Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive131

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[edit] User:Marudubshinki

About three weeks ago Maru was blocked indefinitely by me for a fairly serious BOT useage violation. The incident was discussed here but is now archived. Maru has now requested the block be removed, which I've done, as he's given a promise [1] that he won't do it again. -- I@n 00:53, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Sounds fine to me. Reblock if the bot reappears though, I assume. --W.marsh 01:34, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
This has become a most serious and depressing affair.
Quite a while ago, Maru was blocked indefinitely for continually running an unregistered bot that constantly misbehaved. He unblocked himself, claiming that the bots were shut down, then resumed running his bots that same day.
Some time later he was blocked again, for the same reason, and during the discussion around this later block it was discovered that he had previously unblocked himself on a pretext. He was then warned in the strongest of terms that he must not unblock himself. IIRC, Essjay even threatened an emergency de-sysopping.
As I@n says above, Maru has now promised not to run any unauthorised bots, and requested an unblocking.
However, now things get really sleazy. Maru has just disclosed on his user page that he sometimes uses another account, Rhwawn. [2] Nothing wrong with that, and kudos to him for making it public, except...
He created this account three days after he was blocked, and has made over 700 edits with it. If blatant evasion of a block isn't bad enough, most of Maru's edits through the Rhwawn account are unauthorised bot edits!
This has gone on too long. I am going to apply indefinite blocks to both Maru and Rhwawn, ask Essjay to look into an emergency desysopping, and request a CheckUser.
Snottygobble 01:46, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Endorse permanently banning Rhwawn as an unauthorized bot account and sockpuppet. Endorse indefinite block (in the sense of to be determined) on Maru. Essjay has not been around for several days so you might want to contact another bureaucrat about the de-sysopping and an arbitrator about the checkuser. Thatcher131 (talk) 01:58, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
If the main account is unblocked, I don't see a (policy) reason to block the sock, if the evasion was in the past. An alternative is arbitration now, but since as far as I know he's promised in good faith to stop the bot then I think we should give him a chance. --W.marsh 02:04, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

FYI As far as I've been able to gather (from Marudabshinki), he *is* using the pywikipediabot framework, but he's using a manual or semi-auto tool. This is a lot faster than editing the wiki directly, but it's still under manual control. Kim Bruning 01:59, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

This isn't about Maru's bot flag anymore. It is about Wikipedia having an admin that
  1. Unblocks himself on a pretext
  2. Creates socks to avoid blocks
  3. Requests unblocking on a pretext
Snottygobble 02:06, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Endorse block and emergency desysopping. This guy has always struck me as a bit reckless, and he isn't playing by the rules anymore. CanadianCaesar Et tu, Brute? 02:09, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Opinion struck per below. CanadianCaesar Et tu, Brute? 02:20, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Um, like the original block was really dumb? I think the separate account is for when running the bot... (as long as he possibly declared it) , and requesting unblocking is always ok. Granting the request is something else.
I'm not saying that I'm nescesarily right, but it does still seem possible to assume good faith in this instance.
If Marus story is true, then perhaps we could think about desysopping someone else. There's some decent ways to determine the truth though.
We could have an admin or two unblock him, and watch him carefully for a little while. Is that ok? Worst case he messes up, and they can block him again. Kim Bruning 02:12, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Can you clarify your "perhaps we could think about desysopping someone else" comment for me? Snottygobble 02:26, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Um that pretext stuff is pretty assuming bad faith there snotty. Did he evade the block? Yes. Was it stupid? Yes. Is it worth a desysopping? No. He didn't abuse any admin tools this time, just made a sock that did good edits. pschemp | talk 02:09, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
In the first case, Maru was blocked indefinitely, explicitly told not to unblock himself, and told that he would be unblocked once he agreed not to run an unauthorised bot. He unblocked himself, with edit summary "bot shut down", then started up the bot again the same day. That is unblocking on a pretext; its pretty hard to argue with that. The quality of his subsequent edits have nothing to do with it. Snottygobble 02:21, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
I am inclined to reduce the blocking to maybe a week or less. Others agree? User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 02:14, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Blocking is a means to protect the wiki. Not a punishment. Unblock right away, but keep an eye on Marudabshinki for a while so everyone stays happy. If he's truely the root of all evil, we can always block him again for good. I have some doubt if that'll happen though. Either way, I'd just like to have a couple of extra pairs of competent eyes on the matter. Kim Bruning 02:18, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
If you guys want an admin running around that unblocks himself, evades blocks by creating sockpuppets, and promises not to run unauthorised bots while running an unauthorised bot through a sock, you go ahead an unblock him. I won't wheel war with you, but I will think your decision is stunningly stupid. Snottygobble 02:24, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Maru has posted this on his user page; posting here as a courtesy. Snottygobble 02:16, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Needless to say, I strongly disagree with this block. I don't particularly mind you blocking the Rhwawn account, since it was originally for the Board election, and I don't expect to need it again, but blocking my main account for semi-automated disambiguating and de-selflinking edits really cooks my chestnuts. Was I ban avading? Under a strict interpretation, I suppose so. A process wonk could surely argue that this is grounds for a few days or weeks banned, but an indef ban? Look at my edits. THey were good edits. We're supposed to judge by results, not mindlessly follow process; that's what IAR is all about, and we keep it around for a reason. Does de-sysoping, an indef blocking (with an apparent intention of making it truly indefinite and infinite) truly seem proportional to my actual offenses? I've contributed so much good work to Wikipedia, and so little bad work; doesn't that merit any consideration when I violate your interpretation of policy in my haste to actually get something done? I'd reply on AN/I, but there seems to be some technical problem. --maru (talk) contribs 02:14, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, we're having him follow procedure now, and watching him. If he is really being stupid, that's all there is to it. If he's actually being smart and someone else is being stupid, we'll find that out quickly enough too. Kim Bruning 02:34, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Zscout has unblocked citing "reducing duration to time served". That's a strange basis, considering the block was for running an unauthorised bot, and Maru spent his "time served" running his unauthorised bot through a sock. Honestly, I find this decision absolutely mind-bogglingly incomprehensible. Snottygobble 02:37, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't really want to be making any more suggestions of my own here but some history might be useful. See Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive124#User:Marudubshinki running unauthorized robots.

  1. He ran a bot account, Bot-maru (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log), which was blocked as an unauthorized bot, and because it was not assisted and was making mistakes. Rather than go to WP:BRFA, he started running the bot on his main account.
  2. He was blocked again because the bot was making mistakes, with the understanding that he could unblock himself if he stopped running the bot. He unblocked himself, and started running the bot again.
  3. The bot was deleting pages, using Maru's sysop bit. Quoting Essjay, This is greatly concerning, as the use of bots with admin privs is opposed very strongly on en.wiki (with the possible exception of Curps, though his is not without it's critics, and may or may not still be running) and by the Foundation (an adminbot on another wiki was desysopped by Anthere not too long ago).
  4. He was blocked again with instructions not to unblock himself. He did anyway, and started running the bot again.
  5. He was blocked a third time and told to stop running the bot. Rather than accept responsibility and seek bot approval at WP:BRFA, he started running the bot on a second account, thereby violating both bot policy and policy against using socks to edit while blocked.

I'll let the rest of you make the decisions. I wonder whether you really expect he will stop running the bot this time, or you just don't care; and I wonder how long he will run it in assisted mode before he turns it loose again; and I wonder if he will lend it his own sysop functions again. But it's not really in my hands. Thatcher131 (talk) 03:20, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

If he runs the bot again without requesting approval first, we will take him out for some ParkingLotTherapy. Basically we're giving him a bit of a last chance, but watching him carefully. We'll soon see if he behaves or not. :-) Kim Bruning 02:44, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
I've just come back here after an hour off-line and see the sh*t has hit the fan. I'm in total agreement with Snottygobble - I'd thought that his last block was his last chance. Maru must have been awfully close to being de-sysopped after he was exposed for unblocking himself to continue using an unauthorised admin-bot. We now find he was using a sock in order to to evade the block. I'd assumed good faith in unblocking him but clearly that was misguided - Maru was cheating his block all along. He is a loose cannon and has shown ongoing behaviour unbecoming of an administrator. -- I@n 02:57, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
I agree that he should be de-sysoped but not blocked because he makes lots of useful articles. JarlaxleArtemis 04:11, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Based only on the information presented here (having not yet done the research myself) I'd support the dead-minning. - brenneman {L} 04:21, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
I don't think the death penalty is the answer here. --Cyde Weys 05:20, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Maybe take this to a RFC, and/or the ArbCom? If I was an admin, I wouldn't have bots running until I got them authorised.

Marudubshinki (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log) has made good edits, as JarlaxleArtemis said, so I don't think an indefinite block is warranted. --TheM62Manchester 08:45, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I would support a de-adminship (not an indef block, too harsh) based on evidence presented here too. - Mailer Diablo 08:58, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Wouldn't an RFC or ArbCom be a better solution? --TheM62Manchester 09:00, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Sure, just that we'll need someone willing to do the filing process. - Mailer Diablo 13:43, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

A lot of people seem to be saying that an indef block is too harsh. But I haven't heard anyone actually propose an indef block, so I'm not sure who you're arguing against. I hope you people don't think my reinstatement of I@n's block was intended to be a final solution; as I stated on Maru's talk page, I reinstated the block "while we thrash out the implications of you running unauthorised bot edits through an alternative account created to avoid an indefinite block applied for running unauthorised bot edits".

