Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents

Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents

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User:Moylesy98

Moylesy98 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) has just come off a block for edit warring and has resumed hostilities. Short of an indefinite block, I think that the only way this can be dealt with is by means of an editing restriction:-

"Moylsey98 is permanently prohibited from adding an image to, removing an image from, or changing any image contained in, any article or list."

He may propose additions, removal or changes at talk pages. Any additions, removals or changes may be made by any editor of good standing if there is consensus for same. Any breach of this restriction to be enforced by a block of not less than three months duration. Mjroots (talk) 13:26, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Moylesy98 has been notified of this discussion Mjroots (talk) 13:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

• And 5 minutes later they're indef blocked? C'mon give the guy a chance to at least reply!

I would support this indef block (rather than a TBAN) because it's fundamentally behavioural and failing to see what the rules (do source, do follow consensus, don't edit-war) are, rather than narrow enough to filter. Maybe they can make some case for "OK, I get it, I'll stop" and we could at least try that. But surely they get time to respond, at the very least? Andy Dingley (talk) 13:38, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Seriously, I don't see the point. They've been blocked four times this year alone for doing exactly the same thing over and over again, and they clearly haven't understood why they've been blocked. The latest block was for two weeks, and they came back straight away with reverts of the exact same material that got them blocked for edit warring (i.e. replacing good images with their own sub-par ones), with edit-summaries like "Reinstatement following removal by a spammer" and "Deliberate removal of image owing to jealousy". We can only have limited patience with this, I'm afraid. If they come back with an unblock request that addresses the problems, then yes we can try a limited unblock, but they need to understand why they keep being blocked first, and they clearly haven't. Black Kite (talk) 13:42, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

OK, he's indeffed but has TP access. We can discuss the proposal and it can be made a condition of unblocking. Mjroots (talk) 13:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

We should at-least unblock them to make their case here. Blocking a few minutes after talking here is extremely unfair. I would support a block, but give them enough rope, so that they can respond. The Duke 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

• They've just posted an unblock request which is going to be rejected on sight: it's a reasonable case for what they believe to justofy their editing, but it's entirely not an unblock request, as it doesn't address the reason for blocking. As such, yet another blocked editor is just going to have their unblock request refused summarily, leading to yet another angry ex-editor.

Their "request" still fails to address the underlying problem, and is a complete misunderstanding of how image selection for articles is, or should be, done. As such, it shows no long-term hope for a real solution and unblock here. But we have to at least explain this to them! As it is, we're steaming straight into the typical, and terrible, standard WP response and we need to do better. Andy Dingley (talk) 22:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Meh, I have difficulty seeing any of this as a real failing on our part. Lots of people have tried to talk to Moylsey98 long before it came to this. I see plenty of non templated comments on their talk page, including from you. Moylsey98 has barely responded (even from looking at their contrib history). They've shown zero real willingless to learn and seriously engage with people to try and understand where they're going wrong. It's not like they've come back and done things slightly differently each time. They've generally just done the exact same thing. By their own admission, the only real reason they've been adding the images is for spam like reasons, they want to promote their own work. As with a number of spammers, their COI means they likely genuinely believe their work is better than anything else, but really there's no reason for the community to waste a lot of time educating them when they're so unwilling to learn. If individual community members want to try and teach them that's fine. But there's zero reason to waste time at ANI on what's a clear cut case. If people are able to teach them on their talk page, they're free to request an unblock and I'm sure some admin will get to it. But it's not something the community should be expected to spend a great deal of time on. Nil Einne (talk) 03:47, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Let's not forget this is not the first time Moylesy98 has been at ANI. Even given that this discussion Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive981#User:Moylesy98 was perhaps not worth responding to, I recall this discussion Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive1002#Uncivil and threatening comments by User:Moylesy98 on an issue fairly related to what's going on here was at ANI for quite a long time which is also supported by the time stamps. And their block log shows they were unblocked for all of it [1]. And Special:Contributions/Moylesy98 shows a small number of edits during a fair amount of that time. So frankly, we've already given this editor way more latitude and waited more than long enough for them to seriously engage with us than we needed to. They've completely failed to do it any meaningful way, and instead have just continued to spam (by their own admission) in numerous ways. If anyone ever gets through to them then good. But really it's no major failing on our part that we didn't. Nil Einne (talk) 04:00, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

P.S. I'm actually a strong believer that we're way too reluctant to unblock someone to allow them to participate in an AN//I discussion about them. IMO the copying over from talk business is more complicated for everyone than it needs to be. Unless there's good reason to think the editor isn't going to obey the condition, I think we should as a matter or routine on request, unblock someone to allow them to participate in the discussion about them with the understanding it's the only thing they're allowed to do. Any violation of this condition will of course lead to an instant reblock, and is likely to destroy their chances. (And we should perhaps also remind editors that WP:Bludgeoning discussion is likely to harm them.) But in my mind, this isn't really an issue here because 1) No one really seems to think the topic ban proposal as a replacement for the indef is worth it 2) They haven't asked. (This comes up most often with cban appeals.) That said, if a serious proposal did develop and Moylesy98 were to request, I'd support it here as well. Nil Einne (talk) 04:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Black Kite - would you be amenable to Nil Einne's suggestion of unblocking in order to participate here? Nil Einne - the reason nobody is addressing my proposal is that they are all arguing over the merits of the block. Mjroots (talk) 06:21, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

I support an indef block. But only once we've at least tried to explain it and given them a chance to respond. Even if that doesn't work. Andy Dingley (talk) 09:58, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

In haste, I may have more time later, but I wanted to comment before this was closed. I am not an admin. I have seen editing from User:Moylesey98 which has lead me to believe that there might be difficulties in both understanding and writing in English. I alluded to it in [2]. They may have difficulty in making an unblock request. A young editor (that is young in development of skills; I am unsure of their age) might become better. A young editor might be understandably proud of a new camera and want to see their images used. I have seen images added by him which I found as good as most, and deserving of a place in articles. I have not time to find them now.SovalValtos (talk) 10:26, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

No need to rush. The closure made earlier was my fault, and because I didn't realize that the proposal was still ongoing... :-) ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 10:39, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

I have now found how to see some of User:Moylesey98's image uploads to commons[3]. I think there are images of value. They do not have to be of immediate use and even poor quality images may turn out to be of value in the future when some unsuspected aspect of the image is identified as being of use. I think some of his images may have been denigrated, which could have exacerbated the situation. A few examples in the gallery should give an indication of how this editor's contributions might be of value. If totally blocked their interest in contributing to commons as well might be lost. The lack of competence in other aspects might well persuade admins to block for a while. I would not object if that were the case as much effort has been spent on dealing with this editor's incompetence already.

• 
  Defiant and Earl of Mount Edgcumbe at Tyseley
• 
  Hunslet 0-6-0 no 3696 "Respite"
• 
  Andania's builders plate
• 
  Avonside 0-6-0 no 1883

To clarify for you, the problem isn't that Dave occasionally takes good enough photos that are, or might be, useful. The problem is that he doesn't seem to know what he's doing, so he takes many more poor quality photos than the accidental good ones. But then he persists in insisting that "his" photos, are included in articles, regardless of whether they are better than others. If they happen to be better than others, we should include them at least until better ones are available. But more often than not they're not, and we therefore shouldn't. If you want a few examples, take a look at these:

• 
  Composition wtf?
• 
  shutter speed too slow! You need 1/500 at least.
• 
  horrible shadow across the subject which is in the middle of the frame
• 
  overexposed mess
• 
  Composition - subject in the middle of the frame
• 
  Distracting snowstorm
• 
  Overexposed sky, odd composition
• 
  A mess of nonsense in front of your subject.
• 
  It's mostly a tree!
• 
  subject in the middle
• 
  too dark
• 
  This is a photo of... nothing in particular.
• 
  Yes, take photos of the crowds, though this is not really of them nor of the engine, which is placed too centrally. Also, sky overexposure.
• 
  subject in the middle, overexposure...
• 
  Overexposed sky, and top of firebox.
• 
  Taken from the side in shadow;
• 
  meh
• 
  Subject in the middle of the frame, exposure problems from bright sky, subject in shadow.
• 
  The sky is overexposed in this one but it is illustrative and should be used in the article.
• 
  This is OK

He's got a Flickr account where there's pages and pages of this stuff. Tony May (talk) 04:50, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

• Let's not get all steamed up about this. EEng 08:48, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

  tldr - I completely lost track. ^Atsme _Talk 📧 04:54, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

  Shame, you missed vital points.SovalValtos (talk) 07:30, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

  I want to express my disappointment at the limited participation. EEng 14:22, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

  Now, now let's not derail this discussion. --Blackmane (talk) 02:02, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

  Okay, that's enough, this conversation terminates here. All change please, all change. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 14:35, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

  You heard Ritchie: that's the end of the line. Roll along, now. Leviv ich 16:22, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

  Seems like discussion's come to a halt. EEng 19:20, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

  Someone got.... board. --Blackmane (talk) 04:13, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I am not an admin, just an editor who has come across User:Moylesy98. Please could someone explain what more is required here in the way of comment/proposals/action for progress to be made, as progress seems to have stalled?SovalValtos (talk) 20:35, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

• User:Black Kite has indeffed the user, which seems to be a reasonable solution to the problem. --DBigXrayᗙ 06:03, 12 April 2019 (UTC)
  • Per the discussion on Moylesy98's talk page, Black Kite is amenable to an unblock with the condition of the editing restriction I proposed as a condition of unblocking. Now that we've finished arguing about the merits of the block, perhaps we can now discuss my proposed editing restriction. Mjroots (talk) 20:27, 14 April 2019 (UTC)
    • In this edit [4] the question of WP:COMPETENCE was first raised. I was reluctant to do it before but I agree that is an issue, particularly concerning 'the ability to communicate with other editors and abide by consensus'. There are concerns with the other three competencies listed in What is meant by "Competence is required"? A restriction on changing images would only be addressing one symptom of the problem. More is needed. Would it be possible to limit him to editing talk pages, so that he could suggest article edits?SovalValtos (talk) 11:15, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Weak Support: Mjroots edit restriction. But real concerns there will be a difference of views over something or other that will soon escalate into Moylesy98's simply being blocked again (hence weak). I'm not 100% convinced from the discussion on Moylesy98's talk page that they are a mindset that will not end up in a further problem, but I think there has been some progress. I feel interactions between Moylesy98 and Tony May have high risk of escalating to a ban/block for Moylesy98 (I've thought that for a long time .... while the issues arising from Moylesy98's constributions are not specific or restricted to Tony May it seems likely it s an interaction with Tony would likely be the part of the lead up to a further.... voluntary IBAN here would be great but possibly not practical or workable). I don't know if a restriction on the number of articles/images edited in a period would also help. I'll disclose I've entered into a discussion with Tony may on an article this morning though I actually had drafted (and lost) a somewhat similar response here about two days ago. I've also been watching this evolve since at least beginning of March. I do hope Moylesy98 can see we are trying to be helpful but I am so concerned of the risk of a further block/ban Djm-leighpark (talk) 08:37, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Djm-leighpark I also have doubts re this issue. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try. Tony May has been told not to change images placed in articles by Moylesey98, and as far as I know is adhering to the instruction. Whether an IBAN between the two is needed is probably better discussed separately. Mjroots (talk) 08:45, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I missed [5] before my support !vote and it is bad it is bad that I missed it and will look incredible that I missed it. I also note the comment on the talk page and am aware of some posts I have made in the interim that may be swaying me but I am really concerned while I support @Mjroots proposal I view the chance of success as is remote. It feel it only is possible that only with some form of informal request edit system actioned by empathetic user(s) and possibly by some form of Adoptee relationship to mediate interactions that disaster would be avoided.Djm-leighpark (talk) 13:31, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Is this still the discussion about the choo-choo pictures? EEng 19:49, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• Never was about content ... it was about disruptive behaviour or whatever, and trying explore if there was any way of avoiding a indefinite block on someone and guidance for how it might be lifted. It is about trying to explore a way allow someone to re-participate in a friendly way, a somewhat noble aim. Its unhealthly and inappropriate this has been at ANI for so long and some sort of empathetic closure would be nice and perhaps within the derived spirit of WP:5P4. Positive guidance on user talk page about what might be needed to appeal a block (not just appeal but indication of acceptable behavior and indication of expections) to successfully re-integrate into the community might be a better way forward. I might be prepared to do such a thing but I had to clear another matter first and I have multiple commitments currently. Thankyou. Djm-leighpark (talk) 22:20, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Acupuncture: not sure what to do here

• Middle 8 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
• Roxy the dog (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
• JzG (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
• Acupuncture (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

I have two questions about this edit/revert[6][7]
and about these two talk page discussions:[8][9]

Question #1: Is it true that according to the RfC cited, It is impossible for acupuncturists to have a conflict of interest with regard to content describing acupuncture? Is there something that needs to be done about Middle 8's editing of Acupuncture, or should I advise Roxy and JzG to stop questioning Middle 8's editing of Acupuncture?

Question#2: If something needs to be done here, is this something that should be discussed at ANI, or should I go to WP:AE?

I don't know what the right thing to do here is.

Possibly related:

• Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Acupuncture#Standard discretionary sanctions.
• User:Middle 8/COI
• Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard/Archive 139#2nd RfC: Do alternative medicine practitioners have a conflict of interest?

--Guy Macon (talk) 18:00, 7 April 2019 (UTC)

• I think it's actually fairly straightforward - the RfC said "Do practitioners of alternative medicine ... have a conflict of interest with regard to content describing their field of practice? - in other words, do they automatically have a COI - this was opposed. It did not say "Can practitioners of alternative medicine ...", because clearly, yes they still can, depending on what and how they're editing. Indeed the RfC close specifically said this - "Editors are reminded that any role or relationship outside of Wikipedia may undermine their primary role here of furthering the interests of the encyclopaedia and that editing articles directly in such situations is strongly discouraged.". Black Kite (talk) 18:09, 7 April 2019 (UTC)

• That makes sense. Should Middle 8 be requested to not make the claims he makes on User:Middle 8/COI and on the two talk pages I cited above? Should I withdraw this ANI report and bring up the question of whether Middle 8 has a COI at WP:COIN? --Guy Macon (talk) 18:16, 7 April 2019 (UTC)
• An editor's on-wiki conduct bears on problems like TE and ADVOCACY, not COI. Per EXTERNALREL and the recent RfC clarifying same, COI arises from an editor's external relationships "within their field of expertise" (e.g. The Who's manager has a COI for The Who but not band manager). Otherwise we'd be seeing COI tags and COI/N cases with lots of professional fields. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 23:56, 7 April 2019 (UTC); edit for clearer example, 00:21, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

• I don't want to re-litigate something that has been the topic of one Arbcom case, at least two RfCs and a boatload of talk page discussions (ANI deals with user behavior, not article content), but I would like to address Middle 8's "it isn't a COI at all and thus I am not guilty of any COI violation" argument. The counterargument (which may be something Arbcom needs to rule on -- I still would like advice on that) is that our band manager article doesn't contain anything remotely resembling the "Acupuncture is a pseudoscience because the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientific knowledge" claim that is currently in our accupunture article. If our band manager article said that bands that only pretend to have a band manager work just as well and make just as much money as bands that have them then the band manager for The Who shouldn't edit that article. The key here is that Middle 8, like all acupuncturists, suffers direct financial harm from the fact that our acupuncture article documents through WP:MEDRS-compliant sources that it doesn't matter where you stick the needles in, and that it doesn't even matter whether you stick the needles in -- the outcome is the same. Direct and personal financial harm caused by the content of a Wikipedia article equals a clear conflict of interest regarding that article. --Guy Macon (talk) 01:24, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

• You already made those exact same reasonable arguments at the RFC (right down to the band manager example), where they were duly considered alongside other reasonable arguments. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 02:41, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

That RfC was about whether alternative medicine practitioners in general have a conflict of interest. This ANI report is about whether you personally have a conflict of interest, and was triggered by you repeatedly claiming that the RfC in question had a result of "It is impossible for Middle 8 to have a COI regarding acupuncture". And you were the one who brought up the band manager argument. Did you really expect such an argument to stand unchallenged? --Guy Macon (talk) 04:11, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Sorry if you're having difficulty extrapolating from the general case to a specific one. Please see my comment here. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 04:36, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, good, give a pointer to a place where you tried to explain basic logic to a PhD mathematician after they corrected you. Brilliant. The RfC as decided cannot possibly settle the question of whether any particular individual has a COI. (Although probably at this point you should be blocked for tendentiousness and wikilawyering.) --JBL (talk) 19:23, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

You're not wrong about negation, you just picked the wrong statement to negate. Take the heat down a notch, please, and see my reply below ("If A, then B"). addendum: No, the RfC can't say that a given editor has no COI of any kind, but it can and does say that the principle that profession doesn't cause COI generalizes to CAM professions. This, as far as I can tell, is what Guy Macon disputes: he thinks I might have a COI because acupuncture (.... repeat arguments from RfC). --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 20:49, 8 April 2019 (UTC); fixed 20:50, 8 April 2019 (UTC), 20:52, 8 April 2019 (UTC), 21:43, 8 April 2019 (UTC); addendum 21:59, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Anyway, this isn't the right venue to (re)litigate my putative COI -- COI/N is. The "is it impossible" issue is really a red herring (the article tag being minor) -- the main question IMO is whether am I being accused of COI, and why, and whether in light of the RfC result it's even proper to do so. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 09:39, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

I'll just repeat what JBL said, in slightly different wording: It is not possible for RfC you are trying to rely upon to make it "improper" to raise CoI concerns about your or anyone else's editing. This is a WP:IDHT act you can drop now. At best, the RfC indicates nothing beyond the fact that for WP purposes, you don't automatically have a CoI just because you're an acupuncturist. You may well still have one (or may not; it depends on the evidence). This thread seems mostly to be about where to present it, and it probably would have just been more productive to present it.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:14, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Sure I or anyone could have a COI for lots of reasons,^[10] but not simply because of their profession -- even for alt-meders. That's what the RfC said. Remarkably Guy Macon, while arguing that this result was merely "general",^[11] has come here offering no specifics about me -- did you catch that part? The main drafter of the RfC close did.^[12] As for whether it's proper for Guy to start^[13] an RfC because of me,^[14] then after not getting the result he wanted^[15] go to different forum repeating the same old arguments, I leave that up to you. --Middle 8 (s)talk • privacy 16:02, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• As it applies to this instance, would it be fair to state the RfC question as, "Do acupuncturists have a conflict of interest with regard to Acupuncture?" (Acupuncture being "content describing their field of practice".) Leviv ich 18:31, 7 April 2019 (UTC)
• Simply having a profession (doctor, engineer, needle poker) doesn't create a COI for that profession, including CAM's -- that's how I read the RfC. And remember, COI by definition comes from one's roles off-wiki, not from one's edits. So I can't imagine any other way one could have a COI for their (or any) broad professional area, can you? If I'm wrong, then I retract my assertion that it's impossible. But I maintain that that COI tag doesn't belong on any article about a profession, and that being an acupuncturist doesn't give me a COI for acupuncture. I really thought that RfC laid such issues to rest, and that we could refocus on content, not contributors. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 01:25, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
  • (edit conflict) Just get an admin or two to tell me that your interpretation of the RfC is correct, and I will gladly switch to telling Roxy and JzG to stop complaining when you make edits like these[16][17],[18][19] Clearly neither of them agrees that you don't have a COI. I am fine with telling them to stop accusing you of having a COI and I am fine with telling you not to edit pages where you have a COI, but please don't expect me to decide which to do simply because an acupuncturist tells me which he thinks to be correct. You are hardly unbiased. There is nothing wrong with me asking what to do in this situation, so please stop implying that there is.[20] I will get an authoritative answer, either here or from Arbcom. --Guy Macon (talk) 04:04, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
    • This seems like IDHT. You already have a clear and authoritative answer from the RfC (which was closed by three uninvolved, experienced admins). --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 04:36, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
      • ...and doesn't say what you have repeatedly claimed that it says. Don't forget that part. I'm just saying. --Guy Macon (talk) 04:46, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
        • If it doesn't mean that simply being an acu'ist doesn't confer a COI, then Aristotle was wrong. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 06:10, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
          • As I've already pointed out to you elsewhere, the negation of "X is always true" is "X is sometimes not true", not "X is never true". This is, literally, a basic failure of logic, and the fact that you repeat the error after being corrected reflects extremely poorly on you. --JBL (talk) 19:19, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
            • Actually, JBL, it's "If A, then B" ("If I practice a CAM profession, then that causes a COI for that CAM profession"), the negation of which is "A and not B" ("I practice a CAM profession and that does not cause a COI for that CAM profession"). --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 20:42, 8 April 2019 (UTC); improved wording 21:43, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
  • P.S. More than happy to reword my comments to clarify [21], fwiw. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy)
  • Middle 8 seems to be interpreting "COI by definition comes from one's roles off-wiki, not from one's edits" (which is Middle 8's own wording, not any RfC's) to mean something more like "CoI cannot be demonstrated by one's on-wiki edits, only by WP:OUTING-style connection of the editor to real-life role at particular organizations". This isn't a correct position (wasn't before or after the RfC we've been talking about). Maybe I'm misreading Middle 8, but everything I'm seeing here amounts to "it's impossible for me to have a CoI, because some RfC said so", yet it's not what the RfC said, and it's not how it works. Cf Black Kite's comment below: "the fact of whether Middle8 has a COI here is completely dependent on his edits."  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:14, 21 April 2019 (UTC)
    • SMcCandlish: see WP:COINOTBIAS, that's what I mean, also ACTUALCOI underneath. If it says elsewhere in PAG (or an RfC) that COI is also demonstrated by edits, I stand corrected. Also read our article Conflict of interest, esp the lede, 2nd para. And no, it's not about outing (straw man), it's about disclosure. Again: yes, it's perfectly possible for me to have a COI, just not because I'm an acupuncturist. But I have no other off-wiki connections that might apply, so.... --Middle 8 (s)talk • privacy 16:41, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• Eh, who cares. We are talking about two edits about an edit notice that no one has probably even read. If it stays or goes who cares really? Other than drama what is the point of this and why did you ping JzG? If you have an issue then take in to AE.AlmostFrancis (talk) 02:27, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

• I pinged JzG because, if the admins here or Arbcom say that Middle 8 doesn't have a COI, JzG and Roxy are the ones who I will be telling to stop saying that he does. Likewise, if the admins here or Arbcom say that Middle 8 does have a COI, I will be telling him not to edit pages where he has a COI. So far no admin has advised me to close this and go to AE, but I am perfectly willing to do that. I just want to do the right thing. --Guy Macon (talk) 04:04, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

• What makes you think any of the people involved need your input? You already opened an ill advised RFC that wasted countless hours and ended in the obvious conclusion. If you want to do something then do it but this is just a drama magnet, and you don't need permission to go to AE.AlmostFrancis (talk) 04:15, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Guy, don’t bother to tell me that M8 has no COI. I won’t believe you. Roxy, the dog. wooF 14:28, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

I haven't completely decided, but I am leaning towards Middle 8 having a COI. Clearly you, I, and JzG all think Middle 8 has a COI, and the existence of an RfC that essentially says that alt med practitioners don't automatically have COIs has not convinced any of the three of us that Middle 8 doesn't have a COI. Of course Middle 8 thinks that it should convince us, but he would say that, wouldn't he?

That being said, if I were to see several admins (or Arbcom) tell us to stop saying that Middle 8 has a COI then we need to abide by that decision whether we agree or not. It doesn't look like that is going to happen here, so if the admins continue to be silent on the question I intend to take it to AE as something that ANI is unable to resolve. --Guy Macon (talk) 18:02, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

I think, as I said above, the fact of whether Middle8 has a COI here is completely dependent on his edits. If he's making neutral sourced edits then it doesn't matter anyway. If he's making disruptive or anti-consensus edits that show a clear POV then he may well be said to have a COI. But more importantly in this case, he should not be removing the edit notice because COI editors - whoever they are - should not be editing any article that they have a COI on; this one is no different. Not only that, but (as I quoted above) the RfC that Middle8 is using to justify removing the notice actually backed up this fact. Black Kite (talk) 18:13, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Sorry, I don't follow: could you specify which fact you say the RfC backed up, and why? And again, you're mistaken re how COI arises. It doesn't come from biased edits. It comes from one's off-wiki roles. See WP:COINOTBIAS. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 20:57, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

(edit conflict) I think we're focusing on the wrong thing. What behavior of Middle 8 is being contested here? Which edits were problematic? What has been done in response to those edits? Has Middle 8 showed a continued pattern of bad editing after being warned about such? Your focus on the conflict of interest is a distraction. The focus should be on good or bad editing behavior, and that's it. The minutiae of the COI policies are a distraction, so focus instead on the behavior. --Jayron32 18:16, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Agree. Paul August ☎ 00:47, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

I'd love it if we could refocus on content; then bad reverts like this would be avoided (cf. WP:PRESERVE). --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 21:12, 8 April 2019 (UTC); revise and abridge 01:59, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

Guy, if Middle 8 was defending his particular practice, then yes - absolutely a COI. But the sidebar tactic of declaring someone has a COI because they practice a certain whatever, then you'd be preventing every declared liberal from editing Dem political articles and the same as it would apply to conservative who support Repubs. The same would apply to every dentist, dermatologist, massage therapist, etc. I think you see my point. Worse yet, we can't even get a majority to agree that paid editors should be prevented from editing articles they were paid to edit. Major time sink here. Provide the diffs you oppose or just start an RfC at the article, and get ready for the "come what may". Just my 5¢ worth. ^Atsme _Talk 📧 02:06, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

Atsme, agreed re other professions, and the thing is, this was all discussed in the RfC and the "No COI" arguments (like yours) were found to outweigh the "Yes" ones. Yet Guy Macon is now suggesting I have a COI using -- wait for it -- those exact same arguments from the RfC (i.e. alt-meds like acupuncture are pseudoscience-y etc.). [22] How is this proper, and why did we even have the RfC? And why isn't this at COI/N? --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 09:52, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

Nice obfuscation. First you tell a blatant lie about what is in an RfC ("it's not possible for an acu'ist to have a COI for acupuncture, per recent RfC")[23] then when someone calls you on it, you write "this was all discussed in the RfC" and "How is this proper, and why did we even have the RfC?". I predict that if this ANI report closes without a consensus that you do have a COI and without a consensus that you do not have a COI, you will start claiming that "Per ANI I have no COI" and if anyone disagrees you will say that ANI settled the question and ask "why did we have a discussion on ANI?". --Guy Macon (talk) 12:12, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

Not a lie at all, a reasonable inference from the RfC result^[24] as I've explained before you even posted here,^[25] in this thread,^[26] and later on your user talk page,^[27] which at the moment you're still ignoring^[28] in favor of this war/drama forum. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 04:01, 11 April 2019 (UTC); minor ce 05:25, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

There's nowhere in the RfC that someone can claim that acupuncturists cannot have a COI at least. The RfC can mostly be summarized as while having a numerically higher oppose count, the arguments for the supports have stronger arguments, but a specific proposal wasn't needed since current guidelines already cover those viewpoints.

Comments like simply having a profession isn't COI tend to come up here a lot which is true, but that doesn't exclude that specific professions can have one. The key determinant is if that profession runs counter to Wikipedia's goals as an encyclopedia. Being a university professor, etc. doesn't have very much COI aside from an editor promoting their own research, etc. since their job is essentially presenting encyclopedic knowledge. Someone engaged in alternative medicine or pseudoscience though has a conflict since furthering encyclopedic knowledge runs counter to their profession as outlined in the first paragraph of WP:COI. Kingofaces43 (talk) 02:49, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

You read the RfC closing wrong, Kingofaces43. Consensus was on the 60%-ish majority "oppose" side. It said "We find, however, that the oppose arguments are stronger. ... Thus, the proposal to single out alt-med practitioners in policy as having a COI is opposed."

I agree that the financial connection is tighter for the average alt-meder than the average professor, but you can read (or may recall) counterarguments from the RfC (that the slope is slippier than that, and that financial connections for any broad area are much more tenuous than the classic COI example of one's own business, et cetera). --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 00:36, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

• I'll pile on here as well, the RfC very obviously decided against singling out alt-med practitioners as having an inherent COI relative to any other area of interest or specialty. It refused to make a pre-emptive blanket ruling that alt-med practitioners have a COI by default. That does not make it a pre-emptive blanket ruling that alt-med practitioners cannot have a COI, and that is what Mid 8 is quite literally arguing here. Mid 8's supposedly-amicable demeanor is severely betrayed by his inability and/or unwillingness to accept that his unrealistic interpretation of the RfC is not correct. This alone is grounds for serious consideration of sanctions. That said, if accusations of COI are being made, the underlying evidence should be examined. There is no pre-emptive default stance either way as a result of that RfC, beyond the default stance that accusations of any kind need supporting evidence. ~Swarm~ ^{sting} 07:13, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

As an authority on my own views, I object to being soundbited and misconstrued. I agree 100% with how one of the RfC closers paraphrased the RfC result:

• "The result of the RfC was that an alt-med practitioner does not have a COI just because of the fact of them being an alt-med practitioner."^[29]

Compare that to "what Mid 8 is quite literally arguing here":

• "P.S. In a nutshell, simply having a profession (broadly, like "electrical engineer") does not create a COI when editing in that topic area. The RfC clarified that this indeed applies to CAM professions."^[30]

Of course an alt-med professional can have still COI's for aspects of their topic area, e.g. for their own writings/inventions, but not for their alt-med area broadly, and not simply because of their being a alt-meder.

A brief talk-page exchange would've sufficed to clarify all this. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 21:11, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

And I do regret removing the COI tag from the talk page. It was put there several years as part of a "singling out" campaign, and AFAIK hasn't been used on the article talk page of any other alt-med profession (let alone any other profession). --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 21:32, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Specific edits

As requested,[31] and without receiving a definitive answer regarding whether Middle 8 has a COI, I am posting a summary of Middle 8's edits that may or may not be COI violations, depending on whether or not he has a COI.

If you are looking for a smoking gun edit where Middle 8 has made blatantly biased or incorrect edits that would be sanctionable whether or not he has a COI, you can stop reading now. That did not happen. If you are looking for edits that paint acupuncture in a favorable light -- the kind of edit that would be OK if he has no COI but not OK if he does have a COI, read on.

(If you are sensing an undercurrent of me disagreeing with the basic plan of examining his edits without a determination of whether he has a COI, you are correct. I am not looking forward to the inevitable criticism that will follow me posting the following edits, but I realize that I will also be criticized if I don't post them.)

Middle 8 has spent the last ten years editing on and off in the area of Acupuncture. Middle 8 also has a direct financial interest in the Wikipedia acupuncture page and related pages painting acupuncture in a favorable light. I do not believe that Middle 8 is editing in bad faith. I believe that he wants Wikipedia to lean towards portraying acupuncture in a favorable light because he honestly believes that the existing content is too unfavorable.

In my opinion, the COI question is the key. If he doesn't have a COI, then making edits favorable to acupuncture would not be a problem. If he does have a COI they are a problem. That being said, here are some diffs:

His very first edit after registering was to change

"Complementary and alternative medicine treatments, including chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture and energy psychology, have never been proven effective in randomized controlled trials."

to

"Complementary and alternative medicine treatments, including chiropractic, homeopathy, and energy psychology, have never been proven effective in randomized controlled trials (RCT's). A review of 26 RCT's studying acupuncture for nausea and vomiting showed some effect, but those effects were equivocal for pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting."

Diff: 10:56, 28 January 2009 [32]

The next day he changed

"TCM theory predates use of the scientific method and has received various criticisms based on scientific reductionist thinking, lack of evidence, and since there is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians. "

to

"TCM theory predates use of the scientific method and has received various criticisms based on scientific reductionist thinking, lack of evidence, and since there is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians. (Hypotheses exist, however; e.g. Langevin and Yandow (2002) postulate a relationship of acupuncture points and meridians to connective tissue planes.) "

Diff: 05:46, 29 January 2009[33]

I am not going to list a bunch of edits from years ago unless specifically asked to do that, but here are a couple of samples.

"Unlike established "woo", acupuncture's efficacy and mechanisms are unclear. The jury is out..."

Diff: 10:33, 1 March 2012 (UTC) [34]

"A perusal of Pubmed and Cochrane reviews also shows that acu is taken seriously and shows some evidence of efficacy (see here and here, as does the fact that it's used at numerous academic centers] including some of the best (Harvard, Stanford etc.). Yes, for most conditions acupuncture has been shown not to work, but certainly for pain and nausea there is mainstream debate, cf. Cochrane. All these results are the fruit of recent, "wide and serious study". In fact, the single best MEDRS there is -- Vickers et. al. (2012) -- concludes that acupuncture "is more than a placebo" and a reasonable referral option."

Diff: 10:25, 8 January 2015[35]

This brings us up to recent edits:

"Harrison's states that acupuncture is of some benefit in dysmennorhea, and lists it as a non-pharmaceutical treatment for pain in ADPKD and an adjunctive treatment in knee osteoarthritis, for which it "produces modest pain relief compared to placebo needles" According to Harrison's, acupuncture can be considered a useful adjunctive treatment in PTSD and comorbid depression in war veterans if, despite the lack of evidence, patients find it calming and relaxing."

Diff: 05:47, 5 January 2019[36]

Removed "Individuals with a conflict of interest (COI), particularly those representing the subject of the article, are strongly advised not to edit the article. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest."

Diff: 07:48, 7 April 2019[37]

Again, I posted the above edits because I was asked to, not because I believe that they answer the question I asked. And I really am asking whether Middle 8 has a COI, not trying to prove that he does have a COI, so please put your flamethrowers down. --Guy Macon (talk) 00:52, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

Middle 8 here. The advice from Jayron32 above is superb, but that's not (at all) what Guy Macon is doing. The diffs are selectively quoted (hence the wall of text and not just links), omitting material critical of acu, sources used, how I responded to any reverts, et cetera.

COI arises from one's off-wiki activities and not one's edits (a too-common misconception). Of course some of a non-COI editors' edits could be improper if they had a COI, but it's illogical (and unfair) to insinuate that such non-COI edits imply a COI. That's putting the are-my-edits-conflicted cart before the do-I-indeed-have-a-conflict horse. It's not how you handle either COI or editing concerns. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 00:29, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

Another view

It seems to me that proponents of pseudoscience, in which category accupuncture clearly belongs, must be held to the highest standard when making claims about their particular brand of woo. For a start WP:MEDS ^{edit +}WP:MEDRS^{end edit} seems like a bare minimum when making claims about possible health treatments. Whether of not an editor is a practicing accupuncturist or whether or not they have a COI, all edits about such subjects need impeccible citing to reliable secondary and tertiary sources. Wikipedia correctly subscribes to the mainline scientific view of such subjects and it is always going to be problematice when proponents edit in the areas of their particular interest. It is not akin to an engineer editing an article on engineering practice because there are going to be multiple RS to back up the engineer's claims. The same cannot be said for accupuncture. - Nick Thorne ^talk 03:07, 10 April 2019 (UTC) edit to correct link - Nick Thorne ^talk 03:58, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree with Nick, and will add that it is important for us to exercise a level of caution in order to avoid excluding well-sourced material our readers expect to see in an encyclopedia; i.e., all relevant views presented with proper weight and balance per NPOV. We provide the whole picture, not a Photoshopped version of it in an effort to pursuade readers to accept a particular POV - we simply present the facts with proper weight given to the scientific mainstream view. If material is poorly sourced, UNDUE, etc. it is subject to removal. If the editor in question has created disruption (such as 3RR or is repeatedly citing unreliable sources) or has acted uncivil (PAs, threats, etc.) in an effort to prevent removal of poorly sourced/UNDUE material, then you have an actionable behavioral issue, but I have not seen any evidence to support such a claim. Circumstantial evidence may establish patterned behavior but is the behavior actionable if there is no evidence to support an actionable claim? What I'm seeing is an editor with a professional perspective. What professional doesn't have a noticeable POV involving their chosen profession? NPOV tells us to include all relevant views published by/cited to RS so our readers can make their own determinations. Just curious...in comparison, do you consider Britannica's accupuncture article to be overly promotional or possibly authored by proponents of pseudoscience, or well-presented? Perhaps such a comparison will help answer your question about COI. ^Atsme _Talk 📧 12:10, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

Good points that apply all around. When acupuncture has mainstream acceptance such as use in academic medical centers^[38] and the National Academy of Medicine calls it a "powerful tool" in pain management,^[39] perhaps the pseudoscience and quackery aspects shouldn't overwhelm our treatment of the subject and its practitioners and their possible COI's. One might wonder based on this thread, and the lede of acupuncture, how well we're doing that. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 02:38, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

I see that Brittanica are parroting the chinagov deception that the Chinese use acu to anaesthetise patients for surgery. How accurate is the rest of that article? -Roxy, the dog. wooF 12:51, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

What Britannica does is irrelevant to this issue, because they do not claim to follow anything like our WP:NPOV policy. Many of their articles are written by a single person and reflect that person's point of view. That is a feature, not a bug. Phil Bridger (talk) 13:11, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

Re Atsme's insightful comment above about avoid excluding well-sourced material our readers expect to see in an encyclopedia and simply presenting the facts with proper weight given to the scientific mainstream view, in the cases of acupuncture, the proponents really do believe that the scientific mainstream view is far more favorable towards acupuncture than the Wiipedia article is.

As Upton Sinclair once observed, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it".

So, how do we reach a balance between avoiding the exclusion of well-sourced material and the natural tendency of someone like Middle 8 to not understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it? We simply require him to read and obey Wikipedia:Best practices for editors with close associations. Right now the problem is that he honestly believes that an RfC was closed with a conclusion that Best practices doesn't apply to him. :( --Guy Macon (talk) 18:58, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

I do take COIADVICE seriously, and am careful, but I'm not 100% all-the-time bound by its mainspace-avoding-advice without a COI finding -- and it's disingenous to suggest I should have one in all but name. You may recall that you opened an RfC with me in mind that concluded (paraphrase, from one of the closing admins): The result of the RfC was that an alt-med practitioner does not have a COI just because of the fact of them being an alt-med practitioner."^[40] Instead of forum-shopping and repeating old arguments from that RfC, please offer a reason why its result doesn't cover me -- IOW why my case is somehow more financially-connected than the default alt-med practitioner. Which per Ernst is small -- he thinks the idealogical "COI", almost evangelical fanaticism, is the much bigger problem. Which we call bad editing. If that's your concern about me, handle it the proper way, not underhandedly like this. Like an actual conversation on user talk, which you have been avoiding. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 23:48, 10 April 2019 (UTC); minor ce23:58, 10 April 2019 (UTC), 23:59, 10 April 2019 (UTC), clarify to avoid another soundbite 23:59, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

You shouldn't feel like you need to follow COIADVICE if, as appears to be the case, you have a good-faith belief that you don't have a COI and absent a definitive answer from either the admins at ANI or the arbs at arbcom that you do have one. And likewise JzG and Roxy shouldn't feel like they need to stop telling you to follow COIADVICE if, as appears to be the case, they have a good-faith belief that you do have a COI and absent a definitive answer from either the admins at ANI or the arbs at arbcom that you do have one.

It is clear from your disparaging comments about my filing this ANI case and about the second RfC that you do not want any definitive answer from either the admins at ANI or the arbs at arbcom. You clearly want us to simply agree with your arguments. It is equally clear that Roxy (and I presume JzG) will never stop telling you that you have a COI and that you should follow COIADVICE unless they receive a definitive answer from either the admins at ANI or the arbs at arbcom telling them to stop doing that. So what do we do when editors are unable to agree about how to apply Wikipedia policy and ANI is unable to resolve this disagreement? We take it to arbcom, which I intend to do once this thread is auto-archived without a definitive answer.

Related discussion: Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard#Is it impossible for acupuncturists to have a conflict of interest with regard to content describing acupuncture? --Guy Macon (talk) 00:50, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

Please stop IDHT-ing and address the crux of the matter: exactly why I should be an exception to the RFC that you brought because of me. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 01:12, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

I'll weigh in as the main drafter of the RfC close. Acupuncturists don't have an inherent COI when editing Acupuncture. That means that acupuncturists are not forbidden (or even strongly discouraged) from editing Acupuncture simply because they are acupuncturists. That doesn't mean that their edits don't deserve scrutiny. Discretionary sanctions apply to this topic and misuse of sources, POV-pushing, edit-warring, combative talk-page participation, wikilawyering, uncollegial or battleground editing, or just about any other sort of tendentious or disruptive editing should be reported to AE where admins willing to take arbitration enforcement action can do so.

