What is WikiAlerts?

WikiAlerts is an application that tracks Wikipedia pages for changes, so that you can track this important aspect of your online reputation.

Is WikiAlerts a licensed product or service?

WikiAlerts is currently a free product aimed primarily at companies, notable individuals and PR firms, who want to track and be alerted about edits made to specific Wikipedia pages.

Will WikiAlerts remain free after the Beta?

There will be a free version with minimal functionality and two tracked terms. After the beta, we will formulate the pricing policy and inform our users accordingly.

What information do I have to provide to register?

All that is required is an email and password.

Does WikiAlerts support corporate accounts?

Yes, WikiAlerts supports corporate accounts. Contact us for pricing and additional features.

How can I best use WikiAlerts?

The best use of WikiAlerts is to track pages about companies and notable individuals to ensure that their online reputation is not endangered by content in Wikipedia pages.

Is there a limit to the number of Wikipedia pages I can track?

Currently, we allow ten tracked pages. You can review past changes of any page at any time for free.

What types of changes are reported?

Please see the Glossary for the types of changes reported.

Can I filter for specific types of changes?

During the Beta phase, tracking an page includes notifications for all types of changes. In the near future we will support filters

How can we tell when a block of text has moved on the page?

Sometimes, within one alert, the same block of text is both crossed out in red (#TextDeleted) and underlined in red (#TextAdded). This usually indicates that a block of text has been moved.

When do we alert you about Wikipedia page changes?

We note each time there is a significant change and alert you within minutes.

What changes are not tracked by WikiAlerts?

WikiAlerts tracks all changes. However, we do not report small changes like punctuation and spacing. Additionally when a change is made by a Bot, we only inform that a Bot has made changes, but don’t actually show the changes made.

What do the 3 dots signify?

We endeavor to give some context for the change without including vast amounts of text. The 3 dots or ellipsis indicate an intentional omission of content. Generally, we provide the closest heading as context, and show an ellipsis if the change is further down the page.

Why did I get an email signifying a change but there was no actual change?

Sometimes there are changes that are so minute that it’s difficult to see them Examples include a space added or deleted, punctuation and other very small changes that have little effect on the content of the page. Although we show these on the web app, we do not send an email alert when these minor edits are made. 

The editor’s comments often provide the best explanation for the changes.

What is a bot and why doesn’t WikiAlerts display the change?

A bot (a nickname for a software robot) is an automated tool that carries out repetitive and mundane tasks. We don’t show the actual change, but we do show that a bot has made a change. In most cases, the bot change is not sufficiently significant to impact your online reputation.

How is Wikipedia constructed and how does that affect the changes we show?

Wikitext, also known as Wiki markup or Wikicode, consists of the syntax and keywords used by the MediaWiki software to format a page. Sometimes, editors will make a mistake in the syntax and the resulting display will look odd. WikAlerts reports changes very closely to the way they appear in Wikipedia.