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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Augustus Rookwood (talk | contribs) at 02:09, 9 April 2007 ([[Leviton]] {{coi-links|Leviton}}: stylistic edit to nom). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

    Welcome to Conflict of interest Noticeboard (COIN)
    Sections older than 14 days archived by Lowercase sigmabot III.

    This Conflict of interest/Noticeboard (COIN) page is for determining whether a specific editor has a conflict of interest (COI) for a specific article and whether an edit by a COIN-declared COI editor meets a requirement of the Conflict of Interest guideline. A conflict of interest may occur when an editor has a close personal or business connection with article topics. Post here if you are concerned that an editor has a COI, and is using Wikipedia to promote their own interests at the expense of neutrality. For content disputes, try proposing changes at the article talk page first and otherwise follow the Wikipedia:Dispute resolution procedural policy.
    You must notify any editor who is the subject of a discussion. You may use {{subst:coin-notice}} ~~~~ to do so.

    Additional notes:
    • This page should only be used when ordinary talk page discussion has been attempted and failed to resolve the issue, such as when an editor has repeatedly added problematic material over an extended period.
    • Do not post personal information about other editors here without their permission. Non-public evidence of a conflict of interest can be emailed to paid-en-wp@wikipedia.org for review by a functionary. If in doubt, you can contact an individual functionary or the Arbitration Committee privately for advice.
    • The COI guideline does not absolutely prohibit people with a connection to a subject from editing articles on that subject. Editors who have such a connection can still comply with the COI guideline by discussing proposed article changes first, or by making uncontroversial edits. COI allegations should not be used as a "trump card" in disputes over article content. However, paid editing without disclosure is prohibited. Consider using the template series {{Uw-paid1}} through {{Uw-paid4}}.
    • Your report or advice request regarding COI incidents should include diff links and focus on one or more items in the COI guideline. In response, COIN may determine whether a specific editor has a COI for a specific article. There are three possible outcomes to your COIN request:
    1. COIN consensus determines that an editor has a COI for a specific article. In response, the relevant article talk pages may be tagged with {{Connected contributor}}, the article page may be tagged with {{COI}}, and/or the user may be warned via {{subst:uw-coi|Article}}.
    2. COIN consensus determines that an editor does not have a COI for a specific article. In response, editors should refrain from further accusing that editor of having a conflict of interest. Feel free to repost at COIN if additional COI evidence comes to light that was not previously addressed.
    3. There is no COIN consensus. Here, Lowercase sigmabot III will automatically archive the thread when it is older than 14 days.
    • Once COIN declares that an editor has a COI for a specific article, COIN (or a variety of other noticeboards) may be used to determine whether an edit by a COIN-declared COI editor meets a requirement of the Wikipedia:Conflict of interest guideline.
    To begin a new discussion, enter the name of the relevant article below:

    Search the COI noticeboard archives
    Help answer requested edits
    Category:Wikipedia conflict of interest edit requests is where COI editors have placed the {{edit COI}} template:


    This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

    Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Last updated: 2024-11-22 20:12 (UTC)

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    Lennie Lee (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views), a South African artist, is openly autobiographical. I have run into it accidentally while doing disambiguation and do not have the time right now to check it for notability and verifiability. Sam Blacketer 12:29, 2 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Its history looks fine until recent anon edits by 80.41.10.175 converting it all to first-person. I've reverted it to the previous version. Tearlach 14:51, 2 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Searches for the "Rich and Famous Gallery" + London + "Lennie Lee" (the article claims he founded it) yielded only wikipedia and wikipedia echoes. — Athænara 08:44, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I {{prod}}ed this article on March 30. One of the so far nearly twenty COI SPAs (see Talk:Lennie Lee#COI SPA edits) removed the prod tag on April 5. — Athænara 00:50, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I asked this editor to disclose any coi's he might have with some of the external links he's used [1], but now that I see he's been doing this since October, 2004 [2], I feel I'm in over my head.

    Possible coi because:

    • poweroid.com redirects to www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk/poweroid/
    • poweroid.co.uk redirects to www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk/
    • bestpricecomputers.co.uk is the same company
    • experienced-people.co.uk appears to be run by the same admin

    I've removed links from the following articles, all added by Poweroid:

    External links to bestpricecomputers:

    External links to experienced-people:

