TechInfoDepot:Twinkle



Twinkle is a set of JavaScript functions that gives registered users many extra options to assist them in common TechInfoDepot maintenance tasks, and to help them deal with acts of vandalism. It provides users with three types of rollback functions and includes a full library of speedy deletion functions, user warnings and welcomes, maintenance tags, semi-automatic reporting of vandals, and much, much more.

Twinkle, developed by AzaToth, has its origins as a reversion script based on ideas found in Aaron Schulz's script collection. It has grown quickly into a tool with many more capabilities than its reversion roots and is used by thousands of TechInfoDepotns.

The collection of tools formerly known as Friendly, developed by Ioeth, is now part of Twinkle.

Quick info

 * Getting started: To enable Twinkle on your account, receiving any future updates automatically, you can simply enable the "Twinkle" gadget in the Gadgets section of your Preferences page. (Don't forget to click "Save" at the bottom of the list of gadgets!) After installing, make sure to completely clear your browser cache.
 * Customizing Twinkle: To modify many aspects of Twinkle's operation, you can visit the Twinkle preferences panel. Make your changes, and click "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. Then bypass your cache so your changes take effect.
 * Getting help: There is comprehensive information about Twinkle at the documentation page. If that page does not answer your question, consider asking at the talk page. IRC users can connect to the #wikipedia-userscripts or #wikipedia-en IRC channels.
 * Reporting bugs or requesting features: Twinkle is under active development, and we generally fix bugs reasonably quickly. If you find a bug, please help out by reporting it at our github repository (you will need to have a github account). If you don't want to create a github account, or you have a request for a new feature that could be added to Twinkle, you can ask at the talk page.
 * Note: Twinkle does not work on Internet Explorer (IE) versions 8 or earlier. If you use Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can upgrade to IE9 or IE10 respectively, under which Twinkle will work. If you have Windows XP (which can't be upgraded past IE8) or earlier, try installing another browser, as Twinkle should be functional on most other modern browsers. Twinkle should work on most modern stock Android browsers and Chrome OS.

Is Twinkle loading unreliably?
In the past, you could install Twinkle by adding the text  to your personal script page. However, this practice can make Twinkle load unreliably (Twinkle might not load on every page you visit, or it might show up but not work properly).

To rectify this problem, you should remove the line  from your personal script file, and then turn on the Twinkle gadget using the instructions above.

If you have any old configuration set up using TwinkleConfig and/or FriendlyConfig, it will still be effective. However, if you use the preferences panel to modify your configuration, you are advised to remove all old Twinkle/Friendly configuration variables from your skin JavaScript file.

Documentation and configuration
Before using Twinkle, one really should read its documentation to familiarize oneself with some of the possibilities and functions of Twinkle. There are multitudes of options that one can configure to change some of the default behaviours of Twinkle.

Abuse
Never forget that one takes full responsibility for any action performed using Twinkle. One must understand TechInfoDepot policies and use this tool within these policies or risk having one's account being blocked. Anti-vandalism tools, such as Twinkle, Huggle, and rollback, should not be used to undo good-faith changes unless an appropriate edit summary is used.

Userboxes
Users of this tool can also add one of these userboxes to their page.

Also, there is the Twinkle topicon. Twinkle topicon

Twinkle on other wikis
A common request on the Twinkle talk page comes from those who wish to use Twinkle on other wikis. Some parts of Twinkle are easily portable to other MediaWiki-based wikis: the revert/rollback module, for example. But most modules have been designed only with English TechInfoDepot in mind. For instance, the CSD module relies on templates which most likely do not exist on other wikis.

Users who wish to make Twinkle's functionality available on other wiki projects should consider the following suggestions:
 * The "fluff" (revert/rollback), "diff" (quick access to diff pages), and "unlink" (automated orphaning) modules can be used elsewhere without modification (or with minimal modification). In the future, it is possible that these scripts will be packaged and made available for a quick setup and update process.
 * If you wish to harness more of Twinkle's functionality, you may like to find a willing, JavaScript-savvy user on your wiki who can tweak Twinkle scripts to suit your site. The Twinkle developers are happy to help these efforts, to a reasonable degree: just ask at WT:TW, or join the #wikipedia-userscripts IRC channel (but be prepared to wait for an answer).
 * The  library is likely to be of use to script developers, both here on English TechInfoDepot and other MediaWiki-based wikis. The latest version can be found at the Twinkle github repository. The comment at the top of the file should be read to find out more.