Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/CAMERA lobbying

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Case Opened on 21:55, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
Case Closed on 20:07, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Watchlist all case pages: 1, 2, 3, 4


Please do not edit this page directly unless you are either 1) an Arbitrator, 2) an Arbitration Clerk, or 3) adding yourself to this case. Statements on this page are original comments provided at arbitration request and serve as opening statements. As such, they should not be altered. Any evidence you wish to provide to the Arbitrators should go on the /Evidence subpage.

Arbitrators, the parties, and other editors may suggest proposed principles, findings, and remedies at /Workshop. That page may also be used for general comments on the evidence. Arbitrators will then vote on a final decision in the case at /Proposed decision.

Once the case is closed, editors may add to the #Log of blocks and bans as needed, but this page should not be edited otherwise. Please raise any questions at Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration#Requests for clarification, and report violations of remedies at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Arbitration enforcement.

Contents

[edit] Involved parties

Note: Any editors identified as belonging to the Isra-pedia mail list should be probably added as parties.

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

[edit] Statement by Lawrence

As was discovered yesterday, and fully detailed at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents/Wikilobby campaign, Wikipedia has been targeted by an off-site astroturfing campaign, to get stealth administrators in place to manipulate encyclopedia content.[13][14][15] Zeq (talk · contribs), now banned a year as a result of his actions in this, and previously before Arbcom a lot apparently, was a major ringleader of this organization. Allegations of Israeli apartheid, recently before Arbcom, was also targeted by the group, which includes other Wikipedians. It's rather frightening, that a subversive band like this (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) was caught via leaked emails. At least three users there have been sanctioned already for participating in undermining Wikipedia encyclopediac content:

  • Gni (talk · contribs) indefinitely banned; user is listed above Gilead Ini, leader of subversive organization from CAMERA.
  • Zeq (talk · contribs) banned 1 year by Moreschi, indefinite ban from Arab-Israeli conflict topics.
  • Dajudem (talk · contribs) banned 1 year from Arab-Israeli conflict topics.

As noted above under the Confirmation that other steps section, all the email archives are going to be released today. This will include still more Wikipedians who worked with this group to negatively affect our neutral interests. It may or may not included admins. Given that this group targeted such articles as 2006 Lebanon War and Allegations of Israeli apartheid, which had an RFAR of it's own involving many admins and even pro-Israeli ex-arbiters, this is potentially very bad. This email archive is not a good-faith thing by people that care about Wikipedia, but concerted activities to harm Wikipedia's NPOV to achieve their own ends. Users have been banned and restricted over this. Private evidence is flowing all over--for example, apparently several admins now have private evidence that User:Zeq is indeed zeqzeq2@yahoo.com that helped orchestrate all this trouble. From http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9474.shtml they wrote (bottom of page/PDFs):

On the other hand I would encourage all of you to become admins. If we have several admins on our side this will be great. Admin are expected to be impartial so be carefull how you edit and how you will conduct yourself as an admin. There is a 3rd route: Voter. All you need to do is make 100 edits and be registed with wikipedia for over a month (this is why you should register ASAP) from that point you don't need to edit much (do edit once a week or every two weeks) and we will call upon your help t participate in important votes: about content and about running for office (admin is an elected position - we need people who will vote fro our admins) Most wikipedia cotes there is a need for 80/20 majority ("consensus") so do behave nice with others to gain their trust and try to have as many as 100-200 voters (those who don't edit much but only called to help in votes) btw, wikipedia ballots are usually open for a week so being a "voter" is really good for those who have very little time on their hands.

We have some troubling questions here that would merit a full case before the AC:

  1. To what degree can or should the community respond to orchestrated attacks like this?
  2. Is using their own communications viable evidence?
  3. Are bans or sanctions for this acceptable? Have people in the past--more important, as precedent matters--been banned for orchestrating off-Wiki trouble like this? When?
  4. This is not the first time and certainly not the last time this will come up as Wikipedia grows more popular by the year. This is just the first band of trolls like this we've caught. We need to establish what the proper response to this should be, before we lose to every nationalist, religious, corporate and troll interest out there.