    I'm guessing there are many more considering how long he's been editing. --Ronz 05:48, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    You're wrong, surprisingly. See Special:Linksearch/bestpricecomputers.co.uk, Special:Linksearch/experienced-people.co.uk, Special:Linksearch/poweroid.com and Special:Linksearch/poweroid.co.uk. MER-C 09:30, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Those searches don't appear to work. I just found another bestpricecomputers link in Intranet. --Ronz 17:03, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Whoa! Whoa! I'm in the middle of something but give me a few seconds and I'll comment in full. Poweroid 13:26, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    OK, first, on the user name: It's not a random word, it's a word that's clearly associated with Best Price Computers Ltd, at bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk. In fact, there are thousands of pages in a Google search for that word ALL of which would lead you back to that company site. Poweroid is the only brand that company sells. And nobody can mistake that I'm associated with that company/do work for it. I intentionally use that user name here and I openly log in with that Poweroid name to edit. Have been doing it for years. I don't believe I've ever added a link to bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk.
    I have edited, proofed or otherwise worked on over 50 sites in the last few years some of which are/were owned by that company or by other companies. Those sites include pcnineoneone.com (which has plenty of links from Wikipeddia, many from before I ever joined), graphic.org etc., etc. (I'll try and compile a full list if anyone's interested). I've often taken content from a site I'm familiar with and added it to a Wikipedia article with due acknowledgement to the source - whether I ever worked on that source site or not.
    I believe I made a useful contribution yesterday to Web site, with a note in the Talk page prior to attempting further improvements. I notice that Ronz has removed a reference link to the experienced-people site on the article. Whatever s/he believes about the authority of the experienced-people site Yahoo claims that there are almost 3,000 other places that link to it, so obviously there are some, like abcnews.com who link to a particular article there, who think it's worth linking to. I notice also that the content from that source site is still on Web site though the reference was removed. Just as with VoIP. VoIP happens to use an image and content from one of the source sites. I notice that the image is still in use here though the link to the site was removed.
    I've edited probably thousands of articles in Wikipedia ranging from hundreds on Indian cities to articles ranging from pregnancy/medical to business management to foodstuffs/recipes, most of which I've found no reason to add links on. I admit I may not have read every single word of the rules here but if it is forbidden to ever quote from a site I've worked on in the past it will reduce my output considerably (as it would cut out a large chunk of topics I am familiar with) but I'm happy to comply. Poweroid 14:14, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, so far I've only removed the links, because they don't meet WP:SOURCE or WP:EL, and some come across as WP:SPAM. I've kept the other content, assuming it can be verified from other sources if necessary. As for the potential coi issues, I'm deferring to this noticeboard. --Ronz 16:28, 7 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    i am observer and i don't understand : who is Ronz , i have look the ronz's contribution to WIKIPEDIA and (always removed) please can you say me what he has realy build? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.11.145.92 (talkcontribs) 06:28, 10 March 2007 (UTC) and — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.16.118.211 (talkcontribs) 17:17, 10 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    If you have problems with my edits, take them to the appropriate venue. This discussion concerns the conflict of interest issues with Poweroid's edits. --Ronz 16:49, 10 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    A glance at Yahoo's Site Explorer [4] for incoming links to www.experienced-people.co.uk doesn't suggest much merit. Looks to me like one of those non-sites that provide token content, but primarily exist as vehicle for Google ads and affiliate schemes. Tearlach 17:24, 10 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    There are about 2,700 links to that site according to your Yahoo listing. I haven't examined them all but the first page itself shows links from sites I'm familiar with, like problogger, and about.com. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.247.89.250 (talkcontribs) 09:19, 11 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    See my comments above. The issue here is COI. --Ronz 16:03, 11 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • Poweroid seems not to have added his links normally to be avoided to articles in the past month—am I missing something? — Athænara 01:17, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
      • Just the one that he admits to above. [5]. He's been completely upfront here about his actions, though. It might be useful for him to provide the list of sites that he mentions above. He's not contending that the links are inappropriate. It appears that he often edits as an ip, but not in any way that violates WP:SOCK that I can see, other than maybe to avoid a few spam warnings. Other than that, I think the situation is fine as long as he no longer continues to add such links to articles. --Ronz 16:14, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
        • It wouldn't be wise to give away the farm to the competition by posting my client list publicly. But, like I said, I'll put a list together for anyone here who's researching me in relation to this CoI claim. Please tell me how and where I can provide it. Poweroid 11:49, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Posted on Wikipedia:Requests for comment/User names. — Athænara 06:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Result was allow: policy against company/product names as usernames had not yet been implemented when the user registered.

    In re conflict of interest, links, clients: It would be helpful if someone higher up the administrative chain can answer the user in re a list of clients whose links the user has added to the encyclopedia ("Please tell me how and where I can provide it") if that is the most straightforward way to clear this up. — Athænara 09:48, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Comments on the RFCN include that this case is starting to smart of desperation and that WP:SNOW may be applicable. Cascadia suggests something is just not right about the RfC and that it seems you're just looking at ANY (his emphasis) way to deal with a conflict. On your own talk page Shenme has trouble believing the "problem" is at all as serious as presented.