For the record, I also do not think Maru should be blocked indefinitely. But I am firmly opposed to him retaining his sysop flag. Snottygobble 09:07, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Indef block isn't appropriate given his good contributions, but unless someone is disputing the facts as laid out above, he has clearly abused the admin tools, and thus should not retain them. Just remove the problem and allow the good contributions. Then block later if it becomes becessary. If consensus here isn't enough for a steward to go on to desysop, send it to arbcom. - Taxman Talk 11:39, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Let's not rush to any unnecessarily hasty decisions. This isn't dangerous. This isn't an emergency. Bring the case to the ArbComm. De-adminship in non-cut-and-dry situations (i.e. repeatedly unblocking self or deleting the main page) is the role of the ArbComm. He is unblocked. Don't reblock him, please. If you think it's serious enough, bring the case to the Committee. No vigilante justice, thank you very much. Sam Korn (smoddy) 12:32, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Concur. ArbCom is appropriate if someone wants to do it. If there are further problems, I'll do it myself. Extra chances are good for minor infractions, but at a certain point we have to assert firmly that admins are as bound by policy as everyone else. -- SCZenz 14:58, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
I think we should take you up on that. If you're willing to draw up the formalities for ArbCom, let it go there. The alternative is going to be widespread support for a steward taking action anyway. The current situation is clearly not satisfactory, per Snottygobble and others. Metamagician3000 07:07, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
I said I'd do that if there are further problems. Have there been further problems? If not, I need to think and look a little more (and maybe talk to Maru a bit) before initiating a case personally; once started, they're hard to unstart. But if there is a case started by someone else, I'll certainly fill in what I know and let the arbitrators decide. -- SCZenz 03:19, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
My bad. You did indeed say that. Metamagician3000 07:08, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
To expand on my earlier comments: I do not think that any amount of quick-poll on this page is sufficient to justify the removal of privledges. Barring the making of a recall proposal into policy, the only (normal) route to do so is through ArbCom. My statement of "support" before was based upon the presumption that a suficient such supports would give someone the stones to request opening an arbitration case. If no one else goes and does it, I'll will:
  1. Go and confirm myself the substance of the statements above,
  2. Create a scratch version of a request for arbitration in my userspace, and
  3. Post a link here to allow it to be "tuned up" or "cast out" by consensus.
Does this sound reasonable?
brenneman {L} 01:29, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
I would say you should start the case if you think it's warranted. I think the case would be well-justified based on past actions; at the same time, confronting a valuable contributor who may now be turning over a new leaf is probably not good for the encyclopedia. So now you have why I'm not filing the ArbCom case. But, as I said, I don't think we should have an extra community discussion and a hanging committee to present the case to the ArbCom. If you think a case is warranted, just give them the facts and let them take it from there. -- SCZenz 03:27, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
I think a case should be made, in the spirit of SCZenz's "just give them the facts and let them take it from there", but lack the "stones" (whatever that means) to make the case myself. Aaron, if you are willing to take this on, I will be happy to take on share the load of presenting diffs. Snottygobble 06:49, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
What SCZenz and Aaron want you to do is that if you feel there should be a case against this user, then you should have the balls (that is what "stones" is) to start the processes yourself. If you are not willing to do the case, then there is nothing much we can really do, since we are not going to do the legwork for you. Of course, we will leave comments and stuff when you file the arbcom case, but, to put in simple terms, it's your turn now. The ball is in your court. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 06:55, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Okay, I will. It doesn't take balls; why would it take balls? It just takes time and effort. Snottygobble 11:59, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] RfAr

I have drafted a RfAr statement at User:Snottygobble/Drafts/RfAr, and have advised Maru of my intention to take it to ArbCom.

Currently the only users listed as "involved parties" are myself and Marudubshinki. I think it is appropriate that I@n and SCZenz add themselves as involved parties and make a statement, but I won't insist. If anyone else considers themselves an involved party, now is the time to begin preparing a statement. Feel free to do so at User:Snottygobble/Drafts/RfAr if you want; just be sure to restrict your edits to your own section.

I have also begun gathering evidence at User:Snottygobble/Drafts/Evidence. You should feel free to add evidence there if you wish. But let's maintain a Brennemanesque insistence on neutral, verifiable facts, okay? This is not a vendetta; it is an invitation for the ArbCom to make a decision, so that we are not left to live with the consequences of a non-decision.

Snottygobble 01:42, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

This request is now pending at WP:RFAR#Marudubshinki. Snottygobble 11:40, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Halibutt

I would like User:Halibutt to be warned for personally attacking me(WP:NPA), multiple times, not only on my user talkpage, but also in numerous discussion threads.

one example comes from my talk page:Then perhaps you could tell me why do you believe black people should be exterminated? //Halibutt 12:26, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I have never made any statements about black people and this was totally nonsensical and out of the blue, check my contribution history to see proof of that. This all started when he started a revert war over the proper name for Polish September Campaign

--Jadger 23:09, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

This was merely an example of the tactics Jadger's been using against my good name for the last week or so (claiming I said something I did not and then accusing me of it on several pages). And from Jadger's comment on my talk page it seems pretty obvious that he understood it as such, that is an example of the said tactics and not as a personal attack. It seems that this report here has been motivated solely by his recent actions being noticed and by the recent warning he received from one of the uninvolved admins, as well as from one of involved admins.
However, if Jadger indeed mistook my comment for an offence, which I seriously doubt, then I'm sorry, as it was not meant to be one. //Halibutt 23:20, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Jadger? What happened? It looks exactly like you removed Halibutt's comment, without even leaving a comment about doing so—without even an edit summary. I assume that was some glitch or mistake? Bishonen | talk 23:02, 20 August 2006 (UTC).

If you were truly sorry, then why have you never said so on my talk page? or anywhere else for that matter except for where you can be punished (here). it was not "an example of the said tactics and not as a personal attack" or else he would of stated so, and my statements on his userpage show that. As for accusing him of saying something he did not, on his userpage I cited from the talk page where he did indeed state what I was indicating.

I did not "understand it as such" as you can see by my statement on his talk page, (which BTW is what I have been told I have been warned for) as I am forced to tell him in the statement that his attacks on me are logical fallacies.

--Jadger 23:02, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

I want him warned simply for justice (or else I would ask for him to be blocked), not for a vendetta. when two people make personal attacks, they should both receive the same punishment for the same crime, or else it gives the illusion to Halibutt that he can continue to do so, which he has indeed continued to do on my talk page, now he has progressed to thinking he can order me around.

--Jadger 23:05, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Jadger, this makes no sense and is a loss of time. I asked you to remove your offensive comments. You did not and instead claimed that it's perfectly ok to accuse me of things I never said. Above you even claim that you provided a link in which I explicitly state that I have been in a mood that I can revert anyone, which is obviously a lie, since you did not provide any citation for that (no wonder since I neither said nor shown that anywhere - anytime). Anyway, after repeatedly asking you to stand by WP:CIVIL and WP:NPA and getting nothing but further offences and accusations, I simply asked here for some intervention. You've been warned and I thought that solves the issue.
However, now it seems that this childish tit for tat is going on even further. You ask me why have I never apologized on your talk page? And why did you never state on mine that you misunderstood my comment? Anyway, if anyone believes I crossed the lines - feel free to punish me. I don't try to evade any punishment, but would like some basic respect from Jadger. That's what's lacking in his slanderous accusations and that's what sparked this entire discussion. Whether it was my fault to be offended by Jadger - I'm not sure. Whether he misunderstood my comment - I don't know. I did apologize the first second I realized he might be offended. I still await apologies for the offences Jadger has cast. //Halibutt 18:30, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

You asked me to remove my "offensive remarks" but I did not because I could prove that you did indeed say such things (and my remarks were thus not offensive), and I indeed did cite it on your talk page. perhaps you should stop skipping over the occasional line in paragraphs and read the whole article, rather then just what u want to see.

I never stated that I misunderstood your comment on my talk page because you have changed your meaning now (in order to cover your tracks), as you have done before elsewhere, and have been charged as such by others. If you were actually the bigger man as you pretend to be, then you would have done some actions (such as apologising) in order to end the dispute, instead of dragging it out here.

I am not apologizing for the "offences" i have committed because I firmly believe in what I said, and I have been punished for it by a warning which I feel is unjustified. You however have had the chance to end this by publicly apologizing to me on my talk page, which would end the "discussion" and add closure, but you have decided not to do that, instead you have decided to continue making up excuses on here in order so that you can pretend to be the victor . You will only get some "basic respect" from me when you have earned it, I have been brought up knowing that you have to earn respect, and so far you have not.

All Halibutt needs to do is apologize to me and admit that his statements were wrong, and this would be over, but he will not do that.