IMO, editors on both sides of this dispute are much too fixated on the question of COI. On the one hand, some editors are still pushing the theory that because acupuncturists depend on the reliability of acupuncture for their income, they have an inherent COI with regard to acupuncture, despite the RfC clearly rejecting this line of reasoning. Some seem to be arguing that acupuncturists as a class don't have an inherent COI per the RfC, but that any particular practitioner necessarily depends on the efficacy of acupuncture to make a living and so does have an inherent COI. It is a bit hard to understand the internal consistency of this position. While I can see the advantage to these editors in classing those they disagree with as COI editors, the community has disagreed with them and it's time for them to drop it. If the editing itself is problematic, there is easy admin action available via AE. On the other hand, Middle 8 appears to have taken the result of the RfC much too broadly: no, being an acupuncturist doesn't inherently give you a COI that rises to the level of WP:COI; but yes, it is still perfectly possible for you to misuse sources, use poor sources (and MEDRS applies here), edit disruptively to make a point and generally edit in a way that seeks to promote acupuncture rather than improve the encyclopaedia. I haven't had a deep dig through their contributions, but if their user page is at all indicative of their approach to sourcing regarding acupuncture, I'd say they were on thin ice. GoldenRing (talk) 14:23, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

I don't know what in my userspace could be construed as my not grokking medrs or rs; I've asked at GoldenRing's usertalk. That said, grateful for this clarification. --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 02:44, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I've responded at my usertalk; see there for details. GoldenRing (talk) 09:21, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

That's helpful, glad we clarified that.^[41][42][43] For the record: I have no idea, though, what "Middle 8 appears to have taken the result of the RfC much too broadly" means. Taking my "not possible for an acu'ist to have a COI for acupuncture"^[44] soundbite in context, it's clear that I mean "...simply by virtue of being an acu'ist". See e.g. my talk-page follow-up to said soundbite^[45] (posted six hours before this ANI post) and my initial response in this thread.^[46] Where then is the evidence that I stated or implied that the RfC somehow made it OK to "misuse sources, use poor sources (and MEDRS applies here), edit disruptively to make a point and generally edit in a way that seeks to promote acupuncture rather than improve the encyclopaedia"? --Middle 8 (t • c • privacy) 10:35, 19 April 2019 (UTC); fmt 10:49, 19 April 2019 (UTC) strike text -- I can see how it'd sound like bludgeoning. It's not, I just don't do well at war/drama venues, sometimes losing sight of "less is more" and "forest for the trees". Remember the human. Happy editing. --Middle 8 (s)talk • privacy 13:19, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Guy Macon: This needs to go to AE if and when you wish to pursue it. Middle 8's hardheadedness and bludgeoning make it impossible to move forward. ~Swarm~ ^{sting} 19:12, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• Sigh. I figured that it would come to this. :( I am on a hot project for the next week or two, so I won't be able to get to it immediately. --Guy Macon (talk) 19:44, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Swarm and Guy Macon: Huh? I responded to both your latest comments above,^[47][48][49] on point, citing the RfC, and neither of you has replied. Now you're talking AE? Over what exactly? --Middle 8 (s)talk • privacy 22:35, 20 April 2019 (UTC); clarify latest 22:39, 20 April 2019 (UTC); diffs 22:45, 20 April 2019 (UTC) ; struck per strike above. --Middle 8 (s)talk • privacy 13:23, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• I agree this should go to AE (to get back to the original question: what is the right venue?). The posting-length limits there will prevent the WP:BLUDGEON problem. That said, I would advise reading a bunch of AEs to see what sorts of evidence are expected in what format, and what tone, and so on. It's a rather legalistic and persnickety venue.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:14, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Meatpuppetry at Spygate from r/The_Donald

There has been a spike in editing on Talk:Spygate (conspiracy theory by Donald Trump). It is complicated to summarize, but Starship.paint has found that it is a meatpuppetry campaign courtesy of r/The_Donald. Also pinging BullRangifer, Soibangla, Objective3000, Someguy1221. – Muboshgu (talk) 05:02, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• Muboshgu - I'd like to correct that description. What I found is that r/the_donald recently has been featuring, and linking to the Spygate page on Wikipedia, and the posters and commenters have been very displeased that Spygate is being described as a false conspiracy theory. starship.paint ~ KO 05:10, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Evidence of links from r/the_donald to Spygate page on Wikipedia starship.paint ~ KO 05:19, 12 April 2019 (UTC))

Title of thread (this one is new, 7 hours) There is a big argument between Wikipedia editors on "Spygate" here. Clearly some of them suffer from TDS. Quoted comment: "some" Lol Understatement of the century. holy fuck how did I not read further down. That person literally spat in the face of logic and sources. Insane. Fucking insane. Title of thread: [50] In case anyone doubts Don Jr’s tweet about Wikipedia, get a load of the official article on the Spygate scandal. Uncorrected, unrepentant. Quoted comment: Can Wikipedia be blitzed with people making changes? Article is very one sided and doesnt even touch into the intricate connections between Halper... Title of thread: [51] The reason Wikipedia cannot be cited as a credible source. #StopTheBias Quoted comments: I can change it, and I will. Unless it’s blocked. I have an account It’s right saying it has multiple issues It’s no longer a conspiracy theory. It’s conspiracy fact. Fuck Cuckipedia. False conspiracy theory as in proven correct Wikipedia must die. Title of thread: [52] 1984: Wikipedia Edition VERY FAKE NEWS Quoted comments: Time to archive all the edits coming in the next few months. something tells me there will be a lot. Untrustworthy citations were always the biggest issue but now we see that bad actors/editors are a significant issue also. Title of thread: [53] Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter: "Wow this is a big deal, Wikipedia is everywhere and a primary search tool for many. Who wants to bet which side was protected???" Quoted comment: Case in point: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spygate_(Donald_Trump_conspiracy_theory) Title of thread: [54] Wikipedia Editors Paid to Protect Political, Tech, and Media Figures DRAIN THE SWAMP Quoted comment: The only evidence you need to know that Wikipedia is complete 1984 Orwellian wetdream: Spygate (Donald Trump conspiracy theory) Someone please archive it so we have complete proof that Wikipedia is fake news bullshit. starship.paint ~ KO 05:10, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Plus even newer links [55] [56] starship.paint ~ KO 14:16, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• Yes, I opened an SPI at [57] two weeks ago after I received a warning at AN/3 for reverting a bunch of new editors in this article. I suspected they were all coming from somewhere off-Wiki. O3000 (talk) 10:32, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• Who cares? The article is bad and more eyes on it are desperately needed. Please don't canvass only the sympathetic editors Muboshgu. Also, you are involved at the article and should not be using your tools. Mr Ernie (talk) 10:26, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Mr Ernie: - how is Muboshgu misusing his tools? I wasn’t even aware he was an admin. More eyes aren’t necessarily good when the people coming don’t know how Wikipedia works. Its not good if instead of using reliable sources people use their own definition. It’s good if people follow the rules. It’s bad if people do not follow WP:RS. starship.paint ~ KO 11:45, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• Muboshgu is WP:INVOLVED at the article and used their tools to apply protection here. I never stated this was tool misuse (see the 3rd paragraph of INVOLVED), but in general Muboshgu should not be using admin tools in AmPol topics. That article is in desperate need of more eyes. Mr Ernie (talk) 12:23, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• No comment, I’m going to ping Muboshgu to explain his actions. starship.paint ~ KO 12:55, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• Mr Ernie is right. I should have taken the request to WP:RFPP for an uninvolved admin to protect the page. The page became unprotected and a swarm of disruptive editing began and I reacted too quickly. The page needs to be protected, nobody was following WP:BRD, but it should've been someone else to do it. – Muboshgu (talk) 14:07, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Muboshgu: It was the right thing to do. Controlling influx of disruptive edits to an article is part of an admin's job and easily passes WP:INVOLVED exceptions. Any admin would have done the same. If being politically right is the issue, maybe Muboshgu could have asked another admin for a second opinion but there is no way anyone can call this a bad decision. Admins are expected to do what's needed. --qedk (t 桜 c) 14:20, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

We have methods of asking for more eyes. Canvassing in an off-wiki conspiracy thread isn't one. O3000 (talk) 13:08, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

If there was ever a time when WP:RECENTISM and WP:NOTNEWS apply, it is now. Comments by Barr are being taken as the final arbiter of truth, even though they were uncertain, off-hand, without evidence, spoken to please saying what pleases his boss, and he's pulled back on what he said. Sheesh! -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 14:18, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

BLP applies to Barr too, and you've no idea if he said what he said "to please his boss." Barr is the Attorney General of the USA, and made a claim to Congress that he thinks spying occured (he also called it unauthorized surveillance). He said he's investigating whether it was adequately predicated or not. Our articles do not reflect this information. Now I know you hold strong opinions of editors who support Trump, but it just might be possible that everyone has a bias that impacts their editing (or reporting), and even our precious "RS" may have gotten some aspects of this story wrong. Mr Ernie (talk) 15:15, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Barr presented no evidence. He gave an opinion and acknowledged he couldn't back it up. We have nothing to go on but the reliable sources that reaffirm that nothing untoward has come to light. – Muboshgu (talk) 15:30, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Mr Ernie, did you really just say "even our precious "RS" may have gotten some aspects of this story wrong."? And what if they did? What are YOU going to do about it? How would you propose to rectify that situation? -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 15:54, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Mr Ernie, I'm still waiting for an answer. I really get tired of experienced editors who show a disregard for our RS policy. We follow that policy, and we only change our content when the RS change. We don't make changes, especially a total reversal of a whole article (in this case) based on weak information, poor sources, or the hem hawing utterances of believers in conspiracy theories, even when they are Barr and Trump. -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 16:42, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

@BullRangifer: my apologies for not answering yet and making you wait a few hours - I made some new friends and was playing the guitar with them. It was great - we nailed a playthrough of All Right Now (but nobody comes close to Paul Kossoff's complete mastery of vibrato) and I had a TON of fun, even if we didn't all speak the same language. Regarding your question, there is nothing I will or can do to go against what RS choose to write on the topics I am interested in. I hope I have not made such changes to any articles. I'm not as good a writer as you, and therefore limit my participation mainly to talk pages of contentious topics, hoping that the more talented editors can use my comments to help improve articles. Mr Ernie (talk) 20:59, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I understand. Glad you had a good time. Music is important. I don't know how I'd live without it. Life would be poorer without it. -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 21:17, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

BullRangifer, would you believe it if I said I actually got goosebumps playing the lead to the Allman Bros. song Blue Sky, harmonizing with another guitarist with whom I could not speak? I do not understand how those young guys from Florida created such an incredible sound that I'm enjoying nearly 50 years later. Let's all take a minute and listen to a favored song or two. Before I was 24, I always thought of what I'd accomplish by the time I was Duane Allman's age when he died. Now that I'm far past, I reflect on that young man's short life and the truly priceless gift he gave to so many. Mr Ernie (talk) 22:24, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I can definitely believe it. (Blue Sky) I was a young stoner when I bought Eat a Peach, and we spent many hours enjoying the talents of the Allman Brothers. What a trip! His death came as a huge shock. What a loss. -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 23:59, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

439 posts by 53 users in the last three days

Talk:Spygate (conspiracy theory by Donald Trump) has had 439 posts by 53 users in the last three days. That's more that the talk page saw between the creation of the article and four days ago. At what point do we do something about this?

Now I know that the usual easy answer is some sort of temporary protection, but if an admin wants to be a white knight and do a bit of extra work, it might be worthwhile to look at the contributors and apply some WP:NOTHERE blocks. A lot of them have been disruptive on other politics pages, and it looks like it would be pretty easy to identify the few veteran users trying to deal with the flood and the meatpuppets from r/The Donald who are disrupting multiple articles. Or should I compile that list myself and post it at WP:SPI? --Guy Macon (talk)

Good point. Not only are a number of newcomers NOTHERE, but several of the regulars who attack RS and push conspiracy theories need topic bans. Their lack of competence is quite evident because they show they are more interested in pushing fringe theories found in unreliable sources than in following policy. -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 16:38, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Thank you, Guy. I agree completely. Allow me to now name a few of the accounts that I suspect of meatpuppetry, for any white knight UNINVOLVED admins:

Justncase80 (talk · contribs), account inactive for three years prior to this

KeithCu (talk · contribs), account inactive for a little over a year prior to this

Tigerman325 (talk · contribs), account inactive for two years prior to this

SIPPINONTECH (talk · contribs), new account, no edits except the Spygate talk page, where the user acknowledged coming here from r/The_Donald[58], this user has been more upfront and constructive than the others I think

Moefuzz (talk · contribs), account inactive for almost a year

I apologize if I made any errors, but this is suspicious behavior. I will now notify these accounts on their talk pages. – Muboshgu (talk) 17:25, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

To clarify, I was not solicited to come here, and I am not here to "sway consensus." I check Reddit occasionally and did see discussion about this article. However, I didn't decide to create an account and edit simply because I saw a post on Reddit - I am here to correct egregious factual errors in the Spygate article irrespective of how I found the article. Moreover, I believe that the tone and tenor of Muboshgu's commentary on the talk page betrays a profound political bias, and I feel it is more than a little inappropriate for this user to seek administrative punishment against me for suggesting revisions in the talk page in full transparency and good faith. I do not believe I have violated any rules but will respect the Administrator's judgment in any case. I have not even tried to edit the article itself - just provide factual evidence and feedback in the talk page. Happy to answer any further questions. SIPPINONTECH (talk) 17:59, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

SIPPINONTECH, for the record, I appreciate your forthrightness on why you came to Wikipedia. I am not seeking administrative punishment against you, but rather we are discussing the influx of new editors. – Muboshgu (talk) 19:02, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I have a similar story to SIPPINONTECH. I am a real person who doesn't have the need to edit or log into wikipedia very often even though I use it almost every day. When I saw this page and the discussions that were happening it frustrated me, so I commented but I was not solicited to do so. It appears that there is a pretty significant bias in play for those who are guarding this page from editing and I think the comments you are seeing here go beyond being rationalized away by accusing people of meatpuppetry but, rather, there are actual issues with the accuracy of the page. justncase80 (talk) 14:52, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• I have made the EC protection indefinite and am invoking ACDS post 1932 American Politics. Muboshgu technically should have asked someone else to protect the page, but his reasoning was sound. No harm no foul. I have also logged the protection at WP:AEL. -Ad Orientem (talk) 19:41, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• The EC protects the article, but does nothing about the 439 posts in 3 days on the talk page. The obvious meatpuppets are disrupting many other pages as well. --Guy Macon (talk) 19:52, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

This topic has been featured heavily in the news these past few days. Folks interested in learning more naturally come to Wikipedia, and perhaps are surprised that the article is somewhat lacking. They make an account to then help, improve, and participate in Wikipedia. This should be encouraged, not stifled by posts such as this at ANI. If misbehavior occurs, deal with it. Otherwise, WP:BITE applies. Mr Ernie (talk) 20:53, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm not sure what meatpuppetry is, but no one tells me when to contribute to Wikipedia. I decided to post on the SpyGate talk page because it's amazing to me how there is plenty of publicly available evidence that Trump was spied on, (including a book titled SpyGate) and so it seems unbelievable Wikipedia still calls it a false conspiracy theory. Now, the author of the book (a former cop and secret service agent!) is called a "clown" by longtime Wikipedia editors, and his word is "not to be trusted." That slander keeps them ignorant.

As I wrote on the talk page, imagine if Bush 43 had been wiretapping Obama, and Wikipedia refused to acknowledge it, and only called it a conspiracy theory. You would think you are living in crazy times. The other amazing thing is how many people here are implicitly defending unauthorized surveillance (by saying it didn't happen) and defending the politicization and weaponization of the US intelligence community. The US federal government has committed crimes, and Wikipedia defends democracy by saying it didn't happen. KeithCu (talk) 21:07, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

• @KeithCu: - if you trust Dan Bongino (and even want to use him as a reliable source), you’re probably massively misinformed. Being a former Secret Service agent doesn’t make you reliable. See my example below (the green box) starship.paint ~ KO 22:45, 12 April 2019 (UTC)
• You appear to be implying that Obama was wiretapping Trump, and several other crimes. There is not even a hint of evidence of any such. Please don't bring conspiracy theories here. In any case, this is not the place for content disputes. O3000 (talk) 00:35, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Here's the example on how Bongino is unreliable. starship.paint ~ KO 23:19, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

.The Russia investigation started with information on George Papadopoulos. This has been confirmed twice, first by Republican staff for the House Intelligence Committee in Feburary 2018, [59] then second by Republican congressmen on the House Intelligence Committee in April 2018. [60] However, Dan Bongino, after these two confirmations, makes the opposite assertion in March 2019: not George Papadopoulos, but the Steele dossier, [61] [62] [63] [64] and doubles down at least 4 (!) times. [65] [66] [67] [68] Multiple reliable sources have written in fact checks that the Steele dossier wasn’t the origin, it was George Papadopoulos. Factcheck.org Politifact Associated Press Washington Post Bongino by goes against other RS while never once acknowledges the strongest counterargument for this statement of fact - the House Intelligence Committee which was controlled by Republicans, allies of Trump. Clearly, Bongino has no basis in reality regarding Trump, either by way of ignorance of the House Intelligence Committee, or simply lying about the situation. starship.paint ~ KO 23:19, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I have blocked The3taveren as an obvious sock and KeithCu as clearly NOTHERE. Feezo (send a signal | watch the sky) 19:32, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

@Feezo: why did you block KeithCu? Please clarify. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 15:34, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Defending Breitbart as a reliable source and IDHT advocating of conspiracy theories are both clear evidence of NOTHERE. Feezo (send a signal | watch the sky) 18:38, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

All I see is a few talk page edits and 0 mainspace edits. That is not enough for any IDHT territory, what I do see is then your bias clouding your judgment. You don't get a NOTHERE block from a talk page discussion. This was a bad block. And you might want to check the talk page, there is currently a RM discussion there and calling it a conspiracy theory is indeed up for discussion. You should unblock. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 19:35, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

@Feezo: - Agree with Sir Joseph that this block is unwarranted. There was no disruption warranting an indef. Talk page discussion was ongoing and progress has been made. You've come completely out of nowhere - before April you have basically no posts to the administrator noticeboards. You shouldn't be coming in and dropping blocks like this. You've barely even edited in the last 6 years. Why are you still an administrator? Mr Ernie (talk) 07:05, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Indef block is a bit much, but it's plainly obvious that KeithCu is incapable of making useful contributions to any discussion of American politics. At the very least a topic ban was inevitable if he kept going. Someguy1221 (talk) 07:28, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

That's for the community to decide if and when the time comes. This was actually a bad block. NOTHERE is just an essay; it is not part of blocking policy. When admins (who know what they're doing and have been active any time in recent years, not popping back in from the Age of Dinosaurs) mention NOTHERE in a block rationale, they have other rationales that are within WP:BLOCK, and are using NOTHERE as a shorthand. In this case, there is no actual block rationale, since nothing disruptive was happening. And this is a topic area under WP:AC/DS, so it's actually twice as easy to come up with a legit rationale that it would be normally. So, complete FAIL as a blocking decision. (I predict nothing will be done about it, because this site has become completely dominated by leftists. I say that as someone on the left of most issues, too; just being honest.)  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Yeah, these comments by KeithCu in his unblock requests and edit summaries are the opposite of reassuring. I'm getting a strong sense of WP:RIGHTGREATWRONGS here. starship.paint ~ KO 11:04, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• [69]What's good is it gives me new material to talk about in my updated Wikipedia chapter
• [70]I would investigate the agenda of people to refuse to admit that a mountain of evidence exist, even while more comes out every day. My agenda is the truth, apparently we are in a tiny minority on the politics portion of Wikipedia, and banning me is easier than fixing Wikipedia falsehoods.
• [71]Why are the media covering up for crimes? Are Wikipedia's "reliable sources" dangerously wrong sometimes? I would hope that the people and companies who lied to us about SpyGate and said it never happened should have their Wikipedia pages reflect, with some sort of Scarlet Letter. End of quotes from KeithCu. starship.paint ~ KO 11:04, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@Starship.paint:There's a difference between "righting great wrongs" and maintaining WP:NPOV. There is evidence to suggest that the FISA system was abused. Fox news, which is considered a reliable source per WP:RSP, has reported on the abuse of the FISA system/court. Specifically, that have reported on the fact that the FISA court was lied to about the funding behind some of the evidence it was presented. This may or may not have affected the issuance of the FISA warrant, and one would have to defer to WP:RSOPINION before drawing a conclusion from this. However, to completely ignore the sources documenting how the FISA court was lied to would be a violation of WP:NPOV. Based on the article's title, and Keith's assertions, it would seem that the article is completely ignoring evidence that "SpyGate" is not merely a conspiracy theory. Likewise, suggesting a correction to the article is not "righting a great wrong". As far as the RS status of breitbart is concerned, I agree that that should not be discussed here or on the "SpyGate" talk page. Instead, if Keith really wanted to try to get its status changed, they should open a discussion over at a subpage of WP:RSP (I don't recall the exact page off the top of my head). However, the problem with dismissing Keith's claims offhand due to his reliance on breitbart is that FISA "misleading" was documented by Wikipedia's RSs too. Hence, to claim that the FISA court was lied to is not WP:FRINGE or WP:OR, rather, it is a fact that should be noted in the article per WP:DUEWEIGHT and WP:RS. Also, why does it matter that Keith took a wiki-break for a few months/years? I would suggest that we should assume good faith and that we should not attribute to malice that which can be attributed to ignorance (Hanlon's razor). If they made a mistake after their absence it is more probable (to me at least) that they merely forgot some of the rules rather than that they remembered all the rules but decided to break them. Also, per WP:BITE, ignorance of the rules can be a valid defense. Was he even officially warned, or did we jump to an indef ban? Either way, I fail to see how the indef ban on Keith is justified. ElectroChip123 (talk) 15:51, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• I’m not sure if FISA is relevant to the Spygate article as is, which refers to the May/June 2018 allegations. As I have pointed out to other editors, they might be better off creating “Allegations of improper surveillance of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign”, because clearly we are arguing on different matters. Anyway, the rest of your post from Also, why does it matter that... does not seem to be a relevant reply to me. I never argued for KeithCu’s block on those rationale. I merely point out that some of his post-block comments are concerning. starship.paint ~ KO 16:04, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@Starship.paint: aren't the "Allegations of improper surveillance of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign” and Spygate one and the same? Sorta like how the "Special Council Investigation... 2017" is related to / another name for "the Mueller Investigation"? As far as I am aware, the spying allegations are based on the (presumed) "improper surveillance of the 2016...", and thus one "article" would actually be a subsection of the other. I never argued for KeithCu’s block on those rationale. This is true. I had meant to ping all the editors involved (some of whom used that rationale). Likewise, I apologize if it looked like I was singling you out for that, that was not my intention. ElectroChip123 (talk) 17:56, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• @ElectroChip123: unfortunately your definition of Spygate has failed to get much traction among reliable sources. So the thing is, you have to find sources explicitly defining Spygate in that way. starship.paint ~ KO 00:12, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• I think the issue is that this shows the bias of Wikipedia. Comey himself says that there was a FISA warrant and "intelligence gathering" on Trump's campaign, but doesn't call it spying. Barr says, that is what the definition of spying is, using intelligence to gather information. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 13:53, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Sir Joseph: - I fail to see how that is a relevant reply to my post. Is this a general comment? starship.paint ~ KO 14:01, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• Furthermore, it's a talk-page, not mainspace. There was 0 mainspace edits,and even 0 talkpage edits that were disruptive. This was a bad block by an administrator who came out of nowhere and just placed a terrible block. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 14:00, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Sir Joseph:You are right, this is clearly a bad block. The editor acted in good faith and did not intentionally violate any policies (and its very questionable whether he violated any policies at all). He got blocked for suggesting that Breitbart was not a conspiracy theory website. Note that he didn't even try to incorporate it in an article. I know everyone wants to pretend that wikipedia doesn't have a political bias problem, but it does and we have several administrators that strongly enforce it by banning or blocking editors.--Rusf10 (talk) 03:58, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I have been engaging KeithCu on his talk page, mainly because I do believe he will be unblocked, and thus would like to help him better conform to policy. In my view KeithCu has a long way to go regarding following WP:V in the vein of WP:VNT, as well as WP:RS. If you will read the following quotes: starship.paint ~ KO 01:42, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• [72]The media saying 100 times he wasn't spied upon isn't evidence of anything.
• [73]If 100 people say I've never been shot, but I have a bullet hole in my arm, which evidence is more definitive? I realize Wikipedia is in a tough position right now, but that the media said 100 times Trump wasn't spied upon means there are (probably) two scandals.
• [74] Here for example is the first NYT article which discussed the spying... it doesn't mention the two-hop rule ... For that, you have to go to a source which is unreliable by Wikipedia standards: https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/256333/fisas-license-to-hop ... Even then the big media tell the truth about SpyGate, they carefully avoid telling the most scandalous facts. These are quotes from KeithCu. starship.paint ~ KO 01:42, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

This shows a lack of competence, which is natural and common for new users, but unforgivable in more experienced users. The hard part follows next: Will he accept the advice from more experienced users, or persist in righting what he sees as great wrongs, and pushing for his version of truth over verifiable RS, etc? His reactions will determine whether he should be unblocked or not. If he refuses to drop his reliance on Breitbart and such sources, he will likely never be suited to edit controversial and political article. He must show evidence of a positive learning curve. The quotes above are not promising. Sad.

He also seems to think that we should allow discussions on talk pages which show reliance on unreliable sources, as long as they are not used in actual edits. That's not true. An editor who shows ignorance or disdain for our RS policy is showing that they are not competent to edit controversial and political articles. They need to learn to not read or use such poor sources. They are showing that they are more interested in advocating fringe ideas and conspiracy theories than advocating what is found in RS. The two types of advocacy are very different. The first is literally forbidden here, while the second is required per policy, and this is usually happening on talk pages. Such editors may sometimes be rescued by using topic bans, rather than complete banishment. I'm not sure that would work in this case because of the strong nature of his statements above. NOTHERE seems to describe the situation well. -- BullRangifer (talk) 03:52, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

A conspiracy theory cannot be false

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

According to Wikipedia, a conspiracy theory is [...] the unnecessary assumption of conspiracy when other explanations are more probable. If we only have 'rather improbable', we don't have false, because false would at least requires a 0 probability. Don't start saying that Wikipedia is not a Reliable Source about the Truth©: Wikipedia is a Reliable Source about how to parse words and terms used in a Wikipedia discussion. If someone was saying "Trump launched Spygate as a good designed campaign to do such and such", this could be a conspiracy theory. Because another explanation comes to mind, i.e. "Trump launched Spygate due to an irrepressible compulsion to tweet something, day after day". And then we can weight the sources to say which is the more probable explanation. Saying "Stefan Halper was approaching the Trump campaign advisers in order to learn how to win a presidential campaign" would be a conspiracy theory, because the odds are very low indeed, whatever could be the alternate hypothesis (remember: at that time, Democrats were so sure to win). But saying that "... to spy the Trump's campaign" is a conspiracy theory would need --by definition-- to provide an alternate, more probable, explanation. To sell chocolates, may be ? When we have a "low quality assertion", it suffices to say so, because this can be backed by sources. Pldx1 (talk) 09:05, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Pldx1, by definition, any theory is more probable than one for which the probability is zero. Ergo, you are wrong in the first—though ignoring what you quoted for two of your own words is not a good start. In the second, Wikipedia discussions preferentially draw definitions from projectspace pages, not mainspace articles, i.e. Wikipedia:Notability and not Notability and we note that such definitions may differ. As for when a lack of conspiracies can be considered more probable, I draw you to Occam's razor, and the more specific Hanlon's razor. Alpha3031 (t • c) 14:40, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

When you draw at random a number x among the set of all the integers, the probability of "x=3" is exactly 0. This doesn't imply that "x=3" is false. If you obtain "x=3", this doesn't prove that the process was wrong, but if you obtain ten 3 in a row, this is no more a conspiracy theory to guess that the process was not uniformly random. And here, if one only want to say that, one more time, this Trump emitted a "low quality assertion", it suffices to tell it that way, since this is provable, and avoid the "conspiracy theory" formulation that is not provable, and only leads to never ending and useless discussions. Pldx1 (talk) 15:17, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Pldx1 Technically the probability "approaches zero", it does not "equal zero". If it was equal to zero, then over an infinite amount of draws, x would never be equal to 3. But 3 is in the set of integers, and one is selecting an integer at random. Thus it is possible that x = 3. Hence, we have arrived at a paradox: x can be equal to 3, because 3 is an integer, but x cannot ever be 3 because the probability of that event is 0. This is a contradiction, and given that 3 is an integer, by modus ponens we have that the assumption that probability x = 3 is zero is false. ElectroChip123 (talk) 14:34, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Dear User:ElectroChip123. Technically, you don't understand what could be a probability. Proof: you are equating "the probability of this event is equal to 0" with "this event is impossible". And thus, you were right when not signing your post. Pldx1 (talk) 22:11, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Dear Pldx1, a probability of zero means an event is impossible. Furthermore, the chance of picking a 3 at random from the set of integers is not zero. It's infinitesimally small, but it's not zero. Limit wise, one could say that the probability of the event approaches zero but one cannot conclude that the probability is zero. ElectroChip123 (talk) 14:34, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Also, I intended to sign my post, but probably forgot to because I was responding to multiple things at the same time. I have now fixed that mistake. ElectroChip123 (talk) 14:34, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I've seen "false conspiracy theory" come up so many times in other articles, and it is correct that there is no such thing as a false conspiracy theory. At the heard, a conspiracy theory is a theory about how something happened or the like, so it can be accepted, or it can be disproven or rejected, but it can't be false because there's no "truth" aspect of the theory. Even in the case where there's a mountain of evidence that clearly shows that none of the events were even possible, that's not saying the theory was false, it was just wholly disproven. A conspiracy theory can be built on false information but still as a theory, it's not "true" or "false", but "accepted" or "rejected" or some other state like that. --Masem (t) 16:11, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I am genuinely confused as to what is going on here. Let's accept these premises for the sake of argument: (1) the idea that NASA faked the moon landing(s) is a conspiracy theory; and (2) the moon landing(s) actually occurred. Surely said conspiracy theory is then "false?" We're straying a bit too close to Karl Popper here, but it seems to me that some conspiracy theories are falsifiable, even if some are not? Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 16:18, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Dear User:Dumuzid. (1) is what is called a fringe theory, i.e. a set of assertions that largely diverts from the mainstream corpus, and whose supporters only form a small minority. To obtain a conspiracy theory, you have to add an pseudo-explanation using a conspiracy. Example: they have invented all this moon landing story in order to (1) hide the fact that the Earth is flat (2) and then use the money to buy chocolates (or to finance their wars, or what else, there is so large a choice). It is to be noticed that more than often, the terms 'fringe theory' and 'conspiracy theory' are only used to convey a negative opinion, rather suggesting a diagnostic of stupidity or paranoia ... without any other proof than 'I don't like this guy'. Once again, "low quality assertion" is largely more efficient as a characterization. Pldx1 (talk) 22:45, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Thank you Pldx1, I understand, and agree that there are certainly times when "fringe" or "conspiracy" are used as mere pejoratives. However, if we assume my (2) is true, then isn't your conspiracy theory still false, as it is based on something untrue? After all, if I promulgate a conspiracy theory that things fall upward after sundown, and this is done by the government to aid the airline industry, it would seem to me this could be shown false simply by demonstrating that things continue to fall down after sunset. Thanks for taking the time to explain. Dumuzid (talk) 00:04, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

When reliable sources say that something is false, it is not for us to decide that what they really mean is "low quality assertion" or whatever. Wikipedia weights viewpoints based upon their prevalence in reliable sources, not based on our interpretations of existential philosophy. NorthBySouthBaranof (talk) 22:53, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

There's an RfC about this at Talk:Conspiracy theory. Leviv ich 23:03, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree 100% that a theory can't be false - no matter how absurd. Any claim about the objective reality is inherently subjective - and hence fallible; you can find more on this on epistemology. Even if RS are unequivocal about the fact that a certain conspiracy theory is highly unlikely or wholly disproven, we still can't conclude that it's false. The better phrasing would be, as mentioned "wholly disproven", "discredited", "rejected", etc.^Ol^Ja 00:18, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Oldstone James--while I have a lot of sympathy for your universal skepticism position, I still find it hard to square this with a certain illogical strain of thought. Pizzagate averred that there were illicit activities in the basement of a restaurant which, in fact, has no basement (to Pldx1's taxonomic point, I believe this was supposed to have some sort of explanatory power for political events). Mindful of NorthBySouthBaranof's good point above, that we should not supplant the epistemological positions of reliable sources with our own, I am fine calling at the very least the basement portion of that theory "false," as it is based on about as close as we can get to objective untruth. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 00:53, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• What about tying "false" to "allegation" and tying "discredited" to "conspiracy theory"? starship.paint ~ KO 01:16, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Editing on SNC-Lavalin Affair by User:Curly Turkey and others

Hi, I'd like to get an outside look at the talk page discussions and article edits on this page. Certain edits by Curly Turkey have I think been uncivil. ("this kind of bullshit", "Jesus Christ, this is exasperating. (...) Do I have to hold your hand and walk you through our sourcing guidlines?", "Aside from your contempt for our sourcing guidelines, you seem to have a vested interest in including "LavScam" in the lead paragraph", "don't make a fool of yourself, Legacypac", "The belligerence some of these editors continue to show—and the facile dismissal of all evidence provided—demonstrates this is a behavioural issue that won't be solved through discussion. The bad faith is so thick you can cut it with a knife—just take a look at Legacypac's FUD that I'm pushing some unnamed "agenda" below." (Referencing this by Legacypac), "I've brought you to task over the intransigent, bad-faith, POV-pushing, policy-violating manner in which it is presented. ANI will decide whether you'll get away with it.")

Other edits have had less than civil remarks in the edit summaries, like "a single-mindedness that should be treated with great suspicion", "WP:WEIGHT is WP:POLICY; if you continue to violate policy, we can sort this out at WP:ANI, if you'd like", "learn how to use a source"

I am also concerned about certain of their arguments regarding sources, but I don't know if this is the right place to talk about that. All other editors currently in the discussion also have disagreements with many of their policy arguments, and accusations of misbehaviour of different types have been raised by others. I have tried to be calm and reasonable, as well as to ask for more specificity in P&G citations, but I don't feel it's helped much.

I have said something to Curly which I'm not sure about civility status on: "You don't need to ping me twice in the same reply to me on a page I'm watching. It comes off as aggressive and condescending, which I'm sure wasn't your intention." I would like some outside advice or input, or something, on the whole state of the discussion and what the bar for civility is, because I thought it was higher than this. The relevant talk page sections begin at Curly Turkey Edits. Curly has also opened a section on my talk page, Sourcing, about a couple reverts I made which make me think I've lost my patience. Safrolic (talk) 05:36, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I would like to second what Safrolic has written here. Things have not improved since. Other editors have tried to engage with Curly on improvements to the article but we are not able to discuss content. Curly simply accuses anyone who disagrees with him of bad faith. When asked what specifically he thinks needs to be improved he tends to go silent or shift to allegations. This is becoming extremely disruptive. Unfortunately, I do not see this de-escalating without intervention.--Darryl Kerrigan (talk)

Now User:Bradv has started edit warring [75] (second removal) and misrepresenting the talkpags discussion. When I reverted them once, adding yet another ref, they claimed it was all right wing media. Curly turkey needs a topic ban and Bradv needs a talking to. Google LavScam and look at how pretty much every media outlet in Canada and places like CNN (hardly right wing) are using this term. This is a politically charged topic and our job is to follow the socerces not whitewash the page and downplay everything. If many many media outlets call something X we also note that in the lede. Legacypac (talk) 06:08, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

This isn't appropriate or helpful. I asked for outside input, and mentioned others, for a reason. Bradv's got good judgment. Safrolic (talk) 06:18, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Legacypac, I took a look at the article in response to the conversation started here, and saw a pretty glaring NPOV issue right off the bat. I've now started an RfC. – bradv🍁 06:14, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

If there is a glaring NPOV it is because Curly turkey has been butchering the page. You never participated in the talkpage discussion. Explain your edit warring and removal of three sources. Legacypac (talk) 06:19, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

So ... you're personally attacking every editor who calls out your POV-pushing ... Littleolive oil, myself, Bradv ... who next? Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 07:47, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Suspected astroturfing at SNC-Lavalin affair

The following is an incomplete draft of an ANI report I've been working on. Long as it is, many issues and diffs are yet to come. Sorry I did not have the time to make it more concise and readable. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 07:47, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

While attempting to copyedit SNC-Lavalin affair, I kept running into sourcing issues: description of something as "illegal" where none of the three cited sources did; description of a hashtag as a "colloquialsim", later reverted three times[76][77][78] with the same source about the term as a hashtag; Padding of a quotation with multiple sources, when only one gave the full quote; and so on ...

I've tried to fix the article in various ways: adding sources, rewording, and removing inappropriate sources. I've run into considerable pushback from other editors there, including one who asserts sources are "not required to support all the material in the paragraph, that's ridiculous" while removing a tag.

One example alternate term: "Wilson-Raybould scandal", 75,800 hits

"LavScam", 71,500 hits

The most concerning behaviour has been the insistence on including the term "LavScam" in the lead sentence. The term is one of a large number of terms that have been used to describe the issue, including "Wilson-Raybould scandal", "PMO scandal", "Trudeau scandal", and a list of variations of the article title that I removed as redundant and predictable. The only term the editors have fought to restore is "LavScam", despite the fact that several terms (that are not variations of the current title) return a greater number of Google hits (see screenshots).

Early on, I characterized the article's issues as "sloppy", but the single-minded pushback over "LavScam" has made me suspicious. I searched for how the media used this term and found it rare or nonexistent in outlets such as CBC News, the National Post, and the Toronto Star, but the favoured term in the right-wing tabloid the Toronto Sun—in fact, two thirds of hits in a Google News search are from this single source ("Lavscam": 4940 hits, '"Lavscam" -torontosun.com': 1,650 hits). To put things in perspective: Trudeau Lavalin: 665,000 hits; Trudeau Lavalin -LavScam: 655,000 hits. "LavScam" barely registers at all, and a supermajority of hits come from a single source.

I then went back through the article talk page and found a previous dispute these editors had had with User:Littleolive oil over who to highlight in the lead. The affair is a divisive one in Canada, and there is no consensus over who is to blame. Legacypac repsonded with this POV:

"I prefer the PM's picture. This scandal is about him, not the former AG who was allegedly pressured"

The AG being Wilson-Raybould; newssources differ on who is to blame, and many of them have named the scandal after Wilson-Raybould, the Prime Minister, or SNC-Lavalin.

Legacypac's first edit to the talk page was commentary "The most interesting part is how SNC paid for the son of a dictator to tour Canada hiring expensive call girls for him." Legacypac and Littleolive then engaged in some editwarring until this comment was finally removed: [79] [80][81][82][83]. Legacypac clearly has a POV and has a history of fighting for it on this article. Other editors who have participated include Harris Seldon, Darryl Kerrigan, and Safrolic.

... Work in progress: Persistent WP:IDONTHEARTHAT behaviour, and dismissal of empirical evidence and policies, including WP:INTEGRITY, WP:WEIGHT, WP:OR, and WP:SYNTH ...

The consistent pushback against my attempts to clean up the article's sourcing, dismissal of numerous policies, single-minded focus on the term "LavScam", explicit expressions of POVs ... these have me suspicious of an astroturfing campaign there. At the very least, these editors have demonstrated an unwillingness to respect Wikipedia's sitewide sourcing policies and, consciously or not, have repeatedly introduced and reinforced (sometimes through editwarring) POV into a politically-sensitive article. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 07:47, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Re: "not required to support all the material in the paragraph, that's ridiculous", that was my error- I thought we were talking about a paragraph with multiple citations for specific sentences, and that you were saying the source for only the last sentence, was also required to support all the material in the paragraph I thought was cited already. It was that leap/reaction which I was referring to above when I said I think I've lost my patience. Safrolic (talk) 08:00, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

There was and is material in that paragraph that does not appear in any of the citations in the paragraph. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 10:02, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

My sin here, and that of some others, has simply been disagreeing with Curly Turkey on the question of whether the term LavScam should be included. There seems to be some question about other edits and sourcing but I don't believe I have "participated" in that conduct. My disagreement with Turkey was limited, I believe, to placing the term LavScam back in the article when others agreed it should be there (Turkey excluded) and disagreeing with Turkey in the Talk page. It is regrettable that we find ourselves here. There have been assumptions of bad faith largely all around (by myself included). It is clear though that on the distinct issue of the inclusion of LavScam in the article, which seems to have become the main lightning rod here, Curly Turkey has formed the view that others cannot disagree with him on this issue without acting in bad faith. That is regrettable. That is why we are here.--Darryl Kerrigan (talk) 17:42, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Update: there's now an editwar ongoing between Legacypac and Bradv over "LavScam" in the lead,[84][85][86] in the middle of which Legacypac removed a {{Cite check}} template, despite the number of problematic citations that continue to turn up. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 10:09, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Check his diffs carefully because he is not being very accurate here. Just as anexample I removed a check cite tag while adding another cite. Legacypac (talk) 18:55, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

This is a straight-up lie—not only did Legacypac not add a cite, no cite has been added by any user since that edit. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 21:11, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

I think he's referring to his edit immediately before that one [87], where he adds a third reference, to the Toronto Sun, in addition to the two he restored after bradv removed the lavscam thing. I don't think it was a good source, or a good chain of edits, or that it addressed the actual concern re: the lavscam thing, or that that specific bit was the only reason you put that tag up. But I do think it's inaccurate and unfair to call what he said here a straight-up lie. Safrolic (talk) 21:24, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Does not compute: Legacypac's edit comment was "Don't need that tag", and the {{Check cite}} tags the entire article, which I've been systematically checking over the sources of for more WP:INTEGRITY violations. No, Legacypac was straight-up lying and spreading FUD. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 21:38, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Every other editor on the page is disagreeing with Curly and yet he persists on verbal assaults on other editors. This has gone too far. Time to remove Curly from the article as he is being very disruptive. Legacypac (talk) 02:33, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I concur. Curly Turkey is being disruptive and uncivil, and quite evidently does not WP:HEAR very well. Regardless of any problems that might exist with the article, he is in no way assisting with any resolution. ♦ J. Johnson (JJ) (talk) 00:23, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

(Aside from being the only one who has identified and fixed any of the many policy-violating sourcing issues ...)

We're left with the same WP:IDHT about policy adherence that we've had since the beginning of this drahmah—policy enforcement is the "disruption" they object to, and which led to the earlier campaign against Littleolive oil (who identified WP:WEIGHT issues, POV issues, WP:INTEGRITY issues, and other issues until being bullied off the page).

Several of the editors involved are brand new with only a few hundred edits to their names (PavelShk, Safrolic, Harris Seldon, Darryl Kerrigan), so it's not so surprising that they'd misunderstand or undervalue our sourcing policies—a couple of them have admitted so themselves. Legacypac's vitriol and FUD appears have emboldened them to his ends, and they've followed his example in editwarring to retain policy-violating sourcing. One example: there is currently an WP:INTEGRITY-violating source in the article (the quotation that precedes it does not exist in the source cited)—and this group refuses to allow it to be fixed, editwarring to keep it in its WP:INTEGRITY-violating state. Here are my attempts to reason with them about it:[88][89][90] Yet it remains. This example is lower priority than some of the others (such as the "illegal" one I link to above"), but it illustrates the unnecessary effort needed to fix anything in this article.

So many other issues remain—the article still needs a full source check for WP:INTEGRITY given the numerous violations, and it has suffered from cherrypicked sources supporting particular POVs, as well as WP:OR and WP:SYNTH issues.

Our sourcing policies are not optional—particularly in a politics article involving BLPs—and cannot be left to the discretion of POV-pushers. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 05:16, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Here's a prime example of the exasperating IDHT from Darryl Kerrigan, from today:

DK: "You proposed multiple alternative names along with LavScam."

CT: "I proposed no such thing, and have responded to this WP:IDHT repeatedly. I pointed out it was a violation of WP:WEIGHT to single out "LavScam" when other, more common alternatives were available, and then pointed out that giving prominence to a term that appears in a fraction of 1% of sources—the majority of which are to a single source—is a violation of WP:WEIGHT."

DK: "Your arguments here have have been shifting, often vaugue, circular and ultimately dishonest."

