) link next to the user or IP you wish to unblock. Then, enter in an optional reason and click on the unblock button. A message should appear saying if the unblock was successful or unsuccessful.

==What it means to be blocked==
Blocked users are unable to [[Help:Editing pages|edit pages]], [[Help:Managing files|upload files]], [[Help:Moving a page|move pages]], and perform other actions that additional {{mediawiki|Manual:User_rights|user rights}} would grant. Effectively, this makes the wiki read only for those users. Sysops or others with access to the blocking and unblocking interface may still block and unblock others (including themselves) while blocked.

==See Also==
*{{mediawiki|Manual:Block and unblock}}

{{Languages|Help:Blocking users}}
[[Category:Help|Blocking users]]
[[Category:Block]]

Help:Range blocks

Kwj2772 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:36:38 GMT

Kwj2772: Quick-adding category Block (using HotCat.js)

{{PD Help Page}}
'''Range blocks''' are technical restrictions applied through [[Special:Blockip]] to a group of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_addresses IP addresses] that prevent them from editing, creating new accounts, sending email through the wiki interface, et cetera. Registered accounts editing from these IP addresses will also be blocked, unless you check the box to only block anonymous editors.

Range blocking is enabled on all [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation Wikimedia] wikis; to enable it on other wikis, add "<code>{{mediawiki|Manual:$wgSysopRangeBans|$wgSysopRangeBans}} = true;</code>" in <tt>{{mediawiki|Manual:LocalSettings.php|LocalSettings.php}}</tt>.

To block an IP range from [[Special:Blockip]], enter the first IP address in the range followed by a forward slash and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classless_inter-domain_routing Classless inter-domain routing] (CIDR) suffix. '''You should avoid performing range blocks unless you understand what you are doing, or you may end up blocking tens of thousands of people who are not the problem!'''

==Technical explanation==
CIDR notation is written as the IP address, a slash, and the CIDR affix (for example, the IPv4 "<code>10.2.3.41/24</code>" or IPv6 "<code>a3:b:c1:d:e:f:1:21/24</code>"). The CIDR affix is the number of starting digits every IP address in the range have in common when written in binary.

For example: "<code>10.10.1.32</code>" is binary "<code>00001010.00001010.00000001.00100000</code>", so <code>10.10.1.32/27</code> will match the first 27 digits ("<code>00001010.00001010.00000001.00100000</code>"). The IP addresses <code>10.10.1.32</code>–<code>10.10.1.63</code>, when converted to binary, all have the same 27 first digits and will be blocked if <code>10.10.1.32/27</code> is blocked.

As the CIDR affix increases, the block affects fewer IP addresses (see [[#Table|table of example ranges]]). CIDR affixes are not the same for IPv4 addresses as they are for IPv6 addresses.

==Calculating the CIDR affix==
You can use the [[#Table|table of sample ranges]] below to guess the range, use a computer script, or manually calculate the range.

===Conversion to binary===
The first step in manually calculating a range is to convert the first and last IP address to binary representation. (This assumes you're not using a computer script, which can probably calculate the range for you anyway.) An IP address is composed of four groups of eight ones and zeros. Each group represents a number from 0 to 255. To convert a number to binary, you can use a [http://www.ccci.com/tools/subcalc/binary.html reference table] or know the value of each binary digit:
{| class="prettytable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 1
|-
| 128
| 64
| 32
| 16
| 8
| 4
| 2
| 1
|}

Proceeding from left to right, fill in '1' if the number is at least that value, and subtract that value (if it's not, fill in '0' and don't subtract). For example, to calculate 240:
# 240 is at least 128, so place 1 and subtract 128.
# 112 (240-128) is at least 64, so place 1 and subtract 64.
# 48 (112-64) is at least 32, so place 1 and subtract 32.
# 16 (48-32) is at least 16, so place 1 and subtract 16.
# Since the remaining value is zero, all the remaining places are '0'.
Thus, 240 is 1111 0000 because it can be represented as 128+64+32+16+0+0+0+0.