--Jadger 19:44, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

You repeat that over and over again, yet you did not prove anything at my talk page. You did not prove that I've been in the mood that I could go revert warring, you did not prove that I believe I could revert anyone for no apparent reason, nor did you prove that I think I can state anything I like and then prevent people from removing it. These were your baseless accusations I asked you politely to remove. You denied to remove them and instead stated that it's all ok to suggest such things. It is not and you've been warned by an admin that it was not ok. I wanted that piece of filth removed as per WP:NPA, but you insisted on keeping it in, so instead I asked for some apology. And what did you do? You continued the same disruptive behaviour. Sorry, Jadger, this is just as much time I had to waste. Do not expect any more comments from me unless you apologize. I have a right to defend my good name and believe me I will.
You state above that you firmly believe in what you said. So you firmly believe that you know what I think, right? And that's a reason enough to state what you believe is true and then accuse me of it? I could firmly believe that deep in your heart you're a devoted Nazi, and then start casting such accusations here and there. Would that mean that it's perfectly ok to accuse you of Nazism just because I believe I know what you think? That's absurd and I'm not going to waste more of my time on it. Over and out. //Halibutt 17:09, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

stop twisting my words Halibutt.

--Jadger 22:06, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Peculiar user behavior

User:S-man, User:The Fat Man Who Never Came Back, and User:Qmwnebrvtcyxuz seem to be behaving in a very peculiar way. At one moment, they appear to be very naive: at another, they seem to know an awful lot about the technical details of Wikipedia editing. Their writing style seems very similar. All of this at the same time that various vandals with different MOs seem to have descended on the en: Wikipedia... -- The Anome 22:19, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

I dunno...their styles don't seem to be similar enough to convince me of sockpuppetry. However, feel free to open an RCU on them if you're really convinced. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 22:56, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
I would second an RFCU, also I'm not too happy about this at all. Yanksox 23:00, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
Oh yeah. That there is definitely some bad news. And Cute 1 4 u is a confirmed sockpuppeteer herself (see User:Raven Symone). However, I'm still not sure about the three up there being the same, but an RCU would definitely convince me otherwise. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 23:08, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
User:S-man states he is 9 years old, and User:Qmwnebrvtcyxuz that he is the second-youngest editor on wiki. This might explain some of the concerns... Tyrenius 23:09, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
(edit conflict) Exactly. Not to be ageist, but it seems unlikely that a nine-year-old (S-Man) would create two sockpuppets, have them interact with each other, and have different styles of writing (S-Man seems very proficient grammatically and in terms of spelling, whereas Qmwnebrvtcyxuz is not - see his userpage). Also, S-Man seems like a legitimate contributor, having been around since December 2005. And as for Yanksox below, can you provide some diffs? --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 23:15, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
I'm not refering to Wikipedia, just look at the userpage of S-man and look at some of the links he gives out. Yanksox 23:20, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
Not to sound evil, but when I visit some of the links, I find it very hard to believe their ages. Yanksox 23:11, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
His MySpace says he's 16...although he could be lying to bypass MySpace's "14 or over" rule. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 23:23, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

It's not that, it's other links that he supplys and the fact that he has a father and an aunt on the website according to his userpage. It's too complicated to describe, but something just doesn't seem right about this whole situation. Yanksox 23:26, 20 August 2006 (UTC) (editconflict)To be honest, I think it's either one of two things. One, assuming good faith, it's about 5 users that don't understand the concept of Wikipedia and focus too much on the social aspect or two, thinking about it for a while (paranoia), it's a few users trying to test the patience of the site to get a reaction. It could be either thing, but it is very concerning. Yanksox 23:12, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

I've now indefblocked User:S-man as a self-declared vandal. His "secret vandalism project" seems just too knowing of other Wikimedia projects for a kid just playing around. I suspect that these are adults, trying to see how patient we will be with self-described kids. User talk:S-man now seems to have giant images on it: I find the fake page title of "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..." oddly reminiscent of someone else as well... -- The Anome 23:32, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm glad you did that, as I was getting concerned about this account. He says he is nine, but the writing is sometimes a lot more mature than that, and on other websites, he gives different ages. He has concentrated his time here making contact with what appears to be a bunch of very young users, mostly girls or purporting to be. He said his father and aunt edited here too, and linked to two user names, one of which had made one edit, the other of which had made none, and in both cases, S-man had created their user pages. There was something decidedly ... odd, and I wasn't looking forward to trying to work out what it was. SlimVirgin (talk) 23:37, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Look at this edit, for example. There is something seriously wrong here. I think we should stop assuming good faith at this point. -- The Anome 23:39, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Why on earth are you associating me with these characters? I’m mystified and disappointed by your misguided insinuations. Take a look at my edit history. I know my contributions aren’t terribly impressive (unless you count my rewrites of Battle Dome, Detachable Penis and Wynona's Big Brown Beaver), but you’re going to have to look hard to find any vandalism. Anyway, I just happen to find humor in some of the edits of S-man (and I'm sorry to hear you've blocked the little guy; there are people out there causing a lot more trouble than S-man, who's still learning and trying to make useful edits). If you’re looking for sockpuppets, I might direct you elsewhere.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back 23:40, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

What, like this edit? -- The Anome 23:44, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
What's wrong with that? That's my user page. A couple sockpuppets of Solipsist3 threatened to kill me for nominating his article for deletion. I chose to make light of it; that's my sense of humor--it may not be yours. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's put a darkly tinted joke on his user page. Lighten up.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back 23:54, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
I never believed that you were S-Man's sockpuppet - I think you're innocent. However, there's definitely something bad going down with S-Man - my AGF has been stretched to its limits. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 23:42, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

It gets more ludicrous by the minute. Here, User:Qmwnebrvtcyxuz claims to be eight years old, and furthermore claims here that another user is three months younger. I would suggest that we either:

  • take them at their word, and block them from editing on child protection grounds, or
  • block them for impersonating very young children, and starting conversations with other apparently very young users

-- The Anome 23:48, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes. Jkelly 23:53, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
I may have to rescind my comments above about them not being the same person. As of now, I'm thinking that S-Man and Qmwnebrvtcyxuz are possibly the same child impersonator - as I said above, an RCU would clear that up nicely. I think Fat Man's probably okay; he's never stated his age to my knowledge. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 00:03, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree, I think the Fat Man is probably real, and just got caught up in the paranoia backwash.

However, in this edit User:Cute 1 4 u claims to be 11 years old. Very similar writing style to the other two apparent child impersonators. Again, real or fake pre-teens are just too young to be editing here. -- The Anome 00:11, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Here is another purported 8-year-old editor. Note the similarities to the others. Claims to have two other siblings who are editing here. -- The Anome 00:29, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

You didn't give a link...did you mean Bethicalyna2? --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 00:32, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
That's right, thanks for the correction. I've now deleted the pages in question. -- The Anome 01:03, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

I have been following most (though not all) of these users for some time. I have serious doubts that most of them are the ages they claim to be though I have been unable to come to a conclusion. I figured at least some of them may have been the ages they claimed to be. Anyway, I was uncomfortable enough to have most of them on my watchlist but apart from the occasional copyvio image upload and excessive socialising (WP:NOT), I didn't see enough for me to step in. I am concerned that the stated reason some of these users were blocked is because they are too young. My understanding is that we allow people of any age to edit the Wikipedia and simply judge them on their actions. However, it is possible the real reason for the block is their actions. One more note, most of these people claimed to be siblings. For this reason, a checkuser will show one group of people (six to nine users iirc) editing from the same IP. We don't generally ban for this if they really are separate people. --Yamla 00:50, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

However, their actions included either posting personally-identifying information about themselves, or being online child impersonators. Either of which justifies an immediate indefblock. Blocks are not punishments, they are intended to stop bad things from happening, and either of those is a bad thing. -- The Anome 01:32, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Agreed. SlimVirgin (talk) 01:34, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Note that most of these editors came from 71.231.130.56. This shows up at least one other editor in that family. I am not advocating that we block anyone who has edited from that IP address, however. --Yamla 01:00, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
I believe User:Bethicalyna (mostly edits as 71.231.130.56) claims to be User:Lindsay1980's sister. El_C 01:28, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Yes. By the way, I've deleted Lindsay1980's user page, at her request, see her edit dated 01:30, 21 August 2006 in the deletion history. -- The Anome 01:34, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

The checkuser I filed came back inconclusive. I've asked for an explanation, but I haven't received one yet. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 01:38, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Checkuser is not magic wiki pixie dust. It provides a very narrow type of technical evidence. Inconclusive means Mackensen can't say they probably are, but can't say they probably aren't, either. It's hard to be more specific without giving away info that could help other sockpuppets avoid detection. Thatcher131 (talk) 02:34, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm concerned about Cute 1 4 u's block; it seems predicated on very flimsy evidence (based on the block log comment); if there's more to it than that, I can't see it (most of the diffs linked above are broken). Powers T 13:34, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Sorry but I find this totally unbelieveable. The blocks that User:The Anome has performed recently have been completely unjustified.

  1. Blocks User:The Fat Man Who Never Came Back for this, with block summary "faking talk pages: possibly a multi-sockpuppet" – does not realise that it is within his userspace, and can do as he likes. Does not investigate that User:The Fat Man Who Never Came Back is only preserving an edit which an anonymous user previously added. Unblocks later with summary "unblocking for now", with no apology for any confusion.
  2. Blocks User:S-man for vandalising other Wikipedias. This does not warrant a block on en.Wikipedia in any way at all!
  3. Blocks User:Qmwnebrvtcyxuz, User:Cute 1 4 u, User:Bethicalyna2, User:Lindsay1980 and User:Pizzachelle for being young, with block summaries such as "we don't let very young children edit here". That, is absolute rubbish. We do not hold age, race, sex, sexuality or any other factor against editors here.