Please accept, to address these four questions, and for the Committee to investigate the remaining evidence in private--other known Wikipedia users violating our norms with this egregious NPOV assault will need to be addressed, so that the community is aware of them, and to monitor them going forward. This will likely hurt the "good name" of some editors, but you don't mess with the NPOV like this. Lawrence Cohen § t/e 16:15, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Question to Charles

So the Arbcom has no problem with the searches and sanctions underway, and that is all fine? I'm baffled by the rejection in the face of private evidence of wrongdoing that is coming to the Committee from a group of administrators shortly, along with everything thats already happened. Perhaps a less binary monocular view of the duties accepted as AC members is needed. Admins already are in possession of the entire archive, as seen here. Have we or have we not sanctioned users for off-site activity of this nature under arbitration in the past? Is the Arbcom signing off on a purge of all CAMERA/Isra-pedia members? Lawrence Cohen § t/e 21:48, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CAMERA ban/sanction update

Additional editors have been banned/sanctioned as detailed here: Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents/Statement_re_Wikilobby_campaign#Sanctions. Lawrence Cohen § t/e 23:46, 27 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Statement by Moreschi

All that is needed here is clarification from the arbitrators that if we discover clear evidence (for the "Israpedia" emails are almost indisputably authentic: if it's all a fix, it was thought up by a genius who did a perfect imitation of Zeq's writing style) of attempting to subvert the purpose of Wikipedia off-wiki, we can take action against the Wikipedia accounts of the persons involved.

If such clarification is not forthcoming I should be desysopped for poor judgment. But I stand by my blocks of Zeq (talk · contribs) and Gni (talk · contribs): their actions were appalling and the evidence against them clear-cut. Some people need to remember that morality is vested in the intent, not the deed. The recent hysterial contributions of Dajudem (talk · contribs) spoke for themselves. As far as I am concerned I have applied discretionary sanctions correctly, but if the Committee finds otherwise the desysopping of yours truly is the only route to take. Moreschi (talk) (debate) 17:25, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

  • No, there's no need for arbitration here. I've just been reading through the almost-complete list archives and can confidently say there's only a couple of loose ends to tie up that do not require ArbCom assistance. Moreschi (talk) (debate) 13:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
    • A couple more meatpuppets have been blocked: Jamesegarner (talk · contribs) indefinitely by yours truly (mentioned in the emails and clearly part of the same crowd), and Judadem (talk · contribs) for a week by Fut.Perf, who does not come up in the Israpedia archives but, judging from his contributions, is obviously another disruptive meatpuppet. ChrisO, Fut.Perf and I will shortly be publishing a joint statement summarising our concluded findings. Moreschi (talk) (debate) 09:58, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Statement by Bangpound

I have the mail archive, but I will not post it publicly yet. I've read the messages from User:FT2 and others about privacy and transparency. Bangpound (talk) 17:43, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

I've compiled the full archive that I have of the Isra-pedia group. I'm sharing it with these admins:

User:Moreschi, User:ChrisO, User:Future Perfect at Sunrise

This is the course of action advised by FT2.

Bangpound (talk) 19:35, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Stepping away I've passed the information to the 3 above-named admins. I will leave it with them to exercise their judgment using the evidence to do what's best for Wikipedia. If they feel the need to reproduce the material for greater scrutiny, they will need to be responsible for scrubbing personal details. For the record, I included a full MBOX file of 138 messages with all mail headers, including domain key signatures and received headers. Bangpound (talk) 21:36, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Statement by Screen stalker

Hello, everyone. I can see why I would be suspected of involvement in this group. My edit in the 2006 Lebanon war does coincide very interestingly with groups activities. But this is very circumstantial, and anyone familiar with this article knows that there have been many attempt to change its name.

There is so much being written every hour on the subject of this controversy, and I don't have the time to go over it all, so forgive anything I may miss in my rebuttal.

First, allow me to note that almost all of the editors involved in this controversy are experienced editors, who have been involved in wikipedia for years, and have made many thousands of edits. The documents provided as evidence are very recent, so I don't see how one can say that they could explain these editors' edits.

Second, allow me to note that Jersmum (an exception to the above rule) has only made two edits, neither of which was Israel-related. Can we really establish guilt based on that? Even if we could, surely we would be willing to assume that someone who has made only two edits is somewhat unfamiliar with Wikipedia policy. I think we may have scared off this new (and probably innocent) editor.