CT: "you keep saying this, and yet I see no diffs to back it up. It's simple: follow our sourcing policies. Find me a diff of something I said that is not essentially that"

DK: "Try reading discussion of LavScam above where you propose alterate names ..." (none of the requested diffs)

CT: "I never "proposed" alternate names (and you've provided no diff that I did). I listed names that appear as or more frequently as "LavScam" and explicitly stated so. I also explicitly stated that including "LavScam" would require listing the alternate names per WP:WEIGHT, but that I was opposed to doing so for readability reasons. I strengthened my standing oppose when it was discovered that the term is used in a small fraction of 1%, 2/3 of which were from the Toronto Sun, per the same WP:WEIGHT argument."

DK: "The best anyone has been able to get out of you is that maybe you are talking about "Wilson-Raybould Scandal" as an additional term" (!!!!!!) (again none of the requested diffs)

Here's where I first mentioned "Wilson-Raybould scandal":

CT: "there's also "Wilson-Raybould scandal" and its variations, "SNC scandal" and its variations, "PMO scandal", and so on. Listing them all would not be against the guidelines, but would be ridiculous and hinder readability. They may be appropriate elsewhere in the body, but cluttering up the lead paragraph with them benefits no reader."

Note that not only do I not "propose" it, I explictly propose against its inclusion, as I have consistently throughout these discussions. This can be re-explicated only so many times before it's obvious one's dealing with deliberate WP:IDHT belligerence. Curly "JFC" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 09:37, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

CT: you really, really should consider that everyone else here – do you want a poll? – sees "deliberate WP:IDHT belligerence" as applying to you. ♦ J. Johnson (JJ) (talk) 22:00, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Oldstone James

• Oldstone James (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
• Answers in Genesis (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Per the discussion at Answers in Genesis#Lead sentence editing by jps and Roxy the dog, and considering that the previous block and page protection had no effect, I believe that Oldstone James should be topic banned from creationism.

Also see [91][92][93][94][95][96] --Guy Macon (talk) 15:51, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

This is unbelievable! What have I even done after the block? Even if you don't consider these diffs: [97] [98] self-reverts, which they are (I have simply restored the version before I started editing; here is the lede section as of 11 April: [99])), I'm only on two reverts in 24 hours. Furthermore, please consider the context of the situation: jps and Roxy the dog were constantly restoring a version which not only had no consensus but also wasn't even discussed on the talk page, amid a month-long discussion concerning the lede section. Even so, I at first tried to find a compromise ([100]). Only after my compromise was reverted did I restore the status quo.

Also, please consider the blocking of user:Roxy the dog, who launched numerous personal attacks on me ("Would you like me to recommend an optician for your much needed eyesight test?", "Grow a thicker skin or fuck off" as some examples) and appears WP:BATTLEGROUND on me, as this is not the first time he reverts my edits with no explanation. This time in particular, though, he appeared to restore an edit with no consensus. ^Ol^Ja 16:09, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

That's not what a self revert is. A self revert is when you make one edit, then you make another edit that undoes your first edit. When you make the same edit multiple times, that's edit warring, not self reverting. You appear to understand Wikipedia's policies and guidelines just fine when is suits you. --Guy Macon (talk) 16:33, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

This is exactly what I had done. I had first introduced an edit; then it was modified; I reverted my initial edit and hence restored the version prior to it. Your last sentence is pure gold, as it sums up your behaviour better than I could have ever put it myself. Apparently, Wiki policies only apply when they suit you. WP:CONSENSUS only applies when it's me editing. WP:SYNTH only applies when it's anyone but you editing. WP:BRD only applies when it works against me.^Ol^Ja 16:43, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

If that's what you did then it's not a self-revert, but a revert of both yourself and the person modifying your edit. This isn't any comment on the rights or wrongs of what you did, which I haven't looked into, but simply a clarification of what "self-revert" means, which does not include reverting anyone else's edits along with your own. Phil Bridger (talk) 16:51, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

@Phil Bridger: Thanks for clarifying, I didn't know this, although this rule seems kind of silly: getting blocked for 3RR for reverting your own edit which was later corrected (e.g. after identifying some possible problems with it) seems very unreasonable to me.^Ol^Ja 16:55, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Actually it makes complete sense. The only edit you "own" is any edit you make. If someone else makes an edit, that's not your edit. It's someone else's edit. If I make an edit and it's reverted by person A and then person B comes along and reverts to my version the latest reversion is not my edit. It's the person B's edit. I cannot self revert anymore than I could when person A first reverted me. I could revert person B's edit but that's reverting person B's edit, it's not reverting myself since my edit was already reverted. If person A and person B engage in a 10 revert war in the next 1 hour, I am only responsible for my first edit. I'm not responsible for person A and person B seriously violating 3RR. Likewise when someone else has modified my edit, any reversion of their changes is not a self revert since it's not my edit. If it's possible to self revert without affecting their changes then I can simply self-revert, but if it's not than any revert is not simply a self revert since I'm changing someone else's edit. Otherwise we'd have the ridiculous situation where I change 1234567890 to 2134567890 and someone else changes it to 3214567890 and so on until it's 0987654321 and I come along and change it back to 1234567890 and claim all I did is self revert which is clearly nonsense. Nil Einne (talk) 05:17, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

This is a weird one, people. I don't know why Oldstone James doesn't want to collaborate. It seems like maybe he is suffering a bit from WP:OWN? I actually don't know what to make of it. jps (talk) 16:17, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

No, I did collaborate... until you simply reverted one of my compromise edits. In hindsight, you did add in some pieces of my edit, but most of your errors still remained. Remember that your edits had zero consensus, so I was in full right to restore the status quo. We eventually managed to work our versions into a satisfactory compromise. A better question to ask would be why Guy Macon, Roxy the dog, and some other editors stubbornly refuse to collaborate at all costs, reverting every new edit done to the page and refusing to give explanations. WP:OWN would be a very appropriate explanation for this type of behaviour, I believe.^Ol^Ja 16:52, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

On 29 March 2019 I told Oldstone James:

"You have two choices. [1] create a specific proposal and see what the consensus is for your change, or [2] Go ahead and assume that your change is OK without checking, make the change, and get blocked. Most administrators have a very low tolerance for someone who edits after edit-warring protection expires without a clear survey of participants asking if they object to that specific change. When in doubt, ask. If you have no doubts, ask anyway."[101]

He chose #2, and as I predicted, was blocked for it. After the block expired he went right back to the same behavior that got him blocked. --Guy Macon (talk) 16:28, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

I note, also, that Oldstone James wikistalked Roxy the Dog to fascism. [102], [103]. It's surprising to me that he is then turning around and citing WP:BATTLEGROUND above. jps (talk) 16:29, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Important clarification: I was not wikistalking; this was a coincidence. I had edited on related pages in the past, too.^Ol^Ja 17:02, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm afraid that is a behavioural slam dunk James, sorry. -Roxy, the dog. wooF 17:47, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Really, Oldstone James? You had never edited Fascism before. And purely by coincidence — not by following Roxy there — you reverted a Fascism edit by Roxy, after consulting the book sources for the sentence. That happened only 11 minutes after you posted a long argument on Talk:Answers in Genesis in which you attacked Roxy ("out of nowhere yet comes Roxy the dog and reverts my self-revert..!"). Is that what you're saying? Bishonen | talk 09:20, 15 April 2019 (UTC).

Yep. When I edit on Answers in Genesis, it is usually because I am looking something up on Wikipedia and, using the opportunity, check my watchlist (AiG was one the most recent entries at that time, following an edit by jps). At the time, I was looking up information on WWIII, which eventually got me to WWII and hence fascism. I had edited on articles related to WWIII and WWII before (MAD as one example, there are others). I must admit that seeing that the most recent change was made by user:Roxy the dog encouraged me to check into what the edit actually was, but I was not in any way houding the user. Please assume good faith, and that's what my edit was. I myself was very surprised to see the same user who had just reverted my edit on AiG was also the user who made the most recent change to the page I was then viewing.^Ol^Ja 11:39, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support topic ban from the topic of creationism as proposer. Recent comments by Oldstone James have made it clear that he intends to continue to try to get his way through reverts rather than through discussion and consensus. --Guy Macon (talk) 02:57, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

Note I restored the above !vote by Guy Macon, after it was deleted by Oldstone James with the edit summary of "Not sure you can vote on your own proposal". Paul August ☎ 00:41, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

My apology. This has previously been done to me a couple of times, so I assumed it was within my right's to do - which, in hindsight, I absolutely shouldn't have done. Once again, I apologise for this edit.^Ol^Ja 00:47, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Weak support mostly because of the historic problems combined with the fact this is a contentious topic but the editor seems to lack the most basic WP:competence given their claims above that reverting someone else's changes along with their own counts as a simple self revert. I think the editor needs to edit less contentious areas until they understand better how wikipedia works. Nil Einne (talk) 05:20, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment: I had an interesting discussion with this user which ended with this comment: [104] I think that this, perhaps, indicates we are working with an editor who may need to get a little perspective on their editing and perhaps mature just a bit (although I bet he won't take kindly to me saying this). In any case, this is the advice I gave him. This is one of the extremely rare cases where I think mentorship may help, if he would be open to it. Unfortunately, none of the people with whom he's gotten into arguments (including me) would be appropriate. We'd need to find someone he would listen to. jps (talk) 14:07, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

@ජපස: Yes, I absolutely do need a decent perspective of why my editing is considered unconstructive, while the editing of Macon and Roxy is condoned; so far, this perspective hasn't at all been provided. And you may be surprised to find that I do appreciate your sincerity, as you could have easily supported my topic ban by citing one of my reverts as evidence, and you haven't done so; instead, you opted to give your honest take on the matter. Also, "lack of maturity", in the sense of being to rash and (perhaps unnecessarily) aggressive with editing, is not one of the qualities that I would argue with if they were attributed to me. Following that up, I would indeed be very open to mentorship, if it is given that the mentor knows very well and respects Wikipedia polcies, and that the mentor can explain to me why my some of my particular edits are unconstructive. Based on my experience, user:EdChem would be a good candidate. Lastly, I am still very open to your advice, too, and will absolutely listen to you. The fact that I've gotten into an argument with you means nothing. Users that I wouldn't listen to include only those who have repeatedly demonstrated either a lack of WP:CIR, a lack knowledge or respect of Wikipedia policies, delibarate bad-faith editing, or a complete lack of understanding of the situation.^Ol^Ja 12:37, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Well, if you're open to advice and don't want a topic ban (which looks like it may come through according to my wiki-divination), I would recommend (a) apologizing for reverting and personalizing the disputes and by all means stop being argumentative, (b) explain exactly what you think mentorship will entail -- including an endgame which might be agreement by your mentor that the relationship is finished and then perhaps informing the community of such on WP:AN, for example -- and make it binding (I don't know that EdChem will want to mentor you, but if he does, I would recommend saying that you will run by all your edits on creationism-related topics with him first before you do them and wait for his advice on how to proceed even if it means not doing anything for days or up to a week.), and (c) maybe commit to moving to some other articles other than AiG for a bit to show that you can stick to such a plan. Right now, it seems like you are just setting yourself up for more and more disciplinary action. jps (talk) 13:56, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support topic ban. I avoided commenting here at first because I was so baffled by Oldstone James's statements about "self-reverting": I thought I might be getting dumber. Thank you for clearing it up, @Phil Bridger and Nil Einne:. I agree the editor needs to gain more understanding of how Wikipedia works. Controversial articles about creationism and their talkpages aren't good places to practice. I notice that the user comes across as self-righteous and aggressive, even here, even when they're wrong and an experienced editor attempts to explain, as above: "Apparently, Wiki policies only apply when they suit you. WP:CONSENSUS only applies when it's me editing. WP:SYNTH only applies when it's anyone but you editing. WP:BRD only applies when it works against me."[105] Admittedly, that was in response to a somewhat aggressive post by Guy Macon, but even so: Guy's post had explained self-reverting clearly and correctly. In view of this, do you really think mentoring is indicated, jps? Also, it's hard enough to find a mentor under the best of circumstances; if it's conditional on "someone he would listen to", it may be impossible. Bishonen | talk 20:42, 14 April 2019 (UTC).

@Bishonen: Just a comment: I did not get aggressive because I thought I was right; I was wrong, and I admitted I was wrong in a reply to Phil Bridger's comment. I got aggressive in response to Guy Macon's aggressive post and his hypocrisy (also, please note how users like Guy Macon and Roxy the dog have talked to me in the past; their manner of speech is just as "self-righteous" and aggressive as mine was in that comment). Also, when you say that I need to gain more understanding of how Wikipedia works, I assume you do so based on my (former) incorrect understanding of what a self-revert is. However, can you really make such a big statement as that I need to gain a better understanding of how Wikipedia works, and hence such a big conclusion that I need to be topic-banned, based on only one instance? Such instances occur also with experienced editors and even admins such as Doug Weller, who cited "If it isn't broken, and I agree that it isn't, don't fix it" as an argument against a proposal, which contradicts WP:TALKDONTREVERT. Of course, that does not mean that they don't understand how Wikipedia works - they are an admin, after all. Finally, even if you do believe that my understanding of WIkipedia is not good enough for me to have the right to edit on contentious topics, why topic-ban me? I've just recently been blocked, and I haven't violated any Wikipedia policy that warrants a block, like 3RR, since. I would politely ask you to reconsider your !vote.^Ol^Ja 00:23, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Shrug? Oldstone James seems to be thin-skinned and when he perceives himself as under attack he lashes out in a spectacularly hypocritical fashion. If we cannot find someone that Oldstone James will check in with or listen to, then certainly mentoring won't work. jps (talk) 21:23, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

Oldstone James has been told -- repeatedly -- what he should do when he knows that the change he wants to make is opposed by multiple editors (stop edit warring, post a specific proposal on the article talk page, make his arguments, and try to get consensus for the proposed change). He has been told this by a wide variety of editors. He has been told this gently and respectfully. He has been told this aggressively and forcefully. He has been told this in the form of a block by an administrator. He has been told this by an uninvolved administrator who reviewed the block and denied his appeal. I question whether any mentoring will be acceptable to him. I think that the moment the mentor tells him to stop edit warring and seek consensus he will instantly add the mentor to the list of inferior beings who he will not listen to because it is all their fault. I also question whether, given his present attitude, he has the ability to contribute constructively on any page related to creationism. I have not yet concluded that he cannot contribute constructively on other topics, which is why I am asking for a topic ban and not for another block. This may be one of those cases where someone is topic banned, learns how to get along with other editors on articles where his feelings are not quite so strong, gets the topic ban lifted after six months, and goes on to make real improvements to the article that he formerly edit warred over. --Guy Macon (talk) 22:55, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

@Guy Macon: I don't know what exactly you are trying to achieve with this comment. My reverts have not been making any change to the status quo. Instead, they reverted such changes, because the user who made these changes had not followed the steps that you have described in your comment. Furthermore, if you believe that your advice ("stop edit warring, post a specific proposal on the article talk page, make his arguments, and try to get consensus for the proposed change") is right (which it is), why did you not follow your own advice? Why did you make a change to the status quo, which was opposed by at least one editor (me) and not post "a specific proposal on the article talk page", made your arguments, and tried "to get consensus for the proposed change"?^Ol^Ja 00:34, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

With all due respect, Oldstone James, your edits here and (good faith but mistaken) removal of another editor's comments seem to me to be doing irreparable damage to your cause. Just something to think about. Dumuzid (talk) 00:39, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

You're right. It's just that the same thing was done to me on numerous occasions, so I assumed it didn't violate any WP policies. Of course, I absolutely shouldn't have done that. I'll think extra carefully before any following edit I opt to make.^Ol^Ja 00:59, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Re: "I don't know what exactly you are trying to achieve with this comment", what part of "stop edit warring, post a specific proposal on the article talk page, make your argument, and try to get consensus for the proposed change" are you having trouble understanding? And yes, you have been edit warring. An actual self-revert undoes an edit that you made without undoing any edits (additions or deletions) by any other editor. Re "It's just that the same thing was done to me on numerous occasions", if someone has been editing your comments outside of the exceptions listed at WP:TPOC, report them at ANI. Someone else violating a Wikipedia policy or guideline does not give you permission to violate Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. BTW, you are wasting your time pinging me in a conversation that I am already participating in. In the preferences tab there is an option to mute users, and I have set it so that I don't see any pings or username mentions from you. --Guy Macon (talk) 05:40, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Having been on the receiving end of advice given from people whom I don't respect, I think it unsurprising that it does not work, and it's not really up to us to decide who it is anyone respects. To that end, you may be 100% correct that he may not find any mentoring acceptable. If that's really the case, my idea is flushed. jps (talk) 23:26, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose I haven't violated 3RR or any other policy that warrants a block or topic ban (since my last block). On the contrary, I have now reached an agreement (in terms of what the lede should be) with the editor I was accused of edit-warring: [106] ("the edit you just made was fine"). If some users are not happy with my editing, a good compromise would be limit my edits on creationism-related topics to 1RR or similar. Although if editing is anything to go by when considering a topic ban, I believe a similar ban should be imposed on Roxy the dog and Guy Macon, who have repeatedly ignored several Wikipedia policies such as WP:BRD, WP:CONSENSUS, WP:DONTREVERT, WP:PERSONAL among others. ^Ol^Ja 00:43, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Diffs or it didn't happen James. I'd also like you to stop talking about me all over the project without notifying me, and ask you to read WP:NPA and WP:HOUNDING. Support topic ban. -Roxy, the dog. wooF 08:24, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Already quoted some of your comments at the top of the page. You had violated both WP:CONSENSUS and WP:DONTREVERT with this edit: [107]. I mentioned you once in this thread, so what's the point of mentioning you again?^Ol^Ja 11:43, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

It isn't just Roxy who you have been accusing of wrongdoing.

You have accused me of violating WP:BRD. Please post diffs showing this behavior.

You have accused me of violating WP:CONSENSUS. Please post diffs showing this behavior.

You have accused me of violating WP:PERSONAL. Please post diffs showing this behavior.

You have called for me to be topic banned from creationism. Please posts diffs showing the behavior that requires a topic ban.

In fact, if I am as evil as you imply, you should file a separate ANI report laying out the evidence of my disruptive behavior. Be sure to include all of my previous blocks and all of the the times that I ignored warnings. --Guy Macon (talk) 14:33, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Well, that's an easy task: [108] There you go. Reinstating an edit that had no consensus at the time. That also happens to violate WP:BRD, as you have been bold and you have reverted, but you haven't discussed. But there's more: this quote "but so far there is no such consensus, so my preference is for the existing wording" means you don't understand Wikipedia:TALKDONTREVERT; this edit: [109] is a perfect example of WP:SYNTH. I have not accused you of WP:PERSONAL, but there are many other WP violations by you, too. These are just some notable, defining examples.^Ol^Ja 15:16, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

It is now clear that you are unable to tell the difference between a content dispute and a policy violation, and you appear to lack the ability to read and understand Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Go ahead and file an ANI report naming me if you think you have a case. I am going to stop responding to you and disengage for the obvious reason. --Guy Macon (talk) 16:29, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support - Despite the scrutiny this ANI filing has drawn to their editing, they are still reverting, and are still taking it upon themselves to be the judge of what's consensus. If you can't step back when your behaviour is under scrutiny, when can you? Guettarda (talk) 03:07, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

@Guettarda: Please see what the edit actually is. The edit summary of the edit reads: "Please revert this edit if you believe my judgement is wrong". The revert was simply because the user who made the edit appeared to contradict the apparent outcome of a recent discussion on the talk page, and hence just follows WP:BRD. Judging by the fact that the following edit after my revert appeared to fix the issue, I would assume that my judgement was indeed correct.^Ol^Ja 11:47, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

The actual edit is immaterial. The advice here to you is, in essence, to disengage. The fact that you won't take that advice is the problem here. The issue isn't whether you're right or wrong on content, it's behaviour. Guettarda (talk) 13:13, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Well, I did disengage as soon as you've given me this advice. Giving an advice and then claiming that I didn't follow it in the same comment is a bit like blaming someone for not doing something that's about to be asked of them. Prior to your comment, the only advice I was given was to stop edit-warring, which I did. ^Ol^Ja 14:50, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support Answers in Genesis is on my watchlist and I finally got around to looking at recent activity. Oldstone James is not able to collaboratively edit according to policies in this area. Johnuniq (talk) 09:14, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

If you don't believe my edits were appropriate, that's fine (although I would still be very grateful if you could provide an explanation). However, please also assess appropriateness of user:Roxy the dog and Guy Macon's edits, which simply reverted my edits entirely without any explanation. This alone contradicts WP:DONTREVERT. However, if you look at what they were actually reverting, you will see that they simply reinstated an edit which had no consensus (or any attempt at being discussed, for that matter) at the time. The manner of the mentioned users' editing is continuous. If I am to be topic-banned, which, based on the number of 'support' !votes, will most likely happen (whoever eventually imposes the ban, please don't use this comment as evidence that I agree with such a decision), I believe Guy Macon and Roxy the dog should be topic-banned as well, if the reason for my future topic ban is my edits being unconstructive or uncollaborative.^Ol^Ja 11:55, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support (1) I sympathise with the feeling of being hounded in this situation and responding defensively. (2) It seems clear that both sides have contributed to some extent, if only by choice of words, to heating up this conflict. (3) Bishonen is correct in that creationism is not the best playground for learning the wiki ways. (4) Guettarda is correct in that continuing to battle while a discussion is ongoing is disruptive. I think this is not really excusable by lack of wiki experience, it's just an obviously generally bad idea. (5) This is a major conflict that needs to be resolved. (a) It is a topic of global interest and importance, and thus, a core part of our mission. (b) Aside from that, it is a well-documented source of conflict for Wikipedia specifically. (c) This is a case of a dispute that's survived a period of full protection and is thus, at this point, a hardened dispute. (6) Many of the issues raised w.r.t. article content have come up before, like softening the wording to be more sympathetic towards creationism. Given the very intense and lengthy discussion around these very points in the past, there is no sensibly foreseeable need for discussing them again. Enforcing the established consensus on creationism seems extremely reasonable. (7) At this point, I'm not sure what the chances of any sort of amicable solution are, so as an overall less preferred but apparently necessary option, I hereby endorse the proposed topic ban. In doing so, I would not like it to go unmentioned that Oldstone James has, considering the situation, civilly and constructively argued his case. Even if not everyone here may depart as friends, I think a certain amount of mutual appreciation is appropriate. Samsara 10:48, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

@Samsara: Just a few clarifications:

1) Note that the edit Guettarda was referring to was not continuing a battle but instead following WP:BRD on a completely new issue. The editor didn't appear to have read a particular talk page section which contradicted the edit, so I reverted it as per WP:BRD, with the edit summary "Please revert this edit if you believe my judgement is wrong". My judgement turned out to be correct, and an appropriate edit followed straight after.

2) Also note that my edits are not aimed at softening the wording in favour of creationism. In fact, it wouldn't make sense for them to be, me being a convinced atheist. Instead, most of my edits are simply aimed at correcting grammar and/or better reflecting the source cited. There is nothing in particular that makes creationism stand out among the numerous other topics in which I edit, with the exception of the many stubborn editors who are, in opinion, refusing to collaborate.

3) Here is a proposed amicable solution: give me the last chance (I haven't even been warned of a topic ban after my block) and limit me at 1RR. I make more than a single revert in 24 hours, and I am blocked. Surely, that is an amicable solution?

4) I appreciate your understanding of my position, and it's refreshing to find someone who can see both sides of the coin, though you appear to be in a very insignificant minority.^Ol^Ja 11:27, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment James appears to be exhibiting fairly classic WP:IDHT. I have left him the advice to stop while this discussion is ongoing. I sincerely hope he heeds it. - Nick Thorne ^talk 12:42, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

The funny thing is that I was actually arguing from consensus. If you look at the page history, you will see that it was me who was restoring the satus quo, while other users kept reinstating an edit that had no consensus at the time. Furthermore, my edits all address different sections of the article, so I am not sure WP:IDHT applies here. Frankly speaking, I am not sure what it is exactly that I am to be topic-banned for, but my two best bets would be "unconstructive editing" and "lack of understanding of WP policies". I'm not sure IDHT is relevant.^Ol^Ja 13:18, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

This comment, Oldstone James, is an example of being argumentative and it is the kind of response that is doing you no favors here. See WP:JURY. jps (talk) 13:58, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Another page with relevant advice: Law of holes. I'm just saying. --Guy Macon (talk) 14:33, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

I was pinged above in relation to the question of mentoring. I am aware that our AiG article is again being edited heavily. I have not been watching, having been distracted y other matters both on and off wiki. I have read this ANI thread and looked at some of the diffs, but certainly not all. Some thoughts:

• As can be seen on talk:AiG, I tried to distill some coherent progress from a dispute there, which I think produced some progress.
• Oldstone James ("OJ") expressed appreciation on his user talk page, and we had a useful conversation. Others can comment on how it went, I know I'd be interested in other views.
• OJ did have concerns that were valid and his approach was hindering this being recognised. In some cases, it took a while for me to figure out what concerned him, and in at least one case my first impression of one of his issues turned out to be completely wrong. I think he does have valuable contributions to make to this article.
• Unfortunately, his style and approach are problematic at times – the effort put in above to concerns about other editors is familiar to anyone who has seen many previous disputes / ANI discussions as a strategy from the "shooting yourself in the foot" school. (Sorry, OJ, but there is quite a bit in this thread that looks bad and which has caused the number of support !votes to increase. You make think that is unfair, that you are putting forward reasonable points, but you really need to focus on you here.)
• I'm willing to discuss the possibility of mentorship in some form, but only if OJ really wants it and will abide by some restrictions, such as:
  • Contributions to talk:AiG will be about content only, not about other contributors. If some contributor issue arises, OJ can raise it with me and I'll do something if I think it is worth it.
  • No edits to the AiG article – not grammar corrections, not fixing typos, nothing – without talk page agreement (as in, other editors saying "yes, that's a good idea", not OJ deciding independently there is a consensus) or agreement from me.
  • Following editors from AiG to other pages (wikistalking) is disruptive. If you come across something problematic and it is by an active AiG editor, start a talk page discussion but don't revert / modify their edit. If others agree on the talk page, the change will happen; if they don't, it doesn't have consensus support. Disputes between editors that cross into other topics / articles are a fast way to earn a block, so avoid even the appearance of doing this.
  • You need to learn when your style is not helping pursue your goals. Above, for example, you have reflected on most Wikipedians saying that being able to see both sides of an issue is rare. Most people don't become more open to considering suggestions if the speaker starts by insulting them. There could be times when I would refactor / redact unhelpful comments from article talk pages and discuss them on your user talk.
• I haven't done a formal mentorship, so any other suggestions are welcome. I'm also not an admin. However, OJ, for this to work you need to understand and accept that I will tell you if I disagree with you, or if you are being disruptive, and if needed I would call for a block or a t-ban. You'd be free to disagree or try to persuade, but you'd need to agree that if I say "don't" you need to not do whatever it is, or you need to end the mentorship arrangement.

The issue of scope would also need consideration, because the amount of time I have is limited. EdChem (talk) 15:14, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

@EdChem: Honestly, I am very happy to follow all the rules that you have described here. In fact, your mentorship would at most times be better than me editing by myself, as most of my edits will get reverted straight away simply because of the reputation that I have built for myself. I will definitely respect your time, and, trust me, I won't be proposing nearly as many edits as I have on the talk page, as I believe that most of the issues in the article have now been fixed. Furthermore, I won't have to spend nearly as much time justifying my points when there is only one user I can communicate my points to.

P.S. I think your 4th bullet point describes the issue very well. I was wondering what was causing such an overwhelming amount of support !votes: but it appears it's not so much the gist of my editing as it is my behaviour and aggressiveness which accompanied my edits. I've definitely created a bad first impression of myself, of an editor that is "self-righteous", "uncollaborative", and "aggressive", and my most recent edit summaries certainly did not help. I know this might seem obvious to other editors, but no one has yet brought this up, apart from a slight allusion by user:jps, so the fact that it's my behaviour that's causing the stir-up is very valuable insight for me. Not to accuse anyone, but giving me pieces of advice on my editing which, when taken, do not seem to make the situation much better, only make me more confused, hence more deluded, and hence you hear more angry claims from me of other editors being unfair on me. If anyone had taken the time to explain what exactly it wass that I was doing very wrong, you'd hear much less aggression from me. Of course, that's not at all to say that I'm not at fault here.^Ol^Ja 17:40, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support topic ban. They have been blocked 4 times over the course of 4 years for the exact same reason, yet no sign of improvement has been seen. This may be a case of WP:NOTHERE. However, I definitely support a topic ban because to my points stated, and per all of the above. The Duke 21:43, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
• Comment: On his talk page and in this ANI case Oldstone James has indicated that he was confused over what a revert is and appears to be surprised by the "in whole or in part, whether involving the same or different material" part of the edit warring policy.

I find it difficult to believe that there has been the slightest confusion. Oldstone James was informed of the exact wording of the policy at least four times:

• "To revert is to undo the action of another editor. The 3RR says an editor must not perform more than three reverts, in whole or in part, whether involving the same or different material, on a single page within a 24-hour period." --Guy Macon (talk) 16:01, 13 April 2019 (UTC) [110]
• "Undoing another editor's work—whether in whole or in part, whether involving the same or different material each time—counts as a revert." --Jytdog (talk) 22:51, 10 November 2017 (UTC) [111]
• "Undoing another editor's work—whether in whole or in part, whether involving the same or different material each time—counts as a revert." --Jytdog (talk) 22:07, 7 November 2017 (UTC) [112]
• "Undoing another editor's work—whether in whole or in part, whether involving the same or different material each time—counts as a revert." --Black Kite (talk) 22:20, 5 November 2017 (UTC) [113]

In addition Oldstone James has been to WP:3RRNB an additional four times,[114][115][116][117] twice as the one doing the edit warring (blocked both times) and twice as the one doing the reporting (One was declined as a "pure revenge report",[118] the other as "no violation" along with a note from the closing admin regarding Oldstone James' claims of consensus "Even a cursory look at the talkpage would reveal this to be flat-out false."[119])

I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide whether the above shows evidence of confusion or of purposely ignoring multiple clear warnings. --Guy Macon (talk) 23:09, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Let's not have this turn into a competition in vindictiveness - you may yet inadvertently win. Samsara 00:02, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I have no desire to be vindictive. I don't even want Oldstone James to be blocked. What I would really like is for Oldstone James to stop edit warring, stop saying that his proposed changes have consensus without asking whether anyone agrees that they have consensus, use the talk page rather than trying to get his way though repeatedly reverting, and to either stop accusing other editors of wrongdoing or to put together some evidence and report them at ANI. --Guy Macon (talk) 00:49, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

If you would really like for me to stop edit-warring, shouldn't you support getting me a mentor? Surely that would keep me from edit-warring?^Ol^Ja 22:34, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I choose to not state my position on whether you are a good candidate for mentoring or whether mentoring would stop your disruptive behavior.

I want you to stop edit warring. I don't care why you stop or how you are forced to stop, just that you stop.

I want you to stop saying that your proposed changes have consensus without asking whether anyone agrees that they have consensus. I don't care why you stop or how you are forced to stop, just that you stop.

I want you to use the talk page rather than trying to get your way though repeatedly reverting. I don't care why you do this or how you are forced to do this, just that you do it.

I want you to either stop accusing other editors of wrongdoing or to put together some evidence and report them at ANI. I don't care why you do this or how you are forced to do this, just that you do it.

I want you to stop blaming other people for your actions. I don't care why you stop or how you are forced to stop, just that you stop. --Guy Macon (talk) 07:59, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Oldstone James is not the only editor to AiG with problematic behaviour. Just yesterday:

• OJ added a hyphen to the phrase "Noah's Ark themed amusement park" with a strange edit summary... I think it was a copy and paste of a summary but it had nothing to do with the edit.
• Calton reverted with an edit summary "It'S not that I don't trust you ... wait, I don't trust you." – if not a violation of NPA, it's very close.
• I posted to talk:AiG to ask about the revert. Calton has not edited since making the reversion.
• Roxy the dog responded blaming OJ (who he described as my "potential protégé") and characterised Calton's revert as a null edit (which it was not... it was not even a dummy edit as it removed the added hyphen, even though both the edit and the revert involved size changes of 0 bytes).
• Guy Macon responded by starting a discussion at WT:MOS.
• I thanked Guy for starting a helpful discussion for outside input. I also responded to Roxy, explaining that Calton's action was not a null edit, noting Calton's problematic edit summary, and pointing out that reverting OJ is ok if his edit is disruptive / flawed but not ok if it's basically "I don't like OJ."
• Roxy's response did not actually address the points that I had made, instead implying that I was wrong and politely asking that I "read carefully."
• I asked Roxy to be direct if he had a problem with me and again explained why Calton's edit was not a null edit. I also noted the accuracy of Guy Macon's observation that both OJ and Calton's edit summaries were out of line.
• OJ subsequently explained his edit summary, which highlights (amongst other things) that he is not always sure what an edit summary is for and doesn't know the difference between a null edit and a dummy edit.
• Meanwhile, Guy Macon's post at WT:MOS had been productive, leading to the advice that an ndash was needed (rather than a hyphen), which is what he then added to the article.

I'm not here to defend OJ, but I would note that Calton's edit was not appropriate and the edit summary was worse. Roxy defended Calton (inaccurately) and criticised OJ for making a mess without acknowledging that Calton did change content and in a way that was unjustified. Guy actually looked at the issue, got advice, and made the appropriate correction (thank you, very helpful). I leave it to others to evaluate my actions. I, however, am disappointed that OJ's problematic behaviours are the sole focus here. There are topic ban discussions at ANI where one editor is the problem and source of all conflict and needs to be removed. In this case, OJ is a problem, but so is the failure of others to recognise when he is making helpful edits or raising legitimate concerns. I have expressed willingness to become a mentor, which will include OJ not editing the article without consensus or my agreement, as that is needed to reduce tensions and the temperature. If I thought he was simply a disruption, I would have supported the topic ban proposal (which I recognise may still be the result). Note: Just to prevent any confusion, I am not advocating that ANI impose a sanction on Calton or Roxy, but they do offer a timely example of how the problems in this area have issues with behaviour of editors other than OJ as well. EdChem (talk) 01:20, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but my part in this was owing to a misreading on my part: I thought I was reverting some wording, not a punctuation change. I apologize for that.

However, maybe you shouldn't be trying to draw attention away from Oldstone James's severe IDHT problem, especially given his obviously bogus claims of not understanding what he's doing wrong: look at the history of his talk page and you'll see YEARS of warnings regarding edit-warring -- and not just on Answers in Genesis -- that he claims to be unaware of. So no, I don't trust him. --Calton | Talk 02:35, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I am in 100% agreement with EdChem above. In particular, I would encourage Roxy to dial it down from 11 to 2 or 3. Calton, nobody at ANI will do any more or less about Oldstone James because of the behavior of others. ANI sees the Tu quoque fallacy a lot -- most recently by Oldstone James -- and will not allow anyone else's behavior to excuse bad behavior. (There is a minor exception; if someone is being extremely insulting we tend to give less weight to someone insulting them back than we would to an unprovoked insult). It is perfectly reasonable to look at my behavior, your behavior, and Roxy's behavior while dealing with Oldstone James' behavior. The key is how we respond when we are informed/warned that we could have reacted better. If we apologize and make a good faith effort to not do it again, that is usually the end of it. ANI isn't here to punish, but rather to prevent future disruption.

On a personal note, Early off (after being a real jerk when I first started editing Wikipedia as an IP in 2006) I figured out something that has kept me block-free for 12 years and 45,000 edits: I try to follow the rules, and If I get a warning from an administrator or an established editor I immediately stop doing what they warned me not to do. Even if I am convinced that they are completely wrong I stop doing it and start discussing it with them. I also don't do the kind of things that result in instant blocks, like WP:OUTING, but nobody had to tell me that. This is fiendishly clever; as long as I stop when warned the only possible block would be a block without any prior warning, which is frowned upon. --Guy Macon (talk) 11:47, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose: On many YEC-related articles, there is also problematic behavior on the "other side," from WP:POVFIGHTERs who claim to be fighting for science against those dumb Trump-loving YECers. This often leads to over-the-top edits that give YEC articles a POV in the opposite direction (like these, for example, in a another article where editors have since reached a consensus:[120][121][122][123]--also, see EdChem's examples above). However, despite this POV, I've only seen editors like Oldstone James, who's edits do not have a clear anti-YEC tone (though I think he's stated he's an atheist), be targeted. I don't endorse the aggressiveness of his efforts but I also oppose the behavior of some of the other editors. Thus, a topic ban is way too extreme and one-sided for this dispute. --1990'sguy (talk) 13:15, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

If there are other editors exhibiting the same behavior and causing the same level of disruption, then start bringing specifics. Saying a problematic editor's behavior should be ignored because it balances out other problematic editors is an underwhelming argument. Grandpallama (talk) 14:42, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I did provide specifics (see the diffs above), in addition to also referring readers to EdChem's specific examples above. I'm not interested in bringing anyone to ANI, if that's what you're implying. --1990'sguy (talk) 14:52, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

That's exactly what I'm saying. When someone causes problems, an appropriate response is not to point to other people causing similar problems as an excuse to allow this person to continue doing what they're doing. Instead, we recognize that we should also hold other people to the same standard. In other words, your rationale is really for bringing other supposedly problematic editors to ANI, not for excusing the behavior of this editor. Grandpallama (talk) 12:54, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

You have presented no evidence or argument to oppose a topic ban other than four unrelated diffs by unrelated editors. Johnuniq (talk) 05:44, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support Clearly tendentious editing. And it seems obvious to me that, assuming good faith, this is a clear-cut case of IDHT. Because it's otherwise some catastrophic competence issues, which I don't believe is at all justified from the edits and the articulation of rationales. Grandpallama (talk) 14:42, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

What has been deemed to be my tendentious editing - more specifically, the violation of 3RR - has already warranted myself a week's block ([124]). From then, the only reverts that I have made apart from this one: [125] (whose edit summary, by the way, said "Please revert this edit if you believe my judgement is wrong", and the following edit respected this revert) were all reverts to the WP:STATUS QUO, of an edit that had no consensus ([126], [127], [128]). I haven't even violated WP:3RR. Can you please explain why you believe this is a case of IDHT?^Ol^Ja 22:34, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

You do realize that addressing every single person who supports this topic ban in an attempt to argue with them is counter-productive, right? Grandpallama (talk) 12:54, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

We do give quite a bit of extra leeway to the editor who's behavior is being discussed and who is facing potential sanctions. It wouldn't be fair to give a dozen accusing editors several comments each while limiting responses by the accused.

For those who are convinced by Oldstone James' arguments/explanations his 22 comments so far insure that he was able to clearly state his case. For those who are not convinced his 22 comments are an example of the Law of holes, under the assumption "if this is how he behaves when he is on his best behavior, how will he behave after the ANI report is closed?"

If you watch enough ANI and arbcom cases, you will notice that immediately ceasing all editing of Wikipedia as soon as the report is filed gives you the best chance of escaping sanctions if the case is marginal. I have seen plenty of editors talk themselves into a block or topic ban by pounding on the "I am right, everybody else is wrong, those who complain about my behavior should be sanctioned" drum. --Guy Macon (talk) 13:45, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Guy Macon, in no way did I suggest his responses should be limited. I suggested he should reconsider his current strategy, with pretty much exactly the same thinking you just laid out. Grandpallama (talk) 19:41, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Indeed. To the point that we have a handy page about it: WP:BOOMERANG. -- The Anome (talk) 13:53, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I see your point, and, indeed, it is a strong one and has probably already had effect in this thread; however, please note that "I am right, everybody else is wrong, those who complain about my behavior should be sanctioned" is not at all my position; my position is more closely represented by "I am wrong; two other editors - specifically, you and Roxy the dog - are also wrong and should be sanctioned if I will be; I will listen to those who complain, but I will respond if I don't agree with their argument", which is a bit different.^Ol^Ja 14:37, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I feel this discussion is now coming to a natural end, per WP:STICK. I suspect that if Oldstone James quietly walks away at this point, and bears in mind the advice given them above, and changes their editing behavior to match, everything should be well. Otherwise, I suspect that someone is going to close this soon by imposing the topic ban. -- The Anome (talk) 15:24, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

At the risk of prolonging a discussion that has probably run its course, Oldstone James, your position here is entirely counterproductive if your goal is to continue to volunteer your time at this website. The variety of defense (such that it is) that you are contributing here is to complain that other people who got here first are also doing bad things. Aside from the obvious tu quoque cringe-worthy-ness of this argument, it's also been philosophically lampooned in other contexts at Wikipedia with the WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS tag. The way Wikipedia disciplinary actions function is that people who make these kinds of arguments get shitcanned on the regular. And anyway, Yeah, but they're just as bad! is just about as weak an argument you can make... so don't make it. I know it probably frustrates your sense of justice and fair play, but you're really much better off if you just let it go as The Anome intimates above. jps (talk) 16:53, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

That's just my position - not an argument. Never said stating this position is a good idea; likewise, never said it would make a good argument: I just pointed out that what Guy Macon described in his comment didn't represent my position at all well. That said, I've already stomached the fact that tu quoque isn't going to help my case.^Ol^Ja 17:00, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• I've reopened this as per below - there's still an unresolved topic ban proposal. And per "Please feel free to reopen the discussion if you like, per WP:BOLD" from the closer. Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 13:42, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Community-imposed topic ban?

So the result is nine editors in favor of a topic ban, two (one of whom is Oldstone James) opposing, and the additional oppose !vote having a very weak argument ("there is also problematic behavior on the 'other side'"), but this report is closed with "This discussion now seems to have naturally come to a close" and no sanctions? Not even a warning? --Guy Macon (talk) 06:56, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Agree that the close does not reflect the course of the discussion, nor does it take into account the consensus. Grandpallama (talk) 10:15, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I think the implication, given the benefit of the doubt, is that my behaviour has changed, and that if it is found otherwise, I will probably get topic-banned: I am already de facto unable to edit the AiG article. This thread in itself is one massive warning. Also, not that it's relevant, but saying an argument is "weak" is subjective, and I believe some of the 'support' arguments were weak, also.^Ol^Ja 10:17, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Honestly, a quite stupid close. -Roxy, the dog. wooF 10:29, 18 April 2019 (UTC)-Roxy, the dog. wooF 10:29, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

WP:BOLD applies  :) I don't think the close has been invented that can't be reversed.^{Except, of course.} ——SerialNumber54129 10:58, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I closed the discussion on the basis that the message had got through, and Oldstone James has taken to heart the advice given, resolving the problem that required the topic ban in the first place. If that's not the case, a topic ban would be the next port of call, all the discussion having been done already above. Please feel free to reopen the discussion if you like, per WP:BOLD, or just ask me on my talk page, and I will do it for you; closure is not an act of final authority, but an editorial function to summarize discussion when a process had come to a close, which in this case seemed to to me to have happened by editor behavior change rather than sanction. -- The Anome (talk) 11:26, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree that further discussion would be useless, and would advise against simply opening the discussion so we can get more of the same. What I disagree with is the lack of sanctions given that there has not been a single administrator who expressed an opinion that there was nothing sanctionable. I think pretty much everyone expected a topic ban, block, or an agreement to be mentored. I do not agree that "Oldstone James has taken to heart the advice given, resolving the problem that required the topic ban in the first place". To be specific:

• I asked him to stop edit warring. He appears to have stopped and he appears to agree that edit warring is bad. I haven't seen him agree that he was using the wrong definition of self-revert, but maybe he accepts that as well.
• I asked him to stop saying that his proposed changes have consensus without asking whether anyone agrees that they have consensus. I have seen zero evidence that he has agreed to do this.
• I asked him to use the talk page rather than trying to get his way though repeatedly reverting. So far so good on this one.
• I asked him to either stop accusing other editors of wrongdoing or to put together some evidence and report them at ANI. I have seen no retraction of the accusations against me personally, nor have I seen an ANI case with my name on it.
• I asked him to stop blaming other people for his actions. He denies that he ever did that. I could put together a long list of diffs and we could spend a week discussing exactly what he did and did not mean, but instead I will leave it as this: if you believe him, mark this as resolving the problem. If you believe that in the future he will respond to ANI reports , user page warnings, etc. with Tu quoque, mark it as not resolved.