-- 88.110.29.105 13:21, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

I must agree with 88.110.29.105. We have absolutely no policy concerning age of contributors. ~ «ct» (t|e) 00:58, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
I have unblocked. If there are reasons to block that relate to their edits (and the blocking policy) then feel free to reblock (putting this reasoning in the block summary). Otherwise, he can stay unblocked, and continue to edit peacefully. We do not hold any personal factors against editors. Full stop. Regards, —Celestianpower háblame 15:50, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Subhash bose has been blocked for 1 week

This is a long standing issue. User:Subhash bose (Nataji) has been blocked 6 times since July 7th for 3RR vios, for violating NPA and other offenses. He came off this last block on the 19th. Since then, he's done such things as call User:Geek1975 and any other user who has opposed him a "vandal". He's also made edit summaries such as "rv. I kept the facts. Read my damn edits" and "Ahh. the sweet smell of fact distorters in the morning". He's also removed material which can be considered properly sourced. And he's also been incivil by Doing an edit summary in ALL CAPS. And then this morning, he essentially declared that he was going to no longer assume good faith and assume "guilty until proven innocent" if he considers a posting to be a "deliberately false edit". And also today, he has labeled edits to his talk page as "bogus", has struck out comments he hasn't liked. And he has also accused other users of being incivil, which he has done in the past. I decided to block him for a week. Given all of his blocks, I wanted to make it indefinite but I know that many admins don't believe in that for violations such as this and I respect that. If someone wants to extend the block, so be it. But to me, we have a user who has been given multiple chances and yet refuses to follow our rules. And if anything, he's getting worse not better. --Woohookitty(meow) 14:25, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

And he keeps on calling me anti-Semitic. BhaiSaab talk 16:48, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Good work on the part of User:Woohookitty here. Hopefully when Subhash bose (talkcontribs) returns he/she'll be inclined to work with more civility towards making this great encyclopedia even better. (Netscott) 16:58, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Also, see Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Subhash bose for compelling evidence that he's sockpuppeteering. A checkuser is pending as well. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 16:58, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Although I have not tracked down similarities in their edits, given the interaction between this user and Bakasuprman (talkcontribspage movesblock userblock log) I wouldn't be surprised if there was puppetry afoot there especially in light of this diff on Subhash bose's talk page. (Netscott) 17:08, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
How am I a sock? Netaji was active on 21 and 22 when I was playing golf in Warm Springs. The diff merely tells him that I was planning to go on wikibreak. Also, I feel these accusations should be treated as personal attacks, because they hurt users. The Muslim users are trying to get Hindu users out of the way.Bakaman Bakatalk 17:20, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Syiem and RSudarshan have both been blocked by Kilo-Lima as socks of Subhash bose. I'm not sure about Bakasuprman, since he hasn't been edit warring on Indian nationalism. Keep an eye on him just in case, though. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 17:11, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Per the ruling here and at Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Subhash bose, I have extended the block to 15 days. IolakanaT 17:15, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

He has contested that these are not his sockpuppets on User_talk:Subhash_bose. I suggest you guys do a checkuser, and if it fails to confirm cases of sockpuppetry, reduce his block to 1 week. BhaiSaab talk 19:47, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

RFCU is currently in progress. IolakanaT 20:15, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
Wow. Thanks for all of the help. It's always appreciated! :) If he is sockpuppeting, I'll increase the block. The user doesn't seem to respect our rules one iota, so I suspect this to continue for awhile. Again thanks for the backup everyone. --Woohookitty(meow) 00:51, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
Wondering if anyone agrees with me on this. I think it's time to lock the user's page. It's being used to attack others and for others to attack the user. He had put up a couple of requests to go onto the suspected sockpuppet page. But it looks like he's finished now. At this point, I think it's time to lock the page and give him time to cool off before he and others make this situation even worse than it already is. Thoughts? --Woohookitty(meow) 07:03, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

I am impressed with the promptness with which violations are dealt with at Wikipedia. Hope Wikipedia continues with its great job. Thanks. --Geek1975 07:09, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Regardless of whether or not the other users were his sockpuppets, he has continued to use (other suspect) sockpuppets to get around his block: Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Subhash bose (2nd). BhaiSaab talk 21:22, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tywright back to removing information

As previously reported here, Tywright (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log) is back to removing information on the Charlie Crist page after being warned multiple times, I think a block may be necessary. --CFIF 16:22, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

He's now back to vandalizing the Tom Gallagher page. He needs to be stopped before his pov pushing goes too far. --CFIF 16:24, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
Does anyone actually care here? --CFIF 12:32, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Hey, folks, could some explain what is meant by "coppa" here? It seems to be a central issue, yet no explanation is given, no links provided, and there is no WP:COPPA. It seems to be related to underage children registering on websites with parental consent, but I haven't been able to find any Wikipedia policy on this issue. This is an important issue at en:Wikiquote, where q:User:Cute 1 4 u is an active editor and has even requested adminship (which I can say rather certainly will not happen). But I apparently need some pointers to critical info. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 07:39, 25 August 2006 (UTC), en:Wikiquote admin

COPA is the Child Online Protection Act - a law in the United States that forbids the collection of information online from minors under the age of 13. — Werdna talk criticism 07:42, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Child Online Protection Act --kingboyk 09:53, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Actually, Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), not Child Online Protection Act (COPA). Quarl (talk) 2006-08-25 10:02Z
Thanks! Do you have any links to any policy or discussions within the Wikimedia Foundation or its projects that pertain to how to protect both underage editors and the Foundation itself? For example, how are we supposed to confirm parental consent, when our editors are anonymous, even if they claim to be so-and-so? ~ Jeff Q (talk) 08:01, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the link to Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything in the article or the FTC external link "How to Comply With The Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule" that covers Wikimedia's situation. We don't collect, let alone distribute, any personal information other than an optional email. The real problem is that children (and quite a few adults, too, but they're on their own) are often unwise enough to post all sorts of personal information about themselves. (I could write a few paragraphs of bio about "Cute 1 4 u" based on the info she's provided on WP, WQ, and linked sites, which would scare the hell out of me if I were her parent.) This is not information we collect, so it doesn't seem to be covered. Nor is it clear how Wikipedia could obtain "verifiable parental consent" when we don't even really know who the editors in question are. (All that bio info could be made up; "Cute" could be a 35-year-old male, for all we know.) Surely somewhere in Wikidom there is a discussion going on about how we address, or are planning to address, this issue? ~ Jeff Q (talk) 10:59, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
As to the point I made above and COPPA it doesn't require that you intentionally collect the information, but if you know that it has been provided i.e. someone admits to being under 13 and they've entered their e-mail address in their account, then you've violated COPPA. A site could be COPPA compliant and then 5 minutes later not be because an under age individual has shown up and entered their e-mail without parental consent. In order to remain compliant you have to either remove the individual's account or get parental permission.--Crossmr 18:20, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Okay. I'm a Wikiquote admin. I have reason to believe Cute is 11. Does Wikiquote have her email address? I can't query the database to find out. I could try to email her, but I will only know if she has one if she responds. If she doesn't, I still don't know. Assuming that Wikiquote is violating COPPA by allowing her personal information (unrequested, but on her user page) to be displayed, who do I contact to get permission? Do I become a stalker to track down her last name and address, then write a letter to her parents? Or do I remove this information, ask her not to repost it, and block her from editing if she doesn't provide a means to confirm consent? If she does this last, how do I know it's legit? We're probably not talking about kids scrawling poorly forged signatures from their parents about being unable to do their homework. These and many other questions and their consequences must be addressed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Where is this discussion taking place? As an active admin on a WMF project, with this likely underage editor currently causing concern on WP, WQ, and possibly other projects, I would like to join this discussion. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 23:48, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
I am not an admin, but I am really concerned about the situation now. Maybe we should create a new policy that prohibits displaying personal info on a userpage. As said somewhere above, no website is safe. There could be a pedophile anywhere in Wikimedia.--Edtalk c E 02:17, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Practical suggestion

Have a policy that "No one identifiable as under-18 may have a user id on Wikipedia". This doesn't mean no under-18s can edit, or even have user pages, just that if it is possible to identify them as youngsters - what a paedophile will be looking for - then the account is immediately blocked. This is one occasion when opening another account would be perfectly OK - as long as again there is no way to determine the age of the user.

The "identifiable as under-18" criterion could be very broad: photos, mention of school, link to MySpace site with info... Anything. And it should be made clear that these measures are not punitive to the user - they are entirely protective.

There is still the issue of potential abusers sending out speculative emails to users hoping are young. But some of these emails will end up going to older folk, which will then be an indicator of who might be dodgy.

