Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/Pantherarosa

[edit] Pantherarosa

• Pantherarosa (talk • contribs • logs • block user • block log • checkuser)

• Abdulrahman_Jaffer_Al_Zadjali (talk • contribs • logs • block user • block log • checkuser)
• 212.72.21.53 (talk • contribs • WHOIS • block user • block log • checkip)

User:Abdulrahman_Jaffer_Al_Zadjali has been indefinitely blocked as a sockpuppet; however, no admin was willing to make the call on who the puppet master was. User:Abdulrahman Jaffer Al Zadjali made two edits, one to his userpage and one to his talk page, and then began commenting on a WP:PAIN discussion on User:Melca, in which User:Pantherarosa had been invloved. Abdulrahman sided with Panthera in the debate. They have also both edited mainly the same articles, such as Reza Cyrus Pahlavi. As I said, the evidence is there but not overwhelming, and a CheckUser would help to alleviate doubt about who the master is and would perhaps present other sockpuppets being (ab)used. AmiDaniel (talk) 04:05, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Note:: 212.72.21.53 is Abdulrahman_Jaffer_Al_Zadjali. Pantherarosa appears uninvolved. There is no obvious tie to any other user at this time, though that doesn't mean there isn't or hasn't been one. Essjay (Talk • Connect) 19:00, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm a little confused Essjay. Does the checkuser function not allow you to see if AJAZ's IP address(es) have been used by Pantherarosa? You said that it doesn't mean that there hasn't been a connection, but how does the CheckUser function not allow a conclusive result? (Feel free to use technical terms). Paul Cyr 20:06, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

There are several reasons this could be, one is that the information checkuser uses only remains in the database for a limited amount of time. It is also possible that the internet service provider assigns IP addresses dynamically, so there would be no way to be certain. Checkuser is not a simple confirmed / denied function. Of course I do not posses checkuser, and do not know the exact reason. Essjay will be able to explain it better, if you really want to know. Prodego ^talk 20:13, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Note: Responding to these requests requires a bit of ESP; you have to try to forsee what people will assume you meant, and avoid giving rise to incorrect assumptions. As a part of that, I often have to make statements with various disclaimers.

My response should be read as follows:

• There is no connection between Panthearosa and AJAZ. (Hence why I said "Pantherarosa appears uninvolved.")
• At this time, there is no evidence tying AJAZ to any other Wikipedian, including Pantherarosa. (The request was not simply to see if the two named accounts were related, but to see if the puppeteer of AJAZ could be identified. The second part of my statmenet addresses the possiblity of some other puppeteer.)
• While I cannot identify a puppeteer via checkuser, AJAZ may well be the sockpuppet of a previously blocked/banned user for whom we no longer have IP information. (I did not want the result to be read as "He is most definately not a sockpuppet," because that is not accurate. He is not the obvious sockpuppet (remembering that people use things like open proxies to avoid detection) of any currently editing user, but that doesn't mean he isn't a sockpuppet.)

As David Gerard says, checkuser is not magic wiki pixie dust. We can't always wave our checkuser wands and make the puppeteer appear; that should not be confused, however, with an indication that there is no puppeteer. There are plenty of rabbits around, even if one doesn't pop out of the hat. ;) Essjay (Talk • Connect) 17:57, 5 June 2006 (UTC)