Finally, even if everyone agrees that "Oldstone James has taken to heart the advice given, resolving the problem that required the topic ban in the first place" it is an established fact that he didn't do that until faced with sanctions at ANI and that in the events leading up to this report he refused to listen when a dozen different people told him he was violating our policies and guidelines -- and he continued the behavior after his block expired. At the bare minimum this should result in an unclose followed immediately with a new close that contains a clearly worded warning (keeping in mind how often he misunderstands our basic policies and guidelines) telling him exactly what is expected of him going forward. --Guy Macon (talk) 13:29, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Yes, I've accepted I was wrong about the definition of a self-revert and stated that in several comments: [129] [130] are some examples. If anything, I didn't know that I was, nor did I intend to, edit-war, limiting myself at 1RR ever since the block. Of course, it turned out that my understanding of what a self-revert was wrong, so I did end up edit-warring, but that was not my intention.
• I will not claim consensus ever again, even when it seems obvious to me that there is consensus, as a safety measure. I will, however, say that I believe where there is consensus and where there is not; I will of course not use this as a justification for my edits.
• I do not want to file an ANI report, as I already have a lot of things to do both here on Wikipedia and in real life. I did, however, already provide you with diffs backing up my accusations.
• I do not deny I ever did that, and, furthermore, I have repeatedly said that I will stop doing that. Here is one example: [131], but there are many more.

It is not at all an established fact that I didn't listen to advice I was given - especially after the block. I am not going to list pieces of advice that I took on before the block, because that wouldn't be of any use, but here is such a list for advice that I took on after the block and before ANI:

• "Do not reinstate your edit without having first reached consensus"
• "Do not edit-war (as stated above, the edit-war that I did end up being involved in was due to my misunderstanding of what a self-revert is, but my intention was to limit myself at 1RR)"
• "Discuss your changes on the relevant talk page if you see that your edit has been reverted"
• "When you have a better understanding of the reverter's concerns, you may attempt a new edit that reasonably addresses some aspect of those concerns"

There are more examples, but these are some important ones.

Finally, I have only misunderstood two subtle WP policies so far - what counts a self-revert and what counts as a dummy edit - which isn't that many, as I've even seen some admins misunderstanding a few policies here and there (and sometimes later admitting to misunderstanding them).^Ol^Ja 17:13, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Just another comment on my reopening. A close should summarize the consensus, and the close summary didn't really address anything that was covered in the discussion. I don't see a consensus that "Oldstone James has taken to heart the advice given". As a topic ban was proposed, I think a close should address that explicitly - and I'm happy to leave that to someone else. Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 13:48, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Since I guess we're going to keep talking about this

An object lesson: Discussion on my talkpage about an edit Oldstone James did not like at AiG, Discussion at WT:MOS about this. Arguable as to whether these venues are the correct ones or not, and perhaps not everyone would have taken as kindly as I did to the level of belligerence that Oldstone James evinced on my talkpage (There are people on this site that would feel justified in lashing out violently if you told them something like "...when it comes to correcting grammar, don't correct something that you aren't 100% certain is false. I've already noticed that some of your earlier good-faith edits were attempts at correcting grammar but turned out to be unnecessary/incorrect in the end. I may not be a good editor when it comes to behaviour, but I do believe I know a thing or two about grammar...", but it amuses me more than bothers me.), but in any case, I think this indicates the right direction that things can go in. jps (talk) 23:38, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I am still waiting for the "Gosh, eight people disagree with me on this and nobody agrees with me, so I am going to go along with the consensus here" post. Note that I am not talking about that subset of his proposals that some other editors support. I am talking about that subset where everybody disagrees and WP:1AM applies. If you can't reach a compromise even when you are sure you are right, you are unable to work with others on a Wikipedia article. --Guy Macon (talk) 07:08, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I think that as long as disruption in articlespace isn't happening, that's a positive. I'm inclined to accept implicit sorts of acquiescence. If a person lets the other side have their way but does not post that they were wrong, does it matter? jps (talk) 10:39, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Please read these two diffs from today.[132][133]

Would you describe them as:

[A] Oldstone James explicitly asking on the talk page whether his proposed changes have consensus instead of assuming without asking that they have consensus?

or as

[B] Oldstone James trying to get his way through reverting rather than using the talk page?

Now look at this conversation at MOS Talk:[134]

Would you describe the conversation as:

[1] Oldstone James hearing the arguments of the multiple editors who do not agree with his preferred wording and deciding to go along with the consensus?

or as

[2] Oldstone James stubbornly continuing to argue for his preferred wording no matter what?

He is not, as you claim, letting the other side have their way. Go ahead. post a diff where he agrees to go along with consensus instead of continuing to argue in the face of significant pushback by multiple editors.

If this is how he acts as his behavior is being scrutinized at ANI and the consensus is to topic ban him and after several people have told him to back off of the creationism pages until the ANI case closes, that tells me that he is incapable of letting it go.

And he is now in the middle of Yet Another Creationism Content Dispute.[135][136] This one is just starting, but would anyone like to take bets on whether he will end up agreeing with the other editor? --Guy Macon (talk) 12:30, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I think that the results are what matter. I don't really care if Oldstone James never says he agrees to go along as long as he doesn't muck about in articlespace with the attitude that it is his and his way alone. jps (talk) 13:15, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I don't have to achieve consensus for every edit that I make – that would make Wikipedia uneditable. I need to achieve consensus if and when there is disagreement about the edit that I just made, which is what I am trying to do at Talk:Genesis creation narrative. I don't see any problem with me continuing to argue for my wording on the TP, although I'm not sure why you feel I'd do so "no matter what", given there are already several examples of me changing my stance following arguments provided by other editors.

As for the discussion at MOS, here are two examples of me agreeing with other editors: [137] [138]. Either way, I really don't see why I must definitively concede that I am wrong even when I believe that I am right. If I don't agree with some other editor, that does not mean that I haven't considered their arguments – it means that I've considered their arguments and concluded they weren't strong enough to convince me. You are making a lot of big claims about me, but big claims require big evidence. I don't see any evidence of me assuming consensus or neglecting other editors' arguments just because they contradict my pov or me not letting the other side have their way ever since this thread was posted at ANI. Speaking about the latter, the current version of the article in question (Answers in Genesis) is against my preference; I have accepted that and do not try to force my preferred version into the article.^Ol^Ja 13:30, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Just note that I did not mean to belligerent as you claim. I just wanted to share something that I've noticed, even admitting you may take it with a grain of salt. I apologise if you found my approach to be aggressive. That said, I've been addressed with a far more belligerent approach, including by you as well ([139]), and I've been rightly told that responding violently is never justified, even in such situations.^Ol^Ja 11:07, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

(edit conflict) And the purpose of once again pointing to the misbehavior of other editors is? If, as you claim, you are not trying to point at the misbehavior of others to justify or excuse your own misbehavior, why are you once again pointing at the misbehavior of others? --Guy Macon (talk) 12:30, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I am not fishing for an apology here, and I am personally fine with upping the level of critique at Wikipedia. Just be aware that in community discussions there is a reasonable aphorism that "impact does not equal intent". In that vein, there is no reason to apologize to me, but instead you should be aware that this sort of engagement style could cause problems with others. On Wikipedia, people will throw around WP:NPA and WP:CIVIL in regards to such. jps (talk) 12:11, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

If I might throw in my two cents here, I have had some minor interactions with Oldstone James recently, and they were fine. That being said, if I could give one piece of advice, it would be that the editor in question needs to watch his (or her?) defensive reflex. It is fine to argue for one's point, of course, and in a one-on-one context, I really don't think it's a problem. However, when one gets the same message from four or five other editors, or, say, an entire noticeboard, it's time to accede, no matter how righteous one's cause or how justified the conduct. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 12:17, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Oldstone James: Call for close

It is my opinion that there is 100% agreement that further discussion will not change the final result here. If you think this should not be closed yet, please speak up now. I am calling for an uninvolved administrator please write up a summary that reflects their evaluation of what the consensus is, close this discussion, and apply any sanctions or warnings that are appropriate. If anyone has an opinion as to what the consensus is, please post that opinion below (just that one narrow point without repeating anything that is covered in the sections above, please). Please note that it is perfectly reasonable for someone who !voted for A to then opine that the consensus is for B.

• Consensus is for a topic ban, possibly put on hold with mentoring. My count is:

• Two Editors (one of whom is Oldstone James) called for no sanctions of any kind.
• Three editors (one of whom is Oldstone James, another is the proposed mentor) were for mentorship. jps wrote "This is one of the extremely rare cases where I think mentorship may help, if he would be open to it. Unfortunately, none of the people with whom he's gotten into arguments (including me) would be appropriate. We'd need to find someone he would listen to". Oldstone James wrote "I would indeed be very open to mentorship, if it is given that the mentor knows very well and respects Wikipedia policies, and that the mentor can explain to me why my some of my particular edits are unconstructive. Based on my experience, user:EdChem would be a good candidate." EdChem wrote "I'm willing to discuss the possibility of mentorship in some form, but only if OJ really wants it and will abide by some restrictions" followed by a list and by Oldstone James replying "I am very happy to follow all the rules that you have described here".

If Oldstone James and EdChem agree on this, I would like to see any topic ban be put on hold, this discussion closed, and a new discussion between Oldstone James and EdChem started on EdChem's talk page. I would also call for the closing admin to evaluate whether a topic ban should or should not be applied if the mentoring falls apart and EdChem resigns from it.

I don't see any point in collecting the inevitable slew of !votes agreeing with mentoring, but if anyone opposes mentoring, please speak up now or we will assume that everyone agrees.

• Ten Eight editors were for a topic ban from all pages relating to creationism, broadly construed. --Guy Macon (talk) 13:16, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• Consensus was initially for a topic ban, possibly put on hold with mentoring. To make the job easier for whoever will close this, here is the actual !vote count:

• 2 oppose !votes
• 7 support !votes
• 1 weak support !vote

And here is the opinion count for editors involved in this thread:

• 8 editors directly for topic ban
• 2+1 editors agree that mentorship would solve the problem (me, user:EdChem, user:ජපස)
• 2+1 editors say no ban is necessary (me, user:1990'sguy, user:The Anome)
• 1 editor doesn't express a strong opinion but says their interactions with me "were fine", also warning that I should listen to other editors' advice in the future

Feel free to comment down any errors with my counts underneath^Ol^Ja 18:45, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

1. Support --Guy Macon 02:57, 14 April 2019 (UTC)
2. Weak support --Nil Einne 05:20, 14 April 2019 (UTC)
3. Support topic ban --Bishonen 20:42, 14 April 2019 (UTC).
4. Support --Guettarda 03:07, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
5. Support --Johnuniq 09:14, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
6. Support --Samsara 10:48, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
7. Support topic ban. --The Duke of Nonsense 21:43, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
8. Support --Grandpallama 14:42, 16 April 2019 (UTC)
9. Support topic-ban. Robert McClenon (talk) 15:39, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

In case anyone missed it, "ජපස" and "jps" are the same user. Also The Anome did not !vote on this proposal. Please don't confuse closing an ANI thread (which is supposed to involve evaluating and reporting what the consensus is) with being part of that consensus. --Guy Macon (talk) 21:07, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

@The Anome: Yes, they did not, and I did not claim they did. However, I did take closing the thread with the comment "Oldstone James has taken to heart the advice given, resolving the problem that required the topic ban in the first place" as meaning they did not think a topic ban was necessary. I can't exclude the possibility that I'm simply being biased, though. The best way of finding out would be to ask user:The Anome themselves.^Ol^Ja 22:01, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment: I was pretty discouraged by this. I don't see that Oldstone James has run this escalation by his proposed mentor. jps (talk) 20:03, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
  • Let me take this opportunity to state/clarify that I think the ban is necessary. Starting yet another fire in a new venue is starting to make this whole affair rather unbearable, and OJ was under no duress to do so. Samsara 21:38, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

There is an edit war going on at Genesis creation narrative with plenty of blame to spread around.

• 20:07, 22 March 2019 [140] In this edit, Oldstone James makes a bold edit, changing a claim that reading the Genesis creation narrative as history rather than theology is misreading it, to a claim that either reading is valid. No problems so far; this is the B in BRD.
• 09:42, 19 April 2019 [141] Pico reverts Oldstone James. This is also fine; it it the R in BRD.
• 10:28, 19 April 2019 (UTC) [142] BRR instead of BRD.
• Revision as of 10:39, 19 April 2019 [143] Theroadislong reverts Oldstone James. BRRR.
• 11:01, 19 April 2019 (UTC) The edit/revert is first discussed on the talk page (Initiated by Theroadislong, not by Oldstone James. An extensive ond ongoing discussion ensues, with no agreement so far. BRRRD.
• 17:42, 19 April 2019 (UTC) [144] Oldstone James makes an unrelated edit that improves the wording without changing the meaning. Nothing wrong at all with doing this. Another B
• 22:59, 19 April 2019 (UTC) [145] Pico reverts Oldstone James and another editor. No good explanation for the revert. BR.
• 23:41, 19 April 2019 [146] Oldstone James reverts Pico. BRR.
• 04:59, 20 April 2019 [147] Pico reverts Oldstone James. BRRR,
• 13:06, 20 April 2019 [148] Oldstone James make a very different edit. Definitely not a revert. B.
• 20:22, 20 April 2019 [149] ජපස /jps reverts Oldstone James. BR.
• 21:07, 20 April 2019 [150] Oldstone James reverts ජපස /jps BRR.
• 21:15, 20 April 2019 [151] Theroadislong posts an EW warning on Oldstone James' talk page
• 21:24, 20 April 2019 [152] Oldstone James self-reverts. This converts the previous BRR to BR.

While this ANI report is about Oldstone James, it sure looks to me that some of the other editors on that page are worth looking at. --Guy Macon (talk) 23:21, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Guy, if I can just comment since I'm mentioned: you say that I didn't give an adequate reason for my revert on 22:59, 19 April 2019, so I'll explain here: Oldstone James had made a minor edit on a point of grammar, which I found problematic because it broke the link with the preceding sentence; at this point another editor, Epiphyllumlover, made an edit which had nothing to do with Oldstone James's edits but was substantive and looked like leading to yet another long thread on the talk page. I felt it would better to avoid that (we have only so much time and energy) and so reverted with a request (I said "please") for editors to refrain from editing for a while. I'm trying to preserve the article at the last stable stage. But, if my editing is a problem, I'll offer to stay out of it for a week or two.PiCo (talk) 00:39, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

As the "proposed mentor," I'll offer a few thoughts:

• jps commented that he Example text and that he doesn't see that Oldstone James has run this escalation by his proposed mentor. I have already encouraged OJ to use dispute resolution procedures, so I see a positive in the approach taken. I wasn't consulted, but then with no agreement in place, I also see no obligation. To me, moving to DRN is reasonable in theory. Without looking in detail, I can't comment on it being wise, but it certainly better than edit warring. I also note that GM's summary above shows edit warring behaviours from several editors and the self-revert to return from "BRR" to "BR" (as GM puts it) shows willingness to follow policy.
• Guy Macon and Oldstone James, you have both offered summaries to assist the closer. No doubt your intentions are good, but neither of you is exactly an unbiased observer. I would like to see more thoughts on mentorship from contributors to this thread (including those who expressed views on a topic ban) and anyone else who cares to comment. I'm not trying to delay the close, but there is a considerable difference between a mentor arrangement agreed solely between me and OJ and one backed by ANI with agreed parameters.
• I would especially welcome input from Bishonen, both because I respect her and because she has considerable experience.
• OJ, a minor quibble: you wrote that you, me and jps agree that mentorship would solve the problem. I am saying I'm willing to try mentorship, but am not certain whether it will work. I hope it can solve the problem, and I believe that it may solve the problem, but there is no certainty. I do not presume to speak for jps, but I'll be surprised if he doesn't have a similar view. For it to work, you need to be willing to adapt, I need to successfully answer your questions / explain what you don't understand, etc. Since the idea was first raised, I've seen some positive / encouraging signs, and also some problems. I've considered posting a formal oppose to the proposal, noting progress and invoking WP:ROPE to say it is worth allowing you the space to demonstrate your developing approach... but have ultimately not done that as real life has limited my on-wiki time meaning there is a lot to catch up on. OJ, I believe you have skills to be a good Wikipedian – I would not be willing to offer my time if I thought otherwise. To be a valued contributor, however, requires the ability to work with others when controversy arises, it requires a commitment to content that aligns with policy (which can be a problem when self-confidence and belief leads to advocacy) and the skills for encyclopaedic writing that is a distinct style of its own, and it is helped by the judgement to know when to step away or concede.
• I think OJ has demonstrated the willingness to change and reassess his approach in the discussions that have started at his talk page. I think he has tried to respond to Guy Macon's comments earlier in the sub-section preceding this one. I am disappointed that Guy has not given more acknowledgement of that, though I recognise his right to his views... and I do thank him for the summary immediately above noting the edit war involving multiple editors, it shows the sort of objective description that is helpful.
• Taking all the evidence, I cannot support a topic ban being imposed. If a mentoring arrangement is to be agreed, I would rather it has input from others on parameters, discussion with OJ and me, and be formally recorded in a close. Consequently, a close for a mentorship to be sorted out in a new sub-section is a reasonable way forward. EdChem (talk) 01:14, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

jps commented that he Example text? (smile) --Guy Macon (talk) 18:42, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

In principle, nothing wrong with DRN, but given the dramah that has been going on, it would have been nice if he had asked on the talkpage whether we would all like to do this first. It feels pretty WP:GAME-y, is all, especially when the discussion is ongoing. Plus, I hate WP:DRN. It doesn't work when people who are involved in the dispute are not a fan of the venue you're dragging them. jps (talk) 01:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Asking on the talk page would have be a suitable courtesy, no doubt. Starting it before asking for a self-requested block was an, umm, interesting choice too. EdChem (talk) 01:45, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, this is just added concern for me. Don't get me wrong, I love me some requested blocks, but it seems to me it is a good idea to think about other people you have involved in various discussions before slamming the door behind you. At least have the courtesy of closing your request if you're going to abandon the entire venue? Sigh. jps (talk) 02:49, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I acknowledge Oldstone James' willingness to change. I think he is sincere. What I don't believe is that OJ is able to change at this time. I think that a topic ban will tell us two things: [1] Is Oldstone James able to edit productively in other areas? [2] Will the bad behavior by other editors on the creationism pages continue without Oldstone James? --Guy Macon (talk) 08:04, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Having been on the receiving end of such an interrogation, I personally refuse to sit in judgment who is able to change and who is not. Also, I think there is perhaps a two steps forward, one step back approach towards improvement that tends to occur in such matters. I'm not as convinced as you are that there is an epidemic of "bad behavior" on the creationism pages. jps (talk) 11:36, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Thank you for the kind words, EdChem. I don't see how this thread can be closed with anything other than an indefinite topic ban from creationism and all related pages, in view of the robust consensus for such a ban. Closing without instituting a topic ban would be an egregious supervote IMO. Neither a mentor nor a self-requested block can change this. I appreciate your kindness in offering to mentor the user, EdChem, and I should think he well would need a mentor even with a topic ban. What he needs to do during the topic ban, which preferably shouldn't be appealed before six months have passed, is edit in other areas, and do it without getting into trouble. The more and better he edits other areas, and also edits in Wikipedia's sister projects (which he is free to do in all areas, as a topic ban here would not apply to them), the better his chances of having the topic ban lifted if and when he appeals it. A mentor can help him do this, assuming that he's willing to learn. Bishonen | talk 15:53, 21 April 2019 (UTC).
  • Thank you for responding, Bishonen. I was wondering more about your view of mentorship and the specific boundaries that I'd suggested, to be honest, and whether it is wise. I asked before he asked for the block, though, and that decision from OJ changes the landscape, as far as I can see.  :( EdChem (talk) 05:17, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• • Well, if you're still considering it, EdChem, there should preferably be an explicit agreement that either of you can end the mentorship at any time if it becomes burdensome, and that there will be no interrogation about why either party is ending it. Obviously it's already a fact that mentor and mentee can end at any time, but having a reminder of it spelled out may be useful. And you may need to set yourself some limits on how much you'll do, Ed, whether explicitly or just in your head. OJ says above that "Furthermore, I won't have to spend nearly as much time justifying my points when there is only one user I can communicate my points to,", and that sounds like a misconception on his part that he'd be either obliged or encouraged to talk only to you. If he does that, it might devour your Wikipedia time fast. Perhaps I misunderstood him.

A helpful part of mentorship can be that anybody who wants to warn or advise OJ alerts you to the issue, Ed, by copying to you, or indeed approaching you first. A prominent note to this effect on OJ's page could be useful.

The essay Wikipedia:Mentorship seems pretty good to me. The "Involuntary mentorship" section in it, about mentoring as an alternative to sanctions, shouldn't come into play here IMO (note the final sentence in the section). In other words, I believe mentoring OJ should be a purely informal arrangement between the two of you, based on trust, and not a replacement for a TBAN or other sanction. Consequently it needn't be mentioned as a sanction or condition in the close of this thread, or logged anywhere. As for whether it would be wise for you to take on mentorship of OJ.. you can probably tell I have some doubts. And yes indeed, somebody please close, per below! Bishonen | talk 12:30, 22 April 2019 (UTC).

• Again, I call for someone to make a decision and close this. Further discussion will not change the result. --Guy Macon (talk) 01:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Oldstone James now has a self-requested 1 month block

He requested this 11 hours ago and User:Black Kite agreed to it. I was one of the Admins he asked to do it but Black Kite beat me to it. Doug Weller talk 10:04, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

...And now, 14 hours after being blocked, he has submitted an unblock appeal on UTRS. [153] --Guy Macon (talk) 15:26, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

@Guy Macon: No, it was a fake unblock request, evidently we've been getting these. Doug Weller talk 16:05, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment Just when it looked like a topic ban was about to be imposed OJ gets a dose of the vapours and asks to be blocked for a month. Well fine, they're not causing any disruption for that time, however I strongly recomend that we continue to impose an indef topic ban on creationism articles, broadly construed, so that when they return to editing we don't get another episode of their behaviour and find ourelves involved in another massive time sink here. I should not have to point out that there is a pretty clear consensus for this sort of a TB, the voluntary one month block does not alter that fact. - Nick Thorne ^talk 02:40, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• I had hoped that consensus might evolve to support a mentorship arrangement, but having now requested a block for a month, OJ can't participate in advancing that approach or assuaging concerns. In these circumstances, with a consensus clear, I can see no alternative tan to close this discussion in line with that consensus. I agree with Bishonen that any other close would be a supervote, which is not appropriate, and with Guy Macon and Nick Thorne that OJ's self-requested block should not lead to holding open this thread nor does it alter the existing consensus. I support Guy Macon's call for an uninvolved administrator to assess consensus and close this discussion accordingly. EdChem (talk) 05:23, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• Comment - I am deeply cynical of requests for self-requested blocks, which are, first, an admission by the requester that they have no self-control, and, second, a device to game the resolution of a conduct dispute. At this point the only question in my mind is whether to impose the topic-ban or to impose a site-ban. In case of doubt, do the less drastic and impose the topic-ban. Robert McClenon (talk) 15:39, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Refusing to acknowledge a consensus

For some time now, a lengthy debate has been going on at WikiProject World Rally. It has been through article talk pages and a DRN and ultimately an RfC. The RfC expired this past week and I implemented changes to one of the affected articles based on the results. However, Pelmeen10 subsequently reverted those changes, claiming that "no such consensus had been reached". However, I believe that it is evident from the RfC discussion that the consensus does exist—though perhaps not unanimously—and that Pelmeen10 is deliberately misrepresenting things to prevent it from being implemented. Here are some of the things he has said in the RfC thread since it closed:

"Most of the people involved in this discussion were against, including me."

This is incorrect. There were only six people involved in the discussion, and three of them voiced support for the proposed change. Pelmeen10 supported a different change, while another editor outright opposed it and the final editor only pointed out that Pelmeen10's proposal did not satisfy WP:MOSACCESS.

"This whole Rfc was so wrongly started."

I do not know what he means by this. The RfC was started as a suggestion of the DRN and as the person who started it, I did not receive any notification that I had not followed the procedure correctly.

"Like there is only 3 possible ways to go."

Again, I'm not sure what he means by this. The RfC was open for a month and there was ample opportunity to put forward proposals. I limited it to three because I could not think of any more.

"Most people actually preferred not to make any changes."

Again, this is incorrect. Pelmeen10 himself suggested minor changes and three editors supported completely reworking the table.

"Anyway, this discussion has not been closed yet."

A bot removed the RfC template after 30 days, taking the RfC off the list of active discussions. The discussion itself had run its course two weeks previously.

All in all, I believe that a consensus has been formed as the result of the RfC. Pelmeen10 is refusing to acknowledge it and has taken to misrepresenting things to justify reverting edits he disagreed with. Mclarenfan17 (talk) 22:07, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

So, I'm pretty new here edited, but I think in this situation, where the issue is contentious or consensus may not be clear, you might want to request a formal closure by an uninvolved editor or admin at WP:ANRFC. Just letting the rfc template expire doesn't appear to have created a solution. There's also no actual time limit on RfCs, so you could just add the tag back for a while. Safrolic (talk) 06:21, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

@Safrolic — I'm actually not that new. I used to post under another name and had 35,000+ edits before I forgot my password and had to create a new account. This issue has been to multiple talk pages, DRN and now an RfC. The time has come to move things along. By his own admission, Pelmeen10 forgot about the RfC discussion for two weeks, by which time the initial 30 days had elapsed so I don't think he can reasonably claim that the discussion is not only unresolved, but that there is no consensus. I will take things to ANRFC, but given how he has misrepresented the situation by claiming no-one supported the proposal, I think ANI is an appropriate place to raise the issue. Mclarenfan17 (talk) 07:03, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Wow, awkward, sorry about that. Safrolic (talk) 07:07, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

That Rfc was the continuation of discussions that happened at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_World_Rally#Entry_list, Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_World_Rally#Entries_table, Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_World_Rally#Discussion_of_Table_Format, Talk:2019_World_Rally_Championship#Entry_table. You received more opposition than support in those discussions, so claiming that your suggestion was the consensus is false. Adding the tag back or trying the Request for closure are both good solutions. Pelmeen10 (talk) 18:46, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Prior discussions are not a part of the RfC. You cannot use them to circumvent an RfC discussion. If you could, it would be too easy for editors to oppose changes by citing previous discussions regardless of how old they are or how any participants in those discussions currently regard the issue. Mclarenfan17 (talk) 21:36, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I have, only eight days late, reviewed the results of the RFC. I am neutral, and originally tried to moderate the content issue at DRN but then closed that dispute as needing the RFC. I copied the table formats from the sandbox to the talk page so that the sandbox can be reused (after all, it's a sandbox). Unfortunately, the format of the RFC is confusing, and I can't come up with a consensus. I can close it with a finding to that effect, or I can leave it for someone else to close, or it can just go without a formal close, but I can't make any progress. You can ask for a formal closure at WP:ANRFC, and you might get one, or the closer might be at as much of a loss as I was as the would-be closer. Robert McClenon (talk) 21:00, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

My main concern at this point is what happens when a consensus is formed. How can we trust Pelmeen10 to honour it? He has clearly misrepresented the discussion to justify opposing a consensus; when that was pointed out, he started trying to drag the opinions of editors from previous discussions into the RfC—even though one editor (who is involved in the RfC) has changed his opinion in the past few months. He has even admitted to forgetting about the discussion, only to then claim that the discussion is ongoing. There is obvious support for one table format in the RfC, but Pelmeen10's actions appear to be a deliberate attempt to drag the discussion out and prevent a consensus from being formed. When a consensus is finally formed, I have no confidence that he will respect it based on this behaviour. Mclarenfan17 (talk) 00:00, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Resumption of Campaign - Please Resolve

User:Mclarenfan17 has now moved the campaign back to the article talk page, and is arguing there that there is a consensus. Since they opened this thread, this has aspects of forum shopping. I may be the "wrong" editor for this dispute, because I initially sent the disputant parties off to an RFC, but the resultant RFC is a mess, and I can't tease a consensus out of it. Maybe a wiser closer than I can resolve it, but if User:Mclarenfan17 keeps insisting that there is a consensus, in spite of vocal disagreement, then my own opinion is that Mclarenfan17 is trying to game the system and force a consensus. Can an uninvolved administrator please either find some consensus, or close the RFC with a finding that a new RFC is needed, or something? My own opinion, which is only my opinion, is that User:Mclarenfan17 bungled the RFC and it needs to be restarted. In any case, by insisting that there is a consensus when there clearly is not a consensus, they are being stubborn, and something needs to be done. Robert McClenon (talk) 15:53, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Lute88 & Galassi

Lute88 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
Galassi (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Quite a long time it is known that one of these accounts is a sockpuppet. See discussions: Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/Lute88 of 2008, Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Lute88/Archive of 2017. But strangely, no measures have been taken so far. In the meantime they continue to support each other. For example, Galassi reverting edits of the user Αντικαθεστωτικός in the one article: [154] and Lute88 reverting the same user in the mentioned article: [155] It seems to me, that Lute88 account is usually used in a more aggressive manner. Thus, today, Galassi had reverted my edit, but then he made self-revert. But then, suddenly, Lute88 made a revert again: [156] This is some kind of abnormal situation. So, I think it will be better to block the Lute88 account, so that Galassi does not feel free from compliance with the rules of Wikipedia.--Nicoljaus (talk) 22:33, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

You should file a case then at SPI if sockpuppetry is the main problem. 2601:1C0:6D00:845:A1CC:ECC6:F0C4:44F4 (talk) 05:01, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

As far as I can see, the question has already been disassembled at SPI in 2017. But perhaps it’s worth finding out why users with dynamic IP of 2601 series and disruptive behavior ( [157], [158]) and Lute88 support each other so often.--Nicoljaus (talk) 06:08, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, well it appears it was already established that Lute88 and Galassi share an IP address, so any major collusion between the accounts would obviously be a possible matter of either sock or meat puppetry. Pinging @Bbb23:, the original checkuser at the SPI. Black Kite (talk) 08:42, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I also have to point out that Galassi was put under an indefinite revert limitation back in 2011 under Eastern Europe DS, which they seem to have ignored routinely while I wasn't watching closely. Fut.Perf. ☼ 08:49, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

And my past interactions with Lute88 suggest that they should be put under a similar limitation, if not topic-banned from EE topics at all.--Ymblanter (talk) 08:53, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree. Totally inpolite. I don't understand why he does such things. He has been reverting everything i wrote, but i didn't understand that he was the same person. Now i known. thank you. Αντικαθεστωτικός (talk) 16:26, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

It should not be arxived without a summary, even if the summary is that nothing should be done at this point, or that ANI is not a right venue.--Ymblanter (talk) 05:46, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

To prevent automatic archivation--Ymblanter (talk) 07:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• User Nicoljaus was blocked for harassment. G. and L. are two different people. Yes, they edited the same page. But there was no anything problematic with their edits on this page, in terms of content or anything else. Please close this thread. My very best wishes (talk) 15:19, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Regarding an edit to "Mera Joota Hai Japani"

I need to edit the title page of the Japanese Wikipedia about a song "Mera Joota Hai Japani" as I firmly believe that オイラの靴は日本製,このズボンは英国製,頭の赤い帽子はロシア製 and でも心はインド製 are the incorrect translations of "Mera Joota Hai Japani, Yeh Patloon Inglistani, Sar Pe Lal Topi Rusi, and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani" and 私の靴が日本語,この ズボン が イギリスタン語,頭 の 赤い 帽子 が ロシア語 and しかし 心 が ヒンドスタン語 are the correct translations of "Mera Joota Hai Japani, Yeh Patloon Inglistani, Sar Pe Lal Topi Rusi, and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani", so I want to replace the former lyrics with the latter lyrics, but the other few editors are not letting me edit this page — Preceding unsigned comment added by 47.8.250.238 (talk) 06:04, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

• Unfortunately the English and Japanese Wikipedias are completely different things, so unless a ja.wiki admin happens to read this, there's nothing we can do for you here. Black Kite (talk) 08:39, 16 April 2019 (UTC)
• Stop forum-shopping. You've asked at WP:AN ([159] and [160]), you've asked at WP:DRN ([161]), you've been relentlessly harassing us in #wikipedia-en-help. We are not going to do as you ask, since what you're demanding someone do is replace an accurate translation with a "blind idiot" machine translation. You have repeatedly been pointed to ja.wp and relaated IRC channels yet from all appearances you straight-up refuse to use them (or, more likely, you cannot use them). —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 09:50, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

  I stand corrected. You just revert off adverse responces. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 09:57, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

  One almost has to admire the chutzpah of responding to an accusation of reverting adverse responses by reverting it. —Cryptic 10:32, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

  Honestly, this guy's starting to torque me off. He's been forum-shopping on here and on IRC for the past week, and his refusal to listen to anyone is such that he's ban-on-sight if he shows up in -en-help (though this is only part of the issue; he also, if on long enough, starts randomly pinging people). I'm fearing that it may ultimately take rangeblocks of his ranges on en.wp and ja.wp to get him to stop this. He's not convincing anyone. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 10:38, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

You both are wrong my friends,I am not forum-shopping at all,it's true that I've asked at the Administrators' Noticeboard of the English Wikipedia at the Incidents' section to clarify the difference between reviews,and also that I've asked it at the Dispute Resolution Noticeboard of the English Wikipedia as you are saying,I am not at all relentlessly harassing you in the Help Channel of the English Wikipedia,Of course you are going to do as I ask,since what I'm demanding someone to do is to replace replace a wrong translation with a translation I created myself,the reason for my not using ja.wp and all related IRC channels is that nobody is there for helping me with this matter,It's not that I straight-up refuse to use them or I simply "cannot" use them when pointed there,so if it stands more likely for you,then improve your "appearances", I might revert off adverse responses,there is no "chutzpah" in responding to such bogus kind of accusations,Finally I'm not starting to torque you off,I've been neither forum-shopping here nor on IRC for the past week,I don't have any refusal to listen to anyone so it's useless to ban me on sight when I'm on the Help Channel of the English Wikipedia,I often start randomly pinging people if on long enough just for getting help regarding this issue,Obviously I am convincing everyone so if you fear that it may ultimately take rangeblocks of my ranges on en.wp and ja.wp to get me to stop this,that is nonsense

"Replace a wrong translation" is an outright lie. Native Japanese speakers at ja.wp have specifically told you the translation you want to put in is gibberish, and your responce to that, as detailed above, is to revert off the rebuttal which explains why your translation is incorrect. And yes, you have been relentlessly pestering -en-help, and the channel operators there can back me up on that, given that they're the ones who have to send you packing because of your continued refusal to listen to anyone who knows what the hell they're saying, your constant reverting of rebuttals to anything you say, and your tendency to mass-ping people if the helpers in channel refuse to jump aat your command. You've had two of your IPs blocked within the past day for editing or reverting people's comments on en.wp pages, you've forced ja.wp to semi-protect the article in question and their non-Japanese-speakers help page as a direct result of your sterile obstinance, and you are ban-on-sight if you show up in -en-help because you refuse to listen to anything us helpers have to say that isn't "How high?" Darklords show more contrition and self-awareness than this, and that isn't a compliment on their part, either. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 07:02, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

While we're at it, you have also been, on your IPv4 address, reverting off my explanation of the situation at the DRN thread you started. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 08:51, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

When you find yourself in a hole, the best course of aaction is to stop digging. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 05:04, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• Move to close, and block obvious troll Can someone just close this and block the blatant troll who opened it for however long we normally block blatantly NOTHERE trolls/vandals who are editing from IPs and so can't be indeffed? The IP either believes that Google Translate (or whatever) created a better Japanese translation of whatever that text in the lead is than an actual human, despite the text being gibberish, or knows perfectly well that the text is gibberish. Hijiri 88 (聖やや) 02:21, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

  Based on what I've been seeing IP-wise you'd need rangeblocks on a v4 and one or two v6s, just based off edits made to en and ja. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 03:02, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• Close and block, per Hijiri. I don't agree with everything expressed there, but I trust their expertise. Give the IP some time to cool off and consider how they could improve their edits. If that's possible. Symmachus Auxiliarus (talk) 23:43, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Accusation of undisclosed WP:PAID editing / large scale reversion of edits

This morning, I noticed that a new account, User:Renmap0o, was reverting lots of edits by Britishfinance with identical edit summaries - see for example this diff, but there are numerous others with identical edit summaries. I reverted, and left a note on their talk page saying that the username alone wasn't a valid reason to revert their edits - see the discussion at User talk:Renmap0o.

Renmap0o responded by noting that there was an article in the Irish Times accusing Britishfinance of making numerous paid edits - there is a link in the user page discussion linked to above, and on investigation I found several other such article - see this, this and this.

I want to be clear that I have no view about whether Britishfinance has indeed been engaging in paid editing - British and Irish financial matters are not areas I have much expertise in, and I don't feel qualified to judge whether their edits are indeed biased or suggest paid editing. I do note that Britishfinance has been around a while, has a clean block log, and seems to have been involved in editing in lots of areas aside from finance. Nevertheless, given the accusations that Renmap0o has been making, the mass reverting (which I have got myself involved in by unreverting), and the Irish Times articles, I thought I should bring the matter here for consideration. I will notify both users now. GirthSummit _(blether) 15:49, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Girth Summit, WP:COIN is probably the most appropriate board. ∯WBG^converse 16:03, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Girth Summit, WP:COIN is probably the most appropriate board. ∯WBG^converse 16:06, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm sensing a recommendation that WP:COIN might be the most appropriate board. EEng 19:53, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I will make my main comment below, per normal conversation flow practice, but want to intervene here to correct an inaccuracy - neither the Irish Times ("IDA Ireland has paid for changes to Wikipedia pages about itself and its chief executive") nor the Times are, as stated to have been stated, "accusing Britishfinance of making numerous paid edits" - this simply is not in the articles, with the Times simply noting the editor's level of activity and topics (but the subtitle of the article, without much grounding, does suggest the editor was "attacking Ireland's probity"). So the whole question of paid editing / COIN is poorly based - what the Times touches on is potential negative bias.SeoR (talk) 22:25, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Girth Summit, I feel this is unfair to me. A new user has entered WP today and been blanking large sections of tax-related articles and PROD'ing other articles. The newspaper article he is quoting I have discussed on my talk page with Smallbones. The article is not about my bias per se, but about the Irish IDA Ireland paying other editors to make their CEO, Martin Shanahan look good. I had the unfortunate experience to come across these paid editors a few months ago (see the Martin Shanahan talk page), and they accused me of bias and bath faith. I left that page and never returned to it.

I am not a paid editor and nor am I on WP for conflict/warring. I am fully happy to have any WP:COIN review on my work. While many of my WP articles I wrote in my first 6 months were not WP proper standard, I believe that I am writing good WP articles now, and I re-written almost every earlier article I wrote (still a few to finish; just did Tax inversion last night). My tax-related editing uses the highest quality tax academic sources (you can see on Double Irish arrangement, which the Council on Foreign Relations noted as being the "best source" on these tax schemes, noted on its talk page). Just a few days ago, Nobel prize-winning Paul Krugman cited my re-write of Leprechaun economics on this twitter feed (see its talk page).

I am not an FA/GA ranked WP editor (yet), but I think I am doing very good work on bringing WP's tax-related articles to good academic quality. The editor above is a vandal with an agenda that has nothing to do with building good tax articles on WP. Also note, I am not a tax-SPA, per my user page, I have lots of other non-tax articles. Britishfinance (talk) 16:27, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Britishfinance I'm sorry that you feel this report was unfair. To be clear, I am not saying that I agree with the accusation - I did note, in my initial post above, your clean block log and your extensive work in areas outside finance. I'm happy to reiterate that, aside from the newspaper articles (which themselves offer no evidence about you), I have no reason to doubt your good faith or to suspect you of being a paid editor. I just thought that, given the aspersions that had been cast, the new user's reverts and my own unreverts, a review of the situation by third parties may be in order.

Thanks for the suggestion WBG - if I was confident that there was actually a COI problem here, I would have raised a report at COIN. As it is, I am not certain whether the problem is with Britishfinance's work, or whether there is a behavioural problem with User:Renmap0o's casting aspersions and hounding Britishfinance. GirthSummit _(blether) 17:10, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Pinging Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and QuiteUnusual, since they have also been involved in undoing some of Renmap0s's reverts and PRODs and may wish to comment. GirthSummit _(blether) 17:26, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Regarding the articles created and vast edits by BritishFinance. I don't contest that the user has other articles, nor that they don't have citations for the information. It's designed in a way to look like it's within the rules, but its effectively a vast web of propaganda type posts and one-sided information presented to destroy Ireland's reputation internationally. For example, the user might edit the Wikipedia entry/article on tax havens, filling it with information referring to Ireland, pictures of Ireland and slip in examples which also refer to Ireland. Many articles seem to have been corrupted by the user in this way. This user has made 40k+ edits with a big focus being discrediting Ireland in Wikipedia entries. The user has created many pages/articles labeling Ireland as a tax haven and describing the so-called schemes. Then, linking their articles to the other main pages referring to Ireland. It's a vast system and complex web of misinformation. Ireland is primarily referred to as tax haven by eccentric journalists. It's not on the standard lists. It doesn't even have the lowest corporate tax rate in Europe. Nine countries have lower, two have the same and seven are within 5% of the Irish rate. There is obviously some controversy over tax schemes, in not just Ireland, but in many countries worldwide. The user's posts and edits are designed to portray Ireland as not just a tax haven, but the worlds worst offender in the eyes of the international community. Hopefully, the journalists (or authorities) blow open the story of who is really behind this account. It's clearly politically motivated, with a high conflict of interest. If you have any doubt about this, just look at the pages created by the user, links they added and the edits they did. Renmap0o 17:27, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

The above sounds like the same bad faith and conspiracy-theory type arguments that the IDA Ireland COI marketing team made to me on the Martin Shanahan talk page. No other tax haven-type jurisdiction has ever made a bad edit to the main WP tax haven-type articles in my time, not one; however, we have had several aggressive edits on the Irish-related content. The irony is that the newspaper articles quoted above, if you read them properly, really concern the fact that IDA Ireland pays editors to make Ireland look good tax-wise on WP. And judging by the PROMO/POV state of the articles when I got to them, they got value for money. The issue exploded when Paddy Cosgrave tweeted on this COI-UDP on his twitter feed: here here.