Will require policing, but may be lightweight in comparison to other solutions. Dunno how any of this will interact with the legal requirements: as said above, let's wait on what Brad says. JackyR | Talk 15:20, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Am I the only one who thinks this should be a matter for the Foundation and it's lawyers? Sometimes guidance has to come from up above. We're just unpaid volunteers and not (in the main) legal experts. --kingboyk 15:25, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
I agree. This is up to the Foundation. We must be secure and protective to all young Wikipedians. But maybe we shouldn't be too harsh yet. If we make this new policy, all userpages, including subpages, will be reviewed by an admin. If there is info that could pinpoint the exact location of a user, the content in question will be blanked. If the user puts it back, then we tell the user it is for their own protection. If it happens again, the user will be blocked.
I don't see the need of under-18, under 13 is what the law requires. By sticking to that we're not placing any subjective criteria on a user that would require judgement. Anyone under 13 who identifies themselves as such should be blocked until they turn 13 (without asking for birthdays, if they identify as 11, block for 2 years). --Crossmr 18:45, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I also recommend that we have a special page for dealing with harassment. That way, if a young user is contacted by a pedophile, then we can take immediate action. Also, having a centralized page for complaints and reports could make it easier for local police to view all of the incidents and take action. Note: I am not an admin.--Edtalk c E 15:28, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

I think we have an opportunity here to deal with two problems at the same time. The second problem I'm seeing is the increasing usage of this site as a social network, especially by under 18s. They have a few minor edits here and there to fairly trivial articles, but mostly a stack of userboxes and a talk page bursting with chat from other under 18s. Why don't we simply:

  • Delete and prohibit all user boxes which state the user's age or year of birth (birthdays are fine, just no year)
  • Delete all Wikipedians by age categories
  • Automatically block anyone who states their age if it's under x, and block them until birthday x, per Crossmr.
  • Strongly discourage users from revealing their age if under 18, because it detracts from our encyclopedic purpose (and will lead some people to discriminate against them too, I might add).

If these ideas, or a variation thereof, are thought workable perhaps we could put up a policy proposal page somewhere. --kingboyk 09:01, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

There is a policy proposal already at WP:CHILD. Thatcher131 (talk) 17:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the heads up.
I've blocked Bethicalyna (talk contribs) who seems to be here only to chat and play jokes, and who has had some interraction with cute 1. I will review if an unblock is requested. --kingboyk 07:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Publicgirluk

Discussion moved to Wikipedia:Publicgirluk photo debate

Please edit the draft of Wikipedia:Policy on private photos of identifyable models including changing the name to something better than I could think of. Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 13:01, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

If the discussion was moved, what happened to some of the old comments in this thread at AN/I? I can't find some of them on that page. Kasreyn 03:14, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Kmaguir1: (1) several bad faith AFDs? (2) lack of civility (3) disrespect for consensus

Because of a comment left on my talk page by another user concerning my addition of {{sockpuppeteer}} on User:Kmaguir1, I was directed to a discussion concerning this user's recent mass AFD and prod listings, as well as several AFD listings by new users that this user has voted on. While it's a bit bad faith to assume that these users are all sockpuppets, it could be that Kmaguir1 is just now an AFD browser, and not creating sockpuppets to list AFDs. These are just the AFD hits, none of the stubs that he prodded.

--Ryūlóng 06:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Oh, and then there are these off color comments at the AFDs [70] and [71] and possibly [72] at the discussion about him. Ryūlóng 07:04, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Worse still, IMO, is Kmaguir1's gratuitous insult about Danny Yee's appearance: [73]. Yee happens to be a Wikipedian himself, but he has not been involved at all in the AfD of the article about him, nor in any of the other issues with Kmaguir1. I think Kmaguir1 feels somehow that insulting Yee's appearance is a way of attacking me for adding the image to the biography. LotLE×talk 02:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
None of the comments alleged by Ryulong were even close to off color, none were personal attacks, so no problem. And I say that adding the picture was deranged--not the subject in the picture that was added. If Lulu could read well, she may well have noticed that. Furthermore, I object to lulu and ryulong and anthony krupp consistently running to admins every time they have a problem, and unjustifiably so everytime. They misrepresent and misrepresent and no longer have any objectivity on the issues. I am, as Ryulong states, a bit of an AFD browser. I like it because it's one of the easier ways to get rid of much of pointless drivel that haunts Wikipedia, without actually engaging in edits. And yes, I am a hard deletionist--but not harder than some of the people I've seen on that page. And i don't know how sockpuppetry has been alleged--I'm the one putting up all the deletions, articles which I pick either from the "random article" box or I just look at names I don't know that have been up before, or just look small and insignificant. It's time for Lulu and the rest to just be quiet and go about their business on wikipedia with a dignity that has so far not embodied them.-Kmaguir1 08:59, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Kmaguir1's characterization that I run to an admin etc. is false. His allegations of my misrepresenting lack evidence, and I would challenge him to provide them, by pointing to actual diffs, if I were not tired of disruptions. I think his AfD browsing is fine, even if it began in a meanspirited way (trolling Lulu's page creations). I joined him in one of the delete votes, objected on others, was silent on yet others. I say all of this to address his slander, above. I find his advice to be quiet and go about the business of editing to be excellent, and hope he takes it as well. Finally: I think his lack of respect for WP:CONSENSUS is more of a reason for an Admin to look into his edits. See bell hooks and its talk page for a case in point. He has yet to answer specific questions I've posed to him regarding criticisms of hooks, ones I'm willing to have included. I'm willing to play ball; I haven't seen that he is.--Anthony Krupp 15:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
P.S. On his Talk page, commenting on his former meatpuppet friend being able to edit under a new user name, he wrote: "May he edit long and edit well. And may all of y'all go to he-Kmaguir1's restaurant, Tuesday night happy hour from 6-7." Perhaps an administrator can determine whether this is incivil.--Anthony Krupp 15:45, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Well, you called me satan. I don't know how it gets more incivil than that.-Kmaguir1 18:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Kmaguir1's argument now seems to be that my allegedly bad behaviour excuses his. Not valid. Regarding my behavior, anyone is free to see on my Talk page that I compared Kmaguir1 to the 'ha-satan' figure ("the adversary") of the book of Job. This is not the Christian Satan, but is rather a prosecuting attorney against mankind in the heavenly court of God. That is, this figure works for God. In Goethe's Faust, the sense is that the 'satan' figure wants to disrupt but ends up doing good (i.e., God's work). In short: I made this religious history/literary reference in the context of saying that some of Kmaguir1's disruptions have actually resulted in others improving several articles in question. If any administrator regards my conversation as incivil, kindly let me know and I will take steps to make amends. But don't let Kmaguir1 throw a smoke screen over his own behaviour, which has exhausted community patience. (See comments here and elsewhere by Ryūlóng, LotLE, csloat, inter alia.)--Anthony Krupp 18:43, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I'm well aware of the differences in the text of the Torah with respect to the way Satan is conceived and the way the devil is thought of in the New Testament. However, I happen to be a Christian, so I see them as consistent and part of God's plan and part of His inerrant Word. And regardless, it's always, without exception, a personal attack to compare someone to Satan, regardless of your historical hoop-di-doo. It was extremely unwise, and it will be yourself who opened yourself to criticism about it, not I.-Kmaguir1 18:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Kmaguir's edits to Bell hooks have consistently ignored consensus and have been in explicit violation of WP:BLP policies, which he has been reminded of over and over. Instead of engaging in talk, he simply keeps adding the disputed material to the article once a day, when it is quickly reverted. It is taking up time from Wikipedia users who could better spend that time improving articles.--csloat 18:39, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User evading Indef block

  • I agree that these IPs are probably socks. However, there is not much more to do with this specific incident. JC/VW gets new IPs at the drop of a hat and/or uses open proxies. So, blocking these IPs won't add too much to the vandal fighing. -- JamesTeterenko 04:56, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anonymous user threatening legal action

Threats can be found on User talk:84.195.124.111

User refactored Talk:Loose Change (video) to remove all his comments, thus rendering half the discussions extremely confusing as they involved replies to statements that were no longer there. After I reverted the page to make it make sense again, he again removed his comments and threatened legal action.--Rosicrucian 18:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

I have restored the talk page and warned the user. Tom Harrison Talk 18:51, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

The user persists in edit-warring to refactor the talkpage. [74] [75] [76] The user doesn't seem to understand why he can't do this. Will somebody please talk to him again?--Rosicrucian 22:24, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

I've blocked him for three hours. Tom Harrison Talk 23:01, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

User has been warned by several admins, had it explained to him that he does not "own" the content he posts on article talkpages, and is still blanking out his comments on the article talkpage asking us to archive the page early just to suit his wounded pride. [77]--Rosicrucian 14:21, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User: Toira and incivility

I'm reporting personal attacks made by user Toira (talk contribs), see [78].

