Admin Forum:Quick removal of categories from pages

Originally, I wanted to import HotCat from Wikimedia. But after seeing that it's a complicated process, I decided against it.

This is more of a suggestion, but I propose a way to edit categories without editing the article itself. We have users who love to add tons of random categories, which disrupts wiki organization. To remove categories, you must open the edit form, which takes a long time if you have a lot of pages to organize.

My opinion is that we should be able to remove/modify categories as fast as they can be added.

Does anybody else agree or have an opinion about this? -- Echmann1174 (talk) 03:28, November 8, 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree that adding a category is little different from removing one. And that that button for adding categories is a tempting target for mischief. I would rather remove the addcategory button. It should only appear when you're in edit mode. ForestMonthZero 12:25, November 8, 2011 (UTC)


 * Yeah, the fact that its so EASY to ADD categories and so hard to remove them has been bugging me for some time now. I don't care what way (if only adding in edit mode or adding AND removing seperately), but it WOULD be WAY better if adding AND removing worked the same way. Mak23686 19:06, November 8, 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes I agree. On a wiki i watch over, a user was adding random categories. It took me an hour to delete them all Toadette  I am Team Toadette. We do not give up till we WIN!  Talk to me  23:21, November 9, 2011 (UTC)


 * The fact is that users get badges for adding categories, so Wikia wants to make it easy for users to add random categories on random articles. On the other hand, users don't get badges for removing categories and thus Wikia hadn't the neccessity of making a tool for easy removal of them. --Ciencia Al Poder (talk) -WikiDex 23:34, November 9, 2011 (UTC)
 * I propose an "add/remove categories" button. That would be most helpful. -- Echmann1174 (talk) 07:09, November 10, 2011 (UTC)
 * You can nuke a category fairly quickly with pywikipediabot, but it should really be a part of the user interface --  Random Time  07:11, November 10, 2011 (UTC)
 * What's a "pywikipediabot", and how do I get one? – Echmann1174 (talk) 20:26, November 10, 2011 (UTC)

Pywikipediabot is a collection of scripts written in the programming language Python, designed to automatically make large numbers of repetitive changes to a wiki when run. It's much more effective if you're familiar with Python, but you don't strictly have to be 100% knowledgeable in it to run some of the basis scripts that are included. You can find more information here. Alternatively, there is also AutoWikiBrowser, which can't do nearly as much, but is much easier to use and can also run automatically. The 888th Avatar  (talk)  22:41, November 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * Jumping in a little late on this forum &mdash; it's true it is very easy to add categories and yes, not easy to remove them. As a whole it's important to assume good faith in editing. Categories are a great way for new editors to contribute: small wikis need new editors to get growing & big wikis can handle the issue of bad category adds in their own the way. --Meighan http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 01:30, November 11, 2011 (UTC)


 * But categories are considered "advanced" usually on wikis that are not Wikia. You'd have to know how categories are set up on the wiki you're working on, or you'll be adding misnamed categories. What's the point in having "Character", "Characters", "Fictional characters", "Dramatis Personnae" added to different character articles, since they're not the same category... all the articles end up in different bags and you click on the category and don't end up with a the thing you're looking for. And since categories that don't exist are not redlinked, you can't simply tell you didn't make a typo when adding a category either.
 * I don't see how it's bad faith to presume you should need to press edit to edit the article (adding/removing categories are editing). If a person needs to press edit to change the category, then maybe they'll also fix typos in the content of the page itself as well. ForestMonthZero 06:29, November 11, 2011 (UTC)


 * Assume good faith is not much of a solution. I also miss the good old days when CategorySelect was available in the editor. Also, "big wikis can handle the issue of bad category adds in their own the way" sounds evasive and as an admin of a big wiki, we handle it by grumbling and just doing it the old, hard way. -- Fandyllic (talk &middot; contr) 11 Nov 2011 5:07 PM Pacific
 * What exactly would AWB do for me, and how do I go about getting one? – Echmann1174 (talk) 13:50, November 12, 2011 (UTC)


 * AWB (which stands for "Auto Wiki Browser") is a program you can download that lets you do many things similar to the functions of a bot. For example, it enables you to quickly do find + replace edits across large numbers of pages. In the case of categories, AWB can be used to quickly add or remove categories from the bottoms of articles. Check out this page for more information: Wikipedia:Autowikibrowser --Gardimuer { ʈalk } 00:14, November 13, 2011 (UTC)