Google "Ireland tax haven" and you get thousands of Tier 1 RS newspapers on the subject (i.e. it is WP:GNG notable). However, my edits try and avoid even that kind of RS where possible as it leads to WP:SYN; I instead focus on the most cited academic papers on tax-issues from the most cited authors. I can see from WP tax articles that I have edited on that such academic references used to exist, but the articles became so broken from POV editors fighting both sides of the debate. My goal is to restore the encyclopedic integrity of these articles and present the facts as they are. Unfortunately, these facts, as they pertain to Ireland, attract some very inappropriate editing and allegations. Britishfinance (talk) 18:10, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Since I was mentioned awhile back, I'll add some background. I just saw the article in The Times and in it the IDA effectively accused Britishfinance of being a paid editor. NOt the usual stuff you see in the papers about Wikipedia. Following my usual practice when paid editing is suspected I just asked Britishfinance whether he was paid or not (Note, I don't accuse anybody when I ask these questions. It does amaze me how often - one way or another - that paid editors will expose themselves when asked. Britishfinance's answer pretty much satisfied me that he wasn't. There was none of the usual paid editor song and dance that usually accompanies a denial. I'd said that I'd likely put a notice at WP:COIN if I found anything further, so I looked for the usual indications of paid editing (they are usually pretty obvious, but not 100% proof of course) I didn't find anything, so I didn't post anything to WP:COIN. Of course I did notice that User:Corecontent and User:IDAComms had each declared, after some prodding and poking, that they were being paid by IDA Ireland, and I'm still amazed they weren't dealt with more harshly. It looks like sockpuppetting to me. I suppose IDAComms was only blocked for a Username violation because of his total ignorance of our rules.

I did send a note to one of the journalists involved saying that I though the accusations against Britishfinance looked to be completely out of line. He responded with a question, so I went back and checked more carefully on the public pages where this type of thing can be investigated. There's nothing that I can see that suggests User:Britishfinance is a paid editor. If @Britishfinance: would like, I'll give any reporter from any respectable paper the basic public data and my reading of it and I do think that would clear his username. Please note that my investigations into this type of thing have been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal and the Times of Israel. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 18:52, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

@Smallbones: I would be comfortable with you sending on public information and your comments to the reporter. appreciate that. Britishfinance (talk) 18:57, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

• I see no evidence at all that Britishfinance is a paid editor, but plenty of evidence that there has been paid editing on behalf of some Irish government organisations. Of course absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so, as far as anyone else is concerned, there is just as much chance that Britishfinance is paid as that I am, but what is needed is evidence. Phil Bridger (talk) 19:07, 16 April 2019 (UTC)
• I see nothing in Britishfinance's edits that make me think paid editor. When I hear another editor claiming that Britishfinance's edits are part of a "vast web of propaganda type posts and one-sided information presented to destroy Ireland's reputation internationally," that makes me wonder about that editor's agenda, though. I'm thinking WP:Boomerang here. BubbaJoe123456 (talk) 19:53, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Regardless of whether the user, Britishfinance is paid or not, it appears to be highly politically motivated with questionable links. It is not about presenting information in an unbiased way, but a concerted effort to push a political view and present things in a deeply negative light, based on their agenda. The Times in the UK and other reputable publications have linked the account to Paddy Cosgrave, asserting he is manipulating Wikipedia entries for a political campaign against tax systems. I don't know if that is true, but I can see clearly the true purpose of the account, the pages/links created and edits are primarily political purposes and misinformation. His ad campaign and page has just been banned on facebook for these reasons. Even if it is not this person, its clearly a user that is not acting in an honest way, but trying to manipulate perceptions and the reputation of a country based on their own agenda. Renmap0o 19:45, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Do not attempt to OUT other editors by associating an account with a real life name. Attepmts to out others warrant something rather more severe than Boomerangs.Nigel Ish (talk) 20:03, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

Sorry, but it's all in the public domain anyway. The name associated and that users attempts at manipulating Wikipedia articles for their political purposes is all over the media User:Renmap0o, 20:42, 16th April (UTC)

I don't think Renmap0o is claiming that Britishfinance is Paddy Cosgrave, but that these two individuals may be connected in some way. The media has already been speculating about this in the public domain. These allegations have been made without any hard evidence and therefore cannot be taken seriously by the community. Unless Renmap0o can produce clear evidence that establishes a pattern of POVpushing and biased editing, there is nothing more we can do here. Continuous badgering over the same issue without production of evidence will not be taken seriously or looked at kindly either. It's entirely possible that there may be some NPOV issues with articles whose latest versions Britishfinance has primarily authored (mainly because there were no other editors to challenge their edits), but based on my limited review of Base erosion and profit shifting and Double Irish arrangement, I have not seen any egregious instances of POVpushing. On the contrary, I have benefited from perusing at least these two articles in my professional capacity. — Nearly Headless Nick {c} 20:50, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

I find some of the above, and the attempted interference with several articles, disturbing. First, on the paid editing, I cannot find any actual direct accusation against Britishfinance, rather there is renewed coverage of editing by IDA staff and an agency employed by IDA Ireland. But even if there were such an accusation, I would find it wildly improbable. I noticed Britishfinance's editing in their first few weeks on the encyclopedia, and even then their professional knowledge of finance, and their approach to editing, with a large number of small incremental edits (hence the large totals - this is one editing pattern in Wikipedia, with others dropping one massive edit changing many kb), were clear. The editor in question, as it happens, semi-retired in late March, a pity, but during their 13 months of Wikipedia activity, they made a decent contribution to a whole range of areas. We need editors like this, and I hope the community takes a seriously dim view of unfounded allegations thrown about by new single-purpose accounts against people with solid track records. I see no evidence for statements like "The Times in the UK and other reputable publications have linked the account to Paddy Cosgrave" - as far as I can see, Cosgrave just referenced some articles in recent days, but they were edited months ago, or more. To me the edits themselves had and have the look of "insider" - not politically motivated, but the knowledge of someone in the legal, tax management or accounting professions. We don't need to know, but we can note that the user, I think in an early discussion about their chosen username, disclosed "finance professional" and lately mentioned that they had been able to be so active as they had had some time off mainstream work (great that Wikipedia got a good chunk of said time - many of us could use more time to work on the project not taken from after-bedtime evenings, lunch, etc.). I also see no evidence of special anti-Irish bias - the use of Ireland's tax regime by various corporate entities is well-known for decades, is the topic of much writing and debate, and these tactics are important to many large entities (the 13+ billion Apple episode is not a random thing). And Britishfinance has also edited general "tax management" articles, which, if read, make clear that many other countries accommodate some "tax tactics" - see deals done by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, etc. As the new user today notes, Ireland is far from the bottom of the corporate tax league on the base rate - but I see no evidence that Britishfinance ever said any such thing anyway. What they and other editors did explain was how one might, and many do, achieve effective near-zero tax liabilities. All in all, this seems a clear case of unjustified attack, and, ironically, attempted biased editing.SeoR (talk) 22:50, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

The attacks against Britishfinance by a newly created, potentially paid SPA and the rumors spun by some Irish media outlets don't exactly strike me as significant. In fact, the articles doesn't accuse him of paid or COI editing at all, its just an Irish government spokesman fuming about his writings on Ireland's unorthodox tax structures and the use of these structures by large multinationals to avoid paying loads of European taxes. Parroting these accusations is embarrassing, and this should not have been brought up without better evidence. Additionally, even attempting to connect a user to an identity is a violation of WP:OUT and redacting the name from this noticeboard is something admins with more experience on the outing policy should consider. Finally, given the fact that the Irish government (IDA) has paid for editing to wikipedia, and its statement about that editing mentions BF's editing specifically, I think its entirely possible Renmap0o is carrying out dirty work for his employer by casting aspersions and mass reverting and this report plays right into his hands. SWL36 (talk) 23:14, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

@Renmap0o: there are 2 or 3 not-so-subtle hints above that you have a WP:COI or are a WP:Paid editor. I really do think that it is better to ask clearly - without accusing anybody - if somebody is a paid editor. So, Renmap0o, are you a paid editor and/or do you have any connection to IDA Ireland?

Similarly, are you accusing Britishfinance of being a paid editor? Do you have any evidence of this? Smallbones_(smalltalk) 01:11, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• As far as I can tell, allegations of editorializing were first made in August 2018 on the talk page of the article. The discussion was archived by Britishfinance and can be found here — Talk:Ireland as a tax haven/Archive 1#Highly editorialized content, author appears to have strong anti-Irish bias.. It took me a couple of hours to analyze a section of the article "Ireland as a tax haven", where I found some serious issues. You are welcome to take a look and comment: Talk:Ireland as a tax haven#"Captured state". — Nearly Headless Nick {c} 01:43, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I use two of these articles, and I’d say they’re a good summary. And pretty fair. But anyway, the original point of this notice seems invalid, no Paid Editing or CoI. What’s left might be some work in balancing of tone. For example, Nearly Headless Nick cites two blocks of content. In the first, BritushFinance seems to have been scrupulous in a debate. In the second, Nick may have found room fit textual and POV improvement. But this is not Article Improvement space, is it? 91.193.178.5 (talk) 05:40, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Thus, from Renmap0o, is just embarrassing Conspiracy Theorist rubbish: “It's designed in a way to look like it's within the rules, but its effectively a vast web of propaganda type posts and one-sided information presented to destroy Ireland's reputation internationally.“ Seriously? Propaganda, destroying Ireland’s reputation? All Europe knows about the tax games.91.193.178.5 (talk) 05:43, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

"[...] Nick may have found room fit textual and POV improvement." — No, that's a mischaracterization. The entire section on "Captured state" in Ireland as a tax haven is full of misrepresentations, original research and original synthesis; and I haven't even started looking at the remainder of the article. In any case, I believe there may be a need for a thorough review of these articles, just to be sure. — Nearly Headless Nick {c} 06:41, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I think if you read the discussion referred to at Talk:Ireland as a tax haven/Archive 1#Highly editorialized content, the author appears to have strong anti-Irish bias., you will see that (1) almost all the refs the editor quoted were actually already in the article, and (2) in almost all cases, the refs they quoted proved the editor was wrong in their interpretation. I think reading Talk:Ireland as a tax haven/Archive 1#Highly editorialized content, the author appears to have strong anti-Irish bias., which I protected and archived as help for future discussions, will hopefully show the good-faith lengths I have gone to in responding to this specific article. I am not a perfect WP editor, but I am not a "conspiracy theory" or PAID editor, and I do think my tax-related articles materially improve WP in an area that it is really weak on (the WP Tax Project is largely dead). Per my earlier statements above, Paul Krugman and the Council on Foreign Relations have publically referenced two of them? I will do the same reply to Sir Nicholas comments on the "Captured State" sub-section, which I believe I can resolve (but I appreciate that tighter wording can be used in place), however, I am in a new job and just can't get the time to do just now. Again, I think I deserve some fairness and balance here. Britishfinance (talk) 08:17, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I am an agreement that this is Renmap0o with the problem. I see no specific issues with Britishfinance's work (far from it, it appears to be high quality and well cited). Suggesting a single editor or small group of editors is some how under orders to demolish Ireland's reputation is a huge leap and in any case vastly overrates the power of Wikipedia. No case to answer. QuiteUnusual (talk) 10:04, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Given that Renmap0o has exactly zero contribution to the article space (all of their contributions were reverted), and that all their contribution to other namespaces consists in casting aspersions, it looks to me that this is an appropriate case for a NOTHERE indefinite block.--Ymblanter (talk) 10:14, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@QuiteUnusual and Ymblanter: No doubt Renmap0o's approach to the whole situation was ill-advised, and it's probably because they are not well-acquainted with our project. However, I think there are enough reasons to go ahead with a thorough review of the articles (see Talk:Ireland as a tax haven#"Captured state"). In the meantime, we should AGF with Britishfinance. There is no evidence of WP:COI/WP:PAID, although the possibility of NPOV issues with their edits cannot be completely discounted (see link above). This is a wiki after all and the community has the power to evaluate the edits of its users, including yours and mine. As the Russians would say: doveryai, no proveryai. — Nearly Headless Nick {c} 10:24, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I am never imposed opposed to an investigation but the arguments presented are incredibly weak. E.g, Britishfinance has edited a lot: Lots of people have lots of edits because they have lots of time - it is not an indication that they are paid to edit. Britishfinance only edits on one subject: I see plenty of work that is not even tangentially related to Irish tax system. E.g., this article expansion. Journalists claiming something is biased is hardly a clinching argument given how biased the media is. Etc. QuiteUnusual (talk) 11:08, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@QuiteUnusual: I agree Renmap0o's arguments are weak specially when their allegations of bias are not backed by diffs and links. They should stop with the allegations of paid editing immediately and instead focus on backing their assertions with evidence. Or else, it won't be long before an administrator blocks them. — Nearly Headless Nick {c} 11:18, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@Nearly Headless Nick: I didn't open this discussion of paid editing and am not pursuing it per ce, as its almost impossible to prove anyway. I was discussing the bias in the user's articles/editing which is now well known and commented on in the newspapers, media, radio, several Reddit threads and I believe, even the Irish finance minister commented in recent days. You are correct that the approach was ill-advised and I wasn't familiar enough to go through the correct process. Would you suggest the best approach is gathering clear evidence and starting a discussion in the COI section? Easy to prove given the scale of it, but just time-consuming. @QuiteUnusual: I can see some other work too, but the main focus is “link Ireland and its stakeholders to negative stories, particularly on economics, taxation and Brexit”. Everything I went through personally just confirmed that, but your correct. Needs to be cataloged and evidenced clearly. Renmap0o 18:03, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@Smallbones: I’m not paid and don’t have any connection to IDA. I just had a look and was shocked by what I saw. I don’t know if they are a paid, but I’d be confident they are receiving funding from somewhere given the large amount of time spent maintaining and pushing this political view on Wikipedia over the past year. I don't know how you can produce evidence of this, but hopefully, the journalists uncover something. The user is responsible for 40k+ edits on Wikipedia since last March, with the prime purpose of labelling Ireland as a tax haven. Sure there are controversy and issues there. I don't think anyone is denying that, but one-sided tone/information presentation is an understatement. It's incredibly biased and reads more like the input of a political group/campaigning. The user created many pages, edited many and linked most information on Wikipedia regarding Ireland to this label, by either selectively inserting examples and/or linking back to the pages they created themselves for this purpose. The more I read, the more I realised how brilliant it was (in terms of manipulation). I'll give them that and it would make a great case study for a student. Even things like slipping in pics/examples of Ireland on Wikipedia articles broadly discussing offshore, offshoring, tax or tax havens. This user and their vendetta/crusade against the Irish tax system has been a discussion on Reddit threads as far back as 6 months ago Here and it looks like a previous history of controversy on Wikipedia too. They are obviously savvy about the system, rules and how to manipulate it. Probably someone from a tech background, which fits the profile of who the media is associating this account with and its not just the Irish media, but also international. It's likely not the end, but just the beginning of the scandal, as new articles are popping up. In recent days, it's heated up when the user has been linked to a political campaign against the Irish tax system, which makes sense based on the key theme of most of their editing. That group/person was banned from Facebook for running a fraudulent and deceitful ad campaign. Highly biased and manipulative Wikipedia articles are created by User Britishfinace here, and then this campaign/group links to those articles for credibility. Is it acceptable for a user, that at the very minimum, is clearly representing a political vendetta, to manipulate Wikipedia articles on such a massive scale, as to serve their own personal political purposes and agenda? Does the platform accept editors who are this biased, running misinformation and political campaigns? Renmap0o 10:51, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@Renmap0o: When you make claims of "political campaigning", "selectively inserting examples", "linking back to pages" etc, it would be really helpful if you could link us to such instances, or produce diffs to back up those claims. — Nearly Headless Nick {c} 11:01, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

@Nearly Headless Nick:If you look up anything related to Ireland and it's tax system and check the history of it you can see britishfinance has got his mitts on most of it. It's like a full-time job. Here is an example of a page the user created and edited personally this year. Its one of many. They usually link this page they created to most other Wikipedia pages regarding Ireland, tax havens or its tax system in the "See Also" section, along with editing those pages/articles with sections, pictures and examples pushing the "Ireland is a tax haven" line. The "See Also" section is a great way to scan through pages created and edited by the user. I found heaps but was only scratching the surface. I was very impressed by the scale of this. It's a lot of work. As has been mentioned, 40k+ edits since March last year mainly focusing on this political crusade against the Irish tax system. Renmap0o 11:25, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I call rubbish (to be polite). After discussions 2016-2018, even the European Parliament voted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, among others, are tax havens. Look at the billions being processed. Who is it you work for? See: “The Netherlands is a tax haven alongside Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, say MEPs” at dutchnews.nl and many similar records of recent days. 195.239.200.134 (talk)< —Preceding undated comment added 20:54, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

You're referring to political controversies, of which plenty of hay can (and has) been made, likewise newspaper journalists are frequently prone to simplistic analyses and comparisons. The WP articles in question read like the diatribes of a particularly determined crank (however polite and courteous he may act to avoid drawing the ire of the moderators), it's frankly incredible they've survived in their present form for so long, and this user has been able to blatantly POV patrol his pages with impunity.

Let's have a little actual data, because context is sorely needed in this discussion, and frankly, the tone and volume of this user's commentary (and it is commentary we're talking about) are quite blatantly unbalanced. Firstly, let's remember the definition of a tax haven, this from investopedia (many similar definitions exist).

"A tax haven is a country that offers foreign individuals and businesses little or no tax liability in a politically and economically static environment. **Tax havens also share limited or no financial information with foreign tax authorities.** Tax havens do not require residency or business presence for individuals and businesses to benefit from their tax policies. Due to the globalization of business operations, an increasing number of U.S. corporations, including Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet, are keeping cash in offshore tax havens to minimize corporate taxes."

The OECD's global forum on tax transparency published it's report on tax transparency in November 2018 . Ireland is one of only a handful of countries listed as compliant, so already it fails the most basic definition - far from being shrouded and opaque, Ireland is extremely transparent in it's corporate tax disclosures (higher than Germany, Belgium, the UK or the US). Is there any authority on tax transparency superior to the OECD? Has there been any similar effort to quantify this metric which produced a contrary result?

Secondly, since 2014, Ireland has participated in the OECD's BEPS resolution programme, and there is no reason to assume they wouldn't continue to follow the second round of recommendations (which involve changes to treaties to resolve the Malta situation, which our erstwhile author has eagerly leapt upon with gusto. The schemes these articles are concerned with (which resulted from the complex interaction of the residency rules in *multiple jurisdictions* - not simply the 'cheating Irish' as implied in these articles) have largely been closed. This is not the end of the story, as it's a global whack-a-mole game, but the implication that Ireland has been a bad actor in this regard frankly cannot be substantiated. As recently as February, the Irish finance minister, in conjunction with his French counterpart signalled support for a Global model for tech taxation, and endorsed the efforts of the OECD to define best practices in that regard.

Is there any other jurisdiction which has made such wide reaching changes specifically to combat corporate tax evasion? It is also worth stating that the Irish rules merely allowed the transfer of funds to a company's headquartered parent jurisdiction if the funds were originated outside of Ireland (predominately British overseas territories and crown dependencies). These rules were intended to allow US firms to tax their revenues in the US, and these schemes could only exist because the US permitted large scale offshoring on an indefinite timespan for many decades (ultimately, most of those taxes are still owed to the US, as seen by their attempt to join the appeal against the Apple tax case ruling). Obviously, this is beyond the ability of the Irish government to regulate or anticipate.

It is necessary to mention this, because the entire context here is either deeply hidden or totally absent from the articles in question, and the user Britishfinance has fought fiercely to ensure that remains the case, conceding only where absolutely forced to. I cannot fathom how the egregious and blatant POV pushing on these pages, and the clear examples of bias within them haven't been addressed (despite having been flagged several times and warned once by a former mod). I'm sure there'll be plenty of "polite" rebuttals from the man himself citing the "thousands" of newspaper articles on the subject, which of course will be twisted to fit the exact fringe narrative being pushed here. Of course he knows quite well that it would take months to go through the many thousands of barely substantiated references in his commentary (pretty clear gish galloping), and so it has reached the point where the Irish government and media have had to get involved. I hope this results in a more balanced representation, because what has existed up until now is, to say the least, problematic and out of touch with the facts. I am not a government or paid representative - just another passer-by versed enough to recognize propaganda and an agenda being pushed when I see it - I'm sure there'll be many more like me in the next few weeks. 37.228.243.242 (talk) 21:31, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

"I am not a government or paid representative - just another passer-by versed enough to recognize propaganda and an agenda being pushed when I see it" So, to be clear, you have no involvement with the Irish government, the Irish tax system, or the Irish economy? In other words, your only interest in making this post is a desire that Wikipedia be the best encyclopedia it can be? Frankly, given this post, I find that hard to believe. "I'm sure there'll be many more like me in the next few weeks." What makes you sure of this? BubbaJoe123456 (talk) 12:00, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

You're editorialising. This is not the place. Just edit the articles, if you have well-founded and referenced points to add. On the face of it for now, the articles (I've reviewed 5 related items, and I'm a chartered accountant and familiar with the terminology at least) are well-researched and in line with widely-held views. And for crying out loud, Ireland has facilitated tax "management" so big it had to revise its national economic measurements! Even the US authorities believe that Ireland is at least a major "conduit" if not an outright "haven," and both national and EU parliaments have issues with the obscure and over-flexible Irish tax regime. But this is not a forum for article content so again, please take this to the pages in question. Stop attacking an individual editor's work and bona fides. And by the way, are you accusing the user of misusing "patrol" rights, which they only gained early this year? That would be a serious, and as far as can be seen, utterly unfounded, accusation. Now, go contribute!185.68.145.229 (talk) 06:45, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I spent some time checking your points over breakfast. They are mostly addressed in the articles, some, like the definition of "tax haven," in painful detail. So I think Britishfinance and others have been very fair on this. I don't see where the anti-Ireland point comes from, there are a lot of references, and the companies who use these mechanisms have bet a major part of their global revenue strategy on them. And multiple other countries are mentined, notably the UK and its vestigial empire, and good old Holland. And of course it's all legal, but not at all transparent, a point again discussed in much detail. Could it be an agenda? Yes, if you think the user is a French deputy or a Nordic social warrior. But why someone does editing is not the question, only whether their edits are well-made, and that the balance of article content is, well, balanced. But please don't ask Wikipedia to say black = white. I think we all get that big money is involved, literally trillions of dollars, and so I am sure there will be attacks, but Wikipedia is able to handle this kind of thing.185.68.145.229 (talk) 07:01, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

References

People have tried to add balance to these articles. They have been edit warred relentlessly by this user until they gave up. It seems ridiculous to even need to have this discussion. This editor's activities have been so egregious it's now become a subject of a national media controversy. My point above is that there is at least room for balance in these articles, but the way they're written (quite deliberately), the tone and content is nigh unassailable, and presents an extreme view, as if Ireland is some global lynchpin of tax evasion - it isn't, it is at most a link in a chain. Even a cursory look at the actual numbers involved will show it's clearly dwarfed by the likes of London. As for the "leprechaun economics", it's a perfect example. The anomalous GDP growth statistic mainly stemmed from the relocation of an aircraft leasing company to Ireland (17 percentage points out of 26% growth were this one company). It's a high revenue, low profit margin business, so there's very little taxable income, but it inflates the GDP. Does the leprechaun economics article give appropriate focus to this? Of course not, it's just another loop back into the rest of this individual's meandering diatribes. These headline high percentage growth rate controversies also ignore the simple fact that large capital movements will show a disproportionate impact on a smaller starting figure. Similar movements wouldn't have raised any eyebrows in the UK, Germany, or the US (and indeed - they happen all the time), because the starting base figures are higher in the first place. This user has played a cynical game quite professionally, and gamed wikipedia to hell and back, putting essays of his own opinions up, and guarding them with prejudice. Wikipedia is not the platform for this - he should write a book if he wants to put his opinions out there to this degree. It is a disgrace that it's possible for one person to completely control the narrative on an entire country's economic affairs - a country which, it has to be said, the author's home country has been hostile to in both the past and recent years, and was a former colonizer of - and yes, that is a relevant bit of context. If he were blanketing the narrative about Indian topics with anti-Indian commentary, we would not be having this discussion. 37.228.244.72 (talk) 09:40, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

To answer the above, which answered me earlier, this presents a vision of some master manipulator, which is just not very likely. And what's all this colonial stuff?185.68.145.229 (talk) 12:09, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Again, this is very unfair to me. I have not been "edit warring" on any WP articles (tax or otherwise; and I have done BLPs on controversial characters such as Catherine Blaiklock, Daniel Ivandjiiski and Seán Gallagher). I have never hit the WP:3RR rule in WP, and have only rarely even gotten to 2RR. This a hobby, not something that I want conflict on. The main edits I encounter on articles that are Irish tax-related are blanking of sections or PROD for deletion. They come in waves. I have shown above the time I have taken to respond fully, even where an IP-editor started their discussion with "anti-Irish bias" (per Talk:Ireland as a tax haven/Archive 1#Highly editorialized content, author appears to have strong anti-Irish bias.). That is very unfair to me.

In addition, if you actually read the newspaper articles above, and has been pointed out by other editors, the national media controversy is twofold:

Firstly, it involves the act that I accidentally discovered the IDA Ireland were paying editors to make the WP BLP of their CEO look good (per Martin Shanahan). It was so WP:PROMO, that one of the most experienced editors on WP, Kudpung, tagged it as being COI [162]. When I tried to fix it, I met an aggressive and nasty group of editors who were later revealed to be the marketing department of IDA Ireland. They made unfair comments about my edits on Irish tax-related articles. I cannot prove this, but given how bad these articles had become before I got to them, I feel that this group were also active in manipulating them to meet an IDA agenda.

Secondly, a public figure called Paddy Cosgrave not only tweeted the above IDA Ireland counter, but he also ran a Facebook campaign that linked to two articles that I have worked on: QIAIFs and Double Irish arrangement. I did not create Double Irish, it was a large article before I got to it, but was not of good quality. I have re-written it with mostly academic references or Tier 1 RS. As I said above, the economist from the US Council of Foreign Relations noted the article as the "best source" on the topic. I did create the QIAIF article. You will notice that the Irish Times asked a tax partner in Dublin to comment on it and he seemed to have no issue with it. Ironically, he then listed two other major tax havens (Luxembourg and the UK) as having similar structures (which they do). Again, this is about trying to write good quality fact-based articles that would be of interest to readers.

Again, I did not create the Leprechaun economics article, however, when I got to it, it was junk. The IP-editor above claims that it misrepresents the event and that it was the effect of aircraft leasing (which was the IDA Ireland's official response). However, if you read the article, you will see that a detailed Massachusetts Institute of Technology report even shortly after the affair cast doubt on this. You will also see that in 2018, Seamus Coffey, the person that the Irish State employed to review its entire corporate tax code in 2016, stated, unequivocally, that the source was Apple. Other economists later did the same analysis. This is the point of the re-writes, to chronicle the actual facts, and the highest quality facts versus opinions (although I am sure my editing is not perfect). Again, per above, Nobel-prize winner Paul Krugman just recently referenced the Leprechaun economics article. It can't be that bad.

There is also an allegation above that "linking articles" or adding "See also" is in some way a devious act. The tax topics of Double Irish, BEPS, Tax haven, Tax inversion, EU illegal State aid case against Apple in Ireland (and others) ARE RELATED. For example: The Double Irish is a BEPS tool that Apple used in Tax haven type activities in Ireland from 2004–2014 that ended up in a 13bn EU fine (who disclosed in large public documents the scale of 100bn, the Irish tax rate of 0.005%, and the mechanism of the BEPS tool); that caused Ireland to be blacklisted as a Tax haven by Brazil, and caused Apple to scrap its Double Irish and adopt another BEPS tool which it used in 2015 to execute a Tax inversion to Ireland which caused Leprechaun economics. I can't put it any simpler, and I have taken honest efforts to ensure these related articles are coherent and consistent (my OCD side), which is important given their complexity, to help readers.

If anything does come out of this ANI, it will hopefully show the community issues regarding Irish tax-related material. Unlike other tax jurisdictions who don't seem to edit their WP articles and/or try to remove material they don't like; it does happen with Irish ones. It feels as if I am writing on WP:ACDS type-articles (which I avoid). I have just completed Tax inversion, but I fully expect it to be blanked/PROD'ed in the next few months (even though it is really a "historical" tax article, as the US and UK have effectively stopped inversions for good). However, that is the reality. I face aggressive fact-free allegations like the ones above. In every major academic study since 1994 (per Ireland as a tax haven), Ireland has featured as one of the biggest tax havens. However, the IDA Ireland line is that the OECD doesn't consider Ireland to be a tax haven (which is true, and I note this), yet they forget to mention that the OECD only consider Trinidad and Tobago to be a tax haven (they must be truly awful). The Tax haven article, before I came to it, had a whole section on the OECD definition of a tax haven (which I am guessing, but cannot prove) that the IDA Ireland paid for. We even had an editor on the Tax haven article try to blank all reference to James R. Hines Jr., the "father" of tax haven research, and yet another 2013 IDA Ireland paper, written by two Irish State employees, and published in the Irish-state funded economic journal, tried to dismiss Hines as an insignificant figure in tax (no real economic journal would have published this article) (covered here) The Irish State and IDA heavily quote the OECD and the 2013 piece as "independent academic research" even though they wrote it in their own sponsored journal. see here here

I am not a perfect editor and I am sure I have written my share of poor content; however, I think my work improves WP, and should be interesting to readers (including Irish readers). I appreciate and am thankful for the kind sentiments expressed by many editors above, and hope the community will help me with these articles when the pitchforks and torches arrive again.

Britishfinance (talk) 11:25, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I have made my comments already, and would like to leave ANI to the administrators, as I've managed to do for more than a decade, but one comment above needs to be addressed, as it is an unjustifiable piece of exaggeration. There is a claim "This editor's activities have been so egregious it's now become a subject of a national media controversy." This is total nonsense. There was a report in a good but minority paper, the Sunday Business Post, followed up by a few lines in the paper of record, the Irish Times, and a modest report in the Times of London, and all of these were at least as much about the IDA-related paid editing as Britishfinance. I can assure you that this matter is not the subject of national debate, not a word of it around the dinner tables of Dublin. By all means let's work to make the articles on important economic topics even better, and ensure balance, but let's stop what looks suspiciously like targeted harassment by outsiders. The volunteer community, as someone said above, is well able to review the work of any editor. And bodies like IDA Ireland have real and important work to do.SeoR (talk) 12:44, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I started this thread because I thought that the community should look into these allegations in more detail. Over the last couple of days, it seems to me that that has happened - Britishfinance's contributions have been reviewed by various experienced editors, and nobody aside from Renmap0o and the 37.228 IPs seem to think that there is are any PAID or COI issues surrounding Britishfinance's work - that seems to have been dealt with. Nearly Headless Nick thinks that the articles could be reviewed for NPOV issues - that's fine, it can happen in the background, we don't need an ANI thread for it. The only outstanding problem, then, is the continued allegations of bias, edit warring and gaming the system being levelled against Britishfinance. I propose that this thread be closed, with a warning to these editors that unless they have any new evidence to bring to light, they should stop this immediately. GirthSummit _(blether) 13:34, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

@Girth Summit: I’m happy for it to be closed too. I no longer think its paid and didn't open the discussion here. There may or may not be COI, but I don’t know how that can be proved. I am certain of bias and gaming the system, but I realise this is the wrong approach. @SeoR: and @Nearly Headless Nick:, I agree that the allegations need to be backed by evidence and have nothing further to say on the matter for now. I have been going through it systematically to establish a clear pattern along with evidence and examples of the process that's was used. Its a lot of work (hence why I didn't do this in the beginning) and will take a few days at least. If it's being reviewed, in the interests of fairness, could someone look at the evidence/examples I’ve gathered showing how it's been done/gamed, even if its in a private setting? Renmap0o 14:22, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

In response to ping - thanks for the calm approach. Certainly we can all study, and more heads at least sometimes provides more wisdom, and always more context, so by all means, let us look. To be transparent, I do not believe that there has been any CoI, or any great conspiracy going on, and as an ordinary Irish citizen who tries to follow business and current affairs, I am well aware of these matters at a superficial level over more than 20 years, and have seen the good and bad of national promotion, and hope I can use these all to provide perspective. I look forward to "seeing" all involved on the relevant pages, beavering away.SeoR (talk) 14:38, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I think this had been a very unfair process. An editor with just a handful of edits (despite their skills) walks into WP, blanks sections of articles with nothing other than an allegation that User:"Britishfinance", most likely a political organisation attempting to manipulate the information by targeting a certain country and presenting one-sided information, and then tries to delete other articles. They make wild allegations and completely false statements (both about me, and about subject matter, per above), and other "IP-editors" appear with the same allegations. One administrator raised past POV issues, however, they never explained that I had gone to great lengths to answer these past POV allegations (per Talk:Ireland as a tax haven/Archive 1#Highly editorialized content, author appears to have strong anti-Irish bias.) showing that there was no POV (as I said above, not only where their refs in the article, but their refs actually disproved the IP-editor making the POV allegation). In addition, they then raised "serious issues" at Talk:Ireland as a tax haven#"Captured state". I have responded to all 15 of these "serious issues" raised. I would love other experienced editors to look at the 15 issues and my response and tell me if they are "serious" and that I have major POV issues. What is the incentive for a volunteer to keep doing this? Britishfinance (talk) 16:41, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Britishfinance I sympathise with your feelings of unfairness - I think it's very disappointing that Renmap0o is still making allegations in their last post despite everything that has been said. Renmap0o, I don't know whether anyone has pointed you towards WP:AGF yet, but if you haven't read it, now would be a good time. I'm going to formally propose that this be closed with a warning to Renmap0o and the IPs about these ongoing aspersions. GirthSummit _(blether) 17:39, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Proposal

This thread be closed with no findings of any PAID, COI or bad faith editing by Britishfinance based on any evidence presented. Renmap0o and anonymous editors from 37.228 IP addresses are warned to stop casting aspersions about Britishfinance's editing. They may work on the articles in question and discuss them on the articles' talk pages, but any discussion must focus on improvements to the content, not on Britishfinance or their motives.

• Support as nom GirthSummit _(blether) 17:39, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
• Support: with thanks to Britishfinance for patience with all this, and all that good editing and time given to the project.SeoR (talk) 19:17, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
• Support: I'm left with the opinion some people are conspiring to play games here on this ANI. Peoples will undoubtably have been checking the geolocates of the anon. IP's and one resolving to a VPN IP in Russia might just be a co-incidental or might be deliberate but at a simplistic level its just adding to the fog or complex conspiracy theories. With Britishfinance we seem to have sustained openly auditable contributions over a longish period giving good provenance. I'll confess I feel a bit for Britishfinance as they got a bit a bit of a rough ride at a recent AfD trying to to a WP:HEY and I'm inclined to think a few too many lesser quality references were used and content a little over-egged but that was a bio rather than the articles we have here. Not a great argument and I like SeoR's reasoning better.Djm-leighpark (talk) 20:02, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Thanks, and I hope there is no more sustained work by any outside "force." I don't put too much weight on IP checks, with so many people using VPNs for various reasons, often no more than accessing more or cheaper content than available locally - my daughter's tablet, for example, which I used recently, routes via various strange places, depending on what she wants to watch - but there is a little too much editing of the Irish tax-related articles from a series of Irish IP addresses, and I would be disappointed if these turned out to be those of an Irish State agency or its' communications contractors.SeoR (talk) 21:01, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Support as a common sense end to what looked like an externally-triggered witch-hunt. I think I must address a point here also. Both Djm-leighpark and SeoR have raised points about "IP editors". There is also a little bias about edits from Ireland and Russia. I'm sure there are issues, including some dirty tricks by tax-deal promoters. But guys, unless I misremember, the majority of Wikipedia edits are made by anonymous editors weighing in on their areas of interest. One of you is around since 2009, the other 2017, I seem to see. But I, for example, have been editing since maybe 2005. On and off, from dozens of countries. Mostly, I like to think, helping. So don't knock those of us who don't choose to have an account which someone, somewhere might track. Our hotel, café or mall IPs could be anyone, and that has value too.185.68.145.229 (talk) 11:32, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

@185.68.145.229 I yield to your comments noting how you have made assumptions (actually but not necessarily correct) about the length of my contribution history based on publicly visible held information on my account which you have used. I however at am the disadvantage as I have to good faith rely on your comments of the length of contribution history (which seems credible) and the quality of an individual set of edits. If in attempting to indicate the increased difficulties because of lack of provenance with anon IP's I appeared to scummer anon IPs them then I apologise. Both anon IP's and short life accounts appear to be often used by the little people. But at one point I too had an account with short life and would use an anon IP if on for example a public library computer ... Djm-leighpark (talk) 19:13, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

@185.68.145.229 And while this may be off-topic, I answer too, as the last thing I want to do, especially in the context of this business, is to put off any contributor. I believe in an inclusive and expansive Wikipedia, and I know there are many reasons people edit without an account. As it happens, as with djm-leighpark above, I registered pretty much from the start, but to each their own. In this case, I hope it was clear that I was only disturbed by certain specific bad editing actors (even then, I accept that they may have thought they were acting in some "national interest" - I would disagree - but we disallow such behaviour because of the need for consistent and fair policy, not ideology). Wikipedia is not going to be the source of solutions for corporate tax games, or personal ones, executive pay disparity, wealth distribution, or any such topics, to be valuable it must remain a neutral source for all. So please, whoever and wherever you are, do keep contributing!SeoR (talk) 14:00, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Just a note on what may be a first for this page. The Times has quoted this section:

By the end of the week, Wikipedia administrators proposed that a discussion thread about Britishfinance be closed with “no findings” of any paid, conflict-of-interest or bad-faith editing by Britishfinance.

— The Times

Perhaps this page could get its own logo As seen in The Times.

(Sorry for the joke) This is actually a serious matter - suggestions that a Wikipedia editor is paid and acting improperly - made by a government agency which itself has done clearly improper paid editing on Wikipedia. Perhaps we can modify the conclusion here to report that the accuser, IDA, has engaged in "paid, conflict-of-interest and/or bad-faith editing". See User talk:IDAComms and User:Corecontent. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 16:00, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

That is a little bit serious, yes. And, while respecting all IP edit contributions, it would be good to clarify if the two 37.228 addresses above (243.242, etc.) are "one voice" as they seem to be. Meantime, another address, perhaps someone quite different (there must be many addresses in the set), 37.228.255.113, made some surprising edits to the article on Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister), dragging in the "Tax Haven issue" at a time when other topics would be far more acute and obvious. I really hope we can resume normal editing on this important area of topics, and on all the other topics Ireland offers for editing.178.176.23.66 (talk) 13:33, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I see someone beat me to the point, as I was going to mention here that in the course of normal article watching, I bumped into the "tax haven question" on the Leo Varadkar page, and it turned out it had some history. Which could be someone "setting up a controversy" - or an entirely innocent coincidence. A 37.228 address, as referenced by Girth Summit, but I have no way of telling if it was connected to any other such address. But no need for repetition then. Good observation, I had not noticed that the 37.228's in this discussion were not consistent, and had just assumed they were a single person. I must be more attentive. But for now I am going to continue my regular project work. albeit I'll keep my eyes peeled for 37.228 for a while.SeoR (talk) 14:10, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

If I understand the quote above from The Times referring to wikipedia administrators to be accurate (I haven't registered to read it) I would note that that none of the current participants in the proposal (to close) subsection actually appear to be wikipedia administrators ... Djm-leighpark (talk) 18:09, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Special:nuke of blocked sock.

Hello! I stumbled across a blocked sock that has a few too many page creations to tag manually. Could a willing admin nuke the creations?

• Tyt0791 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
  

Thanks, Kb03 (talk) 13:48, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Why should I delete (for example) Emelia Brobbey? The article doesn't appear to qualify for A7 or G11. Although I can only find coverage in tabloid newspapers from a quick search, it's certainly worth looking into. In the case of Buokrom, longstanding consensus has said we generally don't delete places that are not blatant hoaxes. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 13:57, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

•  Done Eligible as G5 deletions. Creations by a blocked sockpuppet.
   — Berean Hunter (talk) 14:04, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

You did not answer my question. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 14:13, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

No need since they were eligible per G5 as Kb03 had rightfully requested. You recreated a page made by a prolific sockmaster.
 — Berean Hunter (talk) 14:26, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Ritchie333: I was in class, sorry for the somewhat delayed response. I requested deletion of those articles as they were creations of a blocked sock, and as such, were eligible for G5. Kb03 (talk) 14:54, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I have no opinion on who created the article; I just thought Wikipedia:WikiProject Women in Red could do something with this. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 15:02, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• @Berean Hunter: Obligatory reminder that there's nothing wrong with maintaining or reinstating good edits by blocked or banned users, nor is it mandatory to delete them. WP:5P1 is the only reason we're here. ~Swarm~ ^{sting} 20:36, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
  • You're not telling me anything new. I pointed out that it was a sock creation because he had not acknowledged it. He has since replied that he has no opinion on who created it but if that is the case, he shouldn't have replied to a specific request at ANI for handling G5 deletions unless it was to offer evidence that it wasn't a sock. It wasn't an ambiguous request so it shouldn't have been met with the A7 or G11 strawman argument.
     — Berean Hunter (talk) 21:29, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

The original report was for a sock creation. There would be no need to point out that it was a sock creation, or that such creations are eligible for deletion. Ritchie is a highly experienced admin. There would be no reason to tell him that he restored a creation by a banned user, unless you were implying that there was something wrong with it (which there isn’t). He had already laid out an argument that the article should not be deleted, which you didn’t even acknowledge. You just rubberstamped the G5 even though another admin expressed interest in preserving good content that would not be otherwise eligible for deletion, and then patronizingly “educated” him while ignoring the point he was making. ~Swarm~ ^{sting} 14:17, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

It seems that you and I will have to agree to disagree. I'm willing to let others support or oppose my actions here and if a consensus forms to the contrary, overturn my deletions.
 — Berean Hunter (talk) 14:51, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

User:Graywalls

Graywalls (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

In 11+ years editing Wikipedia, I'm not sure I've ever posted here. This is not a page I watchlist, so I'm not very familiar with how to present your case, but I'm asking for help from other editors regarding User:Graywalls. This editor registered in September 2018, starting with the Mook (graffiti artist), Cope2, Glossary of graffiti, Graffiti in the United States, Graffiti, Cornbread (graffiti artist), and John Fekner pages. They moved on to articles related to Oregon, Portland, and homelessness:

Also, starting with Hawks PDX, they seemed to focus on LGBT-related content about Portland:

Hounding

Our paths crossed in March when we disagreed over merging Homelessness in Oregon into Homelessness in the United States by state. After this interaction, the editor started focusing on me and my work: Right 2 Dream Too, Turf War (Banksy) (nominated for deletion and kept), Hawks PDX, CC Slaughters, No Vacancy Lounge, Nostrana (restaurant) (since promoted to Good article status), Escape Nightclub, LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon, Holocene (Portland, Oregon), etc.