Toira has a history of making incivil comments towards others on the Zinedine Zidane talk page, [79] [80]. Those who have participated in the discussion including myself have pretty much let those personal attacks slide, and one (of my knowledge) has asked him to calm down [81]. But as it seems this person has no interest in talking in a civilized discussion and is not willing to heed advice, what is the proper way to deal with such users? --Inahet 18:19, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

How long does it take for an admin to answer a simple inquiry on this board? Sheesh! Ignore the above request, I placed a warning on toira's talk page. If personal attacks persist, I guess I'll take it up on the right board. --Inahet 21:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Please keep in mind that while this kind of thing may seem urgent to you, there are many other urgent issues which require the immediate attention of administrators. Think of this page (and all related pages listed at the top) like an emergency room, where each issue is triaged and a determination is made about which issues need response NOW versus those which can wait a few hours. Placing a warning on his talk page was the correct thing to do, and doesn't require an administrator to do it.
If you think someone has made a personal attack, please report it on Wikipedia:Personal attack intervention noticeboard. ···日本穣? · Talk to Nihonjoe 16:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Jon_Awbrey and Wikipedia:Wikilawyering

User:Jon_Awbrey has moved Wikipedia:Wikilawyering to Wikipedia:WikiCaviling, on the grounds that he claims the original title is defamatory to lawyers. However, politically-incorrect or not, "Wikilawyering" is the actual terminology that has been in use on this site's discussion areas; "WikiCaviling" is an ugly neologism with no support that I know of. Page titles should reflect actual usage instead of attempting to impose political correctness. *Dan T.* 18:44, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Jon Awbrey appears not to wish to bother with such apparent wastes of time as bothering to convince others he has a point before embarking on move revert-wars. I've locked Wikipedia:WikiLawyering against such moves and suggest others check other places he may have been hard at work for similar activity, with a 24-hour block IMO being appropriate should he have been working hard enough at his quest to warrant serious admin consideration that he's been sorely disruptive - David Gerard 19:22, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
I blocked Jon for 24 hours for fairly egregious trolling not only in the page move itself, but also the accompanying comments on the Wikilawyering talk page. Gwernol 19:29, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
He'd disrupted WP:NOR for something like a week now, and had just started in at WP:SR. FeloniousMonk 19:33, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
I've unlocked Wikipedia:WikiLawyering, but the close attention of others in 24 hours when Jon's block is up would be a good idea - David Gerard 20:51, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Looking over his recent contributions to his talk page, he's clearly trolling others there, I'm concerned about disruption when his block comes off. FeloniousMonk 22:16, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
I share that concern. I'm sure there will be several eyes on John for some time to come. If he returns to his trolling behavior he should expect longer periods in his bijou prison cell. Gwernol 02:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Does Jon do anything besides trolling? I killfiled him on the mailing list ages ago. Just zis Guy you know? 17:39, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:WikiLawyering - um, yeah. I won't speedy-keep this, but I really think someone else should. Speedy-keeping this is entirely apposite process IMO - David Gerard 22:22, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
And fresh off his 24 hr block for disruptive page moves for the same article? I'll do it. He's exhausted the community's patience with this. FeloniousMonk 22:29, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Slowpoke. I will lengthen his vacation to 48, however, for repeat offenses. Phil Sandifer 22:32, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
LOL. You've got to be quick around here... FeloniousMonk 22:37, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I have given him a brief block for disruption. I have no objection to longer. Tom Harrison Talk 22:31, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Template:IPuser

Exists now, just thought I'd let you know. Happy editing--{anon iso − 8859 − 1janitor} 23:52, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Testing..1.2.3.. 12.34.56.78 (talk • contribsWHOIS).--Andeh 14:50, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Dangherous

As far as I know this user has been blocked from editing Wiktionary as he was a sockpuppet of the guy who deleted the Wiktionary Main Page. Should he not be blocked here too? Just FYI 86.41.133.9 00:06, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Not in the slightest. So long as a user is making useful edits and not consistently breaking Wikipedia policies, he's welcome on Wikipedia. Blocks are preventative, not punitive measures. I don't like this user's contribution patterns... but nothing particularly out of order jumps out. Captainktainer * Talk 00:31, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


[edit] More Charlie Crist issues

Camroarty (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log) and Htanzler (talk • contribslogsblock userblock log) seem to make similar edits to the Charlie Crist page to banned user Tywright (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log), removing key information from the page on his stances, an admin needs to look into this. --CFIF 00:50, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] M7 MBA / User:Opeman

Can someone check Opemans contribution history [82], I have a suspicion that their edits are recreations of deleted content. exolon 00:58, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Not according to the deletion log: [83] [84]. What exactly is the basis for your suspicions? --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 01:59, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Found it - see [85] - I don't know if this stuff counts as recreation of that article, but should be checked. exolon 02:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I'm not an admin, so I can't view deleted pages, unfortunately. However, from what was mentioned in the AfD, M7 MBA Business School seems like a repost of M7 (business school). I would like an admin to view the deleted page to make sure it's substantially similar, though. --Mr. Lefty Talk to me! 02:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Jeez, I remember this as a noob back in February. The old Afd is here: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/M7 (business school). If this guy wants to recreate the content he needs to address the original issues (no verifiable proof that M7 is a significant and widely used term). Thatcher131 (talk) 04:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Still two of his contributions left, probably need deleting as well. exolon 18:32, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Massive POV and 3RR gaming by User:SledDogAC

The aforementioned user has been engaged in a pretty contained (3 articles) but unending edit war on Susan Butcher, Anchorage Daily News and Iditarod (race) for several months now. He spawned a IP sockfarm, but when semi-protection was applied, went back to his username. His contribs [86] show a limited scope, and his edits are solely POV or responding to are attempts to engage in dialogue with him. I'm requesting consideration of a community ban, or barring that, at least another block to get him to think more then the previous ones have. -Mask 02:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Put it in the title but forgot to mention it here, his contribs also show some knowledge of policy, and him gaming it, with 4 reverts spaced out over slightly longer then 24 hours the 23rd/24th on Iditarod (race) article. -Mask 02:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I had a rather long discussion with this user through email in May over this kind of edits, and she promised to try and behave. Apparently she's resumed the same behaviour since. I also warned her about 3RR on her talk page, which may explain the 3RR gaming. As far as I'm concerned, she has no useful contributions at all, and since she's been nothing but disruptive for several months, I'd recommend an indefinite block. - ulayiti (talk) 09:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Awareness of Language

Awareness of Language (talk contribs count) is a sockpuppet of Zen-master (talk contribs count). evidence: repeating same claims (reflected in user name choice), new account with 1 edit --Rikurzhen 02:43, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I've blocked the account. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 05:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:KRBN persists in blanking, redirecting without discussion, etc.

KRBN (talkcontribs) has had a pattern of nominating articles and categories for deletion while simultaneously blanking the articles/categories. A few admins requested that he stop blanking and in addition that he familiarize himself with the criteria for speedy deletion, as a number of his nominated articles did assert notability.

A review of his edits showed some WP:POV edits with respect to certain articles and categories. For example, redirecting Maps of Northern Cyprus to Maps of Cyprus.

In good faith, a number of admins and editors have pointed out policies and guidelines.

He left a slightly cryptic query on my talk page. I replied to him on his talk page, quoting his comments. At the time, I reviewed some of his interim edits and found that he continues with the same edit pattern, which he has been warned is considered to be vandalism.

My initial inclination was to block him from editing. However, I would appreciate review by an admin (or two). Thanks. — ERcheck (talk) 04:17, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

(I'm not an admin) But would support a block, if they've been warned countless times and still their actions don't appear to change, then the last resort is to have a short block (12/24hr?). And leave a clear statement on the users talk page of why they were blocked (not just the usual {{test5}}.--Andeh 05:26, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Await his next move. You've now given him a detailed explanation together with a clear warning. Let's see whether he takes it on board. It looks to me as if he is genuinely confused about our processes. We have to give him some chance to understand explanations. Sure, if he continues with the practice of blanking articles at the same time as he nominates them for speedy deletion, he can be given a substantial block. Metamagician3000 12:18, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 64.12.116.6 has vadalized some history pages

This user has put "Child Porn" a bunch of times on some history pages. Check it out here. I not sure if you can edit it or not but I thought I'd mention it. - Peregrinefisher 09:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

fixed. pschemp | talk 13:33, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Zenguru's vandalism of Shivaji

Zenguru (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log) has been actively vandalising the Shivaji article for quite some time now. He puts some wrong information about the Maratha leader again and again. I have warned him twice (User talk:Zenguru) but to no avail. He has also violated the WP:3RR rule many a times. Myself, as well as other regular editors of Shivaji article have reverted his edits but he keeps on reverting it back. He put the objectionable matter here first time - [87] which was removed by me. But after that he kept on putting the matter back.

His violation of WP:3RR rule - diff1, diff2, diff3, diff4, diff5, diff6 and diff7.

Note that this is not an edit war. Since various different users have removed the matter many times. But Zenguru does it again and again. Also, the matter is highly sensitive as Shivaji is respected and followed by many in Maharashtra. Also the user is trying to force his view on the history. As it is said, if a lie is repeated many times it is believed to be truth.

After I warned him the second time, he now doesn't use his username but without logging in he makes the changes. The IP address is 203.145.159.44 (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log). Here they are - diff8 and diff9.

Note that he has now changed some of the matter and he has removed a few objectionable matter esp. "But Maharaj invite a young prist from Varanasi named GagaBhatta for Coronation ritual and he agreed to do so because of heavy offering and proof which says Maharaj was belong to kshtrya kula (Sisodiya)". This false information was not put in by the IP address, seemingly to confuse us. Also check out his other edits to Jesse Glover. The IP address mentioned was blocked a few times as well.

--NRS(talk to me,mail me or award me a barnstar) 09:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

None of the above diffs show him exceeding 3 reverts in a 24-hour period. I note that Zenguru is also adding print references for his claims, which are removed every time the coronation paragraph is taken out. Confessing my complete lack of knowledge on this subject, I would like to know why you think the references are unreliable (especially the one Zenguru says is "published by the Maharastra State Government"). Andrew Levine 09:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, not in 24 hrs but he is reverting back anyway. The links he claims as references are [{Dalitstan]]-affiliated websites and/or Independent Research organizations. However, I must say that the universally accepted version od Shivaji's history is that he was a Kshatriya and of course, he never made any reference to Sisodiya clan or any other Rajput clan. Apart from that, I may also add that Rajputs are Indo-Scythians while Marathas are Indo-Aryans, which is a major genetic difference between them and one which was known since historical times, due to which Rajputs were also referred to as Sakas or Sauryas while Marathas are referred to as Aryas. That apart, Brahmins calling Marathas as shudras is an allegation which was never proved and has no historical basis. It is just a speculation. Apart from that the other thing that he states is about the priest which is already mentioned. So, repeatation is not required. And the only reason he is repeating that is to push his POV about Marathas being shudras and alleged linkup to Sisodiyas. This I must say is massive POV pushing. And most of the things he says are speculations, rumours and falsities. I think Wikipedia is not for these things.

