Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-5643552-20130313182349/@comment-5643552-20130412191255

Benjaminthewill123123 wrote: Category:Vandalism this should have a template so we can clearly mark vandalism

Vandals generally do what they do for the sake of attention, so they should be given only as much attention as is absolutely necessary. I don't see how a whole category and template would be necessary; we already have Delete Now and the Vandal template for regular users/members of VCROC to alert admins of active vandalism (I just realized that I forgot to add that to the update >_>), which should be more than enough.

Also, while on topic of vandalism, I don't think the warnings VCROC members leave on people's talk pages when reverting vandal edits is practical, especially when you take into consideration that vandalism, by definition, is a DELIBERATE attempt to deface or otherwise compromise the integrity of a wiki.

Vandals don't need to be warned, and we shouldn't automatically assume vandalism every time someone makes a bad edit. They may very well have good (albeit misguided) intentions, and with proper guidance and patience, they could turn out to be quality contributors. Assuming bad faith could lead to misunderstandings and cause the situation to escalate into ACTUAL vandalism, this time as a form of vengeance.

TL;DR: We don't need a template to clearly mark vandalism because it might not be clear whether an edit actually IS vandalism.