Help, I can't edit my help pages

[ventrical]

We just had to lock down the wikis again today because it was being overrun by spammers who have gotten more insidious and malicious. Plus they've been essentially mail-bombing the team admins with requests to join the team to edit the wiki, I woke up with well over 100 emails in my inbox from these fraudulent accounts.

We're going to work with Canonical IS to find a way to work past this, but I'm a volunteer and so are all the other doc team members, it may take some time to get this all in a workable state again

Hi elizabeth,

Are wikis still locked? Seems so here.

Regards,
VEntrical

[Rex Bouwense]

I am having similar problems. I have been editing the wiki pages for my LoCo and submitting the monthly reports for at least a year before the requirement that editors be members of Users of Ubuntu Etherpad Instance. I have since been approved as a Team member, but still run into the dreaded immutable page. So are we to wait it out until the Spam situation is sorted out or is there another step like becoming a Ubuntu member that will solve our lowly problem? I am at a loss as to my next step.

[PaulW2U]

I am having similar problems. I have been editing the wiki pages for my LoCo and submitting the monthly reports for at least a year before the requirement that editors be members of Users of Ubuntu Etherpad Instance. I have since been approved as a Team member, but still run into the dreaded immutable page. So are we to wait it out until the Spam situation is sorted out or is there another step like becoming a Ubuntu member that will solve our lowly problem? I am at a loss as to my next step.

Hi Rex, it is my understanding that the wikis are only (currently) editable by those who are "known" contributors to the Ubuntu project. Unfortunately there is a "backdoor" into gaining membership to the ~ubuntu-etherpad Launchpad group which has been used by many spammers of late hence the removal of wiki access to those group members.

Although the matter has been raised on several official Ubuntu mailing lists, as far as I can tell no-one has so far commented on the official position.

All I can offer you is what i have gleaned from various sources.

In any case, why aren't you an Ubuntu Member? Surely you've made sufficient contributions elsewhere (as well as here).

[sudodus]

It is not enough to be an Ubuntu member. As staff emeritus I am an Ubuntu member. I can edit the Ubuntu wiki pages, but I cannot edit the Ubuntu help pages.

If you become an Ubuntu member, maybe some staff member can guide you through the labyrinth like they did with ventrical

[PaulW2U]

I can edit the Ubuntu wiki pages, but I cannot edit the Ubuntu help pages.

Which is one of the reasons why I asked for an official explanation that would confirm who can or cannot edit the wikis at this time but no-one (so far) has replied to my request or to that of a member of the Docs team.

ventrical's problem was unique and not really relevant to the issues that other's are seeing.

[Rex Bouwense]

paulW2U: To answer your question as to why I am not a member already. I have no answer. I never found the need to become one before. Just plodding along helping people where I can never required membership. Membership in a LoCo never required it and of course neither did membership in a LUG.

sudodus: Since I am not going to edit help pages, perhaps Ubuntu membership alone will allow me to edit our Team wiki pages and submit the required reports. If not I will wait it out like the rest of my peers.

[sudodus]

Welcome Rex

If you apply for membership I will support it.

[ventrical]

...Since I am not going to edit help pages, perhaps Ubuntu membership alone will allow me to edit our Team wiki pages and submit the required reports. If not I will wait it out like the rest of my peers.

Becoming an Ubuntu Member will help you edit all the wiki pages.
Back over a year ago there were some problems with expired LoCo groups accounts. Somebody got in through a back door and became a security issue. The forums were closed for quite sometime while Canonical IS worked on the problem. The solution. Was SSO. More spammers came along just recently and now those who were able to edit with ether.pad instance can no longer do so.

If you look at top banner of the page there is help on becoming ubuntu member and
signing code of conduct. It is based on contributions to the forums. I will support your application also but I would expect that you join Development Version Testing and help with quality assurance. U+1 is a moderated team but will also give you added ability to edit the wikis at large.

So please take sudodus's advice and then join U+1. Because of security issues and contribution based membership process it may be difficult but if you commit to a forum team then I am sure the Community Council will look at this and treat your application fairly.

I will gladly support your membership application.

Regards..

[ventrical]

I am having similar problems. I have been editing the wiki pages for my LoCo and submitting the monthly reports for at least a year before the requirement that editors be members of Users of Ubuntu Etherpad Instance. I have since been approved as a Team member, but still run into the dreaded immutable page. So are we to wait it out until the Spam situation is sorted out or is there another step like becoming a Ubuntu member that will solve our lowly problem? I am at a loss as to my next step.

Just an awesome wiki!! You got the right ideas for instructional development. !

Regards..

[PaulW2U]

Anyone wanting to follow the progress on the resolution of this matter can follow the #ubuntu-community-team IRC channel.

it's a problem that has been acknowledged as being in need of an urgent resolution.

http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2016/06/02...nity-team.html is the current URL for the IRC logs.

You'll need to adjust the URL for the IRC logs of later dates than 2nd June. As I type this I see that the logs are a couple of hours behind.