Anyway, if you feel that my argument isn't powerful enough, then it's alright. Let Wikipedia be filled with false information. As you would have noticed, I have stopped reverting the accused user's edits to "Shivaji" article now. See the current revision. If false information can so easily be fed into Wikipedia then what's the use of editing it. Isn't it ?

--NRS(talk to me,mail me or award me a barnstar) 10:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I am not trying to let disinformation perpetuate in Wikipedia, I just want to understand the background information underlying this issue so I can come to a better understanding. Does Zenguru misrepresent the reference "Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar writings and Speeches volume 7 chapter 10, page no.156- 185 published by Maharastra State Government"? Or is Ambedkar considered an unreliable source, and if so, why? Andrew Levine 10:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

As it is, from the reference title itself, we can understand. The problem here is not whether Ambedkar is a reliable source or not. The thing is whether what Ambedkar wrote about Shivaji is reliable or not. When Ambedkar wrote the thing, he wrote it as pure speculation. Also, it was a charged atmosphere. And Ambedkar being a recent convert to Buddhism had a reason to write it. The so-called lower castes shudras were ill-treated by Brahmins and he had a reason to attack Brahmins in his writings. But then, everything he wrote doesn't become the truth because of that. Then why doesn't everyone feed the articles about Hinduism, that Ambedkar wrote, into Wikipedia. That's because it cant be put, first because it is derogatory and secondly, it is false and was written in a fit of anger. That's because Babasaheb wrote it in anger and a feeling of revenge. Lest you may think otherwise, I must tell you, that I have utmost respect for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. But just because he was Great, doesn't mean every word from his pen is the truth.

--NRS(talk to me,mail me or award me a barnstar) 11:31, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Then couldn't the article include the information Zenguru is adding, but point out that it is based entirely on potentially damaging charges made by Dalitstan supporters and strong activists for certain castes? That is, rewording Zenguru's contributions to say something like "Some people affiliated with such-and-such movements, as well as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar shortly after his conversion to Buddhism, have speculated that not everyone at the time accepted Shivaji's coronation... (and so on) ... However, these highly charged claims have been challenged by historians like so-and-so, who say that..." This is how we normally present controversial and potentially injurious allegations made by notable groups and individuals in Wikipedia. Rather than call it the truth, we point out who's making the accusations. I trust that users like you with much better knowledge in the subject than mine are up to the task of fitting such a wording into the article. Andrew Levine 11:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Werdna deleting comments from 'publicgirluk' debate page

Hi folks. Please take a peek at User:Werdna's deletion of my comments from the Wikipedia:Publicgirluk photo debate page. I'm heading out of town on a train and won't be back online for a few hours, so I wanted to post this here to avoid a 'revert war' with Werdna re-deleting my comments. If the comments in question were a vio of WP:NPA, I apologize in advance and welcome some advice on how to improve my debating form. However, from examining the diff link I think it's clear these comments are not personal attacks, and in no way justify deletion - and in this case the deletion of comments on a contentious page established expressly for debate is only likely to escalate tensions. Please advise, and thanks for your time. -- User:RyanFreisling @ 12:41, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

It looks to me like a good faith attempt at refactoring the page - whether or not it was the wisest possible move - and the user concerned seems to be in good repute. You may be in the right here, but does it matter awfully? I suggest you simply be big enough to let it go (and the same applies to everyone else who has been wounded by what happened). If you do that, why should the dispute escalate? None of the material that has been deleted is a great loss in my opinion. Really, everyone who got involved in this debate over the past few day needs to take a step back and a few deep breaths. A policy is needed for next time, and we all need to think calmly about what it should be, but endless arguments about who was "right" and who was "wrong" are not useful. Metamagician3000 13:00, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Agreed - I believe however that the comments should stand and users not refactor selective sections of the debate (and obfuscate their meaning) - especially those of an opposing POV. . I won't escalate in either case, but let's leave the discussion intact. I'm not upset, just want the dialogue preserved and the meaning intact. And I appreciate it. -- User:RyanFreisling @ 13:03, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I'd favour leaving the comments as is. Archive it if necessary (although it eems already like an archive) or provide a summary but it may be best to leave comments alone. I typically feel that way, by the way. ++Lar: t/c 19:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Ooh, my first ANI post, how exciting :-). In all seriousness, I did my utmost to make sure that the comments I deleted had no relevance to the situation. It is somewhat common practice to refactor discussions such as that, if they have descended into bickering, which they seemed to have. As the other user in the debate's block log, and back and forth accusations of bullying had little to nothing to do with the discussion, I removed them in order to keep the debate on-topic, or to move it back. I won't re-remove them, as it seems to have been contentious in some manner. — Werdna talk criticism 22:36, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Lkinkade and Pooh-related articles

Lkinkade (talk contribs) has been splitting out any and all Disney-related information from articles on the Winnie-the-Pooh characters. These are major changes that Lkinkade did not discuss beforehand, instead declaring "I am currently working on separating out all of the A. A. Milne characters from their more recent animated versions. The information about the original character was difficult too distinguish from the Disney character and attempts to use the article to find out about the original character were being foiled." [88] Worse, the changes are being made poorly -- the new articles have titles like Disney representation of the Milne character "Eeyore", and the old articles have no links to the new ones, resulting in the appearance of censoring Disney-related content from these articles, rather than a good-faith article split (although I am assuming good faith that the user is just unaware of good-practice rather than actively trying to hide the Disney-related content). I've asked him to stop but I wanted to put this notice up so that other editors are aware and can keep an eye on things. I also have no idea how to go about fixing this. Thanks for any help. Powers T 14:15, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Not to steal Lee's thunder on this one, but these changes were the result of a complaint regarding the content of Piglet. A broader investigation disclosed that most of the articles on the A. A. Milne characters suffered the same defects: a total lack of references, and a concentration on Disney's representation over the A. A. Milne originals. Disney's representations of classic literature, in many cases, are so divergent from the originals that they really deserve separate coverage, and furthermore the gross popularity and greater recent exposure of the Disney content tends to result in the originals being overwhelmed. An example of how far this goes was on Quasimodo, where a "fair use" screenshot of Disney's version was used to illustrate the article even though there are public domain illustrations in the original 1831 novel, and there may also be public domain material from the first Lon Cheney film as well. However, the editors of this article elected to use Disney's version -- which is not free by any means, and is also very unrepresentative of depictions of Quasimodo, being far less grotesque than virtually any other depiction in history -- instead of available free content. I suspect that these articles are being dominated by Disneyphiles, and as a result they are skewing these articles away from NPOV. This action benefits Wikipedia both by sequestering articles which are likely to attract the use of unlicensed media and by presenting a fuller, more complete examination of characters which have effectively led a "double life" (one as they were originally conceptualized by their original creators, and another as they have been reimagined by Disney). I think it a good thing that our readers are made aware that the Disney versions are not all that exists of these classics.
Finally, this is not really an appropriate issue for the Administrator's Noticeboard. That you ran here first over what is merely a content dispute suggests that you are attempting to strongarm Lee into backing down on this issue. Powers, I think you need to back off here and contemplate whether you are attempting to support a Disney-friendly POV on these articles. By my eyes, before Lee worked on them, they were very strongly Disney-friendly and certainly not neutral. Kelly Martin (talk) 14:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
No, it's not really something for AN/I, although Powers did seem to want editorial attention more than administrative attention, and said "I also have no idea how to go about fixing this" so I'll assume he didn't intend to "strongarm". Take this away to the talk page, although you can ask for administrative assistance later if there are things like ugly redirects to clean up, or if dispute resolution breaks down.
To offer an editorial opinion, the treatment of the characters as they appear in Milne can certainly be improved, though it's quite clear that a separate article is not necessary; rather have two top level headings, one "In Milne" and the other "In Disney" (or words to similar effect) to distinguish the content. --bainer (talk) 15:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I agree AN is not the best place for it, but there is no single talk page on which to discuss this. I suppose I am trying to "strongarm" a bit, but only insofar as I'm trying to get him to discuss these changes before making them wholesale across the board. There's also the issue of the completely non-encyclopedic new article titles, and the complete lack of any cross-referencing between them. This looked for all the world like a situation that would only get worse if allowed to continue, and I wanted to enlist some help in reining it in until a consensus can be reached. I'd appreciate a little more assumption of good faith, Kelly. Powers T 16:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
And, for the record, I did not "come here first". I posted on Lkinkade's talk page first, then came here to make sure other editors were aware of it. I apologize that I don't have Talk:Piglet (Winnie the Pooh) on my watchlist and so missed the discussion that apparently affects all Milne articles, but I maintain this is something that should not be done without broader discussion. Powers T 16:09, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Whatever happened to "Be bold"? And I've been reviewing your edit history; you're a Disneyphile, and I suspect that you're trying to push a pro-Disney POV. So I question your neutrality. Kelly Martin (talk) 16:15, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Well, how can I argue against that? I have maybe 20 Disney-related articles on my watchlist; if that's evidence for bias, then I guess I'm guilty. If you'd look at the actual edits, instead of just the titles, maybe you'd notice that I am not exactly a rampant pro-Disney POV pusher. I really don't appreciate this when all I'm trying to do is raise an alert to what looked to me like potentially destructive behavior. Yes, we want users to be bold, but this looked like something that would take a lot of effort to untangle, should consensus be against the split, and should be discussed first. If this split can be done correctly, I may not even have a problem with it, but the way it's being done seems reckless. Powers T 16:33, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
You have a strange sense of "reckless", then. Oh, and the reason I said you came here first? You posted a rather irate comment on Lee's talk page, then posted here SIX MINUTES later (during which time Lee made no other edits) without first discussing the issue on any article talk page or in fact anywhere else at all. AN/I is not the place for just-started content disputes, no matter how "reckless" you think they are. (And reverting changes like the ones Lee made is actually very easy, your histrionic defense of your preferred version of these articles notwithstanding.) The tone of your second message on Lee's talk page was "I'm going to sic the administrators on you because you're being bad"; it came across to me as an attempt at intimidation. If that was not your intent, perhaps you need to be more careful in how you phrase your messages. Your conduct definitely "fanned the flames" rather than calming them. If I had to guess, from examining your conduct, I'd say that you were very emotionally upset because someone altered your preferred version of one of your favorite articles. That stinks of article ownership and is not acceptable on Wikipedia. You don't get to own articles here, and you don't get to be the defender of the "consensus version", and even more so when it's a consensus of like-minded people (which I suspect is the case here). Reading through the article's talk page, I don't see much evidence of a significant debate toward consensus, except for one episode where you argued vehemently toward favoring Disney's representation over all others. More evidence toward the conclusion that you're biasing the article in Disney's favor. I really do think you're letting your personal affinity for the Disney franchise cloud your judgment here, and that you really should back away from this issue. Kelly Martin (talk) 16:58, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Kelly is correct - reverting many of those changes was reasonably trivial and required no adminstrative intervention, and Kelly was also correct that you are being overly protective of your preferred version. I know nothing, nor care at all, about the reputed contravercy over ownership, but I will help all parties in interest craft well worded articles at the names of the characters, without the creation of POV forks, that describe all of the relevent positions on who exactly Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger are. I would support blanking this section of AN/I, and was considering doing it myself. JBKramer 17:31, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I apologize for the impression that I'm being overly protective of "my preferred version". Winnie-the-Pooh is in no sense "one of my favorite articles;" I think it's bloated, overly long, and attempts to discuss both the franchise and the character without fully succeeding at both. I fully support any effort to improve the quality of the article, but the way this split was done appeared hasty and ill-advised. I also apologize for posting this discussion here; as I've already said, it was not the most appropriate place, but likewise I didn't know where else to discuss it (since more than just one article was affected). Despite appearances, I can only offer my sincere assurances that this was not an attempt to protect a favored version, nor to unreasonably promote a pro-Disney POV. I can't prove it, since it's impossible to prove a negative, so I can only offer the record of my contributions and disucssions as evidence of my sincerity. Powers T 17:39, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I think, if there is a need for separate articles about the Disney versions of the characters, they should be named in the standard Wikipedia disambiguated way, like "Winnie-the-pooh (Disney character)", instead of the clumsy names that are being used now. *Dan T.* 18:18, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Note AfD discussion at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Winnie The Pooh (Disney). Powers T 18:23, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request for an IP Ban