    Yes, let's find a straightforward way to clear this up. Poweroid 15:15, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Additionally, he's added links to:

    • poweroid-video-editing.co.uk (18 October 2004) [6]
    • bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk (14 August 2006) [7]

    --Ronz 15:43, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Sure, you'll continue to find links. While I added links in very few of the edits I did over the years there are a handful that link to pages that were - at the time of the linking anyway - useful and relevant pages kinda like the type Shenme thought looked perfectly OK (see comment on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_performance_management on the Wikipedia:Requests for comment/User names page). Poweroid 17:32, 21 March 2007 (UTC)17:23, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Yes, but you said yourself that you didn't think you made a link to bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk. It turns out you did in August and December of last year. Also, you've linked to a site that has your username in it, something you should have brought up when this COI was started. --Ronz 18:54, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Update: Poweroid admits to coi regarding choosing the name. An RfC/N resulted in allowing the username because it predates the prohibition on such names. --Ronz 16:46, 23 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Update: Poweroid appears to have choosen his username after introducing links to poweroid-video-editing.co.uk as 213.235.36.175 (talk · contribs). 213.235.36.175 has only a few edits total, from 6 September 2004 to 18:11, 15 October 2004. This editor introduced links to bestpricecomputers.co.uk and poweroid-video-editing.co.uk in the same manner that Poweroid has done. Four minutes after 213.235.36.175's last edit, Poweroid begins editing for the first time in the same articles as 213.235.36.175. --Ronz 17:10, 23 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Restatement of Wikipedia:Conflict of interest policy as it applies here.

    "A Wikipedia conflict of interest is an incompatibility between the purpose of Wikipedia, to produce a neutral encyclopedia, and the aims of individual editors. These include editing for the sake of promoting oneself, other individuals, causes, organizations, companies, or products… Of special concern are organizational conflicts of interest.[1] Failure to follow these guidelines may put the editor at serious risk of embarrassing himself or his client.

    1. ^ These include, but are not limited to, those posed by edits made by: public relations departments of corporations; or of other public or private for-profit or not-for-profit organizations; or by professional editors paid by said organizations to edit a Wikipedia article with the sole intent of improving that organization's image." (emphasis added.)

    From the introduction at the top of the policy page. — Athænara 07:44, 25 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Ronz, my username issue has already been discussed. It's already on record as associated with a particular company and their sites. And you/Athaenara subjected it to an RFCN which failed.
    Athaenara, I'm glad you bought up the neutral encyclopedia issue as you'll find that that's exactly what my edits are - including the ones you claim as CoI. Your special concerns of organization conflicts of interest and editors paid to edit Wikipeidia are irrelevant unless you are making an allegation that I've been paid to edit Wiki articles.
    Please provide examples of the selective citing and mis-characterisation of other editors' attempts you accuse me of as I don't believe there have been any at all.
    Re my user name: You will note that I do not have to change it. I was not compelled to change it. I was not requested to do it. I was not even asked to consider it. My name is 100% OK. I did however volunteer to change my name. So I'll do it when I want. That I haven't had the time to do it within the last week is nobody's business and, with the greatest of respect, isn't yours either. That I haven't put on top most priority something I volunteered to do is, you argue, grounds to dismiss presumption of my good faith? What was that about misrepresentation and mischaracterisation again?
    Is this really about a CoI anymore? Poweroid 18:30, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Just because the RfCN failed, doesnt mean that we should ignore other evidence relevant to your COI here when it concerns your name. --Ronz 22:58, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I have looked over this page and the talk page of User:Poweroid and some of his contributions.By his own admission, he has worked for the company (www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk and related sites) which holds the trademark on Poweroid (his current user name), so it seems clear there is a conflict of interest on his adding links to at least those company websites.
    The debate about his username, and whether a list of his clients should be provided and how, do not take away from the fact that this editor has added links to (see above) and images from [8] company websites with which he has a professional relationship in clear violation of WP:COI. This is not passing judgment on the links and images in question either, but it is a conflict of interest for Poweroid to add them to Wikipedia.
    If he feels these are valid links and images he should suggest them for inclusion on the talk page(s) of the article(s) in question for other, more neutral editors to decide. He is also, I believe, obligated to remove such edits he has made in the past until they can be decided on by other editors. The problem may be larger than this (the client list issue) but that in no way should obscure the fact that there is already a substantial COI problem here. This is no single purpose account for purposes of linkspam. However, he seems to be doing little to resolve and much to obscure and perhaps obstruct the solution of his COI problem. Hope this helps and apologize if I got the gender wrong, Ruhrfisch 04:53, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Update: As of today, searches for *.bestpricecomputers.co.uk returns 17 matches. This is after both Tearlach and myself have removed many others. It appears Poweroid has added links to the sites mentioned above in over 60 articles, mostly around December 2006. Additionally, I've requested Poweroid to comment about possible coi with his additions of links to techbooksforfree.com and dogtraininghq.com. --Ronz 15:36, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Three of those left (one to an image, two on talk pages)—I removed fourteen of them. — Athænara 16:19, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I found a US Government PD image and put it in the Voice over IP article as it was clearer in thumbnail than the COI image here (which is now orphaned), so we are down to only two COI links on talk pages for *.bestpricecomputers.co.uk. Ruhrfisch 01:52, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Awesome, better quality and public domain. That obsoletes the COI image, now listed at Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion/2007 April 2. — Æ. 04:53, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Update: I think all the questionable links have been removed from articles at this point. It appears Poweroid has added links to the sites mentioned above in over 80 articles, mostly around December 2006. I've also asked Poweroid to comment about possible coi with his additions of links to pregnancyetc.com and bringingupbaby.com. I'm estimating that between November'06 and January'07 Poweroid added over 50 links to 50 different articles, all links where there's a clear coi, and most in violation of WP:ATT as well. --Ronz 18:15, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Essay: I recommend the excellent Wikipedia:Search engine optimization essay to all editors and particularly to users with conflict of interest issues who are tempted, like the subject of this report, to linkspam the encyclopedia. — Athænara 06:09, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah, this is still going on and hasn't resulted in a ban/closure?
    I notice that Athaenara makes no comments on the issue of his misrepresentation of the username issue to suggest lack of good faith on my part. He could have at least apologised for maligning me. :(
    When digging out who made what links in 2004 please at least be diligent enough to check what the policy was at that time and whether I violated it. In fact, from what I can see there wasn't even a CoI page at that time, just a vanity page.
    I maintain there is a lot of FUD, embarrasment at "losing" the RfCN, and a campaign to smear me here. I've no doubt now who is going to pour over exact versions of the CoI page on every day I made an edit. Like other pages in a wiki, the CoI page changes over time. Unlike some here I have better things to do than to keep track of every minutae in the small print and how it changes on a daily basis. Ignorantia juris non excusat? Get a life, guys, this is a Wiki, not the Supreme Court but who would think it from the way some of you make a full time profession of mastering the small print rules? I did not come here to spam, I made hundreds/thousands of useful contributions, I added links where I thought they would be useful to readers, and, bar the odd exception, most of my edits didn't even involve adding links. I've made numerous efforts to cooperate but that doesn't seem to be (refactored personal attack) enough.
    Does it usually take so long for discussions on CoI claims? Or just ones that aren't clearcut? Poweroid 18:31, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    For neutral point of view editors: please see also "Refusal to cooperate" section of this noticeboard's talk page. — Athænara 01:39, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    This user has been editing with a conflict of interest. He has added dozens of links to articles he's written elsewhere and then he's edit-warred over their removal. He's used at least four different IPs in the same range:

    His first edit summary indicates he's the same person as Nicholas Stix.[9] Stix is an "internet columnist" who has occasionally mentioned Wikipeia in his blogs. Except for that first edit he hasn't identified himself as Stix even while fighting over links to his : websites. Despite using variable IPs he has attacked another anon with a variable IP as the "Bloomfield College Sockpuppetmaster". He's promoted himself, including a long entry to a list of "notable journalists".[10] He's also engaged in serial incivility for which a block may be warranted.[11][12][13][14] For the time being I've asked him to stop adding content about or by himself. -Will Beback · · 20:35, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The serial incivility extends to multiple other interactions; see Talk:Nadine Gordimer/Archive 2 and the user's talk pages for numerous examples. --lquilter 23:52, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    1.)The anonymous editor says he is being singled out because of his continued political engagement. He also claims:

    a.) His accusers misrepresent Wikipedia rules to criticize or redact his edits.
    b.) His accusers misrepresent print publications as "blogs."
    c.) His accusers stalk and censor him and anyone who supports him.

    2.) His connections come from Verizon, so he may have dialup or another setup without static IP addresses.

    3.) His accusers claim he is "self promoting," that he is apparently Nicholas Stix, a veteran freelance writer. They haven't demonstrated that his material, at least some of it, is improper.