• Allegation disputed: Those articles are connected through neighborhood, category and sometimes overlap in categories within a certain article leads to propagation. If article A is included in "category A" in which I find article B, and I find a similar pattern in articles within category A, you having edited on them or having created them shouldn't be used to invoke hounding allegation to avoid me from, to put it in your own word you used in the last few days "tampering". Graywalls (talk) 07:06, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

For nearly 2 months now, I've logged in to Wikipedia to see pings, talk page notes, and watchlist diffs from this editor, and they've been occupying a tremendous amount of my time and energy, not to mention the elevated stress levels. Following is a brief overview of content they've worked to remove (sometimes successfully, but with an unnecessary community cost, and sometimes not) -- I've collapsed some content for easier browsing by uninterested editors:

List of articles demonstrating efforts to remove content

Speedy deletion: They inappropriately nominated a couple articles for speedy deletion, which I then had to work to rescue: Bit House Saloon and Draft:Elephants Delicatessen, which remains in the draft space. White Owl Social Club was also nominated for speedy deletion, but the tag was removed. AfD: They have also nominated other articles for deletion, which were kept: Dante's, Glossary of graffiti, Hawks PDX, and No Vacancy Lounge. They were successful in deleting my World Famous Kenton Club article (AfD), but I was not willing to expand the article just to convince folks the article was appropriate. I've since recreated Draft:World Famous Kenton Club, which remains a work in progress. They were also successful with deleting a few of my other articles, which I've said I would have redirected to spare the wasted volunteer time: Sullivan's Gulch Bar & Grill (AfD), Oregon Bears (AfD). The Second Foundation (Oregon) and Holocene (Portland, Oregon) AfDs remain ongoing here and here, respectively. They editor seems to prefer deleting over redirecting. Oddly enough, but unrelated to my work, they want to Northwest District Explosion (likely not notable). They also seem to focus on drug use: diff at Pioneer Courthouse Square, Cascade AIDS Project, Club Portland, First Unitarian Church of Portland, Outside In, etc.

All of the above is simply to say this editor and I have interacted on many articles. I'll give a new editor a pass for inappropriately nominating a few articles for speedy deletion, or flagging for AfD, but they are continuing to target articles I've created even after demonstrating they have a less than stellar judgement of notability and source appropriateness, and they don't seem to care about wasting volunteer time (insisting on deleting over redirecting when the latter is totally appropriate).

I've spent a significant amount of time rescuing multiple speedy deleted articles and expanding multiple recently-AfD'd articles, and I've asked Graywalls to simply try redirecting and/or posting their concerns on talk pages before going straight to AfD. I can't keep dropping whatever I'm doing to clean up after them, and I'd rather be spending my volunteer time improving the project in other ways. I should note, Graywalls was asked to stop hounding me by Reywas92.

Behavior

I wish hounding were the only problem, but actually that's my lesser concern. User:Tedder posted a note on their talk page about their behavior back in early April, but unfortunately, their behavior has continued to be combative, obstructive, and generally disruptive. Following are just a few talk pages demonstrating their feet dragging, preference to keep tags over addressing simple problems, unwilling to compromise, ignoring consensus, and edit warring: Talk:Embers Avenue, Talk:Outside In (organization), Talk:CC Slaughters, Talk:Hawks PDX, Talk:Club Portland, Talk:No Vacancy Lounge (currently awaiting 3O response), Talk:LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon, Talk:Holocene (Portland, Oregon), Talk:Street Roots, etc. I could go on and on.

Now, I fully admit, I'm sure Graywalls can and will provide some evidence that I've also behaved inappropriately, or point to some editorial disputes where they are actually correct and I am wrong w/r/t policy interpretation. I'm not suggesting everything I want is right and everything they want is wrong -- in fact, many times I've tried to get uninvolved editors to weigh in on discussions because I thought third opinions would be helpful. I've been subjected to relentless poking for many weeks now, and my interactions with this editor have been incredibly frustrating. Just getting the editor to agree to allowing "c. 2012" to a business article's infobox was excruciating, and wasted a lot of volunteer time. I've tried hard not to edit war, but at the same time, sometimes I feel like I'm fighting a vandal/troll. I do apologize if I've been overly aggressive, but again, I've never encountered this much obstruction and resistance in a decade of editing. I've probably not done a good job summarizing our interactions, but I can definitely say being on the receiving end has been very unpleasant, and I would not wish this on any Wikipedia editor. Hard to describe, but their pokes often seemed retaliatory -- if I replied unfavorably on one talk page, they'd start a new one on a related page, or reignite a past discussion elsewhere.

In short, I will own up to any of my behavioral mistakes, but I feel justified in bringing this problem to other editors. Simply put, I cannot continue to engage with this editor, and I don't contribute to Wikipedia to work with such disruption. I am clearly not alone in my frustration. I am bringing my concerns to the administrator noticeboard because I don't know what else to do. Below I've created a list of articles they've worked on, which can be used or ignored to trace some of their edits.

Discussion

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I've created a list of articles I think might need a little scrutiny:

I invite other editors to please share their experiences, if they feel inclined. @AHampton, Kbabej, Peteforsyth, and Reywas92: I've observed some of your interactions with this editor on various talk pages, and wonder if you'd care to add any comments or concerns. I'm sure Graywalls will deem this a cherry-picked list, and that's fine, they are welcome to invite whomever they'd like to this discussion. I feel like I'm opening a can of worms here, but I stand by the vast majority of my edits.

I'd like to think my edits to Wikipedia over the years demonstrate a clear net positive contribution to the project, and an enthusiasm for the movement in general. I've been struggling to assume good faith with Graywalls for a while now, so I'm putting them on others' radar so I don't have to worry about this any longer. Even if no action is taken, I feel better going on the record and identifying my concerns. Thank you. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 21:50, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment. I am not one bit surprised to see this posting. I think it's unfortunate Graywalls has chosen Another Believer to focus on, for whatever reason, but it beggars belief Graywalls is just happening across articles AB has created or heavily edited. Graywalls stated on their talk page, "They just all happen to be his." That, frankly, is unbelievable. Instead, Graywalls has been WP:WIKIHOUNDING AB since early March, posting WP:DRIVEBYTAGs on articles, adding questionable content (see this discussion), or nominating many articles for deletion (covered above in AB's post). AB is not the only one to notice this behavior, either. Tedder stated "I've seen a pattern of editing that comes off as disruptive, hostile, or prickly." I would second that statement with the caveat I don't think it's just "prickly" behavior; with Graywall's unusually adept WP editing (for such a new account), they are choosing to be intentionally hostile. Indeed, some of their edits (example here) come across as deliberately trying to provoke. I think AB did an appropriate job of laying out examples above, so I don't see the need to get into even more of those. What I would like to point out is that AB has been a consistent and dedicated volunteer for years; I don't think he would come to this noticeboard lightly (nor should people). But it is warranted. --Kbabej (talk) 02:51, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
• This interaction report, where one of the parties has only about 1600 edits and most of the edits are separated by seconds/minutes, makes it awfully hard to frame this as anything other than hounding. Is it possible this could be resolved as simply as this recommendation? - Graywalls, please don't follow AB's edits. If you continue, something like a one-way interaction ban is possible, and that's always a hassle that's best avoided when possible. So maybe take a voluntary step back, realizing that hounding can have a negative impact on a fellow community member, regardless of good intentions? There are a whole lot of articles AB has not been a major contributor to that could use your attention, after all. :) This isn't to say you haven't raised any valid points, but unless a user shows a clear pattern of unambiguously problematic edits, following their edits isn't ok. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 04:40, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Graywalls responding to Another Believer's allegations

My interest focuses on topics, as well as things in my area. Articles touched or created by Another Believer substantially overlaps. With the number of edits made by AB, the prevalence of articles in Portland area having been touched by him is very high. The probability of articles having characteristics that is of my interest having been touched by him should be considered. I disagree with the allegation of hounding and you can see from my edits that I don't interact with his articles outside of my area. Hounding would be following after a particular editor; rather than topic. When the number of articles that have been touched or created by a certain editor is disproportionately high, the probability of overlapping is correspondingly high. I follow articles through things that branch from articles and categories in which they're listed. I agree with other concerns on politeness and respectful interaction brought up by tedder and I have been conscious and aware to maintain politeness. Part of the reason where my AfD significantly overlaps his creation relates to the fact many of the articles, such as those on a bunch of bars, taverns, restaurants and clubs have been created by him; as well as much of "establishments" listed in the neighborhood categories.
After reading news stories like these, I've been watching different debates, discussion, noticeboard talks which is how I am familiar to processses. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bnppw4/wikipedias-co-founder-is-wikipedias-biggest-critic-511 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kwpqmn/is-the-pr-industry-buying-influence-over-wikipedia

Interacting with AB, regardless of his other involvements, I'm getting the impression as he's lording over anything he's created or contributed as if he's claiming an implicit ownership. It's outrageous he's listed essentially every article I have worked on as "might need a little scrutiny". I'm beginning to feel some of his interactions are not in good faith, but rather to get his way anyway he can, such as very directly asking people in AfD who comment in contrary to his desired input if "they'd mind changing their vote"; and asking other users very directly "making very specific edits", admin shopping and airing out charged allegations against me with loaded language in disparaging way, specifically framing me as the problem onto WikiProjects page, and on other users talk page who have shown any sign of sympathethy with him. Following the "admin shopping" discussion, it was suggested to me by Ritchie333 to use AfD to nominate questionable articles for deletion; and I don't nominate them because they are AB, I nominate them, because I believe they are run of the mill local venues. AB admitted stacking up sources after AfD has been nominated to save the article; which I see as disruptive, because loading up the article with a bunch of calendar events can significantly add work load on AfD participants and hinder transparency into lack of the article's true notability.

When disputes arise, he has a tendency to "ping" specific editors he's already familiar and after seeing those users interaction on matters that relate to us, I've come to an opinion that these people are likely to side with him. He's not heeded advise from 3rd opinion here that Wikiprojects are not the best forum for editorial disputes. The interaction here referencing another editor's voice expressing concerns about his article points that there has been issues concerning his edits long before I was even on the map. arguing with every opponent on clearly questionable notability entries. [163] this one AB cited in his complaining statement involves a self-promo/puppets. My use of 3rdOnion has been a way of trying to obtain fair consensus. perhaps by having AB no longer have autopatrolled status, it could avoid the proliferation of run of the mill local venues that became the point of disagreements.

Graywalls (talk) 12:25, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

It's pretty simple - if you find yourself constantly editing the same articles as someone else, find a way to work with them in a collegial manner. AB was there first, and he's a generally polite person. Your comments towards him have a tendency to be snarky and rude. Can you commit to being polite?

The point is that whatever your intent, you're making the editing process for AB stressful. It looks like HOUNDING. What are you willing to do to change that? Guettarda (talk) 14:18, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

As are his towards mine. I have been being mindful to avoid making snarks. I have been trying to keep it polite after tedder's comment on my page and I'm committed to remaining polite. I didn't think order of arrival made a difference. After all, if that played a role, then he'd been grandfathered over others in a ton of articles. Graywalls (talk) 15:17, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

You keep implying I'm being paid for my contributions to Wikipedia, which I don't appreciate. You've also nominated several articles for so-called "run of the mill" venues, which were kept by the Wikipedia community, so perhaps you need to change your definition of "run of the mill". Also, there's nothing wrong with expanding an article after a deletion nomination, in an attempt to demonstrate notability. You seemed upset when I expanded a couple articles you nominated for deletion, which is odd -- most editors would say, "thanks!" and move on to other things. I don't claim ownership of any article(s), but I sure don't like them being tampered with or flagged for deletion unnecessarily. Regarding "admin shopping" -- we've already been over this. I was not threatening Deb, I was merely starting with them for help as the deleting admin, but I'd go to someone else for help if they were not willing to assist. What's wrong about this? I was just asking for help restoring a page into the draft space, which I felt was improperly deleted. This is not controversial or against policy. Yes, I've pinged specific editors on specific talk pages based on their editing histories and work on related articles. I don't expect editors to agree with me just because I've invited them to a discussion. Also, I won't apologize for asking AfD participants if they'd be willing to change their vote from delete to redirect, when redirecting is a solid option. I'm very tired of explaining myself and many of my edits to you. After the comments above, your suggestion is to take away my autopatrolled status? Give me a break. I've written almost 100 Good articles, several of which are specifically about Portland restaurants, local history and culture, public artwork, and other venues. I think I have a decent understanding of appropriate sourcing and notability criteria. I could easily go through your edits and cherry-pick tons of problematic diffs, but I'd rather we focus on the big picture here. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 14:32, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I did in the past said I believed you might be a paid editor, but didn't believe it was frowned upon. It has not happened after but you continue to charge that I'm "keep implying". I don't know where your referencing to "threatening Deb" is coming from. I was referencing your comment that looks like you are admin shopping which to me looks like you'll just keep looking until you find one that will give you what you want. Changes you do not like referenced as "tampering" sure sounds like snarky way to exhibit territory of a sort; and referring to your own edits as "contribution" and referring to mine or others you don't agree as "tampering" is the big picture of the comment I left on your page regarding dismissive comments.

@Deb:. I am wondering if you could elaborate a little bit on "concerns from others" you referenced here?

Graywalls (talk) 15:17, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Gosh, I don't remember exactly now. I might have been thinking of this or this. Deb (talk) 15:30, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Huh? User:Muboshgu retracted the warning and has since encouraged me to apply for administrator status. The interaction with Ss112 was just about creating new pages in the draft space vs. expanding existing redirects. Not really related to this discussion. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 15:35, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I said "might have been". What you're doing now is exactly what you were doing in our previous interaction and I'm not going to be led down the garden path again. Deb (talk) 15:55, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, I acknowledge you said "might have been", and I was just explaining those interactions. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 15:56, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Graywalls, Admin shopping, threatening, whatever. You're saying I was wrong to ask an editor who deleted a page if they'd be willing to restore. If Deb was unwilling to restore, then I would have gone to someone else. Getting a page restored is not a problem, and the page was properly restored. You're focusing on a very specific case when there's clearly a much larger issue here. Knowing your M.O., I'm not going to keep going back and forth with you here. I will just let others take over from here. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 15:22, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I'd love to not have to interact with AB and I'd be willing to agree to not interacting with you outside of art category and Portland metro area stuff. Given the sheer quantity of his stuff, it would basically cripple me from being able to participate on Portland stuff. Since his articles are everywhere, perhaps and about a lot of other things, perhaps I could avoid him outside of Portland area/art stuff, and he could just avoid this area/subject.Graywalls (talk) 16:11, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

"Knowing your M.O", does it surprise you that a pattern of comments like this reinforces me to develop a doubt about good faith? You, the complainant started this grievance and "I'm not going to keep going back and forth with you here." seems like a line to avoid having to provide a detailed explanation. Graywalls (talk) 16:31, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Comment. I think this is a kind of stalking, but Graywalls probably believes it falls into the category of "fixing unambiguous errors or violations of Wikipedia policy, or correcting related problems on multiple articles", which is allowed; this isn't black and white. It's hard to understand how someone who's been here as long as User:Another Believer has can be so insensitive to the annoyance caused by repeatedly asking questions to buy time in order to avoid having to answer straight questions like this quite reasonable one from another user. I certainly felt harassed by Another Believer on 12 March, when he bombarded me with follow-ups in order to get this draft, which he hasn't touched since 14 March. I would suggest that User:Graywalls stays away from future interaction, for the sake of his own sanity. Deb (talk) 15:47, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Deb, You'd need to lay out a case for 'harassment' w/r/t getting the draft page restored. But, for the record, I do apologize if I came across too aggressive, truly. I haven't touched the March 14 draft because I've been a little occupied, and there's no requirement I work on the draft immediately. I've also been working on other pages (drafts and live articles) nominated for deletion by Graywalls, so that's been a major distraction. I merely wanted the original markup restored, which is not a problem. And, I totally agree, I would also suggest Graywalls stay away. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 15:54, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

If it gets deleted, so what? I don't nominate things for deletion because of who created them. Things I have nominated for deletion are based on contents concern, promotional (for example, authored by the article subject, or its owner, executive director, etc. Even if something has been G11'd as promotional, it doesn't preclude others from re-creating the same article if it isn't substantially similar. Graywalls (talk) 16:20, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I believed a page was wrongfully speedy deleted, and I asked for its restoration. I believe the topic is notable, and I'll expand the draft at some point in the future. I'm glad the original markup has been restored, so I don't have to start from scratch. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 16:24, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I would indeed suggest we should avoid interacting, but not at the expense that I have to avoid pages in Portland area solely because they have been touched/created by you. I'm open to the idea that you refrain from art topic; and Portland area; and I don't interact with articles outside these criteria that you have worked on. Graywalls (talk) 16:37, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Graywalls, I'm glad you're open to avoiding me, but why are you bringing up art articles? We've been discussing Oregon, Portland, homelessness, and LGBT-related content. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 16:43, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

It overlaps with the area of topic you brought up in the opening sentence of your complaint. Graywalls (talk) 16:53, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Ah, ok. I was just noting your initial edits to the project. I do not watchlist these pages, nor am I particularly interested in graffiti. I write a lot about public art and sculpture, so thanks for clarifying. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 16:58, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

There are several patterns of behavior that are interesting- and certainly graywalls can't claim ignorance to rules, they have come into editing over the past year showing substantial knowledge of how things work. And yet.. the patterns are there. Seemingly coincidental editing of articles, accusations of "admin shopping" and "pinging other editors to maintain ownership" come up over and over again. Congrats on having boorish behavior that stops just short of going over the line, I guess. tedder (talk) 16:40, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

You do pickup a lot from reading a lot of conflicts that goes on here. I've been doing plenty of lurking. With my disputes intensifying with AB, I have been finding myself having to rely more and more on argument based on policies. The guidelines here says AfD arguments that appeal to policies are good. When I do that you say I'm "lawyering". I actually concur with you on the need to remain polite for the sake of maintaining peace around other editors and duly noted. Graywalls (talk) 16:53, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Mainspace interactions by date of first interaction

22 Feb Portland Loo [164] 3 March Right 2 Dream Too [165] 3 March Portland, Oregon [166] 6 March Homelessness in Oregon [167] 6 March Homelessness in the United States by state [168] 6 March Overlook, Portland, Oregon [169] 6 March Outside In (organization) [170] 9 March AfD nom Turf War (Banksy) [171] 9 March AfD nom Dante's [172] 9 March Portland Mercury [173] 10 March Pioneer Courthouse Square [174] 11 March AfD nom World Famous Kenton Club (AfD) 11 March AfD nom Hawks PDX [175] 11 March Bit House Saloon [176] 11 March White Owl Social Club [177] 11 March Sunderland, Portland, Oregon [178] 11 March National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws [179] 11 March Oregon NORML [180] 11 March Dignity Village [181] 21 March Voodoo Doughnut [182] 31 March AfD nom Second Foundation (Oregon) [183] 28 March Cascade AIDS Project [184] 28 March Prism Health [185] 28 March Pride Northwest [186] 28 March Alberta Arts District [187] 30 March AfD nom Oregon Bears [188] 31 March Terry Bean [189] 1 April Ground Kontrol [190] 1 April Club Portland [191] 2 April CC Slaughters [192] 2 April LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon [193] 4 April Old Town Chinatown [194] 5 April Bradley Angle [195] 6 April AfD nom No Vacancy Lounge [196] 9 April First Unitarian Church of Portland [197] 9 April Nostrana (restaurant) [198] 11 April Escape Nightclub [199] 11 April Embers Avenue [200] 11 April O'Bryant Square [201] 13 April AfD nom Holocene (Portland, Oregon) [202] 14 April Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon [203] 14 April La Femme Magnifique International Pageant [204] 14 April Darcelle XV [205] 14 April Lake Oswego, Oregon [206] 15 April Willamette Week [207] 16 April Multnomah County Courthouse [208] 16 April You Are Here (sculpture) [209] 16 April Street Roots [210] 17 April Bud Clark [211]

• AFAICT, in each case above, Another Believer is the first editor and Graywalls is the second. I found no cases in which G was the first editor and AB was the second. In almost all cases, G is also the last editor. Meaning, the pattern is usually AB->G, or AB->G->AB->G, rarely AB->G->AB, and never G->AB or G->AB->G->AB. 8 out of 11 of G's AfD noms are of articles created by AB. Leviv ich 17:42, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I'd look carefully at the dates, though; in many cases there's a year or more between AB's first group of edits and G's first. Deb (talk) 18:17, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Deb, indeed, my impression is that this is true in most cases. I image this can easily happen when a new editor enters a niche area where there's already been a prolific editor editing before. "Second editor" in and of itself doesn't mean much. What made me raise an eyebrow is the prevalent pattern of AB->G or AB->G->AB->G, but not AB->G->AB, which suggests G continues to edit so long as AB edits, but once AB stops, G stops. The other thing that sticks out is that it's been like this for almost two months straight. I cannot imagine that G was not aware that they've been editing and nominating for deletion so many articles that were created by or primarily edited by AB. I can understand significant incidental overlap; I can't understanding not noticing this much overlap after this much time. Although nobody "owns" articles, at some point, one must realize they are effectively "hounding", even if it's unintentional, and if it is unintentional, one usually stops, even if they don't have to. Graywalls' comment above (I'd be willing to agree to not interacting with you outside of art category and Portland metro area stuff) is kind of funny because the only place they've interacted is in Portland metro area stuff. Leviv ich 18:43, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I can't argue with that, but the area where they have interacted is - as you pointed out - the area where AB is complaining about G's edits. If that's the case, then perhaps the problem is not as widespread as is being suggested. G is presumably watching this particular set of articles and it's ringing alarm bells with him when he sees AB editing them. Deb (talk) 20:03, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Levivich (talk · contribs), gosh, given how prolific he is, then things in Portland having been touched by him at some point in the past is really likely high. I don't choose what to edit based on whose touched the article. After you posted your analysis, I decided to conduct a quick investigation on my own. Pride Northwest This is something I came upon from branching off from articles and categories. It appeared promotional ish to me and I start working on it. AB came rushing to it an hour and half later. How long ago did he work on it before me? Some 14 months ago. This was identified as an article with potential UDPE(not saying or implying he had anything to do with) issue. Outside In I start working on it... AB comes rushing alater... This too was found to be suspected UDPE. Street Roots I work on it.. AB comes rushing after the same day. This too is possible UDPE. Bud Clark I edit... AB comes rushing after the same day. So, seriously, who's following who now with the timing of matter taken into context? It's pretty ridiculous to keep AB in the loop simply from having touched it at sometime in the distant past. Graywalls (talk) 00:10, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Addition: Bud Clark. Sequence: GW-> AB (1hr 58 minutes later) ->GW. (if one is going to be include "touched at some point", then AW precedes me by an edit that occurred four years ago). I'm the one who feels getting followed around. Graywalls (talk) 19:49, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Graywalls, have you ever interacted with Another Believer under a prior account, as an IP, or otherwise, before your interactions with this account? Leviv ich 04:56, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

No, I have not. Graywalls (talk) 07:12, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• This doesn't surprise me. Given that he's been on here for years (and I've been here a few months) his extremely high level of activity and the strong overlap in the area of interest, it's unsurprising he's already tread on them first. Had his activity not been so prolific and there's a pattern that my edits follow him, rather than topics, I think that makes for hounding. I'd also guess that his participation here is probably at the upper few percentile range. Go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Neighborhoods_in_Portland,_Oregon. Go into a neighborhood, then pick an article within a neighborhood. The probability of running into an AB touched article is extremely high. Pretty much the same with a lot of Oregon related topics. Graywalls (talk) 18:08, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Levivich, This is super helpful, thanks for sharing. You have a point, Graywalls, but I'm not worried about the articles I've edited minimally. You're not owning up to your actions fully, but you've clearly targeted articles I've worked on more substantially, and your pokes feel retaliatory even if that's not your intention. Also, you've wasted significant community time by going against consensus, dragging out discussions way longer than necessary, and going straight to AfD when redirecting was entirely appropriate. Only World Famous Kenton Club has been deleted, and even that article should probably exist, hence why I'm working in the draft space on a new entry. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 18:15, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• what you call "consensus" is moot as you often appoint yourself to arbitrate the consensus and declare "consensus has been reached" on something you're a party to the dispute; and you have used something like "3 agree with AB, 2 agree with GW, therefore consensus is with AB" but I feel that you're knowingly ignoring WP:CONSENSUS and WP:DEFINECONSENSUS by counting numbers and emphasizing votes and disregarding argument presented and their validity in scope of guidelines. Graywalls (talk) 18:27, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Graywalls, Please. When 3 people say they don't like your image, and you keep adding it back to an article, that's going against consensus. I can point to other examples. You throw around abbreviations, acronyms, and policy pages often, but still seem to ignore editors' preferences. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 18:30, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• this is the example I had in mind. I call there was no "clear" consensus but you or I, as someone involved would be inherently biased in the determination; and this is not the only example of where you help yourself to the podium and arbitrate a concern you're involved in. I suggested 3-O or RfC(well after additional editors have become involved), but you were apprehensive to that. I believe I have reasonable cause to believe you're soliciting those likely to side with you by choosing those likely to have similar ideology or have previously been sympathetic to your side. "WikiProject RuPaul's Drag Race." and after having personally seein Jonesey95 show sympathetic to your POV but I've not seen you invite Deb along even though she's been involved in a dialogue that involved both you and Joesey95 at the same time. Do you see me as combative with 3PO comments? One suggested advert tag wasn't warranted and something more appropriate should be used. They said they probably wouldn't use it, but it was more appropriate than the advert. (re: bithouse). Graywalls (talk) 18:51, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Graywalls, You're grasping, and you can interpret this as me being unwilling to go into detail about specific editorial disputes if you want, but I don't feel a need to reply here. I will respond to other editors, but I'm tired of rehashing everything to you all the time. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 18:57, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• How about you both agree not to edit any articles on Oregon for the next, say, six months? You never know, you may get interested in something else and forget all about this particular topic. :-) Deb (talk) 20:05, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
  • Deb, That's absolutely not something I'd agree to voluntarily. First of all, I edit articles about plenty of other topics, but why should I stop editing articles about Oregon? ---Another Believer _(Talk) 20:12, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
    • Because those are the ones you are having the issues with. Deb (talk) 21:19, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
      • Deb, Obviously, but why should I be punished or restricted from editing certain topics? ---Another Believer _(Talk) 21:21, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
        • I was suggesting a voluntary topic ban for a temporary period to allow you both time to cool down and forget your differences. If either of you objects, it may appear that you have ownership issues with these articles. Deb (talk) 21:27, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
          • No ownership issues, but I came here to identify a problematic editor, not to voluntarily stop editing articles about specific topics. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 21:30, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
            • Deb, I don't think that suggestion is realistic. The issue here is GW is hounding and harassing AB. Why should AB be punished for GW's behavior? Also, not readily jumping to agree to your suggestion = ownership issues? That's a false dichotomy. --Kbabej (talk) 21:35, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
              • Even if it were reasonable at a base level, 6 months is what we'd do for a sanctionable TBAN - it's insanely OTT. I personally am against it basically at all. Other than both parties not participating in it during the course of the ANI discussion, I feel it is unfair punishment of the innocent.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Nosebagbear (talk • contribs)

Arbitrary Break

Even though Reywas92 doesn't agree with the interactions that have gone on between us, he does share common point with me over the underlying issue about notability concerns. For as long as Another Believer has been here, he should have a good idea of notability requirements. If he feels I'm "hounding" because of AfDs and there are some comments in AfDs suggesting obvious concerns in common with my concern about articles on run of the mill places. There's bound ot be slight disagreements in the grey area, but there shouldn't be such a drastic idea as to what should be notable. If AfD ends up in "no consensus" that is not an indication that it wasn't called for.

AfD on Oregon Bears perhaps he ought to consider the absurdity of creating a bunch of pages on local dive bars, restaurants, every gay gar in town and so on. The fact our clash don't extend past the Portland area articles and comments in the AfD above is an indication that churning out pages on venues that likely won't meet notability is a major part of problem. By not creating those questionable articles, the amount of volunteer time that has to be spent dealing with them would be cut. I've already made commitment to politeness, however I admit to no wrong doing in nominating articles on legitimate notability ground. Having his autopatrol removed would help those articles go through review scrutiny and avoid having them become a point of concern in the first place. This AfD was not nominated by me, yet for the exact same reason that have got me to AfD such similar articles is an indication that I'm not selectively nominating them, because of who created the article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Sullivan%27s_Gulch_Bar_%26_Grill Graywalls (talk) 23:26, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Both Oregon Bears and Sullivan's Gulch Bar and Grill just needed to be redirected to LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon, plain and simple. Or you could have raised your concerns on the articles' talk pages. I wouldn't have put up a fight for either. You're still focusing on specific editorial disputes and what you deem to be "absurd" topics like restaurants, gay bars, etc, which you think "likely won't meet notability". What you're failing to recognize is that most of the articles you've nominated for deletion have been kept by the community, after editors looked into sourcing, or redirected because the topics deserved coverage in some form and the pages served a purpose. I've created many quality articles about local gay bars and restaurants: Lutz Tavern, Nostrana (restaurant), Red Cap Garage, Rimsky-Korsakoffee House, Starky's, Three Sisters Tavern, etc. For you to suggest I have no idea what I'm doing w/r/t notability of local establishments is unfair. Sure, maybe I've created some stubs that should be redirected or deleted, but I don't think you're helping the project by questioning notability of every local thing you deem "absurd" or "run-of-the-mill". You're taking an unnecessary toll on the community. And, sorry to say, you're still focusing on notability here and not your behavior, specifically feet dragging, consensus ignoring, etc. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 23:46, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

See the CC Slaughters talk. I'm questioning the rationality, in general, of what you declare "consensus". Graywalls (talk) 14:11, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm not going to discuss specific editorial disputes here. That's a distraction from the larger issue. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 14:13, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Proposal to end this

I made a suggestion above that both contributors take a voluntary break from the articles on which they interact. (This wouldn't of course stop User:Another Believer from working on drafts like the one that was so urgent on 12 March that it had to be created immediately but which he hasn't bothered with for several weeks.)

AB has indicated that he's not willing to take any break because he wants User:Graywalls to be punished. G hasn't said whether he's prepared to take a break. A few other people have been quick to disagree with my initial proposal but no one has suggested an alternative. If neither of the antagonists is willing to consider this compromise, I suggest this report be closed because it's just wasting everyone's time repeating arguments they've already had on their talk pages. Deb (talk) 08:20, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm not wanting to get into an adversarial terms with you; but six months of avoiding the only area of articles I work on is excessive. Since AB works in a lot of different areas and we have problems only in specific area, if he'd avoid the same topic areas that I work on (Oregon area, some art topics); I think he can go peacefully work on plenty other things he work on; and I can work on things in Oregon area; thus allowing both of us to continue doing our things on Wikipedia while avoiding a section where we would have to co-exist. From what it sounds like. I don't see this grievance was made in a good faith given inflammatory language like "vandal", "troll", "tampering" that in general expressing diminutive and marginalizing contributions he disagrees with. Despite acknowledging he's been too aggressive at times, such actions don't show any willingness to make changes; while I have agreed to; and have been trying to maintain politeness which can be seen in the more recent edits. Listing out essentially every single page I have worked on and framing it as "articles possibly needing scrutiny" doesn't suggest he's trying to resolve problems rather than to project blames. Graywalls (talk) 10:47, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Six months was a suggestion, not a command. Three months would be fine. Deb (talk) 11:13, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Do you have any comment on the alternative I just proposed before you replied? Graywalls (talk) 12:35, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I don't think that's a practical alternative. There are other areas you can work on as well. Deb (talk) 15:20, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

For the record, I didn't come here to "punish" Graywalls. I came to identify a problem. And now Deb is suggesting we both stop working in a topic area, and Graywalls has suggested I stop working on Oregon articles while they be allowed to continue working on Oregon articles? What planet am I living on? I came here to report harassment, and if the community is not going to take this seriously, then I am quite bothered and disappointed. I've made my concerns known. Graywalls, you've not really owned up to your actions or volunteered to back off, but you seem to acknowledge some behavioral changes are needed. If we need to end this discussion, fine. But you need to know, editors are watching you carefully, and if you continue to drag your feet, ignore consensus, and act in a retaliatory fashion, I will report you immediately. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 13:14, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

One of the things this omits, and is especially evident both here and on AfDs, is what Levivich reported on for interaction patterns. It's hard to articulate how problematic it is when *every* response by *every* editor is responded to and challenged by the same person. This is asymmetric behavior, not "both of you are equally at fault". tedder (talk) 14:40, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree that Graywalls has been stalking, and has been overly aggressive in the course of this discussion. I also believe that AB has aggravated the problem by his own insistence on having the last word. I've now made a constructive suggestion to end the problematic behaviour and you haven't come up with an alternative as yet. If you have a proposal, please make it so that others can approve or reject it. Deb (talk) 15:19, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm confused how AB is having the last word when Levivich's data shows that's entirely inverted. I'm not saying I have the right answer, but it's a bit of a fallacy to exclude opinions that don't have a better plan. tedder (talk) 23:29, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Tedder, I was a bit confused by this as well. I actually feel like I walked away plenty of times because Graywalls had to have the last word. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 23:44, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

My personal experience of you, User:Another Believer, is that you like to have the last word - and you've just proved it - and will hang on indefinitely in order to get your own way. User:Graywalls is a lot newer than you are so, although I'm not condoning his behaviour, it may be that he hasn't yet learned the lessons that you've had time to learn. Deb (talk) 07:40, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I appreciate Deb's efforts to make a proposal to bring some kind of resolution here, particularly where the proposal is for a voluntary break and not an imposed sanction. One thing we haven't yet discussed is the possibility of closing this with a warning? Leviv ich 15:50, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Plans for future problem avoidance

this dispute really shouldn't have occurred in the first place. I should have done away with the abrasive comments in talk and summaries. That, I will avoid in the future. As long as AB has been here, verifiability is something he should have been familiar with. When there's a doubt about something, the requirement that a reliable source directly verify the claim is non-negotiable. In this case, there's no source directly supporting when the business opened up and shouldn't have turned into an argument over keeping inferred information that is not directly supported. Regardless of how people feel at the talk page level, this is something that shouldn't be overridden according to WP:CONLEVEL. I think that when problems of this nature arrives, it should go by the policy; and if we have a disagreement over the interpretation, we should research the noticeboard archives and ask questions there if answer can not be found. I have generally been happy with 3-O comment system. So, maybe for the next three months, we can both stick to ONE RR in regards to reverting each other, directly or indirectly (by asking others if they would make specific changes) and make use of third opinion rather than ping specific individuals to weigh in.

As for AfDs, I don't believe it's improper that I nominate things around Oregon in categories and neighborhoods listing when I see what I believe to be run of the mill. After all, if AfD determines it's notable, it has no impact on the article. I can agree on not going back and forth in the AfD debate and would like, in return from AB to not add a list of trivial calendar events, reviews from local alternative weeklies and such as soon as they're nominated to make notability determination more time consuming than necessary. Waiting for AB to comment. Graywalls (talk) 16:29, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Again, like Deb's suggestion, that's punishing AB for Graywall's behavior. Most all users besides Graywalls have stated their behavior is either stalking or hounding, neither of which should be acceptable. Why punish AB for Graywalls obviously targeting them? That makes no sense, and would deter AB (and possibly other users) from reporting harassment in the future. --Kbabej (talk) 17:47, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Graywalls, thank you for acknowledging your inappropriate behavior at Talk:Hawks PDX. I don't feel a need to comment here further about a specific dispute. Nor will I apologize for expanding articles you've unnecessarily nominated for deletion. Again, you're distracting from a much larger problem. Even Deb has said this conversation has devolved into specific disputes we've already been over and over. This seems to be your M.O. -- distracting and rehashing the same things over and over. What a massive waste of time. I will say it again, I don't appreciate your hounding or going against consensus, or your unnecessary deletion nominations, which take a toll on the community. If you continue to act out of line, I will report you. I am disappointed this discussion has not been more fruitful, but oh well. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 18:12, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

What were you trying to accomplish by this complaint? I don't agree that my deletion nominations are unnecessary. I can commit to politeness and modify how I say things but I'm not willing to avoid area of my interest (Portland area/some art topics) simply because you have been to it before. I'm talking about the way you attempt to reach consensus and how you determine consensus has been reached whose MO hasn't been restricted to the specific examples. I believe 1RR is something we can give it a try for a while, say a month or two. If I see some hole in the wall place while looking in Portland categories, that's a legitimate reason to nominate for AfD without any consideration to who created it. I'm not going after something because you made them. Graywalls (talk) 18:35, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Graywalls, You seem quite frustrated when I expand an article after your nomination deletion, which is a perfectly appropriate reaction to seeing an article about a notable topic flagged for deletion. You've also done a great job not owning up to your retaliatory behavior. Fellow editors, I am more than happy to address any of your questions or concerns, but I am no longer interested in communicating with Graywalls directly. This disruption has very much negatively impacted my editing experience the last couple months. I've made my concerns known, and I've made it very clear I'm willing report any and all shenanigans moving forward. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 18:43, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I was only frustrated with the addition of long list of routine happenings with event listings and calendars as citations that only occurred after the AfD. Graywalls (talk) 20:23, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Note: @Deb, Graywalls, and Kbabej: Sorry, I'm not sure what happened here exactly. I think an edit conflict. But User:Deb's comment to User:Kbabej was removed. Letting all involved know. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 19:40, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Proposal

No editor above (besides Graywalls themselves) believes Graywalls ins't stalking or harassing AB. The fact that GW can't see that, or chooses not to admit it, is problematic. Stalking/harassing should be taken seriously, as it can push good editors off WP. What I'm proposing is simple: An WP:IBAN for Graywalls on articles that Another Believer has created or edited. There are literally millions of articles on the English WP. As Deb stated to both AB and Graywalls, "[Graywalls] "You never know, you may get interested in something else and forget all about this particular topic." There's no reason GW needs to be harassing and hounding a particular editor and their work. Indeed, they already stated they have other interests in graffiti. I'm sure there's more to be interested in as well. Out of millions of articles, avoiding one particular editor shouldn't be difficult, especially for such a new editor. This could be an opportunity into broadening their horizons and focus on different parts of the project, rather than engaging one person over and over. --Kbabej (talk) 21:04, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I certainly didn't say that. Action may be needed but I don't think it's practical to make that kind of blanket ban. He could easily breach it without being aware of it. Deb (talk) 21:40, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Deb, Above you said, "I think this is a kind of stalking" as well as "I agree that Graywalls has been stalking, and has been overly aggressive in the course of this discussion." Sorry, but what "certainly didn't you say"? I am confused. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 21:45, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Deb, I'm confused then as well. You've stated twice Graywalls has been stalking, as AB has shown. --Kbabej (talk) 21:47, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Pretty sure Deb didn't mean the stalking/hounding part. Deb did NOT say "[Graywalls] may get interested in something else and forget all about this particular topic." What Deb DID say was you may get interested in something else and forget all about this particular topic. which was directed at both Gray & AB in the context of a voluntary stepping away. Very, very different than how Kbabej was quoting it. TelosCricket (talk) 00:07, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Ah, understood now. Very helpful, thank you. ---Another Believer _(Talk) 00:10, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I meant to apply her quote to GW, not necessarily that she said that exactly. Didn't do that well, admittedly. My apologies. --Kbabej (talk) 00:48, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Updated above quote to not distract from the proposal. --Kbabej (talk) 03:05, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Thanks. Deb (talk) 07:43, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

No way. This would be reasonable if he wasn't so prolific, but considering how much breadth he has in the things of my local interest, it would essentially allow him to claim dominance by grandfathered stake. Graywalls (talk) 21:44, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I didn't expect you to agree to this, Graywalls. I'm asking other editors if they agree this is how we should proceed. You've shown an inability to recognize the harassment and stalking you've done, so I didn't expect you to agree to something that would force you to change your harassing behavior. --Kbabej (talk) 21:47, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

This is getting to the heart of what I've noticed. It's also problematic to allow an editor to hound another when it involves taking many articles to AfD. tedder (talk) 15:25, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• Just came across this discussion. AB is a passionate editor about the Pacific Northwest. See meta:Cascadia for evidence. Any remedies that would tend to extinguish that passion, or throttle AB's contributions unnecessarily, would lessen Wikipedia IMO. The one-way IBAN (on Graywalls) sounds reasonable to me. He/she can find other things to do here. ☆ Bri (talk) 00:28, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
• Pinging editors who have contributed to this discussion. What are your thoughts on this proposal, @Rhododendrites, Guettarda, Tedder, Levivich, and Nosebagbear:? And @TelosCricket: (Please note I have not left anyone out intentionally. If I have missed an editor, please ping them, or let me know, and I will.) --Kbabej (talk) 03:14, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Kbabej, sorry, I'm confused because IBAN says the interaction-banned users are generally allowed to edit the same pages, and the proposal as written is for an IBAN on articles that Another Believer has created or edited, which sounds more like a TBAN? Leviv ich 05:14, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Levivich My understanding of IBAN was that a user could not "undo each other's edits to any page, whether by use of the revert function or by other means." But yes, thank you for pointing out that I am effectively proposing a TBAN and IBAN. --Kbabej (talk) 16:24, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• Leviich - it's both a TBAN and a 1-way IBAN, I'd say. I do actually feel Gray has something that this would be a staggeringly large TBAN. I feel it would need some limitations. Perhaps articles posted on by AB in the last month? This would be a nuisance, but far less so than cutting off such a large realm. The normal 1-way IBAN limitations would also apply (user talk page etc etc). Thoughts? Nosebagbear (talk) 09:25, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

For such a new editor, I don't think this would be "staggeringly large". There are millions of articles on WP, and most people have varied interests. Why should harassment and hounding be allowed to continue just because AB has focused on PDX articles? Graywalls has exhibited a pattern of behavior that is intentional, hostile, and targeted toward AB. Again, I view this as an opportunity for GW to actually focus on other areas and contribute in a positive way to the project instead of becoming focused on following one user around. --Kbabej (talk) 16:33, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• I think the main issue is the way Graywalls has been treating Another Believer over the past two months:

Behavioral quotes and diffs

Graywalls' first edits [212] are a few days in September, a day in November, and a few days in January and February, almost exclusively to Mook (graffiti artist). Then in March they bump into AB at homelessness-in-Portland-related articles. They start removing content, merging articles, applying CSD tags, and nominating articles for deletion. On March 11, they're not yet extended confirmed, but make this comment on AB's talk page: When many of your articles have the same fundamental issue (lack of basic notability and obvious promotional intent hinted by tone, and participation by the businesses by the means of direct editing), I'd be wasting other editors' time to list them for deletion consensus building. So if you aren't ignorant of notability guidelines, you're gaming the system by trying to increase the work load as a deterrent to deletion. Again on March 13, they refer to AB as an experienced editor who has a track record of prolifically creating articles on run of the mill local businesses that absolutely fails to establish the core requirements of notability with information provided reasonably concludes it is advertisement listing. How does a non-EC editor know about AB's "track record" after essentially editing in this area for a couple of weeks, when AB has 300,000 edits and almost 5,000 articles created? The other comments there, An experienced editor like him should know better than slapping a bunch of sticky note drafts and expecting other editors to establish organization notability, and if disputed, put other editors go through all the AfD hoop. I personally liken this to patent troll lawsuits which are known to create the burden. and With the level of experience held by Another Believer, he knows better that its disruptive to introduce a sub stub quality junk articles., suggest a battleground mentality against an editor they just met. On March 30, GW suggests AB uses A tactic very frequently employed by marketing and public relations people. (The whole talk page is worth reading.) And in this AfD: Although it might appear to those seeing AfDs as I'm choosing after the creator's articles, it just happens that a large number of questionable articles I come across are the ones created by him. I see it as absolutely absurd he's essentially trying to make an article on practically EVERY LGBT related organizations and businesses like gay bars and unfortunately, I'm frequently seeing more or less the same concern. On April 1: At the request of the creator, who has been serially spawning articles of this nature... and again: You've been editing long enough and know better than that. April 2: You're plastering on things that are of anything remotely LGBT, including clearly non-notable organization. and again: Then stop creating poor quality articles in the first place and work on fewer and higher quality ones. Accusation of canvassing on April 4. On April 4, Tedder posted a note on GW's talk page cataloguing behavioral issues, which are different from (and worse than) those I just posted above. It's worth reading. GW wrote in this ANI I agree with other concerns on politeness and respectful interaction brought up by tedder and I have been conscious and aware to maintain politeness. and I have been trying to keep it polite after tedder's comment on my page and I'm committed to remaining polite. However, after Tedder's April 4 post... On April 9, another COI suggestion: @Another Believer:, you presented yourself as something along the line of editing expert. I'm looking through the edit history in this article and I see highly obvious self-editing flew right past you. With your level of experience, I would like to ask why you let it fly without saying a thing. On April 11: What a coincidence that those "better ones" you're referencing are taken by you, thus repeating my concern about your grandiose attitude towards others.The article doesn't exist to appease to aesthetics senses of Another Believer. First and foremost is the encyclopedic value. Secondary is the subjective quality. Quite frankly, I'm not a fan of your composition. Graywalls nominated No Vacancy Lounge for deletion. It was unanimously kept. During the AfD, AB expanded the article and added sources–basically a standard rescue. GW took exception to this. The AfD closed on April 13. The same day, Graywalls posts a 3PO request, in which he complained that additional sources were added and suggested rolling it back to the point prior to AfD nomination and working from there. That is, after nominating an article for deletion, and having it rescued, he suggested rolling it back to pre-rescue form–the state it was in when they nominated it for deletion. (To their credit, this part of the request was removed by GW in a subsequent edit.) On April 14, in response to AB saying they've expanded the article to add more sources, Those are things that should have been done prior to the article even being created, are they not? which shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the article creation process (and suggests no WP:BEFORE searches are being done, and nominations are being made based on the state of the article rather than the state of available sourcing) On April 17, refers to AB's comments ...as manipulative, coercive and threatening that is trying to intimidate me into succumb to his way.... In addition to the above, see these entire threads: Talk:Hawks PDX#Business registration/business establishment month and year, WT:WikiProject Oregon#Calling other Portland city center experts, and Talk:Street Roots#Tag. The last one is from a few days ago. Finally, in this ANI, GW has continued to accuse AB of wrongdoing and called for AB to be punished in a number of ways: perhaps by having AB no longer have autopatrolled status, it could avoid the proliferation of run of the mill local venues that became the point of disagreements. Having his autopatrol removed would help those articles go through review scrutiny and avoid having them become a point of concern in the first place. I'm open to the idea that you refrain from art topic; and Portland area;... Since AB works in a lot of different areas and we have problems only in specific area, if he'd avoid the same topic areas that I work on (Oregon area, some art topics); I think he can go peacefully work on plenty other things he work on; and I can work on things in Oregon area; thus allowing both of us to continue doing our things on Wikipedia while avoiding a section where we would have to co-exist. This was identified as an article with potential UDPE(not saying or implying he had anything to do with) issue...This too is possible UDPE. I believe I have reasonable cause to believe you're soliciting those likely to side with you by choosing those likely to have similar ideology or have previously been sympathetic to your side.