Third, allow me to note that this has turned into a grand prosecution reminiscent of Maximilien Robespierre's List of Traitors. The list always grows, and even the loosest connection qualifies as evidence. At times of great concern and crisis, people often overreact. But let's get a hold of ourselves and take a deep breath.

Fourth, allow me to note that I do not believe this RfA was requested as a last resort. Discussion on this has only been open for roughly three days, and is still humming with activity. Multiple sanctions have already been issued. This RfA is being filed not for lack of choice, but as part of the vendetta that has been so characteristic of this dispute.

Fifth and finally, allow me to note that the evidence against me is so circumstantial as to prove nothing. That tends to be a trend with these accusations. Screen stalker (talk) 18:09, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Statement by ChrisO

I honestly don't see anything to arbitrate here. The matter is clear enough, it has been dealt with expeditiously and the actions taken have been well within the discretionary sanctions already agreed by the ArbCom. I can't see any benefit to this being reviewed at this stage by the arbs. -- ChrisO (talk) 18:59, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

  • Following up Moreschi's comments, I have also blocked User:Screen stalker for soliciting votestacking via the mailing list, and extended the sanctions on User:Zeq to an indefinite ban for flagrant violations of policy. More details to follow. -- ChrisO (talk) 10:54, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Statement by Dajudem

I have so many issues on this it isn't even funny and I hardly know where to begin. I have edited wiki occasionally for several years now based mostly on my area of interest and expertise, and for which I have an obvious & acknowledged bias, ie the middle east conflict. I have not got involved with personalities on wiki because I really believe that wiki is not about personalities, but to get valid information and facts on wiki regarding the conflict. Obviously it is very much about personalities. Because suddenly I find myself in a brouhaha that has nothing to do with my edits here but everything to do with personalities.

Obviously there is propaganda on both sides, as this conflict is one of words as much as of actions... Those who would deny it haven't been paying attention, or mistakenly believe that not acknowledging the propaganda war demonstrates a neutral POV. Propaganda in itself is not bad -- in fact one definition of propaganda might be the propagation of one's own POV. What is bad is fiction posing as fact, whatever side you are on. Facts can be fictionalized a number of ways, including perversion of context, false or unverifiable references, or simply by omission of a different POV.

Anyway, I initially forgot that the email went out at least appearing to come from CAMERA. I belong to a number of web groups. Of course for all one knows it's possible that it was a fraud perpetrated by the Electronic Intifada on CAMERA stationary. Someone from EI apparently joined the group. This person obviously had motivations never conceived of by CAMERA, so clearly neither wikipedians nor CAMERA know what each of our motivations were for joining, except and unless they scan our private emails and determine guilt or innocence based on our leaked and private emails. Which apparently is what has been done in the case of Zeg.

I honestly can't understand the enormous mountain that is being made out of a small effort to recruit some pro-Israelis editing and even administrating on wiki. Surely there must be one or two or even quite a few Palestinian partisans writing in the Israeli/Arab conflict section?

Anyway, the call for an editing group at CAMERA went out very respectful of wiki. That can be seen by anyone who reads the letter with an open mind. A number of people signed up. I don't know how many actually signed up and from that group how many actually edited anything. As I recall there was quite a limited response and most people there had never edited a thing themselves, though there were a number of people who were professors and instructors at universities. I brought up the possibility of using members there as a resource, to have use of their libraries and what they had read, to do some fact-checking -- which indeed I did do. One of the people on this list had a Uri Milstein book and checked a quote for me. The university has research resources that the average person cannot access. It seems to me that fact-checking is something really positive for wiki. That of course is down the tubes now thank you very much fellow wikipedians. "Assume good faith"

As one can see from reading the emails (if they are all there at EI, I have been too busy to check), a few people were more into discussion and guidance than others. I don't pretend to know the motives of others. Editing wiki is not an easy matter and takes a lot of practice to learn the language. I am still very bad at it and some of the college professors were lamenting how hard it was to make even the smallest edit.

I didn't read every email from the group because I already knew how to edit and because I am a busy person that cannot read every non-personal email that comes across my desk. Then suddenly the list gets shut down and within a day or so I am banned from wiki! LO!