    4.) FYI, I have no ties to Stix, nor do I endorse his writing, but some of the accusations laid against him may not mesh with reality. I encourage anyone who wishes to examine this situation to look carefully. Yakuman 01:12, 15 March 2007 (UTC) Yakuman 01:12, 15 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    At what are we to look carefully? The editor has identified himself as this person. His edits are chiefly promoting links to his self-published materials and websites. It's a COI to link to one's own website, and this editor has done so dozens of times. Furthermore he's engaged in scores of reversions adding the links back. Failing to acknowledge the relationship between subject and writer is not a good faith action.
    Nobody is trying to censor this or any editor. However spamming links across Wikipedia is not a useful or acceptable activity. All I've asked is that this editor stop adding content about or by himself. Is that unreasonable? I'd also ask that he be more collegial and less confrontational. Civility is a core policy of Wikipedia. -Will Beback · · 08:37, 15 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Comment: Readers of this board who want to study this case, and may not want to read all the diffs above, might content themselves with a quick scan of User_talk:70.23.199.239 to get the flavor of this editor's communications. This is really, really Nicholas Stix and there's no sock-puppeting issue, this is just his attitude to the world, at least to the other editors on Wikipedia. (We're not in the realm of subtle issues). See also his block log at [15]. Unfortunately this seems to be a case of WP:DE. The actions already taken by administrators were not excessive. This COI noticeboard is most effective when there is still a chance to persuade people and to remove misunderstandings. That does not appear to be the case here. The question of whether some of Stix's own articles deserve to be linked in Wikipedia is dwarfed by the behavior issues. Stix should by now be concerned about the number of administrators who have independently posted to his User talk with extremely polite language. Does anyone have another idea for how to resolve this? EdJohnston 03:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    More than conflict of interest is involved—this is an extremely disruptive and tendentious editor. How about Wikipedia:Requests for comment/User conduct? — Athænara 07:02, 24 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I had been trying to figure out the next steps both with respect to this editor's edits on the Nadine Gordimer article and the editor himself, but I was derailed for the last several weeks by personal stuff. I don't know the process but would be happy to start it or support it. --lquilter 18:32, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I left a Talk message for User:Will Beback, the nominator of this COI, but haven't heard back. EdJohnston 20:34, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    So for the lag; I've been travelling. I've only been concerned with the COI matter because it appears fairly cut-and-dry. However the disruptiveness, tendentiousness, and lack of civility are more serious issues. I'd support efforts to get this editor to respect collegiality. -Will Beback · · 08:13, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Again, I am not him, do not know him and do not speak for him. I guess I'm at a loss. I still believe that this is a bit of a misunderstanding. While I think he may not have said the right thing at times, I believe he is an established writer and not the utter nuisance he is made out to be. His edits on Gordimer are valid and I have spoken up for them and some other contributions, although not all. Much of this does seem to have a political bent. To be honest, I've seen some admins (not Will) behave worse. Also, it seems every edit of his, good or bad, is quickly reverted, regardless of article. That really isn't fair. Yakuman (数え役満) 11:14, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I quite disagree with Yakuman's characterization, but editors can review the relevant pages for themselves: particularly Talk:Nadine Gordimer/Archive 2; see also Talk:Nadine Gordimer/Archive 3; User talk:70.23.199.239; and User talk:70.23.177.216. --lquilter 12:35, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I see a clear pattern there, despite the claims of not being him. 151.151.73.169 17:12, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Durova issued a 48-hour block of 70.23.199.239 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) on 4 April for personal attacks. Scan his contribution history to appreciate the nasty edit summaries. In this edit Stix re-inserted a link to his own blog into an article, and declared himself to be reverting vandalism by Will Beback! Provocation just to get a reaction, or is that the definition of WP:POINT?
    It seems that the the incivility, if it continues, might justify a series of escalating blocks, without having to do deep analysis of the COI issue. The repeated re-insertion of links, after they are removed by regular editors, often leads to a quick verdict of spam, which is simpler to reason about than COI. EdJohnston 03:17, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I have noticed that the less 70.23.* posts, the more Yakuman posts. It is possible that the two are totally unrelated, but Yakuman seems singular in his unswerving support for 70.23.*, and has championed his cause, and taken up his quest to spread the word of Stix, like no others have. Yakuman seems slightly more civil, but I'm not convinced they are not indeed the same editor. Andyparkerson 06:59, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    EJ makes a good point. Incivility is simpler to deal with than COI and doesn't require delving into identity. On AP's matter, I doubt for several reasons that Yakuman is the same editor. -Will Beback · · 07:26, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Good to know. I simply wanted to address the possibility. Andyparkerson 07:33, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Durova points out that this IP hasn't edited since 4 April, and has asked to be notified if problems resume. EdJohnston 15:19, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • Superdeterminism (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) - Throughout the current AfD on the Archimedes Plutonium article, a user, Superdeterminism, who most feel is Archimedes Plutonium himself, has been editing the AfD, the article, and the article's talk page. What are the guidelines for a BLP being edited (owned) by the LP? Here, in the AfD, referring to the Wikipedia article, he wrote "on my page I refer ..." Somehow, this just doesn't seem appropriate. Thanks for your input. Keesiewonder talk 02:21, 24 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
      • Comment: WP:COI doesn't expressly forbid a person from participating in this regard, but they're strongly encouraged to be very cautious. The diff you linked to seems to corroborate the claim that he is indeed the subject of the article, but it also expresses a reasonable concern on his part. It looks like the AfD will result in a Keep, which is good (IMO, Wikipedia gets stronger every time a biography is determined to be keepable,) but he should be encouraged to take a step back and let others do the editing for him. WP:AUTO is a suitable guideline to cite from here, too. -/- Warren 03:56, 24 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