• Per the above, I support a one-way IBAN preventing Graywalls from interacting with Another Believer. My concern about a TBAN from Portland is that it misses the target, because I think Portland is just a proxy for AB. I'm not sure that it's necessary over and above an IBAN. Leviv ich 19:35, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• If you are implying that you don't believe Graywalls is a new user, I feel you should come right out and say it. Deb (talk) 22:41, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

• No I’m not implying that at all, and it wouldn’t matter if they were or weren’t anyway. I’m saying GW has been harassing the first editor they had a content dispute with. It would make more sense if these statements I quoted came after years of disagreement, but GW went from zero to nuclear in no time, and kept it up even after a talk page warning, even during this ANI. Hence why I think an IBAN is appropriate. Leviv ich 23:06, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I actually G11'd Elephant's Delicatessen; because it looked very promotional; and there was a tell tale sign of significant editing by the business. I was shocked at the chain reaction that took on. Some have been saying how I continue to bring this incident back. When someone directly says " If you're not willing to help, I will find another admin who is willing to restore the page." While AB says I continue to "bring back" the past, the big picture is that a comment like this comes across as he'll just shop around until he gets his way. Is this interpretation unreasonable?

"Please stop. I'll agree to not seeking outside input here if you'll agree to my proposed path forward above." This is the instance which I was referencing when I said coercive and manipulative; because his statement comes across as ""accept my proposal.. else if...".

I do find his remarks, edit comments etc dismissive. I've shared that concern with him. And I am digging around for this discussion and it seems like I'm not the only one made to feel that way with his demeanor. this. This to me looks like the same back-n-forth that has been wearing me out, and possibly what Deb at one point describes as "haranguing".

this chattering says others are also finding his stubby articles a point of concern. And nominating those things for deletion because I actually believe something don't have notability isn't going after the PERSON who is making them.

and another back and forth

Obviously, interactions can not happen between us if one of us wasn't around. These interactions suggest AB has a confrontational tendencies with others who do not agree with his way. It's a mischaracterization to say I'm "treating him poorly" just because.

Graywalls (talk) 00:06, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I support a 1way IBAN, 3 months seems appropriate. Again, IBAN covers the problematic behavior well, as it includes (preventing) deleting content and AfDs. Lev, I appreciate the work you've done reviewing behavior (again), as it shows a clear pattern. tedder (talk) 23:55, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Neutral - I won't argue against it, but I do believe there is fault on both sides and both editors have shown intransigency in getting us to this situation. Deb (talk) 09:17, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

RHaworth, again

Last year, I expressed disappointment and criticism at the conduct of RHaworth (talk · contribs) over deletions, not so much over whether the deletion was justified but proper adherence to WP:ADMINACCT and by extension WP:CIVIL. In the past month I have spotted several issues, and I feel like I'm spending far too much time cleaning up after him and performing the necessary level of "customer service" to keep editors on board and active in the project.

• Jeff Oster was deleted per WP:G4 despite being rewritten from scratch. The creator, Meta in MA (talk · contribs) asked for restoration and got given a canned message "I continue to be annoyed when somebody leaves a message to me about an article and provides no wikilink to the article. How do you expect me to read the article if you don't link to it?" My answer would be "Which of the two of you has more experience in the technical side of Wikipedia and should therefore be expected to provide support to the one who doesn't?" The response, "I'm getting really disappointed with trying to submit work to Wikipedia. I'm trying to follow the rules and better document New Age artists, and once I get an article edited to the point where it is approved, it gets deleted. Does Wikipedia what to suppress new authors?" was somewhat predictable.
• Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/MyTicket.co.uk was closed as "delete" with just the nomination and no other !votes, to which I would normally expect a soft delete or a redirect. The subsequent creation of a redirect seems a bit odd (nobody asked for it at the AfD).
• Draft:Víctor Manzanilla (now moved to Víctor Manzanilla Schaffer) was deleted by RHaworth, and restoration requested by GiantSnowman (talk · contribs) See here. For some reason, RHaworth dug his heels in and refused to give a straight answer to GiantSnowman, so I restored it for him and added a few sources.
• MaxBrowne (talk · contribs) complained about the deletion of Threatin. See here. RHaworth's reply was "I should have ignored you both because neither of you is capable of providing a link." which got the response "You've been kind of unfriendly so excuse my lack of enthusiasm for replying". Elsewhere on this talk page archive I see comments from RHaworth such as "I and probably many other Wikipedians, view IP address editors as a very low life form" (see WP:IPHUMAN) and "Kindly have the decency to wait until someone with no CoI thinks your company is notable and writes about it here" which he was specifically told not to say at the last ANI thread.
• Paul W (talk · contribs) took exception to RHaworth deleting Vivian Li, saying, "Disappointed that you feel my efforts were deficient. As a Wikimedia UK volunteer, I was trying to encourage and support new editors (acknowledged in the article Talk page). I was racing against a speedy deletion (apologies for the typos - I had other things going on....), and now you tell me I am undeserving". See here. After I intervened, RHaworth did apologise.

I'm not saying the deletions were blatantly wrong or against policy - perhaps they were, perhaps they weren't, but I'm just completely unhappy that somebody can seemingly think that certain policies don't apply to them, when they would certainly cause an RfA to fail in today's climate. I admit my temper is fraying in this area, and I should probably just back out completely, but I don't really want to sit by and see new editors have a bad experience and quit. So somebody needs to look to see if there's anything we can do, and what a typical level of WP:ADMINACCT should be set at. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 16:36, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

"I and probably many other Wikipedians, view IP address editors as a very low life form" - ooooh, I thought we weren't supposed to say that (just think it, as I do but have never stated).Smeat75 (talk) 16:41, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Just on the Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/MyTicket.co.uk AfD - another user tagged it for CSD while I was filling in the AfD proposal. The CSD tag was placed by the time I submitted the nomination, so the conflict was my bad, not theirs. I was pondering what to do for the best when RHaworth deleted the page; I didn't request the redirect, but in fairness it was probably appropriate (the website belonged to the company that it was redirected to). GirthSummit _(blether) 16:55, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

It sounds a reasonable compromise, sure; the issue is more the reply from RHaworth, which is the somewhat unhelpful "The discussion says "the result was delete" so why do you ask the question?". Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 16:59, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

We all know that IPs are subhuman. Frequently, ANI is protected and we can not even post here. We all have IPs, you know. 209.152.44.201 (talk) 20:03, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I don't think I have anything to say here other than my disappointment on RHaworth's comments on IPs. Like I understand that some editors are against allowing IPs to be able to edit and I respect that opinion, but calling IPs as "very low life forms" seems too much. Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 17:23, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

I will add another issue to this thread: While Ephixa was still in draftspace, and a deletion review closed as "Accept draft", RHaworth declined a G6 request and salted the redirect as "trying to circumvent DRV". Seems like an obvious rush in not reading the full story before declining. Luckily, after discussion, we were able to accept the draft, but I still had the feeling the decline was rushed. I'm not saying he was wrong in declining the G6, though, I'm just disappointed in how it was handled. Jalen D. Folf (talk) 17:49, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• Well, I'm sure if he's told to restrain himself from vocalising his views on IPs—shared, of course, by so many of his colleagues—then both he and us can get back to what we're here for...to paraphrase the OP :D ——SerialNumber54129 18:38, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
• Yup, I've questioned RHaworth's deletions several times over the past couple years, usually to no avail. I'd love to see an WP:ADMINACCT Arb Com case opened for RHaworth's conduct. I certainly don't have the time to present evidence here, but I would in a case request. This is an ongoing problem that doesn't look like it's ever going to be resolved otherwise, as the conduct since the "acknowledgment" in the previous thread has demonstrated. -- Tavix ^(talk) 18:46, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
• I've certainly on many occasions gone to remove the deletion tags from pages which appear to have been tagged in error, to find that RHaworth has deleted the page in question in the meantime. AGF and all that, but he's clearly just opening CAT:EX and CAT:CSD and hitting the "batch delete" button since there's no possible way he could actually be checking the articles and their histories in the time taken. (If you've ever wanted to see what 100 deletions in one minute looks like, here you go.) There are also some distinctly goofy log entries. I'm not sure if Arbcom is necessary—hopefully an "I'll slow down, take more care and stop being an asshole to other people" is all that's necessary—but just a skim over his talk page isn't promising. ‑ Iridescent 19:02, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

  The last ANI thread was archived as RHaworth has acknowleged the communication issues and no futher action is required. Unfortunately, acknowledging is not the same as actually improving. I explicitly did not comment last year because he and I have distinctively different views on speedy deletion and I didn't want that to be the focus after Ritchie had mentioned it but I think Ritchie has demonstrated now that RHaworth is not willing to follow ADMINACCT regardless of his mistaken applications of the speedy deletion policy and thus I would welcome an ArbCom case to analyze his behavior if this (again) fails to sanction him. Regards SoWhy 19:19, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

  And even if this did go to Arbcom, it would waste everyone's time, with the Arbs (eventually) coming back with the standard "RHaworth is admonished" line. Lugnuts ^{Fire Walk with Me} 19:44, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

  • Ritchie333, I am away from home at the moment without my usual display facilities. Please provide your own replies to messages on my user talk page which you consider are unsuitable and reply on my behalf to all the new messages there. I will study your responses and try and learn from your example.

  Everybody else, is it sufficient for me to say that I accept my admonishment? — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 22:09, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

  And why do you think that that's in any way sufficient? You have been disrupting Wikipedia for well over a decade by speedily deleting articles that don't remotely qualify for speedy deletion and by salting the titles when editors have tried to question your actions. I, for one, won't let this thread go until your obvious incompetency leads to your admin rights being removed. I'm about to go to bed now, so won't look up the diffs until tomorrow, but I would have thought that it's pretty obvious to anyone looking at your record that what I say is true. Phil Bridger (talk) 22:22, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

  @Phil Bridger: - hi, firstly just an indication of interest specifically in diffs of retributive saltings tomorrow. Secondly, I feel that if it's just bad speedies, then I'd advocate a TBAN without a loss of general sysops rights. If there are true retributive saltings, then that's definitely cause for de-sysopping. Nosebagbear (talk) 22:55, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

• RHaworth is an absolute gentleman compared to several other Admins I deal with regularly. I watch his talkpage and respond to requests from time to time. He is fast to delete when we are doing bulk CSDs like G13s and willing to restore based on any reasonable and sometimes unreasonable request. Not the Admin that needs ro be dragged here for a beating. Legacypac (talk) 23:04, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
  • I've got to say that I'm of the opposite opinion. RHaworth has been, IMO, the single most difficult admin I've dealt with (though I'll acknowledge there are one or two others who come from time to time). I'll fully admit that's over many years, not just since the last time this came to ANI. But honestly I can tell when it's one of his deletions at DRV just from the deletion request. My sense is that he gets overturned for really poor deletions pretty often. And I've commonly seen him be really terse when dealing with others, especially new users and IPs. It's not like I follow him, just go look at discussions related to DRVs he's involved in. Is there a good/easy way to see how admins have faired at DRV? I'd be willing to put together a list of the issues I've had if there is. But I've no idea how to search for them. Hobit (talk) 03:49, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
  • Let me also acknowledge that he does a lot of good work around here. No doubt. Hobit (talk) 03:51, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
• Just a minor comment: according to WP:NOQUORUM it is acceptable for the admin to close the discussion according to the nominator's suggestion. That is a hard, rather than soft, delete. That should generally be less common though. Reyk _YO! 05:10, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
• RH does excellent work, and is correct in his judgments as often as I am, or as anyone who does as much work as he does. But since there is always the possibility of error (indeed, the certainty of making a few errors), it's unfair to new users to assume their objections do not need to be considered. It's also unfair to the rest of us who feel obliged to rescue rescuable articles and who have to deal with the new editors subsequently. In past years, there were quite a few other admins acting similarly, and it seemed unreasonable to single him out among them, but the others have in general either changed or left. I know it's hard to break a pattern, and I suggest we need patience while waiting for improvement. But I hope we really do actually see improvement. DGG ( talk ) 05:42, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
  • I broadly concur with DGG's comments. I note RHaworth has accepted his admonishment ... and I [AGF that means an attempt to improve communications towards current sysop/admin norms ... and I guess we will be back here if not. Thread closure may be more productive than a Good Friday crucifixion of RAHaworth. Thankyou. Djm-leighpark (talk) 06:45, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
    • Me too. Those of us who dare to carry out deletions - almost always at the request of other contributors - expect and get considerable criticism. I don't see any reason for him to do more than apologise if he gets it wrong once in a while. Deb (talk) 08:24, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

      As I said at the top, "I'm not saying the deletions were blatantly wrong or against policy - perhaps they were, perhaps they weren't". That is not the purpose of this thread. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 09:03, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

      Just to clarify, when I said "gets it wrong", I did not mean to refer only to deletions but to general conduct. Deb (talk) 13:10, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

    (edit conflict) +1 I'm not, obviously, a clearer of backlogs—indeed, I'm more likely to cause them  :) but, notwithstanding that no-one's irreplaceable, I do wonder who exactly would do the work that RH does; not, it would seem, the admins currently calling for arbitration (103 G11s/U5s over their last 1500 collated deletions; [213], [214], [215]). Happy days!  :)

    Of course, no-one has to do anything they don't want to do, but a few pro rata errors are a small price, I think, to pay for the heavy lifting to be done while allowing the rest of us to wander the halls of enlighten/ment. I grant you that RH can be brusque; but he's never told anyone to fuck off, people—and there are a fair few admins who that can't be said of! They, I suggest, would justify an occasional outburst on the grounds that they are permanently dealing with vandals/socks/LTAs and other such unsavoury characters, and after all, if you sleep with dogs you rise with fleas. I expect RH's occasional terseness stems from much the same thing: permanently hearing the same thing over and over, most of the time from blatant spammers and Garage Bandists.

    Poor for the soul I'd imagine; rather RH than me. And, I suspect, rather RH than most/of/us/here right now... ——SerialNumber54129 09:12, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

    The examples I gave above do not fit this pattern - do you really think Phil Bridger, Paul W and GiantSnowman are vandals, socks or LTAs? Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 09:16, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

    Supercilious disingenuity. I was referring to mindsets, not individuals, as you well understand. And I was replying above to Deb, not you. ——SerialNumber54129 09:23, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

    Then you're arguing a Straw man. This thread is not about people who do a lot of CSD deletions, and it is certainly not meant to be a campaign against their excellent work. It's about a particular pattern of behaviour in which one admin has refused to engage with veteran editors on reasonable queries about deletions, and also exhibited WP:BITE behaviour towards other good faith newbies. You can't wave that one away just by saying there are lots of vandals and trolls out there. It's something that needs to be examined, and RHaworth needs to acknowledge that the examples presented above do not constitute satisfactory conduct and that they will do better in the future.  — Amakuru (talk) 10:34, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

    That being the case it would have been closed at the point where RH explicitly acknowledged so—over twelve hours ago. It wasn't. However, I note this discussion is relevant; I'd be personally tempted to suggest a moratorium on all but the most egregious (but how to define, naturally) incivility being brought her while a consensus is being established. If it is of course. ——SerialNumber54129 11:53, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

  "I and probably many other Wikipedians, view IP address editors as a very low life form" - ooooh, I thought we weren't supposed to say that (just think it, as I do but have never stated)." I don't see why. I go through my watchlist several times every week, and check what such editors are up to. Several of them are reverting vandalism, correcting typos, or using the talk page to mention errors and omissions. On the other hand several editors with signed names are vandalizing pages, trolling, and leaving misleading messages such as "fixed typo". Dimadick (talk) 13:32, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

  Try editing as an IP for a few days. I tried, making the same kinds of edits I normally do, and I was reverted without explanation and threatened with a block. IPs are treated that way, so it's reasonable to conclude that a lot of editors think of them that way. Guettarda (talk) 15:50, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Regarding IP editors, I would encourage RHaworth, and everyone else to read WP:HUMAN. Paul August ☎ 23:47, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• Quick comment on the Víctor Manzanilla Schaffer debacle seeing as I've being pinged here - this was a clearly notable article which was moved to draftspace for no reason and then he refused to answer questions about it. Very concerning conduct. GiantSnowman 12:43, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
• Comment RHaworth seems to have resumed activities although the last comment here is he was on limited capability device which I totally understand especially can understand especially given the Easter holiday period. Gets a WP:TROUT doing a CSD in a batch with a rate of about 10+/min on a page with a contest in progress from a person giving him support earlier in the thread. To be fair there may be timing issues here and posting this here may influence matters. This may of course be a godd faith attempt to help out while resources are light which I can totally appreciate. Djm-leighpark (talk) 23:46, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

  I also need to WP:TROUT myself here for not simply removing the CSD notice first rather than writing on the take page which was the incorrect procedure for contesting the deletion by a not page owner (In haste hit the big button in lieu of carefully reading small print).Djm-leighpark (talk) 04:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

  I will observe quickly RHaworth has just restored the page in question and has been thanked by me for doing so.Djm-leighpark (talk) 10:32, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment Did he pull a userfied page from Meta in MA and then tag it for speedy deletion? Muthian (talk) 01:23, 21 April 2019 (UTC)
  • I am reasonably sure this was the incident mentioned at the top of the thread and which was probably the key triggering incident for the thread and to an extent has been implicitly acknowledged already by RHaworth.Djm-leighpark (talk) 04:40, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Personal attacks at talk:Patrick Moore

I have attempted to discuss this edit at User talk:Hob Gadling#Personal attack. As I said there I find the phrase Even if it were allowed, you are bad at it particularly unhelpful, but there are other problems with the post IMO.

You are moving further and further away from reality was part of a subsequent post. [216]

I don't want the user (or myself!) banned from the discussion. But I think it would be good to avoid these personal attacks. Is this unreasonable? Andrewa (talk) 13:58, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

• That looks pretty mild and nowhere near a personal attack. Is there some backstory I'm missing? What do you think someone should say if they believe persistent errors of logic are being presented on a talk page? The discussion seems to concern whether someone with a forestry PhD can be regarded as an expert in ecology and Hob Gadling's response (essentially, "no") seems fine. Johnuniq (talk) 00:53, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
  • OK, so if I reply that (in my opinion) he is the one out of touch with reality, that would be OK? I recognise that while WP:NPA leaves no wiggle room, in practice it seems there's no longer any consensus to enforce it strictly.
  • The question under discussion is, does the PhD in any way make ecologist a better disambiguator than environmentalist? The RM is to move away from (environmentalist), and my proposal is (ecologist) as the new name, and I find the suggestion that the PhD is irrelevant bizarre... many reliable secondary sources (as well as primary ones such as Moore himself) call it in Ecology, and there's no such evidence to support the existing name. But that the PhD is irrelevant seems to me to be exactly what Hob Gadling and others are suggesting.
  • So it seems to me that they are the ones denying reality on this specific issue. Whether that's true or not, it's my honest opinion, so is it OK for me to express it there? (Not sure whether I will but if it's disapproved here I won't.) Andrewa (talk) 23:15, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Regarding my recent edits

Now I'd like to make it clear to everyone that I am about to wirte a lot so please be patient.

Regarding my recent edits on wikipedia, yes I have been a pain at times and when I have realised my mistakes as for example when I thought occupants were not needed on air accidents were there no survivors I made a quick and urgent redo. Look I'm not perfect ok, but until recently I decided to fix up some old accidents regarding Aeroflot, please see here: Aeroflot accidents and incidents. I have been fixing the infoboxes, the date formats, the summaries and adding occupants, ok to the vast majority of you, thats nothing. But I'd rather get those pages up to date regarding the layout and formatting.

To start it off, I've had a user User:Samf4u send me messages stating editing the old Aeroflot pages are unconstructive. To make it clear how is it unconstructive to redo those old rarley edited pages. To him that it is considered uneeded but bear in mind after a minor discussion with another user I found that having dates set out as d/m/y was considered the best layout so thats what I did. In which I later changed into a function after I saw some popular accidents use said format. Anyways regarding Samf4u, we fell out recently and until now I've had about 3 of these unconstrucitve posts of him, in which I deleted and I will explain why:

A) The template he sent me says this and I quote " If you think I made a mistake, or if you have any questions, you may leave a message on my talk page". In which I did, he said he doesn't talk to disruptive users. So the template to me is rendered useless.

B) The template helps me in no way what-so-ever. I read the link about unconstructive edits once. My edits on the aeroflot accidents are not uneeded.

With my talk there are times when I delete parts from it. It's not that I 'cant take CRITISISM' as one user believes. It's the fact that if I don't need it anymore or it does not serve a purpose to me then I don't keep it. Until recently as of this past 30 minutes while I'm tpying this message, I've had this user: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/The_face_of_the_moon. Undo my edit with Sam's template on. Like Ive said multiple times. I do not need it there, the template is a blatant lie as with the last two lines because I cannot discuss the 'unconstructive editing' with him.

I do want to improve but If everything I do is unconstrutive what is contructive. I love being here and the fact that I am being helped is something I appreciate. I've changed a lot since I firs started. I have discussions, or at least try to. But my goal today was to clean up the Aeroflot accidents, but if I cannot do something that people consider unconstrutive then what is the point? I mean they haven't touched it and before someone says that the pages are fine, have a look for yourself.

I am not here to deliberatly cause trouble or anything like that. There are air accidents that hit home to me. And after seeing small issues on a page, its how I became a user here, to make the pages look more presentable and not abandoned as with some of the Aeroflot accidents.

Again I love being here and making changes that I see are good, I have common sense when it comes to editing like dont add silly stuff like foul langage etc etc. And in a way my Autism does get to me, but it does make me think creativly. I want to do good I seriosuly hand on heart mean that. But when I get my talk page undone by spam users such as these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/The_face_of_the_moon its an utter pain. I don't mind the odd occasion bumping into people I dislike its when I get my page messed around with and comments such as 'i cant take CRTISISM' is what annoys me.

Before I end this off, I want a friendly calm discussion as I really have had enough and I just want to be calm and cool around everyone. If theres a page about improvements or anything like that I'll go there. OrbitalEnd48401 (talk) 17:21, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

You are required to notify any user involved in this ANI discussion on their talk page. I have done so for you.--WaltCip (talk) 17:46, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm blocking The face of the moon per NOTHERE and almost certainly not being a new user. OrbitalEnd48401, from one ASD editor to another, it's best to keep ANI posts as concise as possible; I had to reread this a few times to figure out what the problem was here, it's easier to just point to the problematic edits with a brief explanation. I'll leave the part of this involving Samf4u to others. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 17:49, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

I'll just add that there is no reason to think that Samf4u has anything to do with that user, and I support the block. Thanks Blade. Drmies (talk) 20:13, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

As an editor that has had a reasonable amount of interaction with OrbitalEnd48401, I do seriously think OE and the new mysterious The face of the moon may be the same person, in what I can only describe as some weird misguided attempt at implicating Samf4u in wrong doing. Andrewgprout (talk) 21:15, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Andrewgprout, that account is just some troll here to stir up trouble. Please don't make accusations of sockpuppetry without strong evidence. —DoRD (talk)​ 12:31, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Wait you’re accusing me of doing that? I would like an Administrator to check the IP’s in which that user used. That is not me. I am NOT an attention seeker like that. What utter garbage. To hear that come from you Andrew? Oh my god, I’m speechless. I don’t know how could come up with such an accusation Andrew but goddamn that without a doubt has made me lose my mind. I need a break, I’ll answer your questions tomorrow, please just wait for me to come online tomorrow because if that’s what being said when I’ve been without signal most of the day, thag has terrified me. OrbitalEnd48401 (talk) 21:22, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Can you please answer this before I hop offline. Why did Sam say my edits were unconstructive, I haven’t hurt the articles or anything. I’m annoyed that anything I do gets undone when I’m here for the best intention. It’s frustrating. OrbitalEnd48401 (talk) 21:24, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

If you have a disagreement with Samf4u over how they described your edits, why don't you ask them on their talk page? I have no idea why that would be an ANI issue, unless they continually describe your edits in the same way and refuse to discuss it. Nil Einne (talk) 04:36, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I have to say, way too many people have been reverting OrbitalEnd48401's WP:OWNTALK page removals for my liking, not just the blocked editor. Yes it may not be ideal behaviour but since they're entitled to do it, they most we should do is counsel against it and let them if they really want to keep at it. Reverting benefits no one. Ultimately if they cause problems and ignore any advice given, they'll be blocked. Diffs can be used to demonstrate that people having been trying to talk to them. In other words, the best way we can deal with any poor behaviour is not to demonstrate poor behaviour ourselves, and reverting legitimate removals is clearly that. Nil Einne (talk) 05:14, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Thanks @Nil Einne:. I appreciate that. Again Samf4u refuses to talk to me please see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Samf4u#Unconstructive

As a quick side not, I know myself not to tamper or disrupt others talk pages unless it’s offenseive or breaks the policy. OrbitalEnd48401 (talk) 11:40, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

"Ethnic" editing

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...or "ethnic cleansing", or "disappearing". User:Isildurada claims an ethnogenesis of sorts has taken place in Portugal; see this edit. I could have taken this to the edit warring noticeboard, or just blocked for edit warring, or just blocked for NOTHERE, but I'd rather I not be the only one arguing that someone who says, in their edit summary, "yes we have... much less will non europeans define what we are and try to re-write history". In other words, I propose an indef block for NPOV, racist, disruptive editing. Note that user was blocked before for edit warring and disappearing Africanness from Europe--this was the last in a series of more than a dozen such edits. That the editor got off with a 24-hour block is regrettable. Also pinging User:Cristiano Tomás, who reverted on Portuguese people as well. Drmies (talk) 00:28, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I blocked the user indefinitely for continuing to edit war and for using Wikipedia as soapbox. El_C 00:35, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

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User:Thefearmakers

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Thefearmakers (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) has persistently added unsourced material, OR, and personal commentary to various film- and music-related articles for over two years. Despite reverts and several warnings on their talk page, they continue to do so unabated. Some more recent examples:

• 28 October 2018 removed cited text without explanation[217], were reverted and given a warning[218]
• 6 February 2019‎ added unreferenced trivia[219], were reverted and warned[220]
• 6 February 2019 were given a general warning to "Please stop adding unsourced material and your own analysis/original research to Wikipedia articles. Information that is pertinent/notable can be added if supported by reliable sources, but trivia should not be added as you have been doing."[221]
• 19 April 2019 added personal commentary[222], were reverted and warned with uw-nor3[223]
• 19 April 2019 re-added some uncited text to the same article[224], were reverted and warned that they risked being blocked[225]
• 20 April 2019 again re-added some unreferenced commentary to the same article[226], were reverted[227] and now we're here

They have been editing since December 2016, advised of the applicable policies, received multiple reverts and warnings (including of a possible block), so there isn't an excuse. A quick review of their edits shows that they are of the same personal commentary/OR/unsourced type, usually trivial, and in an unencyclopedic style. An extended block may be necessary to break them of the habit. —Ojorojo (talk) 17:07, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I have blocked Thefearmakers for a week for repeated violations of core content policies after repeated warnings. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 18:49, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

User:Arint and his edits on PewDiePie vs T-Series and Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PewDiePie vs T-Series (2nd nomination)

For the past few hours days, Arint (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) has been repeatedly marking PewDiePie vs T-Series spuriously for speedy deletion. Diffs include [228], [229] (which included a page-blank) and [230]. Arint is aware that article has passed a recent AfD discussion, closed as Speedy Keep (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PewDiePie vs T-Series), which was why he even created Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PewDiePie vs T-Series (2nd nomination) (creation diff [231]).

Arint has been warned repeatedly on the user's talk page to stop tagging the article for deletion spuriously, but has persisted in doing so ([232]).

Throughout this, Arint has kept insisting that the article should be deleted/speedily deleted in his own thinking. His repeated ignorance of warnings demonstrate his failure to learn and understand deletion policies and procedures. Moreover his edit at [233] demonstrates his refusal to discuss this issue civilly and maturely. Immediate action should be taken against Arint to prevent further disruption to the articles and Wikipedia. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 17:11, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Diff on 19 April: [234] (where his request for speedy deletion was declined by Praxidicae ([235]). His insistence on having it his way has gone back even further than a few hours that I initially thought. All in all Arint has demonstrated extreme disruptive behaviour to make a point. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 17:16, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Arint has also attempted to refactor comments on the first closed AfD (diffs [236], and [237] even after warning). Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 17:29, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

@Pppery, Praxidicae, Theinstantmatrix, and JackintheBox: Pinging the users who were involved in reverting his tagging. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 17:34, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I was trolling. Also, stop referring to me as a male. I am gender fluid. --Arint (talk) 18:04, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Well please do us all a favor and dry up. EEng 10:15, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I have blocked Arint for one week for disruptive editing (trolling), with a warning that if they resume trolling, the next block will be indefinite. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 18:14, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

@Cullen328: Would you be able to finish the cleanup? I have tagged Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PewDiePie vs T-Series (2nd nomination) for deletion: G6, spurious creation of article. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 18:17, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Thank you. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 18:18, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

User:Horizonlove -- edit warring, obvious NFCC violations, BLP noncompliance

User:Horizonlove's failure to comply with BLP and NFCC requirements has been noted by several editors,[238][239] most actively by me. Horizonlove has made no effort to address the policy issues involved, insisting mainly that so long as an image meets "fair use" requirements, failure to meet other NFCC requirements -- particularly regarding replaceability -- should be ignored. This is obviously not compliant with NFCC policies.

For example, Horizonlove uploaded File:FirstLadiesofDisco.jpg for use in the infobox of First Ladies of Disco. First Ladies of Disco is an active musical group. Horizonlove acknowledged in their use rationale that "The image is replaceable". Instead, Horizonlove insists that this replaceable image of living persons can be used should remain until someone provides a "better image". (see edit summary [240]) Horizonlove has restored this obvious NFCC violation five times in the last two days, four time today alone, sufficient to justify a 3RR block. (Note that removing image is exempt from 3RR limits; replaceable nonfree images are unquestionable NFCC violations.)

Horizonlove's behavior with regard to File:TheWeatherGirls.jpg is quite similar. The file is acknowledged as nonfree replaceable. (Even a cursoty Ebay search turns up several apparently free alternatives.) The group is currently active, although it has undergone several membership changes. Horizonlove has repeatedly restored the image, violating 3RR today, insisting that it must be retained unless a "better" alternative is produced. This is plainly not compliant with NFCC policy.

Finally, with regard to Martha Wash, Horizonlove has violated WP:BLP requirements by repeatedly adding and restoring the statement that Wash is a "devout Christian" while citing ostensible sources which do not ascribe such a statement of belief to the article subject. Horizonlove acknowledges that Wash has not "publicly self-identified with the belief" (particularly wrt the "devout" phrasing), saying that "It's safe to say she is a Christian and one of her favorite songs is "God bless the road")[241] and "She has gospel songs: "God Bless the Road", "You Lift Me Up", "I'm Still Standing", etc. She was also in a GOSPEL group which is mentioned in the article" [242]. While these inferences might be seen as reasonable, editor's inferences cannot be substituted for the express statement of belief required by BLP. (Cf the lengthy dispute over how to characterize Jodie Foster's sexuality.) Moreover, since at least two editors had challenged the statement, and none had supported Horizonlove's position, Horizonlove was required by BLP policy to achieve talk page consensus before restoring the disputed content. Horizonlove has also violated 3RR with regard to File:PurpleRoseRecords.png, the nonfree logo of a record label owned by Wash. Policy and practice are clear and well-established; as WP:LOGO states, a nonfree logo may be used in an article whose primary subject is the label itself, but it may not be used as an identifying image in an article on a different subject even if the subject is related. No Apple logo in Steve Jobs, no Def Jam logo in Rick Rubin, no Tesla or SpaceX logo in Elon Musk.

I could presumably have easily secured a simple 3RR sanction for the File:FirstLadiesofDisco.jpg edit warring alone, but the general pattern of behaviour needs to be addressed. As another editor commented in an unsuccessful AFD Horizonlove initiated, Horizonlove's editing is marked by "a flat refusal to accept community decisions".[243] Horizonlove has made no effort to address the governing policy issues, simply asserting their own views as to what ought to be allowed.

I therefore propose that Horizonlove be indefinitely blocked until they accept that 1) NFCC policies prohibit the use of replaceable nonfree images; and 2) when content is disputed under policies like BLP or NFCC, which place the burden of proof on the editor seeking to retain content, they will not restore disputed content without an appropriate talk page consensus. Perhaps a continuing 1RR restriction would be appropriate after the block is lifted. The Big Bad Wolfowitz (aka Hullaballoo). Treated like dirt by many administrators since 2006. (talk) 19:14, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I'll address everything in the order of what was stated. This has nothing to do with other editors, only one (Hullaballoo Wolfowitz). Hullaballoo Wolfowitz started an edit war and is simply trying to hide by his own interpretations of Wikipedia polices. Starting with the File:FirstLadiesofDisco.jpg, I added a "fair use" rationale to the image, stating its use. I gave a total of six reasons why this is acceptable to use on the First Ladies of Disco page and it has not appeared in any other articles than the one mentioned. Under Wikipedia policy, that is acceptable. I also did the same thing for File:TheWeatherGirls.jpg. However in that case, it also a historical image as one of the members in the photo is deceased which I noted again under "fair use" rationale. When it comes to Martha Wash, two issues are happening there. User:Hullaballoo Wolfowitz insists on removing sourced information that notes Martha Wash as Christian. While it was not directly stated in the "Call Me Adam" source that I provided, it was heavily implied. But it was also stated that she was in the final chapter "Red Kimono" of The Fabulous Sylvester book, for which I listed the book a source. Additionally, Wash has been a gospel group (mentioned in the article) and has gospel songs that she has released in the past. Still, User:Hullaballoo Wolfowitz wishes to be unnecessarily combative about that part. As for "While these inferences might be seen as reasonable, editor's inferences cannot be substituted for the express statement of belief required by BLP. (Cf the lengthy dispute over how to characterize Jodie Foster's sexuality.) Moreover, since at least two editors had challenged the statement, and none had supported Horizonlove's position, Horizonlove was required by BLP policy to achieve talk page consensus before restoring the disputed content.", I don't know who the second user is that Hullaballoo Wolfowitz is referring to as nobody has changed that information but himself. And I don't see how his example has anything to do with this situation. It would make no sense for a singer who isn't a Christian to release gospel songs on their own albums or to have been in a gospel group. So Hullaballoo Wolfowitz's Jodie Foster theory doesn't apply in this case. The second issue involves the File:PurpleRoseRecords.png, which was used only in Martha Wash#Purple Rose Records that specifically talks about the company itself, which Wash owns. I would have created another page, but I felt that was unnecessary because there may not be enough content to move it to another page, so I posted the logo there [on the Martha Wash]. I don't see how that violates the Wikipedia policy when the logo is being used the company's part of the page.

To suggest a one-way indefinite block is highly inappropriate and foolish for following Wikipedia image policies. I did everything by the book and when I pointed that out to User:Hullaballoo Wolfowitz, he began an edit war. Now if I am temporarily blocked for the edit war, that is fine because it takes two people to war but User:Hullaballoo Wolfowitz should definitely share that block. However I have followed through on Wikipedia policies involving those images and its uses. Horizonlove (talk) 19:51, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I blocked for 31h. An indefinite block would be indeed an overkill at this point, but if the user continues this behavior after the expiration of the current block a longer block will be in order.--Ymblanter (talk) 20:17, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

I endorse the block. Horizonlove, here is some advice: Complete and rigorous compliance with NFCC is mandatory. You are simply not allowed to call someone a "devout Christian" without an explicit self-identification. I removed that from the biography. As for edit warring? Abandon that behavior if you want to keep editing Wikipedia. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:26, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

In addition, Horizonlove's reasoning about gospel music is deeply flawed. Atheist and agnostic performers can and do sing gospel songs for artistic reasons, and it is a well-known fact that many Christmas carols were written by Jews. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:33, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

WP:COMPETENCE

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So I think that BandGoBlue2020 (talk · contribs) is displaying some major WP:COMPETENCE issues. To wit:

• Violations of WP:RECENT [244] [245] [246]
• Unsourced BLP content [247]
• Unsourced recording dates on albums [248] [249]
• Addition of nonexistant categories [250]
• Creation of redundant articles (e.g. Longest Gaps Of Original Material From Musicians)

Their talk page is a minefield of disambiguation link notifications stretching over a year, which shows absolutely zero attempt to learn from mistakes or fix them. Edits like this show no evidence of learning how to interact with other editors, asking "WHO REMOVED Closer Tour? Bring it back" to no one in particular.