Up til now, hardly anyone has made a negative comment regarding my edits... BUT NOW! I get suddenly a note on wiki that to answer charges about belonging to this subversive list. Here it is:

Please review this, and weigh in here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents/Wikilobby_campaign#New_evidence_surfaces Lawrence Cohen § t/e 19:19, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

The subversive part had already been assumed by most editors on this wikilobby page and by the time I weighed in, they had already feathered and tarred Zeg, claiming he was Gilead or Israguy or someone at this list, and an evil being.

Under the section under my user name I read this, for starters:

Yes, that seems correct. Further, I'd be interested in finding out who this I <3 (email yonathan@ou.edu) character is. Seems like he's been at this game for a while. What, then, do we do about Dajudem (talk · contribs)? Moreschi (talk) (debate) 19:53, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Whatever happened to the "assume good faith" part of wiki anyway?

In fact, prior to editing for 'clarification' after I took offense, one wikipedian referred to pro-Israelis as "like terrorists" and "like criminals justifying their crimes."

"Won't there be that much more ammunition on the pro-Israeli side for screaming "oppression!" and for using even more underhanded methods" Couldn't disagree more, they will always scream oppression, they (edit added later for clarity; they includes ALL POV warriors of ALL races, religions, group or creed) will use any method to push their POV. Just like terrorists they need to justify their crimes by claiming it is legitimate resistance against a superior force, they believe they can do what they want. Since the start of the year i've been called anti-american, anti-semitic, islamophobic, too right wing and too left wing when i have dared to disagree with a POV warrior,Bored Now!. (Hypnosadist) 02:45, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

later he claimed it that I made it up:

"One of the editors on this page called supporters of Israel "terrorists" and criminal."NO but keep pushing that LIE, it might eventually become a BIG LIE.

CAMERA was reviled and it was suggested that it was taken off the 'reliable source' list. Others added their comments on my talk page, exhorting me to have the proper wiki spirit etc and apologize, etc etc. They are there to read.

Then I get this on my talk page:

Per WP:ARBPIA you are banned for a year from all articles relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The length of this may be reduced if you show conclusively that you really understand the principle that Wikipedia is not a battleground. Please note that this topic-ban will be enforced by blocks if necessary. Moreschi (talk) (debate) 08:51, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

So my sin, then, is one of not understanding a certain principle which in fact I believe I understand quite well. I did not get to discuss it with anyone prior to being told I didn't understand it and being banned according. I reiterate: I am not here to do battle but to make sure that the Israeli side is fairly represented. There are Palestinians on wiki making sure that their side is fairly represented as well. Perhaps even some that are disruptive and push their POV, whether or not they are part of an email list for possible or would-be editors and administrators.

I say it is a witchhunt, sheer McCarthyism, Big Brother, guilt by association, collective punishment... That I have done nothing wrong and that I am being persecuted for my POV. I think the whole business of banning in these conflict areas ought to be looked at very closely. It becomes a weapon to be used by others who are --in fact-- using wiki as a battlefield. Juanita (talk) 06:10, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Response to Lawrence

Just looking at your first link from Electronic Intifada[16], and see that you have accepted their thesis which is:

A pro-Israel pressure group is orchestrating a secret, long-term campaign to infiltrate the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia to rewrite Palestinian history, pass off crude propaganda as fact, and take over Wikipedia administrative structures to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged.

That is a totally false spin to begin with. First of all, the originating letter from CAMERA said nothing about 'secret'-- It merely said not to forward to the media. Anyone who is a 'member' of CAMERA knows that it alerts members to issues and encourages letter writing and activism on issues that it feels are unfair. A typical alert brings up an unbalanced issue, presents the balance as CAMERA sees it and encourages letter writing. It invariably says not to copy and forward to the press, but to write one's own letter. Being asked not to forward something to the media is not proof of a "secret" long-term campaign. The word is negative spin, meant to imply something sinister.