        • Thanks; where's the best place to request that someone other than me provide this strong encouragement to this user and encourage them to take a step back and stop editing their (auto)biography? As best I can tell, several admins are aware of what is taking place, but not warning the user in ways that are proving to be effective. Keesiewonder talk 10:52, 24 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Both Afds (one, two) resulted in keep. — Athænara 05:22, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, that's fine ... but User:Superdeterminism participated in a highly COI way during the second AFD. I see that Jehochman put a warning on SD's talk page. Keesiewonder talk 10:14, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Are his edits problematic? Do they conflict with WP:COI if he is the author? Vassyana 17:23, 26 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, and yes. The book pages needed work: they neded removal of promotional links, and all the categories were referred to the author rather than the books. There's also a deal of subjective stuff: "The stories presented in the collection often take sharp, disturbing turns not normally found in modern religious fiction". Sez who? The Tom Terry article itself completely lacks third-party sources. Tearlach 21:15, 26 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    No activity since 25 March. This editor may have gotten the message. Follow up if problems resume. DurovaCharge! 15:32, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The revision was made without discussion, none of the information is factually disputed, and I have indeed responded. Instead, after being warned of a COI and being told not to edit the page by Dar-Ape he again edited it without proposing changes and allowing for discussion.Gletiecq 13:40, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    No activity since 21 March. Contributions look problematic so fix the article as appropriate and follow up if necessary. DurovaCharge! 15:31, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    Cynthia killick (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) is the daughter of the subject, Marie Killick (and there are many other problems with the format). But this looks a notable and interesting topic - Killick vs Pye [16][17] - that could be salvaged with a bit of tact, as she'd be uniquely able to advise. Tearlach 11:13, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    No activity from this account since a post to her user talk page on 29 March. Follow up if any problems resume, but this looks like a good faith attempt to contribute. I suspect this editor would be willing to restrict contribution to talk pages on this subject if asked nicely. DurovaCharge! 15:29, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    It is a good topic - just a case of finding independent sources. Tearlach 11:48, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Good catch, obvious COI. No problems since the report was filed so I've semiprotected the page for a month. Follow up if necessary. DurovaCharge! 15:12, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    A new user, Sygun (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), has recently created an article on an artist called Roberto Valente. He has also started an article on the Sygun Museum in Wales. There's an ebay seller called museumofwales selling a lot of work by Valente as surplus items from Sygun. I'm concerned there may be a COI here. Another artist mentioned in the Sygun article (Miney Todd) was added to the Viyella article but has now been removed. --HJMG 16:32, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Links added to your post. I'm surprised they've got anything much left in the museum; the chief Google hit (5000+) for "Sygun Museum of Wales" is eBay! I've tidied and tried to source the Sygun articles, and asked User:Sygun what's going on [18]. Tearlach 17:00, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    This one has gone cold. No reply or further edits from User:Sygun, just the talk page blanked and message "not connected, just visited a few times" from an IP. I've sourced Sygun Copper Mine and proposed Roberto Valente for deletion for lack of RS. Tearlach 10:46, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    • Long Way Round (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) - MDennett (talk · contribs) is extremely keen to include an unsourced reference to "International SOS", a commercial organisation [19] he claims was paid a fee for involvement with the Long Way Round project. MDennet first added this in early November 2006, revisited it later that month, and has returned now. MDennet has asserted that he was involved in said deal [20] , and that the lack of any sources to verify this fact is not a problem, as we can just ring him or his friends up and ask. Neither the 388 page book nor 10 episode TV / DVD series make any mention of this organisation. He came perilously close to 3RR this evening, and continues to argue the point on his talk page. The account is single purpose, with the only edit other than on this issue being creation of a speedily deleted auto-bio in mainspace. His latest rebuttal of my attempt to enforce policy is that as Ewan McGregor and I are both Scottish, perhaps I (and presumably the 4,999,999 other Scots) have the conflict of interest?? // Deiz talk 13:51, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    are both Scottish
    So am I, partially, so it's a clear conspiracy. But no, whether there's a COI or not, WP:NOR makes "we can just ring him or his friends up and ask" completely unacceptable as a source. Only a third-party published source will do. Tearlach 15:51, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I agree that if MDennett (talk · contribs) was involved in the deal then he has a conflict of interest. You might want to leave a note about this issue on the Talk page of the article itself. You might also ask MDennett to clarify further his role in the Long Way Round project. I did not find his name on the longwayround.com web site. EdJohnston 21:39, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Out of interest, there is a Martin Dennett [21], Business Development Director for Energy, Mining and Infrastructure at International SOS. Tearlach 12:51, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I hope he feels great about this edit then. Deiz talk 13:49, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I've left a uw-coi warning on User talk:MDennett. Hopefully he will get the message. Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 03:27, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Anchor (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) User:Badmonkey is likely a representative of an anchor manufacturer (Ronca Anchors), is attempting to include favorable biased information of his anchor in article and reporting removal attemps of biased information as vandalism. Russeasby 14:30, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Defense: Refer to incident report at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/3RR concerning violation of 3RR by User:Russeasby and also request for page protection at Wikipedia:Requests_for_page_protection (article now fully protected). Russeasby has been repeatedly deleting a section of Anchor which he is calling spam. The content in question is sourced and perfectly NPOV. Third party opinions in Talk:Anchor are against this deletion, e.g. that from Hoof Hearted, and advice from one other solicited third party (Shell Kinney) warned cessation of these edits. This "conflict of interest" notice seems a revenge act for these reports by myself. Lastly, attempts at identification, especially for purposes of discrediting another editor, is contrary to Wikipedia's right to anonymity. Badmonkey 14:50, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Nm.: Russeasby has been blocked for 3RR violation. Badmonkey 15:11, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict)
    No. See the description of this noticeboard's purpose at the top of this page.
    After several days of disruptive and tendentious editing, much of it by single purpose account user Badmonkey, the article has been protected. — Athænara 15:17, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Optical Carrier (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) has been edited by Cyberdyneinc (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) the content of which has been reverted twice (first time by Sander (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), the second time by myself (NigelJ (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log))), upon the second revert, I kindly posted a message on Cyber's talk page asking him/her to:

