IPv6 initiative
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The IPv6 initiative was initiated to fully prepare the global Wikimedia community for the launch of IPv6 on the websites. Originally started as an English Wikipedia WikiProject, the initiative is a global task requiring the coordination of all Wikimedia wikis.
Overview
IPv6 is a new version of the Internet Protocol intended to succeed IPv4. The new address format is 128 bits long, compared to IPv4's 32 bits, allowing an address space the square of the square of the number of IPv4 addresses in size. IPv4 is running out of addresses, causing one IPv4 address to potentially represent many different users.
The Wikimedia Foundation enabled IPv6 during the 06 June 2012 multi-organization launch of IPv6, but on-wiki scripts and Toolserver software may need to be modified to accommodate IPv6. Policies, especially those pertaining to IP blocking, need to be updated to take into account the changes IPv6 brings about, and local communities educated about them.
The first IPv6 (anonymous) edit to a production Wikimedia wiki was this one on MediaWiki.org. IPv6 was enabled several hours after World IPv6 Launch began. The first non-testing block of an IPv6 address on a Wikimedia production wiki was this one by Mh7kJ (Orashmatash at the time) on simplewiki. The first IPv6 global block (excluding tests or premature blocks) was this one by Matanya.
Tasks
- Change the following scripts to accommodate IPv6 and IPv6-related policy changes:
- Change Toolserver scripts to accommodate IPv6 and IPv6-related policy changes, including but not limited to:
- Edit counting scripts
- Rangeblock-calculating scripts (like this one)
- User comparison scripts
Ensure Huggle works well with IPv6 (currently chokes on IPv6 anonymous edits)- Construct policies for dealing with IPv6, and revise old ones including but not limited to:
- Wikipedia:Blocking IP addresses - IPv6 blocking has different implications than IPv4 blocking.
- Wikipedia:CheckUser (global policy)
- Wikipedia:User pages (for dealing with IPv6 shared IP tags, etc.)
- Create a policy for IPv6 rangeblocks.
- Puppetise NfSen
- Resolve issues listed at en:User:Jasper Deng/IPv6
- Educate communities about such changes and how to deal with them.
Coordination
Essentially everyone has to be involved, especially given the purpose of Meta, including but not limited to:
- Stewards
- CheckUsers
- Staff
- Sysadmins
- Sysops, on all wikis
- Bureaucrats, on all wikis
- Any user with any form of global permissions, except global IP block exemption and bots
- Developers
CentralNotice and watchlist notices should be posted globally.