Lawrence, you and others here seem to have accepted EI's contention that CAMERA's offer to help people learn to edit wiki is a matter of "infiltration" as opposed to a basic right that wiki offers to everyone-- except of course those who have abused that right through their actions on wiki. "Infiltration" is simply used along with "secret" to put a sinister spin on an innocent enterprise. Of course if you accept, as Electronic Intifada apparently does, that the purpose of the group was to "rewrite Palestinian history" and "pass off crude propaganda as fact," I can appreciate your concern. However, as a member of the group I saw nothing at all about rewriting Palestinian history, only about making sure that information on wiki was factual and fair. Have you got any real evidence at all that CAMERA's intent was to re-write Palestinian history or pass off crude propaganda as fact?

Finally on this: "...to take over Wikipedia administrative structures 'to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged." Becoming administrators is not the same thing as "to take over administrative structures." The emails encouraged people to become administrators so as to ensure fairness. I got the impression from the group that there were a number of administrators on wiki that were of the pro-Palestinian 'persuasion' and that those on the Israeli side felt they were not getting a fair hearing. And in fact I am becoming convinced that there is probably (more than a little) truth to that allegation. At any rate, I am sure that it is virtually impossible to become an administrator or to stay one for long if one is re-writing history, passing off crude propaganda as fact etc. If it were so, it would indicate a serious flaw in the wiki philosophy and structure. It is more than clear that there are enough editors here sympathetic to the Palestinian cause that there is no chance at all that these changes would "go either undetected or unchallenged."

I hope I have demonstrated that this Electronic Intifada spin is just that, ie battleground spin, false propaganda in their own intifada against CAMERA. By accepting it at face value and banning me and other editors for our membership in it, you are merely pushing your own perspective and cleansing wiki of editors who 1)have done nothing wrong, and 2)who have a certain perspective antithetical to that of Electronic Intifada.

A couple of other points. If the intent of one or more individuals in the group was to undermine the original purpose of CAMERA, then I agree that those people should suffer consequences. One caveat -- one would need proof that the emails are valid as presented and have not been manipulated by EI. After all, there is no doubt that EI has an agenda and is not a neutral source. Juanita (talk) 13:12, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is supposed to punish people for "undermining the purpose of CAMERA"?? Very odd...Nomoskedasticity (talk) 14:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
I guess you misunderstand my point. CAMERA's intentions in relation to this email group were completely honorable as can be seen from their original email to members. If members of the group undermined the original intention of CAMERA via their emails by suggesting things such as getting other wiki members with differing points of views banned (as some have claimed is in the emails) , then punish the editors who wrote the offending emails if you know who they are. Is that clearer? Juanita (talk) 16:17, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
And the users who participated in such actions. Which is, as far as I can tell, exactly what is happening here. Any time you suggest creating "uninvolved admins" in order to intervene on your behalf, I think the word "banhammer" should apply. CAMERA apparently has a history of acting in a biased, pro-Israeli manner as far as I can tell from the Wiki article, and their behavior in this case should not come as a suprise to anyone. Titanium Dragon (talk) 07:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
"and the users who participated in such actions." You have evidence of users from the Israpedia group who participated in an action to get other members with a different POV banned? That's news. On the other hand, I wonder whether the Wikipedians for Palestine have any voice in this current action ? We already know that Electronic Intifada does. Juanita (talk) 07:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] just a couple responses to Hypnosadist

By the time I reached the wikilobby page there was all sorts! of information on it. Frankly, enough to make my head spin. I should have read it all before I responded but I didn't. Frankly I still have not read the emails on the EI site as I have simply been too busy. In fact, I have company coming from the other side of the country this week and this may well be my last post here for a while. As I said earlier I don't read every email I receive and sometimes I don't read my group mail for days or even weeks. I "refreshed my memory" when I saw the original letter and remembered that that group was supposedly a CAMERA group.

You said: "except and unless they scan our private emails and determine guilt or innocence based on our leaked and private emails" So now its your real private emails, please make up your mind." I have acknowledged writing posts to this group, but not having read them on the EI site, I cannot say if they are real or not, though obviously they are not private any more!

You said: "(leave it out its a three letter name no-one buys your so unfamiliar with it you can't spell it) was proved to be Israguy." I would suggest that this sarcastic comment is in violation of the "assume good faith" part of wiki? You speak for everybody, btw?

