Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/ThomasC.Wolfe

– This SPI case is open.

ThomasC.Wolfe

ThomasC.Wolfe (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

For archived investigations, see Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/ThomasC.Wolfe/Archive.

20 April 2012

Suspected sockpuppets

• 98.94.204.96 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · spi block · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 98.94.194.37 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · spi block · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 98.94.211.199 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · spi block · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))

• User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

User:ThomasC.Wolfe has utilized a number of IP socks in the same range to edit war/evade 3RR violation in a pattern of tendentious editing across a handful of articles over the past year. User claims to "have difficulty logging in" or "too busy to use my account" as the reasons for this consistent pattern of evasion, but seems to have no trouble entering username and password after making a number of reverts with an IP sock and receiving a warning.

Example 1 (98.94.204.96):

• 1st diff: [1]
• 2nd diff: [2]
• 3rd diff: [3]
• 4th diff: [4]

3RR was filed against IP user by myself after this series of edits/reverts [5], and suddenly User:ThomasC.Wolfe appears as if by magic to file a retaliatory report against me [6], using 2-4 year old diffs in an attempt to make his report seem somehow credible. As if this weren't blatant enough, ThomasC.Wolfe then responds to the 3RR report against the IP user [7].

Example 2 (98.94.194.37/98.94.211.199):

• 1st diff: [8]
• 2nd diff: [9]

IP user removes a free-use image and replaces it with a non-free image in the above edit and revert, and after being notified that this is in violation of WP:NFCC#1, guess who shows up to revert the logo again, having solved his difficulty with logging in?

• 3rd diff: [10]

NFCC violation is corrected, and then a little over a month later, we get this revert, by an IP user in the same range:

• 4th diff: [11]

But I suppose ThomasC.Wolfe was just having his usual trouble logging in once again, or maybe he was just too busy to bother doing so. It can be very tricky and time consuming to type words in two boxes and click a button.

These IPs do not appear to be connected with an organization such as a school, business, etc., and therefore it is unlikely that individuals other than User:ThomasC.Wolfe are responsible for the edits made by the IP users. Logging in/out of Wikipedia to edit war/avoid 3RR is in violation of policy and disruptive behavior of this nature is not beneficial to the project. GarnetAndBlack (talk) 04:08, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Comments by other users

Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims. (it's late here)This whole situation (especially my demeanor) was nothing like it was described above. Bear with me, I had to read the section of "defending against claims" and am floored by how well this user can manipulate policy & prejudice to make it sound persuasive. I actually have not made many edits of late due to my schedule / personal life, changed email account, but more directly, the last time I made an edit with my account was on Critique of Pure Reason on January 16, which was a spelling correction to my own edit [12], and fail to see how this account is sockpuppetry. The truth of the matter is User:GarnetAndBlack is angry with me for connecting him through research to his other accounts User:129.252.69.40, User:129.252.69.41, User:ViperNerd, User:CockNFire, and because I caught him attempting to restore inappropriate biased content on Clemson University related athletic pages, that the user had already been warned by various editors & administrators to not be editing / edit-warring on [13]. I would like to point out more details, but for time constraints will attempt to "keep it simple." ThomasC.Wolfe (talk) 09:08, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Please note that at no point in the above "defense" does sockmaster ThomasC.Wolfe deny using three different IP socks over the course of the past year to make repetitive reverts (edit war) in more than one Wikipedia article, only to login under his username when it becomes necessary to avoid 3RR violation. GarnetAndBlack (talk) 06:38, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Just realized user ridiculously documented his own "puppet" User:129.252.69.40 in 3/4 of the diffs above. I was focusing on facts I uncovered; was struggling with templates, & time, which sockmaster seems to have plenty of; is it possible that user may be engaged in meatpuppetry rather than sockmastery? It's also worth noting that user has continued doing random reverts on the articles in question. ThomasC.Wolfe (talk) 10:12, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Again, no denial by User:ThomasC.Wolfe that he is using/has used multiple IP socks to edit war and skirt 3RR. Discussing the actions of others in your SPI defense pretty much says it all. GarnetAndBlack (talk) 15:06, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

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