    • Ensure a NPOV
    • To avoid a Conflict of Interest
    • To properly cite their additions

    Sadly, Cyber has added the section again (which I can't actually verify via Google), the wording has changed a little bit, but I believe a COI still exists. //NigelJ talk 03:52, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Now the user has also removed the subsequently added "citation needed" templates from the article without an edit summary (diff). I have reverted his edit and posted a {{uw-maintenance1}} on his talk page; the user has not yet responded. -- intgr 11:50, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Simon treves (talk · contribs) Is the author of some serious autobiographical vanispamcruftisement and other COI stuff, including:

    Although the user/subject be notable himself, this is less clearcut with respect to his works. MER-C 10:36, 31 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Changed the above header to use the 'coiwatch' template. EdJohnston 04:22, 1 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    See also: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/StartCom

    see also WikiProject Spam case--Hu12 05:34, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The above articles have been nominated for speedy deletion already. Why has User:Startcom been nominated for speedy? Is that a normal thing to do? Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 17:51, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    CSD G11 is a general criterion that applies to spam in the any namespace. It is useful for and is occassionally applied to user spaces, particularly if the user has no other edits and especially if the user has been registered for a long period of time. --Iamunknown 17:54, 2 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Appears User:Startcom has removed the tags on the articles --Hu12 05:30, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Deletion discussion here. Don't you just hate corporate vanity? MER-C 10:28, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    This account has been active since January. The first action was to create the article Norris-Whitney Communications and all edits since seem to be associated with products, publications, people and events associated with this particular company. I could make a list but it would be lengthy and it's probably easier just to look at the user contribs. In addition to the articles shown in the contribs, it appears there may also have been several other articles speedily deleted as either non-notable or spam - at least I saw some nominated while I was typing this. RJASE1 Talk 16:04, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I left him a uw-coi warning, and db-spam tagged the article you mentioned. Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 17:53, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]


    Marko Kitti (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) is an article about a (seemingly) very minor Finnish author that I removed a couple of POV sentences from shortly after its creation. It was created, and almost exclusively edited, by Mustepullo (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), to whom I also dropped a line about encyclopedic language etc. Notice that this is a single-purpose account.

    I recently checked back to see if this article had been improved and found that Mustepullo had added quite a few interwiki links to it. I checked a few of the other articles to see if they contained any more information that could possibly be translated to make the article less stubbish. It seems that every single one of them, nine non-English languages in all, were created by the same username, Mustepullo. I think we have a case of long-term, cross-language COI abuse. LeaHazel : talk : contribs 01:56, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Well, darn me. A remarkable coincidence that in all the world, in all the online listings of Finnish websites, here at Fennica.net Mustepullo Graphics and Marko Kitti are adjacent. Tearlach 02:14, 5 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Shocker! What are we going to do about this? Issue a cross-language warning? Recruit from Wikipedia:Translation? LeaHazel : talk : contribs 12:25, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Additionally, he won't even let a heading correction per policy stand. MSJapan 03:15, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    If it gets hardly any votes because of the holiday, you can always relist.
    There's a clear COI. Lojah's bio on people.tribe.net says "Lojah's professional debut was writing and performing with Shadowyze on his 2001 SOAR release, Spirit Warrior ... Lojah is currently performing with Shadowyze in the southern circuit".
    And Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Shadowyze and User talk:MSJapan#Shadowyze shows a lot wrong in his general editing conduct: Original research and failure to abide by WP:COI ("Wikipedia does recognize first-hand resources such as witnesses to an event, which I am also ... There really is no conflict of interest ... simply because I happen to have been fortunate to work with Shadowyze - that’s what makes me a primary resource"); personal attacks; evident belief in article ownership, and canvassing (see edit history Apr 3 20:00 onward) against the Shadowyze AFD.
    Check out Tom Bee too. Tearlach 04:15, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Check out Curvedtalk (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) - listed as a suspected sockpuppet here. LeaHazel : talk : contribs 12:59, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    --I have no sockpuppets. This is circumstantial at best and I believe it is slanderous. Lojah 23:04, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Sitution needs watching. AFD closed with "keep and rewrite to avoid COi" as consensus, but Lojah appears to be taking a closing assessment - that there is no specific ban on his editing [22] - as permission to edit. Tearlach 00:24, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Please watch the situation. The FACT that there is no specific ban on my freedom to edit this article is proof of my 'permission,' as you put it to edit the article. Until there is a clear RULE that says I absolutely can not edit the article then I am perfectly within my rights. Lojah 04:09, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Also note this statement, left on my talk page as well as his: I also believe that User:Curvedtalk is a sock puppet of you, created to incriminate me. I now return you to your regularly scheduled 'trolling' on Wikipedia. Lojah 00:50, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
    I think we can throw AGF out the window at this point. This situation needs to be nipped in the bud. MSJapan 04:44, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Looking at the latest at User_talk:MSJapan#Shadowyze. I think he's sooner or later going to fall foul of a lot of policies. I think a warning is already due for WP:NPA. Of course it's all our racist bias against against Native American activists - not bias against people who come into a collaborative communirty and think none of its conventions apply to them, and write great screeds arguing the toss about it. Tearlach 16:41, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Rethink. I'm coming round to thinking this may be down to misunderstanding (newcomer meets bite-the-newbie). I did some cleanup on the Shadowyze article, and had some perfectly civil discussion with User:Lojah about it. I'd say see how it goes. Tearlach 06:15, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Considering Lojah commenced the personal attacks (and the types of statements he has made here), "misunderstanding" is a pretty interesting statement. Willful ignorance of policy is not an excuse to PA. The article was in terrible shape, had nothing meeting NN, and sat for a week with no edits when I AfDed it. There was no "bite-the-newbie" involved - Lojah made the initial post on my talkpage telling me I didn't "know the facts about Shadowyze" and that there were "a lot of resources even if I was ignorant of the subject". He also accused me of trolling, more stuff re: ignorance on my part, and told me I created a sock to discredit him when someone else SSPed one of the AfD voters. I always stayed within the bounds of policy; Lojah didn't. The reason you had a civil discussion is because, as he saw it, you implicitly supported his POV. Prod one of his articles and see how civil he remains. MSJapan 17:41, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    OK. I guess I'm probably being a bit too laid-back, not having been on the receiving end of all that. A softly-softly approach just seems to have calmed down that particular situation. If he turns nasty again, I'm happy to help throw the book at him. Tearlach 00:24, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Editor has been continuing POV edits on both articles, could someone take a look? --Minderbinder 14:15, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    David Bradstreet (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) was created and has almost exclusively been edited by User:Davidbradstreet. I have asked him whether he is the same as the subject of the article. Sam Blacketer 17:39, 6 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    See also: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Dr. Richard Aldrich