You said: "First of all, the originating letter from CAMERA said nothing about 'secret'-- It merely said not to forward to the media" No see the quote above it says don't mention the group to other editors, that is Secret. The quote above is from EI, not CAMERA. What the CAMERA letter says is this: "Do not forward to other members of the media"

Finally you say: "...to take over Wikipedia administrative structures 'to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged." This quote says it all." The trouble is that that quote comes from Electronic Intifada, not CAMERA or from the group emails. I really don't think that Electronic Intifada speaks for wiki. Juanita (talk) 22:45, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Reality Check

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wikiforpalestine/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1 Juanita (talk) 15:05, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

It seems to me that the editors who have banned Israpedia members are in violation of wiki's guidelines and can be considered 'harassing' Israpedia members including myself.

Posting of personal information defined as Harrassment:
Shortcut:
WP:OUTING
Posting another person's personal information (legal name, date of birth, social security number, home or workplace address, telephone number, email address, or other contact information, regardless of whether or not the information is actually correct) is harassment, unless that editor voluntarily provides or links to such information himself or herself. This is because it places the other person at unjustified and uninvited risk of harm in "the real world" or other media. This applies whether or not the person whose personal information is being revealed is a Wikipedia editor. It also applies in the case of editors who have requested a change in username, but whose old signatures can still be found in archives.

&

Publishing of Private correspondence defined as Harrassment:

There is no community consensus regarding the posting of private off-wiki correspondence. The Wikipedia Arbitration Committee, which has no standing to create policy, once stated as an editing principle that "In the absence of permission from the author (including of any included prior correspondence) or their lapse into public domain, the contents of private correspondence, including e-mails, should not be posted on-wiki" and in a second principle that "Any uninvolved administrator may remove private correspondence that has been posted without the consent of any of the creators. Such material should instead be sent directly to the Committee." See related rejected proposals Wikipedia:Private correspondence, Wikipedia:Correspondence off-wiki and Wikipedia:Confidential evidence.

Juanita (talk) 17:13, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Any chance you could point to a diff that shows where your private correspondence and/or email address was posted on Wikipedia? cheers, Nomoskedasticity (talk) 17:20, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
cheers to you. I have no idea what a 'diff' is.Juanita (talk) 21:50, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
This was exactly the sort of scenario those of us who fought against WP:PRIVATE and in favor of WP:COFF envisioned, FWIW; a closer reading of the non-bolded portions of the above should make it clear there was never any consensus on posting so-called "private correspondence" one way or the other. Nice try though. -- Kendrick7talk 19:57, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
I didn't make the claim that there was consensus. But it does say that there was a precedent re the Wiki Arb Com for an 'editing principle' that the contents of private correspondence should not be posted. Make of it what you will. Juanita (talk) 21:50, 27 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Statement by involved (but unlisted) party User:Eleland

See also: Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents/Statement re Wikilobby campaign

This matter has been investigated thoroughly, and, in my view, resolved. EI's selection of emails and appended commentary were accurate as to the intent of the campaign but misleading as to the extent. The Isra-Pedia folks were not very wiki-savvy and didn't accomplish much of anything. The offending users have been banned, blocked, or warned in proportion to their offenses. The curtain has come down, the drama is over, and we can leave the theatre now. <eleland/talkedits> 00:54, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Wow. I totally agree with and applaud your statement. thanks. --Steve, Sm8900 (talk) 15:27, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Clerk notes

This area is used for notes by non-recused Clerks.

[edit] Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (7/2/0/0)

