Help:Protected pages
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A protected page is a page where normal users are prevented from editing and/or moving at all. Only a user with sysop permissions can edit or move a protected page. Likewise only sysop users can protect a page in the first place, or unprotect the page to lift the restriction.
Each activity of protecting or unprotecting a page is saved in its revision history.
There are several reasons why a particular page might be protected:
- On public wikis, pages may be protected because they have been repeatedly targeted with vandalism or moved to bad titles, or where it is believed that vandalism or page moves would have an unusually severe impact.
- On corporate wikis, pages may be protected when they contain statements which have been approved by management, and policy dictates that those statements can't be changed without following a certain approval process.
Types of protections
Two types of protection levels exist on MediaWiki by default.
- Semi protected - This option prevents non-registered users from editing the page. It is best used to curb vandalism. On a page's protection settings, this option is specified as "Allow only autoconfirmed users".
- Fully protected - This option reserves editing rights to only administrators. It is used to stop edit wars, for legal reasons, curb large-scale disruptions, etc. On a page's protection settings, this option is specified as "Allow only administrators".
Wikis can define additional protection levels using the $wgRestrictionLevels configuration setting.
Page protection limits collaboration on the wiki content, and should be avoided where possible.
How to protect a page
Click on the "Tools" drop-down menu, and select "Protect". You will be asked to choose the type of protection and also to add a reason for the protection. For the type of protection, choose either "Allow only autoconfirmed users" or "Allow only administrators".
How to unprotect a page
Click on the "Tools" drop-down menu, and select "Change protection". You will be asked to choose the type of protection and also to add a reason for the protection. For the type of protection, choose "Allow all users".
See also
- Help:View source
- Manual:Administrators
- Template:Edit Protected - A template to ask for changes on a protected page
- Special:ProtectedPages - A list of protected pages