    Dr. Richard Aldrich (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) -- Only non-bot edits made by User:Kyle Thomas, and the article talks for more than half its length about Kyle Thomas and his compatriot. Dr. Aldrich is mentioned only tangentially. --HubHikari 09:11, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Harry Partch (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) could also do with some attention, as the user in question claims to have been his next door neighbor. MER-C 12:59, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Aldrich has a malformed article title and this article is the only hit on either the structure or the person. The museum is a private group without its own domain. AfDed as NN and failing BIO. MSJapan 18:04, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The Partch article is pretty neutral, all things considered. The info matches the externals without being copyvio, and notability is established. It probably only needs some cleanup to remove hyperbole. MSJapan 18:12, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Agreed. I'm familiar with Partch's music (I have a copy of Partch's book Genesis of a Music). The article is in reasonable shape though it could use some polishing and even some expansion in places, e.g., his emphasis on rational scales. Raymond Arritt 20:06, 7 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    This editor, according to his userpage, is the science fiction author William Shunn. The user is the primary editor of the article about himself, and has created pages on his own works:

    Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)
    Inclination (novella) (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

    RJASE1 Talk 17:28, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    • I've left warning messages and suggested that he go to WP:RFC to get the article reviewed. He has been nominated for a few major awards, so I think he would qualify as notable, and as far as autobiographies go, this is far from the worst I've seen. However, the article lacks references, so I tagged it as such. Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 19:04, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    I am more concerned about what looks like a PR agency job on Entertainment Software Rating Board and a bunch of related articles, including this one. I need to do more digging. This looks like a real mess. Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 19:10, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    According to his userpage, the user operates the above website. Over a period of time, the user has apparently added numerous links to his own website in citations and links for several articles.

    1. diff
    2. diff
    3. diff
    4. diff
    5. diff
    6. diff
    7. diff
    8. diff
    9. diff
    10. diff
    11. diff
    12. diff

    I could add many more examples, but I think the above is enough to make my point, along with the fact that this is still continuing today - diff.

    I'll also file a report at WT:WPSPAM but cleanup will be difficult as many of the link additions are embedded in material citations. I'm not even going to get into the WP:SPS problems here. RJASE1 Talk 19:27, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    FYI, this is a Wikipedian with an article - Dennis King. RJASE1 Talk 19:59, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    This user seems to have done quite a bit of editing as User:208.222.71.17. Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 20:36, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Here's another severely conflicted editor [23] getting in on the action at Independence Party of New York. Seems like there are problems on both sides of this controversy. Jehochman (Talk/Contrib) 20:45, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    The WT:WPSPAM report is here. I know this is duplication to some extent but this needs to be looked at from a couple of different angles. RJASE1 Talk 21:16, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    I was updating the names of the other candidates inline with the council quoted names as per in addition to adding a link to my policies http://www.preston.gov.uk/elections/ElectionWard.asp?ward=93

    (sorry for the number of posts... i'm just getting used to wiki)

    The above user's edits are all to either his own article or to projects with which he is associated (except for wikilinking those articles in other places). The user states here that he is aware of the conflict of interest, but the articles all seem promotional in nature to me. RJASE1 Talk 23:00, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    The chief problem is a huge linkfarm that's well in breach of WP:LINKS and WP:NOT. I've moved it to Talk:Area 10 Project Space Peckham for scrutiny. Tearlach 00:20, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
    Editor has also made articles for the movies that she has directed. janejellyroll 01:52, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

    Added additional article links. RJASE1 Talk 02:00, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]