  • Reject. No diffs, no case. Arbitration is led by evidence of onsite bad editing behaviour, not perceived "threats". Be assured that with diffs, we would not be slow to act. Charles Matthews (talk) 21:20, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
    • To clarify: a fresh case is, in my view, not required to review the application of existing sanctions; and is not required simply to evaluate off-wiki material. Everyone should appreciate the need for calm application of basic standards on Wikipedia. Those who rush to "assume bad faith" put themselves in a false position. The ArbCom may end up looking at the situation, and this should be a factor in the thinking of anyone inclined to act precipitately. Charles Matthews (talk) 07:41, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept. After listening to the reasons give by other arbitrators (on the mailing list) about why the Committee should accept the case, I'm going to vote to open a public case. Parts of the case may need non-public discussion, and parts of the situation will be handed back to the Community, but I think the Committee getting involved now will bring final closure to the situation sooner and get a better outcome for all involved parties. FloNight♥♥♥ 15:48, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept to look at all aspects of conduct. Adding a request to the clerks to remove from the evidence page any arguments about Israel/Palestine which are not directly relevant to Wikipedia editing; I hope this will not be necessary. Sam Blacketer (talk) 16:16, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept, and second Sam's request. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 19:32, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept per Flo. --bainer (talk) 10:45, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Reject as per the closure of the recent case and its remedies which are still valid. There are enough administrators dealing with this issue and it seems that there are no major disagreements between them. I would advice all people dealing with this issue to remain calm and act normally as we usually do when dealing with meat-puppetry cases. -- FayssalF - Wiki me up® 06:26, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept. Blnguyen (bananabucket) 06:58, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept to consider the behavior of everyone involved in this affair. Kirill (P) 00:18, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Accept; the allegations, if true, merit our involvement. The Uninvited Co., Inc. 17:14, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Temporary injunction (none)

[edit] Final decision

[edit] Principles

[edit] Purpose of Wikipedia

1) The purpose of Wikipedia is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors. Use of the site for other purposes, such as advocacy or propaganda, furtherance of outside conflicts, publishing or promoting original research, and political or ideological struggle, is prohibited.

Passed 9 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Decorum

2) Wikipedia users are expected to behave reasonably, calmly, and courteously in their interactions with other users; to approach even difficult situations in a dignified fashion and with a constructive and collaborative outlook; and to avoid acting in a manner that brings the project into disrepute. Unseemly conduct, such as personal attacks, incivility, assumptions of bad faith, trolling, harassment, disruptive point-making, and gaming the system, is prohibited.

Passed 9 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Good intentions

3) Inappropriate conduct undertaken in the service of a noble cause is still inappropriate conduct.

Passed 8 to 0, with one abstention. 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Dealing with external groups

4) It is apparent that some Wikipedia editors may be working to advance the agenda of various external groups, rather than in adherence with the purposes of the project. Editors are expected to respond to this in a professional manner.

Passed 9 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Collective guilt

5) Mere membership by an editor in some external group that has been involved in violations of policy is not actionable without evidence that the editor has some personal involvement in said violations.

Passed 8 to 0, with one abstention. 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Findings of fact

[edit] Background

1) From the evidence presented, it is reasonable to conclude that an external group of individuals has, over a period of time, acted to affect Wikipedia content; and that the methods employed by this group were, in a number of cases, explicitly or implicitly prohibited by various Wikipedia policies.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Discretionary sanctions

2) All articles affected by this matter are already subject to discretionary sanctions under the provisions of the Palestine-Israel articles case.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sanctions imposed

3) ChrisO (talk • contribs • blocks • protects • deletions • moves • rights), Future Perfect at Sunrise (talk • contribs • blocks • protects • deletions • moves • rights), and Moreschi (talk • contribs • blocks • protects • deletions • moves • rights) imposed sanctions on a number of editors whom they concluded had been involved in the external group.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hypnosadist

4) During the discussion of this matter, Hypnosadist (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · block user · block log) engaged in unprofessional commentary ([17], [18], [19], [20], [21]) and misrepresented key aspects of Wikipedia policy ([22]).

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Allegations

5) Various allegations have been made that similar external groups exist and continue to operate.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Remedies

Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.

[edit] Sanctions confirmed

1) The sanctions imposed by ChrisO (talk • contribs • blocks • protects • deletions • moves • rights), Future Perfect at Sunrise (talk • contribs • blocks • protects • deletions • moves • rights), and Moreschi (talk • contribs • blocks • protects • deletions • moves • rights) are confirmed.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] General amnesty

2) An amnesty is extended towards any editors who may have been involved in this external group and who have not been sanctioned for their participation in it. This is coupled with an expectation that these editors will not participate in similar efforts in the future.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Community urged

3) Members of the community who may have information regarding similar efforts by external groups to unduly influence our content are urged to forward that information to the Committee for review.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hypnosadist admonished

4) Hypnosadist (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · block user · block log) is admonished to maintain an appropriate level of professionalism at all times, and to avoid misrepresenting Wikipedia policy to other editors.

Passed 8 to 0, 20:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)