I request that the following IP address's are banned from Wikipedia. The IP address's are similar, and by looking at the changes made (as they are the exact same style of changes to the same articles) you will see that they both belong to the same person. By looking at the first of the two Ips, you will see that this person has received about four warnings in just one day. I have warned him again in the second IP address, but his constant edits are relentless. Please ban him.

The IP address's are as follows:

216.254.223.100 (Contributions done by him are here)

216.254.223.195 (Contributions done by him are here)

The Haunted Angel 16:21, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A plausible sockpuppet / Request for community block review

User SoftPale (talk • contribslogsblock userblock log) is probably a sock of SoftPaleColors (talkcontribslogsblock userblock log). His first edit was to go to an open ArbCom case and to make a statement confessing that he was indef blocked: [89]

So I'm just reporting it here. -- Grafikm (AutoGRAF) 18:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

SoftPaleColors (talk contribs) is contesting his indefinite block. A community block review is probably in order. His contribs show a couple dozen minor edits in January, with a long break that he ended by calling user:Hipocrite a troll on a rather ill-advised RFA. MONGO indef blocked SoftPaleColors as a sleeper account/troll (see the block log). I see the logic in this; SoftPaleColors thinks this is injust, that he should have been warned first, etc. I have no opinion on the block, but since its not related to the rest of MONGO's arbitration case, a community review is probably a better idea than cramming unrelated matters into the arbitration. Thatcher131 (talk) 21:10, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
He claims that he mailed the arbcom and no one has unblocked him, but maybe they haven't had time to look it over. SoftPale is a sock of SoftPaleColors though and has admitted this to be the case.--MONGO 21:16, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I would support unblocking. I am not convinced that there is sufficient evidence to support Mongo's conclusion. JoshuaZ 21:14, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
SoftPale (talk contribs) has one edit...[90] [91]. I blocked this person when they were using their other account, namely SoftPaleColors (talk contribs) after they showed up at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Hipocrite and posted this personal attack...having not made a single edit in the six months prior to that edit. This editor only had 15 edits total prior to the posting at that Rfc and now posting as SoftPale (talk contribs) has stated, " I also from emailing the arbitrators, that they are completely biased in favor of administrators. Only one even answered and that person was fully biased against me because I am a lurker here, refusing to put my statement here." which I take to mean that they haven't been unblocked after emailing arbcom [92].--MONGO 21:23, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
I think that "Only one even answered" refers to the fact that he posted {{unblock}} to his talk page and pgk denied the request and told him to email the arbitrators. Thatcher131 (talk) 21:27, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Pgk was probably responding to the unblock request so unless arcom wishes to unblock him, I would prefer that this sleeper account remain blocked.--MONGO 22:06, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sri Lankan Editor or Admin?

Hi, if there is a Sri Lankan admin or editor, or an admin or editor who speaks Sri Lankan I could use their help in communicating with User:Lahiru k about his edits. Looks like he's copying text from the Sri Lankan navy website, but asserting he has permission as a member of the navy. I've unspeedied some of his contributions while we're in negotiations, but the recent Sri Lankan medal articles contain text lifted directly from http://www.navy.lk/gallery/medals/medals.htm so are most likely a copyvio. exolon 19:20, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

  • Edit - the user seems well intentioned, but seems to lack knowledge of our policies, specifically Deletion and Copyright. exolon 19:36, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 199.254.165.254

This IP address has made between 100-250 edits since January of this year. A sampling of these edits show that about half of the edits are page blanking vandalism, while another set seem to be legitimate. Turns out this IP address belongs to Aurora Public Schools (below is the ARIN print out). Probably this is some kid using his/her school IP to vandalize wikipedia pages. Since I have no idea how to deal with this kind of vandalism/IP situation I am reporting it here. --Metatree 20:02, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to replace the whois listing (which wasn't formatted right anyway) with this link 199.254.165.254 (talkcontribsWHOISRDNSRBLsblock userblock log) which has a link to the whois search built in. In the case of school vandalism where the IPs are stable, I would offer the suggestion to impose an anon-only ban for the next 10 months. That way kids who want to edit from school will have to create an account. A small deterrent, perhaps, but it should cut it down. Thatcher131 (talk) 21:00, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:67.66.203.21

You may want to consider blocking the following IP: 67.66.203.21, for adding dubious information to the Lex Luger and Dennis Stamp articles. Here's the evidence:

[93]

Duo02 *Shout here!** 20:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Killswitch Engage

This user has posted quite a few personal attacks here: [[94]]. He doesn't sign his posts much, thinking that will make him safe. This needs to end. He has been told about personal attacks, but continues to attack people because of how a page is edited (and it's not edited to his liking, so he attacks people). It's also notable, that he has done personal attacks in the past as well. RobJ1981 21:55, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Rob pretty much said it all, but Killwsitch has made personal attacks even after being told to stop and gets upset if people edit a page and he doesn't agree with it. TJ Spyke 22:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A Fake Story on Wikipedia

Industry is using Wikipedia to promote a fake story about the origins of Sweetest Day in order to sell products. The fake story is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetest_Day

The true story is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sweetest_Day&oldid=71758612

Each time I post the true story of the origins of Sweetest Day, the edit is promptly reversed to the fake industry story.

Is Wikipedia really the place for distribution of corporate disinformation to help sell products? What can be done about this?

Miracleimpulse 22:56, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Right now, neither version has much in the way of references. I'd suggest taking a look at Wikipedia:Cite your sources and Wikipedia:Reliable sources. I'm sure that an accurate version will win out provided it is better documented. I'd also suggest visiting the Wikipedia:Manual of Style for pointers on formatting Wikipedia articles (such as not writing in all caps). Dragons flight 23:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)