===Calculate range===
# Place both IP addresses one atop the other, and count how many starting digits are exactly alike. This is the CIDR affix.
# Double-check! Being off by one digit could extend your block by thousands of addresses.

The example below calculates the CIDR range between 69.208.0.0 and 69.208.0.255. Note that this is a simple example; some groups of IP addresses do not so neatly fit CIDR affixes, and need multiple different-sized blocks to block the exact range.
IP addresses:
69.208.0.0
69.208.0.255
 
Convert to binary:
0100 0101.1101 0000.0000 0000.0000 0000
0100 0101.1101 0000.0000 0000.1111 1111
 
Count identical first numbers:
'''0100 0101.1101 0000.0000 0000'''.0000 0000
'''0100 0101.1101 0000.0000 0000'''.1111 1111
|____________________________|
24 digits
 
CIDR range:
69.208.0.0/24
</pre>

===Table of sample ranges===
The table below shows the IP blocks each CIDR suffix affects. Note that MediaWiki only supports blocking CIDR suffixes 16–32.

{| class="prettytable"
! CIDR
! Start Range
! End Range
! Total addresses
! Bits selected in IP address
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/0'''
| 0.0.0.0
| 255.255.255.255
| 4,294,967,296
| ********.********.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/1'''
| 0.0.0.0
| 127.255.255.255
| 2,147,483,648
| 0*******.********.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/4'''
| 64.0.0.0
| 79.255.255.255
| 268,435,456
| 0100****.********.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/8'''
| 69.0.0.0
| 69.255.255.255
| 67,108,864
| 01000101.********.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/11'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.238.255.255
| 2,197,152
| 01000101.110*****.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/12'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.223.255.255
| 1,048,576
| 01000101.1101****.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/13'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.215.255.255
| 524,288
| 01000101.11010***.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/14'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.211.255.255
| 262,144
| 01000101.110100**.********.********
|- style="color:gray;"
| 69.208.0.0'''/15'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.209.255.255
| 131,072
| 01000101.1101000*.********.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/16'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.255.255
| 65,536
| 01000101.11010000.********.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/17'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.127.255
| 32,768
| 01000101.11010000.0*******.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/18'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.63.255
| 16,384
| 01000101.11010000.00******.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/19'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.31.255
| 8,192
| 01000101.11010000.000*****.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/20'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.15.255
| 4,096
| 01000101.11010000.0000****.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/21'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.7.255
| 2,048
| 01000101.11010000.00000***.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/22'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.3.255
| 1,024
| 01000101.11010000.000000**.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/23'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.1.255
| 512
| 01000101.11010000.0000000*.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/24'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.255
| 256
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.********
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/25'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.127
| 128
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.0*******
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/26'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.63
| 64
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.00******
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/27'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.31
| 32
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.000*****
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/28'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.15
| 16
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.0000****
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/29'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.7
| 8
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.00000***
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/30'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.3
| 4
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.000000**
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/31'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.1
| 2
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.0000000*
|-
| 69.208.0.0'''/32'''
| 69.208.0.0
| 69.208.0.0
| 1
| 01000101.11010000.00000000.00000000
|}

==References==
* [[wikipedia:Classless Inter-Domain Routing|Classless Inter-Domain Routing]]
* [http://www.ccci.com/tools/subcalc/binary.html Converting IP addresses to binary]

==External links==
* [http://www.find-ip-address.org/ip-country/ IP Address Ranges Block] gives you complete IP ranges for certain country.
* [http://apps.csc.fi/laskin2.html Netmask calculator] which helps in making the correct decision for range blocks.
* [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~chm/blockcalc.php Rangeblock-Calculator] gives you the range you should use when blocking.

{{Languages|Help:Range blocks}}

[[Category:Help|Range blocks]]
[[Category:Block]]

EiWiki - User contributions [en]

Help:Blocking users

Help:Range blocks