This user has been here for over a year and has displayed no improvement in editing skills whatsover: no acknowledgement of their myriad warnings, no real content creation, no concept of basic Wikipedia skills such as talk pages, addition of sources, etc. What should be done? Is this block worthy? Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 23:49, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Their userpage alone is enough to bring up WP:COMPETENCE problems. Also, this just happened. Vermont (talk) 03:03, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

@Vermont: yeah, that is pretty damning evidence here. No one who's been here over a year should be editing like that. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 03:44, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

This user is now blocked for sockpuppetry. JACKINTHEBOX • ^TALK 13:17, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

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Legal threat made by Techbeatz1200

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When I nominated his sandbox page for deletion, he responded:

Why are you trying to delete my page. You have no right. I am the producer techbeatz1200. If you have any problems you can contact me. If you pursue any unlawful procedures against me I will dispute them with Wikipedia and file necessary actions against you.
— User:Techbeatz1200 01:59, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Per WP:LEGAL, this is not allowed. User should be blocked indefinitely until he retracts this threat. theinstantmatrix (talk) 02:12, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm not so sure that's a legal threat as much as a badly-worded threat to take you to a noticeboard. —A little blue Bori v^_^v ^Bori! 02:16, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The user has a choice to either conduct disputes via on-wiki methods or legally; it appears as though they, with this message, want to take the on-wiki route. It's isn't "not allowed" per se, nor are blocks from legal threats intended to force them to retract such threats. Vermont (talk) 02:21, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Not a legal threat, just someone who doesn't understand that you can't advertise on Wikipedia. I've deleted the sandbox and left a warning for promotional editing. Acroterion (talk) 02:35, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

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66.35.116.133

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Could someone please look at 66.35.116.133 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log). This one is a puzzler. My initial response was leaning towards "just someone having a bit of fun, might as well post a humorous reply". Right now I am 50/50 between "this is a misunderstanding caused by language/culture and "I am being trolled and we should discuss the possiblity of WP:NOTHERE". --Guy Macon (talk) 06:35, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I just want to help. Forget about it now I guess. Nobody wants to help me so I will go elsewhere. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.35.116.133 (talk) 13:00, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

66.35.116.133 blocked with an expiration time of 2 weeks (anon. only, account creation blocked) (CheckUser block). --Guy Macon (talk) 16:05, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Guy Macon, I extended an olive branch- hopefully when the IP comes back, they'll be a bit more serious and/or interested. We'll see. Symmachus Auxiliarus (talk) 23:39, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I reverted your edit. Please don't do it again. Thanks.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:42, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

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Debi Prasad Misra edit warring on Help:IPA/Sanskrit (again)

The previous report from a month ago resulted in a short block for User:Debi Prasad Misra. Now, he's edit warring on Help:IPA/Sanskrit again - see [251] or, more specifically, [252], [253] and [254].

More specifically, he keeps reinserting the unneeded dental diacritic, uses an incorrect diacritic to denote voiceless aspiration (⟨ʱ⟩ instead of ⟨ʰ⟩), changes other symbols without consideration for Help talk:IPA/Sanskrit#Redid table and refuses to engage in discussion. Kbb2 (ex. Mr KEBAB) (talk) 10:30, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Propose indef block The user has not addressed any of the numerous warnings (see their talk) or the previous block in any way whatsoever and has continued reinstating their reverted edits not just on Help:IPA/Sanskrit but on several other pages. Not once have they written a word in the edit summary or on their own talk, or any talk. Evidently they don't possess the most fundamental ability to WP:ENGAGE required to edit Wikipedia. Nardog (talk) 17:22, 21 April 2019 (UTC)
• Comment Kbb2, you need to inform them of this ANI thread. I'll this for you, along with a message beyond the traditional template. Hopefully they'll pay attention to that and address some of their issues here. Symmachus Auxiliarus (talk) 23:01, 21 April 2019 (UTC)
  • Correction: Kbb, my apologies. I just saw your ANI notice to them. It was buried in a previous section though, and while they were likely notified, I still posted an additional one just in case, in its own section. Symmachus Auxiliarus (talk)
• Sweet, they just keep inserting questionable content with absolutely no communication despite our warnings and Symmachus Auxiliarus's repeated notification of this thread and plea to communicate. They're practically begging to be blocked. Nardog (talk) 07:18, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Snooganssnoogans: copyright violations and civility violations

• Snooganssnoogans (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

User:Snooganssnoogans has a regular pattern of violating copyright on en.wp. I've added the most recent example uncovered first:

• On 26 October 2017 they plagiarized the BBC (here). After I removed the long-standing copyvio here on 18 April 2019; they restored a close paraphrase without in-text attribution in the subsequent edit, without any acknowledgment of the WP:COPYVIO.

• On 26 October 2016 they plagiarized the Daily Beast (here). This was drawn to their attention on the talk page here. Their reaction was typically aggressive.

• On 30 December 2018, they misattributed copyrighted text written by Harry McGrath to Elizabeth Teague ([255]) and reacted aggressively when I corrected their mistake.

Civility has been a chronic problem for Snooganssnoogans. Despite being blocked for WP:CIV by EdJohnston in 2016, their behavior has not improved. POV has also been a recurrent problem. On May 24, 2017 they were banned from making mass edits to en.wp entries at AE. This despite support from a number of like-minded editors, including a sockpuppet of Cirt (Sagecandor). (AE case)

• On 21 April 2018 they attacked other editors (1, 2) who sought to have their biased content removed. The RFC was unanimous § in rejecting their contribution as written.

• On 21 April 2019 they removed my attempt at getting them to reflect on their repeated violations of copyright law, calling this request that they follow WP policy "unhinged rambling" ([256]). A look at the history of their TP edit summaries show that they routinely engage in name-calling against editors who attempt to rein in their abusive behaviour. Snooganssnoogans will need to provide evidence that they've asked me to stay off their talk page, I have no such recollection of them doing so, but will do so now that they have asked (I believe) for the first time.

I believe that Snoogans should be indefinitely blocked for the copyright violations and civility infractions, though as soon as they recognize the problem with their behavior in an unblock request I would see no problem with their being welcomed back as long as they promise to follow WP policy. The block I am requesting is preventative, as they have shown no awareness that civility and copyright issues are taken seriously on en.wp.

Of course, perhaps I am mistaken, perhaps WP:CIV and WP:COPYVIO are not core policies. This request will help determine that. Thank you for your attention to these matters. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 15:08, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I am not seeing a real copyvio problem here. Those of us that know Snooganssnoogans are aware he adds quotes from daily news stories on American political articles. It does seem very lazy to add quotes instead of paraphrasing however in Snooganssnoogans defence over the years they have run into problems with their interpretation of sources especially because of the nature of the topics and news sources used...thus the eventuality of just quoting has come to the for front. As for civility...its an ongoing problem with many editors and theses examples above are not outrageous in my view...more of a sign of frustration. --Moxy 🍁 16:45, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, civility is a big issue for snooganssnoogans, and has been for years, although no one seems willing to do anything about it. Natureium (talk) 17:23, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

After having the pleasure of discussing quotefarms with Snoog at Talk:2018 United States elections, I gave up and left the topic area. Leviv ich 18:04, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

As for the purported copyvios: the first example (one sentence sourced to BBC – with the BBC as a cited ref) is just a case of close paraphrasing in one sentence, which can happen when one reads a source and seeks to summarize its contents. The second example (one sentence sourced to the Daily Beast - with the DB as a cited ref) is a clear copyvio, and I do not exactly remember the circumstances behind that 2.5 yr old edit - the text should of course be fixed and has been fixed. The third example is just an accident where one link was copied into the cite-ref generator rather than another (something I’m sure every prolific editor has done). After almost three years of stalking my edits (note that I’ve added a lot of content during that time[257]), this is the sum of what SashiRolls comes up with. Snooganssnoogans (talk) 18:59, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Context for what's going on here: In September 2016, SashiRolls (SR) got topic-banned from the Jill Stein article for trying to add a bunch of fringe nonsense to the article and for being abrasive on the talk page.[258][259] At that point, SR began a stalking and harassment campaign against me (whom he blamed for the topic-ban), where he followed me to pages that he’d never been to before, only to revert me nilly-willy. After SR removed my addition of a peer-reviewed study in a top journal to one obscure article,[260] an admin, Neutrality, explicitly stated in Nov 2016 that SashiRolls's "edits basically appear part of a strategy to harass Snooganssnoogans and drive him off the project."[261] Another admin, Tryptofish, called SR out for vandalizing my talk page during this harassment episode.[262] During this harassment, I told SR to “stop following me around and leaving crazed comments on my talk page. Leave me alone, you sociopath.” [263] At that point, half of my talk page was full of SR’s rambling commentary and threats, and SR was stalking me across Wikipedia articles. However, because I personally insulted SR over his stalking, I was blocked for 48 hrs by EdJohnston. This is not an excuse for the civility violation (which I’ve already served my punishment for), but I was clearly provoked at the time (I was also very green as a Wikipedia editor and unaware of appropriate procedures to resolve that kind of situation). A month later, SR was banned for something unrelated.[264] However, the creepy harassment did not end there. SR continued following my edits, obsessively analyzing them and complaining about them on off-Wiki forums. On Wikipediocracy alone, Google shows 84 results for “snoog”[265] and 46 results for “snooganssnoogans”[266]. The overwhelming majority of these references are made by SR, and this does not count references on other off-wiki forums and other iterations of my username by SR. At some point, admins decided to allow SR to edit Wikipedia again. Of course, the tendentious editing resumed when SR came back. On the Tulsi Gabbard article, SR decided to block any and all changes made by me, and refused to explain why.[267] (Note that the Tulsi Gabbard is another page that SR stalked me to in 2016 only to indiscriminately revert me - this is his first edit there[268]) SR was informed by the admin Awilley that this was not an appropriate way to edit. When SR could not simply block things without explanations, SR instead filibustered changes to the article by filling the talk page with WP:NOTFORUM ramblings and casting of aspersions. The behavior was erratic, as SR accused me and MrX of tag-teaming,[269] posted weird rants connecting me to content disputes on unrelated pages that SashiRolls has grievances about (pages that I've never edited),[270][271] and requested that I be topic-banned for fairly standard and uncontroversial edits.[272]. When SR was allowed to edit again[273], multiple admins and editors expressed the sentiment that this editor would be up to trouble again in no time, and that he’d be kept on a short leash. I think I’ve documented a long-standing harassment campaign that has culminated in this spurious request to have me banned over a copyvio of one sentence in 2016 and for telling SR to stay off my talk page (SR inaccurately suggests that I've never instructed him to stay off my talk page before). Would it be possible for an admin to please tell this editor to leave me alone and refrain from mentioning me again? It's been almost three years of this creepy harassment. Snooganssnoogans (talk) 18:59, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

It would not be inaccurate to say that Snoogans' biased writing on Ajamu Baraka was why I became an active editor in 2016. It would be inaccurate to say that I "stalk" them. I avoid them, except when they edit topics that interest me (generally anti-war politicians is where our interests intersect). As for the copyvio:

BBC text: Wikileaks itself fuelled the conspiracy theory by offering a reward for the capture of Mr Rich's killer and hinting that he may have been the source of the emails. (source: §)

Snoogans' text: WikiLeaks fuelled the conspiracy theories by offering a reward of $20,000 for information leading to the capture of Rich's killer and hinting that Rich may have been the source of the leaked emails.

it is worth noting that the $20,000 is not in the source, which means that strictly speaking the source should not be used for what was added to mask the copyvio. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 19:19, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

It is 100% indisputable that SR stalked me here[274] (never mind all the other instances I cited). It was so brazen and blatant that an admin chastised him for it and explicitly characterized it as harassment.[275] That SR is lying about something so blatant and easily disprovable should put everything else in context (and is also a good illustration of what I put up with). Snooganssnoogans (talk) 19:49, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

That content from a non-BBC source is also in there undermines your case that text is just being plagiarized verbatim and supports my claim that the text was written from memory. Snooganssnoogans (talk) 19:49, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Hm... that was over two and half years ago. I did in fact see that edit in your list of contributions two or three months after I became an active editor. I was correct to try to get you to fix the grammar (singular verb / plural subject). Since you would not, I deleted it because I did not have access to the source to determine whether what you wrote was true or not: all that was obvious was that it was ungrammatical. You mentioned Tulsi Gabbard above. Those interested should feel free to look at your biased editing on that page. However, I don't want to distract from the straightforward copyvio problem documented in this thread... '27 of 33 identical words would seem to me to be a copyright violation. Perhaps it would be good for someone to lay down the law about this. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 20:27, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The language used in the BBC is identical to language used in many of the sources. The particular grouping and order of the language does appear to be copied from the BBC, but considering how much the same language is repeated in other sources I feel like this is being blown out of proportion. I am not familiar with the copyright policy though. Kolya Butternut (talk) 20:40, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• I've been trying to stay away from wiki-conflict lately, but having been pinged, I feel that I should comment briefly. Please note that I am not an admin (nor do I play one on TV). I'm unfamiliar with what's going on at the pages in question. I've had positive interactions with Snooganssnoogans in the past, although I also realize that recent US politics (a topic that is under Discretionary Sanctions) is a contentious editing area. As for civility, when I said this a few weeks ago: [276] (in the GMO DS topic area), SashiRolls responded with this: [277]. Maybe I should have come here complaining that "civility has been a chronic problem" for him. --Tryptofish (talk) 19:58, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Hi Trypto, you never did explain to me why you thought this quote was a useful addition to Jill Stein's BLP Stein has said: "For science geeks, you can show yourself if you have any doubt that I too am a science geek. (source: §) I found that quite peculiar at the time. Still do, actually. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 20:09, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Since it has become a theme here, that diff is from about three years ago. --Tryptofish (talk) 00:00, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• This is a WP:BATTLE by User:SashiRolls. I would suggest to close it without action or WP:BOOMERANG. My very best wishes (talk) 21:27, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

SashiRolls is going to eventually either get Snooganssnoogans banned or otherwise drive them off the encyclopedia, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Even banning SashiRolls didn’t help - they’ll just keep getting themselves unbanned. We have two options here: we can get rid of Snooganssnoogans and the problem goes away, or we can ignore it and let the harassment reach its natural conclusion. 207.38.146.86 (talk) 21:44, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

In fact, had Snoog been willing to accept that there was a problem we wouldn't be here. Following WP:COPYVIO policy I posted first on their talk page and had no intention of escalating until they were dismissive and insulting. I assumed they would say something logical and conciliatory after being caught red-handed. The next step listed at WP:COPYVIO for dealing with violators is ANI. I believe I have followed procedure to the letter: If a contributor has already been clearly warned of copyright infringement but carried on, you may want to seek advice from an administrator familiar with copyright policies or report it for administrator attention at the administrators' incidents noticeboard. You may also want to open a request at Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations. They were warned in 2016 on the page of an anti-war politician. They have continued (who knows how much, I've looked at less than 0.01% of their edits). Still, I gave them an extra chance. They chose not to take it. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 21:53, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Sorry, but ... did you really just start a thread on a user with 20,000 edits claiming that they have " a regular pattern of violating copyright" and then provide three examples in the last two and a half years? I think the phrase we reach for here is "you're going to have to do better than that". Black Kite (talk) 21:58, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I did. 3 violations of copyright law that I have seen in a sample of perhaps 150 edits to mainspace that I've studied carefully enough to compare with sources is a 2% copyvio rate. I have been encouraged not to investigate further because that would be considered "stalking". That's convenient. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 22:13, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

If you investigated further and actually made a case for something you posted at ANI I'm pretty sure no-one would complain about it. As it is, it just reads like "here's something I lazily threw together about an editor that I don't get along with". Black Kite (talk) 22:17, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Black Kite, in the last few months I've improved 4 articles to the point where they were included on the front page of Wikipedia with me as the #1 editor (François Rabelais, 2018-2019 Sudanese protests, 2019 Algerian protests, & Yellow vests movement). On none of those pages have I engaged in copyright violation. Many of these pages involved reading sources in several languages. One of the pages should not have appeared on the main page (Rabelais) because it was based on an erroneous death date. I have dug into archives (well, ok, just went to the library ^^) to verify that information for en.wp. Please watch who you are calling lazy: it seems to me it should be reserved for the person who doesn't bother to rewrite what they read. As Rabelais says (in all caps): DO WHAT YOU WANT. I'm done here. If others want to dig into the Snoog's edit, I'm pretty sure they will find more of the same. However, I have been quite clearly told not to go out of my way to investigate the power-users after having been blocked for exposing the Cirt / Sagecandor affair, which I recall you getting involved in. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 22:35, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm quite aware of the good work you do here, and I'm not calling you lazy; I'm saying this is a lazy report, because it is. If you're going to make a case for a sanction against another user, you need to make sure it's pretty watertight, and asking for a copyvio sanction against someone and providing 3 diffs in 30 months is definitely not that. Black Kite (talk) 23:09, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• Comment/Boomerang: I don't really know either of the two editors here, aside from just seeing them around. But reviewing this thread and the diffs, I think a boomerang may be order. This is sort of ridiculous. A "2% copyright in three years"? That's not uncommon for even veteran editors.

This is either obsessive frivolity, or some sort of retaliatory effort. And Sashi Rolls, your sarcastic comments about admins (presumably) warning you not to Wikistalk the reported user are not helpful. Just stick to the facts. The current examples you provided are not suitable for any sort of administrative action, as far as I can see. This is a statistically normal result, especially when quoting sources. Symmachus Auxiliarus (talk) 23:30, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

"2% copyright in three years"? That's not uncommon for even veteran editors. It definitely should be. I would say a 0% copyright violation rate is all that's acceptable for veteran editors. Natureium (talk) 03:05, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Further on boomerang: It's worth keeping in mind that SashiRolls was previously indeffed as an AE sanction: [278], and was given the opportunity, about six months ago, to return to the community under what is essentially WP:ROPE: [279]. We may indeed be deep into boomerang territory. --Tryptofish (talk) 00:00, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• Boomerang. This reads and feels like a bad-faith revenge attempt and is laughable on its merits. Even the comments about "We'll see if these are core policies or not" are a dare to do something. --Jorm (talk) 00:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• Boomerang - This report seems clearly filed in bad faith, especially considering how SashiRolls has persistently gotten into conflict (and possibly harassed) with Snoog. The civility issues may be of some merit, but ideally not on this bad-faith thread. Nanophosis (talk) 00:30, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• Comment I think it's important to take a look at Talk:WikiLeaks to see the context of the claim of copyright violation. It seems like it might be an excuse to remove text in order to push a POV. I don't think it's fair for SashiRolls to complain about civility issues when they have themselves been uncivil:

  ps for the peanut gallery (Snoog / Neutrality / Calton): there is a conspiracy theory circulating that Wikipedians are doddering cockatiels who keep repeating "conspiracy theories". We should try to correct that image we're giving of ourselves as doddering cockatiels who keep repeating "conspiracy theories".[280]

  Kolya Butternut (talk) 00:53, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• As an English teacher, I have occasionally had the unpleasant duty of giving failing grades for similar copyright infringements on assignments, though I generally give students the opportunity to redo their work since nobody else risks being penalized because student papers are not published. I did not realize that people were not even warned for copyright infringement here. I assumed the policy was taken as seriously as it in education (where in principle you can be failed for an entire year for a single occurrence). My apologies for bringing a stricter set of standards to en.wp than what I apparently should have. However, I will not apologize for bringing Snoog to ANI; their incivility is notorious and gets under a great many editors skin (cf. User:Snooganssnoogans or any of their 52 noticeboard pages). If I am to be blocked for the "crime" of following procedure, then I guess I'll find something more productive to do than collaborating on front-page entries. With regard to the new accounts piling on, there's not much I can do about that. Regarding KB's decontextualized quote, this was written because people were defending the repetition of "conspiracy theories" in three consecutive sentences (in a section titled "conspiracy theories"). To apologize for that I would have to apologize for being a writer. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 01:16, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Every act of incivility has context. I can't speak to Snoog's incivility, but their context must be considered as well. Note that I added a link to Talk:WikiLeaks where the context of your statement, the current copyright issues, and incivility can be evaluated. You have not addressed the concerns about your behavior. Instead, your comment feels like passive aggressive blame shifting. This is an example of uncivil behavior. I understand you feel piled on, but you have not helped yourself. Kolya Butternut (talk) 02:35, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Nothing you've done warrants any sort of block, although a suggestion to avoid continued conflict with Snoog or, at worst, an IBAN may be proposed. You definitely do good work here, and I want to make clear that my previous comment is not an endorsement of a block. Nanophosis (talk) 02:48, 22 April 2019 (UTC)
• Of course it's taken seriously here, when it's spotted. This is not anything worth sanctioning or even actionable, though. A copyright vio of 2% in 150 edits is effectively null, especially considering the sorts of articles Snoogans edits; much of it is likely quotes. I'll admit I didn't delve deep into it beyond what you posted, because prima facie, this is a frivolous request. I'm also not sure why you're bringing up their alleged incivility, as this wasn't the basis of your request, and honestly makes me think this request is more about a grudge, and was filed in bad faith. I don't "know" either of you, but I am familiar with your editing habits, as I watch many of the pages that both of you happen to edit. Snoogans certainly makes sweeping and opinionated statements about various subjects, which probably isn't kosher for article talk pages in some cases. But they rarely say anything directly about editors, especially a specific editor. WP gives some latitude in this area, and I'm not sure if it's actually "incivility". And the community is well aware of the meatpuppetry, canvassing, and the effect that conspiracy theories have on the traffic and editing in these subject areas. I'm not sure why you put "conspiracy theories" in quotes. Maybe we're not on the same page here, and I'm just not following you, in so far as what specific point you're trying to make here.

And there's no point in preemptively engaging in apologetics to justify what seems to be a request without merit. Sashi, I don't know you, and I honestly don't know your motivations or your mind. But acting like a martyr here is not helpful. Do you honestly think this ANI request has substance beyond "Snoogs is snarky"? Or the original premise this was based on? I'm really confused as to your motivations here; this is one of the flimsiest cases I've seen brought here by a veteran editor, and you seem to be trying to change the subject when it's been pointed out.

I'm not suggesting a block, though I'll of course assent to the community consensus. Mainly because I'm not sure a block would fix this sort of behaviour. At the very least, a ban on filing cases in ANI and a one-way IBAN might be warranted. Honestly, I'm just not sure why you thought this was a good idea. It's rather transparent this is a personal matter. Symmachus Auxiliarus (talk) 02:55, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Boomerang: a frivolous report and battleground mentality. --K.e.coffman (talk) 03:36, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

This is neither a frivolous report nor do I have a battleground mentality. I am focused on building an encyclopedia. Whenever I have to interact with Snoog I put on "emotional armor" because I know they will accuse me of being "unhinged", "batshit insane", "tiresome", a "sociopath", that my questions are "excruciating" "pointless" "quibbles", etc. Let's take one example from Tulsi Gabbard, whose talk page I think should be required reading for anyone wanting to know how Wikipedia really works. As most people probably know, she is a representative from Hawaii running for president. On 12 February, her BLP contained the word Syria 47 times, which I hope people will agree is a bit excessive. On 13 February, Snoogans edited her BLP in order to add 12 more occurrences of the word (+2 in the edit summary), so that if you search the following link to the state they left the article in, you will find 61 occurrences of the word: §). Taking a look at the "syria trip", "counterterrorism" and especially the "foreign policy / syria" section should be enough to convince anyone that there is something quite unhealthy about these editing practices. Whole sentences were repeated twice in the same paragraph, for example, three times in the article. There were also a few specific inaccuracies in that text, such as the claim that al-Qaeda & Al-Nusra were exclusively "Syrian terrorists" which I had to correct since they had duplicated it into two different sections. Since that time, the BLP is much somewhat improved.

They have started an RfC now, I see, and have started off the discussion by saying "I have gone above and beyond to deal with SashiRolls, who has effectively held up any and all changes to this article (see the last two months of excruciating and pointless talk page discussions)." In order to decide whether this was "excruciating" or "pointless", I encourage anyone wanting to weigh in here to take a look at the Tulsi_Gabbard#Syria section, which is still more than exhaustive but is now better written than what you saw in the above link... because I fixed it. Needless to say, I have not participated in the RfC, as I believe the well to have been poisoned. SashiRolls ^{t · c} 08:04, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

WP:WALLOFTEXT. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 15:01, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

If you can't handle reading a paragraph, this might not be the website for you. Leviv ich 15:23, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Quite a fair point, and I apologize. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 15:40, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Snooganssnoogans' version of events is pretty much exactly what I have observed, starting with the Jill Stein article and onward. SashiRolls has some sort of obsession with Snooganssnoogans which results in all manner of disruption. This vexatious complaint is yet another example of harassment. SashiRolls even started to stalk me a couple of months ago here. Note the wacky interrogation, which I took to be a be an attempt to harass me shortly after similar interactions on talk:Tulsi Gabbard:

• "I will not speculate as to Snoogans' motivations for misrepresenting the article being cited in the topic sentence of the paragraph, but will suggest that they are not making themselves look like someone who should be trusted to edit this BLP given their demonstrable record of one-sided editing on this page. I will ask Snoogans to self-revert. We will see if they can play fair or if their mission is contrary to en.wp's and topic-banning becomes necessary."[281]  
• "A topic-ban from this article would be the simplest: en.wp does itself a disservice by continuing to allow such underhanded tactics to be deployed."[282]
• "Speaking of x-tools, I would remind Snoog & MrX that tag-teaming is a well-known strategy that is frowned upon."[283]
• "By reverting me restoring information you removed from the lede, you are subverting the BRD process in your typical gaming style"[284]
• "More to the point, it's always good to ask who is doing the stirring. I think I'll unwatchlist this page for a few days and !watch other people play. Go, SnooX!"[285]

This is a continuation of the same type of behavior that resulted in SashiRolls being indeffed in 2017.[286] - MrX 🖋 15:11, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

To those editors bringing up Sashi's indef from 2017, as well as those who may not know, let me share more details there. SashiRolls was blocked for continually bringing up behavioral issues from a former administrator using a sockpuppet to evade a topic ban, put in place to prevent exactly the type of issues Sashi was identifying. Nearly each time Sashi brought up the issues, commenting editors attacked Sashi, allowing the socking former admin to continue editing in violation of the topic ban for several more months, and earning Sashi an indef. Since returning, Sashi has been a valuable content contributor, and a net positive to the project. In the presented diffs, Snoogans does appear to have run afoul of copyright violations. I think the simple thing would be for Snoog to acknowledge that some editors take issue with that, and strive to make sure it doesn't happen again. No boomerang. Mr Ernie (talk) 15:34, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Impersonation — CU, please?

I've just blocked what I take to be an LTA impersonating a user I blocked for edit-warring - NeutralUnbiasedUSA (talk · contribs) appeared to be trying to fit up ConcernedCitizenUSA (talk · contribs). Yesterday, I saw Techbeatz1202 (talk · contribs) trying to impersonate Techbeatz1200 (talk · contribs) on ANI. A CU would be helpful. Acroterion (talk) 16:13, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

This is related to the spurious unblock request mentioned up the page for Oldstone James - I think we've got a troll looking for material on ANI. Acroterion (talk) 17:01, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Oh, I'm very sorry, Acroterion. I didn't see the connection, so I thought you might have pasted it there by mistake. Sorry. Bishonen | talk 19:12, 21 April 2019 (UTC).

Techbeatz1202 is probably Nsmutte. NeutralUnbiasedUSA and ConcernedCitizenUSA are harder for me to read; they seem  Possible based on geolocation. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 17:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Yep, Techbeatz1202 is one of the latest NSmutte batch (or someone doing a good LTA impersonation). Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:36, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I blocked his range shortly before you posted this but it may take UTRS tool admins to block him from filing more UTRS requests. See blocked range. I've been looking at this for a bit and yes, 172.56.6.135/19 is an LTA making fake UTRS requests, anon edits to impersonate and sockpuppets for that purpose as well.

fake Request #24821 for ConcernedCitizenUSA

• 172.56.6.135 made impersonator puppet NeutralUnbiasedUSA (this is an LTA throwaway so I haven't violated anyone's privacy)

fake Request #24820 for Oldstone James

Techbeatz1202 appears unrelated to the above LTA but yes, may be Nsmutte.

Those who are answering UTRS requests should consider that the fakes have .tk as the email extension.
 — Berean Hunter (talk) 17:43, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The email domains are varied, but they all seem to be throwaway addresses to me. —DoRD (talk)​ 23:56, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Request #24795 for Partycity is from the same LTA.
 — Berean Hunter (talk) 17:59, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Shouldn't OTRS be recoded to use OAUTH to verify that you are in fact the user on whose behalf you are requesting an unblock? * Pppery * _{has returned} 18:54, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The latest UTRS request in the name of ConcernedCitizenUSA contains the same legal threats used by the NeutralUnbiasedUSA sock. Probably time for UTRS access to be cut off. Acroterion (talk) 22:44, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Unfortunately, they're coming in from various IPs from a few different ISPs. —DoRD (talk)​ 23:56, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

How is that unfortunate? It actually is a good thing and evidence that I am not a sockpuppet. Just to be clear, I had no idea anyone submitted anything or took any action on my behalf. ConcernedCitizenUSA talk April 21, 2019 1-:47 PM (PST).

I think DoRD simply means it's unfortunate in that it makes it harder to cut off their UTRS access. Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:48, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Exactly. —DoRD (talk)​ 12:05, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

FWIW, I am not those other users and I was not aware they made any request on my behalf or took any actions on my behalf. Thanks for spotting that and dealing with it. ConcernedCitizenUSA talk APR 21 2019 20:40 (PST)

@ConcernedCitizenUSA: Is this what you meant?--BoothSift 05:53, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, exactly. As you can see, they already determined that I have a differnt IP addy and ISP and someone was trying to set me up. I was not blocked for this. Now if I could just get my user link name to work! ConcernedCitizenUSA talk APR 21 2019 20:56 (PST)

Harmful Disruptive Editing and Personal Attacks by User:Lithopsian

Arianewiki1 is being subjected to continued personal attacks and ignoring policy (even when pointed out to them) by Lithiopsian, whose current post here[287] is problematic.

These current issues stem from these two reverts on the star Rigel here[288], which I reverted again here[289] and discussed why on the talkpage here[290] and on their talkpage here.[291][292]

They again reverted these edits under an IP[293], justifying this is the edit summary because they were "uncommented reverts" (which are no required, as I advised them under H:FIES and H:ES.) Under this same revert, they state "Lithopsian here before anyone goes mental about sockpuppets." LightandDark2000 again revert Lithopsian's edit here[294], which was restored by Lithopsian here[295], admitting they were the IP "not a troll, just me not logged in, re-instate."

This is blatant omission of using multiple account to enforce a POV is against policy, specifically, logging out to make problematic edits as an IP address. (Stated as badsock in Sock) There were previously warned about this here.[296] Worse, they previously likely used again an IP before (151.230.13.97) as badsocking.

Also Lithopsian declares that they refuse to engage with Arianewiki1[297] saying: "I'm afraid I must go back to ignoring Arianewiki1" and saying "I know this will lead to further accusations of violating this policy or that, but so be it." It is against policy. They openly use this excuse to justify "Hence no discussion of content is possible with you, so get used to it." and " because you write a lot of rubbish."[298] is clear defiance of multiple policies as a personal attack. I've explained my uncontroversial reasoning here[299], which has not be refuted (hence consensus.) Lithopsian making unfounded statements that Arianewiki1 "...abuse, and threats to individuals"[300] without evidence is clearly vilification. I feel this isn't true. I've never threaten or abused anyone in these current disputes.

Frankly, this behaviour looks like avoiding scrutiny and degrading/dismissing/undermine others who dare to question them.

Two examples are:

1. In the discussion on their talkpage here[301] Where they said "Although Rigel is a variable star, it does not have a separate variable star designation because it has a Bayer designation.", but when I modified the text to "Rigel itself is classed as an Alpha Cygni (ACYG) type variable star, V*bet Ori.", they reverted it, removed my correction, then claimed the whole sentence was then not needed. When given the reference showing it does have a variable star designation, they say instead of admitting the initial statement was wrong, their response becomes: "I'm afraid I must go back to ignoring Arianewiki1."

1. Another discussion on the Rigel talkpage here[302], which do not have significant differences except more cite sand the statement "Depending on the stellar mass mass and composition of this initial red supergiant, Rigel may execute a number of so-called blue loops, caused by variations in energy production occurring in the shells.[74]" According to Lithopsian this is all 'fantasy' as justification for reverting it, but bizarrely when you read Blue supergiant star it says "Depending on the exact mass and composition of a red supergiant, it can execute a number of blue loops before either exploding as a type II supernova or finally dumping enough of its outer layers to become a blue supergiant again, less luminous than the first time but more unstable.[6]" Extraordinarily, Lithopsian cites this same text here.[303] so they are reverting my material based on "revert the whole fantasy explanation of supergiant evolution, based on a book about red giants."[304] when they've already endorsed and cited the exact same Maeder (2001) themselves on the Blue supergiant star (Rigel is a blue suergiant star) article. [305]. Perhaps some of this could be reworded, but Lithopsian repeatable using various tactics to remove everything and point blank refuses to discuss it.

Their edits, apparently, seems to superior to others regardless of the facts in front of them - even if they've already been shown to have made incorrect edits or endorsed legitimate cites.

I do feel they have now show a pattern of gaming of sanctions for disruptive behavior, and which they have been previously repeatably warned about disruptive behaviour here[306][307][308] Regardless of the PA, it is plainly evidence of disruptive editing. Furthermore, the back-up response by Attic Salt here[309] is clearly grave dancing. Arianewiki1 (talk) 03:10, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

If the editor said who they were in the edit summary I don't see that there is any violation of WP:SOCK unless they were evading a block. I'm not sure why they were editing logged out but it doesn't seem to have been a clear attempt to evade scrutiny, perhaps they were using a different device or don't trust the device they are editing so always log out after editing. (To put it a different way, there's little difference between a clearly declared edit from an IP, and an edit from a Lithopsian-alt account.) Of course, the edits from the IP will be treated the same as the edits from the account, so 3RR violations etc could be a problem. That said I'm not seeing a bright line violation either, 1st revert, 2nd revert, 3rd revert and it's also been about 2 days too. Nil Einne (talk) 04:05, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

P.S. I consider it very bad practice to refer to yourself in the third person in these sort of complaint, it seriously harms your complaint suggesting it shouldn't be taken seriously. It makes it sound like you're pretending you're only a third person interested observer when you aren't. Nil Einne (talk) 04:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Also HTF is this [310] gravedancing? No one has been blocked or decided to leave wikipedia. Nil Einne (talk) 04:10, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I hate to pile on more but.... I have some agreement with your view that a lot of the stuff in the Rigel talk page raised by Lithiopsian in the thread were you complained about gravedancing, concerns user conduct rather than ways to improve the article, and so should be dealt with on user talk pages and not the article talk page. But while I still agree with that, having looked at the talk page it doesn't seem that Lithiopsian is the only one. I'm seeing a lot of comments from you which also concern user conduct and not ways to improve the article. I.E. pot, kettle, black much? The more I look at this, the more it seems to me to be not something for ANI. All of you need to cut out on the personal chatter, put aside the animosity and whatever differences and disagreements you've had and instead concentrate on how you can improve the article. Use whatever form of WP:dispute resolution you need if you can't resolve this by yourselves. None of you should want this at ANI, since don't be surprised if you are the one who ends up blocked because of it. (And to be clear, this is directed at everyone in the dispute.) Nil Einne (talk) 04:24, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Clarification: "If the editor said who they were in the edit summary I don't see that there is any violation of WP:SOCK ", but how do you know if they are the editor or different sock? LightandDark2000 Illegit explains that.

The gravedancing was by Attic Salt not Lithopsian

As for pot, kettle, black, Well the full statement is "The only thing that is right is this statement: "…because we'd be imposing our own interpretation of "right" on the world." Pot . Kettle. Black." but Lithopsian is also imposing the same interpretation of "right". Pointed out above.

The reason why there is a problem here is Lithopsian refuses BRD. When they say: "Hence no discussion of content is possible with you, so get used to it." How do you get consensus then? I've attempted to change the text again to avoid edit warring, and I have followed such changes with extensive info on the article's talk page. If they knowingly don't respond after a while (a few days), then it should be OK to reinsert the text. Expecting the edit summary to "explain" the change is not engaging in consensus building. (I mat have this wrong, but that is how I interpret policy. Thanks. Arianewiki1 (talk) 09:04, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I personally don't have an opinion on this at the moment, but it doesn't look good. First off, socking (including the use of IPs in this manner) is never a good thing when content disputes are involved. Secondly, editors need to respond/engage in discussion when there is a clear disagreement on edits, and consensus needs to be taken into account. Ignoring said consensus or continuing to restore the same disputed version(s) of an article is counterproductive, and even disruptive. Now, I'm not all that familiar with the current content dispute, but if Lithopsian continues to avoid the discussion (at the article's talk page), this could easily escalate into full-scale edit-warring. (I made one revert on the article, assuming that the IP was a troll or an LTA sock, but apparently, that wasn't the case.) My point is, all involved editors need to engage in discussion instead of blindly reverting or attacking each other. Circumventing the discussion process is harmful, and is definitely grounds for sanctions if this kind of activity continues. LightandDark2000 🌀 (talk) 05:29, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

US Highways - Possible sock

Resolved

• Jackson Tennessee Rules (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Possible sock, they created a hoax article, Interstate 570. Cards84664 (talk) 03:22, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

User claims to be 2006 December (talk · contribs). Cards84664 (talk) 03:27, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Here are the userlinks for 2006 December:

• 2006 December (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Another admission is here in the edit summary: "I'm 2006 December, don't tell Kinu". I suggest User:Jackson Tennessee Rules be blocked as a sock of User:2006 December. The reference to User:Kinu in their edit summary is to the admin who originally blocked 2006 December. Probably this case is too stale for checkuser. EdJohnston (talk) 04:12, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

@EdJohnston: [311] Cards84664 (talk) 04:17, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Indefblocked user:Jackson Tennessee Rules. Materialscientist (talk) 04:54, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Repeated problematic edits

The following user has made in a period of one week several problematic edits on Eurovision Song Contest 2019. I have warned the specific user two times in total, but either they don't look at their talk page or don't understand the warnings. —Dimsar01 ^Talk ⌚→ 07:00, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• De Boni 2007 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Some examples of their edits:

• Problematic – Correct (after revert)
• Problematic – Correct

NOTHERE trolling

Sfinctur (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Basically there's not anything to say other than "look at their contributions, especially on their talk page." (Talk page 1, talk page 2) No chance that this person is interested in contributing usefully, disruption is already evident, responses to warnings indicate every intent of continuing. Notifying shortly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Joel B. Lewis (talk • contribs) 13:14, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

The editor's response to notification of this report ("Oh no! I beg you, please don’t report me to an admin! Wikipedia is the only thing I have - it is my identity, my life, my purpose!"[312]) looks very like trolling to me, and suggests that this editor is not here in order to improve the encyclopaedia. RolandR (talk) 13:35, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

To be pointlessly pedantic, that response was not to the ANI notification, it was to a separate warning (by Bennv3771). But it was the reason I decided to go ahead and file this. --JBL (talk) 15:32, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Repeated misuse of undo accusations by an IP

Users Involved

• RhinosF1 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)- Filer / subject of accusations by IP
• Optakeover (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) -Original revert-er and accused by IP
• 217.19.216.247 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) - IP

• 217.19.208.96 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
• 217.19.208.110 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

• itchyjunk (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) - User making uninvolved comment on IP's talk

Complaint

Hello, Optakeover originally reverted the IP for making changes on Transnistria (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs) that involved changing the name of the place in multiple places in the article. The IP then reverted this so Optakeover took this to #wikipedia-en-help ^connect so I reverted the edit again. The IP then made the controversial changes again so I warned them for edit warring and reverted. The IP then stopped the edit war but has continued to complain about how they were reverted and refuse to discuss the edits claiming they don't need to prove anything and refusing to admit the talk page clearly shows that there is no consensus for the change and it must be discussed. I therefore ask that someone takes action to bring this to a close. RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)} 12:36, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

In fact, the situation is just the opposite: it’s you who not explain your rollbacks, although my edits are not controversial or related to any non-neutral viewpoint. Instead of to justify your disagreement and the motivation for rollback, you answer only with threats and transfer the topic to a different direction. All discussion was conducted on pages User_talk:217.19.216.247 and partly Talk:Transnistria. The actions of these participants are a manifestation of unwarranted aggression, a provocation of a war of edits, a reluctance to engage in constructive dialogue, i.e., it may well be defined as bias-based vandalism. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 12:56, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I'd advise anyone reading this to read the IPs talk page where you'll see the issue explained multiple times RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)} 13:02, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

They can only see how you translate the discussion about my edits to the discussion about renaming of the article from the article talk page, which was going on separately and does not apply to my edits and your actions. Not to one direct question about what was wrong with my last edits, and each of it in particular, was not answered. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 13:52, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• "The IP then stopped the edit war". So, we have nothing to do here then, hm? People are quite encouraged to defend their positions using talk pages. We don't sanction people for that. --Jayron32 13:07, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Jayron32, They've multiple times accused us of using the undo function improperly. I'd like action taken on them for unfounded accsuations. RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)}

• IP has now restored the edit that changes the name which is the root of this. I'm not going to revert to avoid an edit war but can someone take action. RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)} 14:07, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• And on what basis are you going to revert the edit? If you have not noticed, I asked you the same question on the article's discussion page. I specifically returned only one of my edits to give you the opportunity to put forward their claims on it. But no, no dialogue. Expected. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 17:16, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Also pinging El_C as you've interacted with them a bit RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)} 13:11, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Comments of the attacked editor(s)

• User:Optakeover: "His replies have been to repeatedly state that the name just is biased, that somehow what he wrote is the fact" - this is a blatant lie, because there are two sources that directly confirm this. Any comments on them are missing again, just edits were canceled.

• User:Optakeover: "Not only Anon has failed to gain the support from any other recent discussion participant or consensus from the community, but has already demonstrated his refusal to discuss with us just because we disagree with him" - it's a lie again. It was I who repeatedly asked to justify my actions and continue the discussion on the talk page of the article. Not? Then stop pushing your points of view, hiding behind rules that you don’t follow. 217.19.208.96

• About sources concerning the name of the state and offensive terminology. I brought two sources:

• The President of PMR told how to “correctly” call Pridnestrovie in English (Rus.: Transnistria или Pridnestrovie? Красносельский рассказал, как «правильно» называть Приднестровье по-английски)
• “Zadnestrovie” - “Transnistria” was invented by the Romanians, and Pridnestrovie was accepted by the people (Rus.: «Заднестровье» - «Транснистрия» придумали румыны, а Приднестровье принял народ)

That is, direct quotations of direct participants (President of PMR and Professor of History of the Pridnestrovian State University) are given through official mass media. I suppose that an adequate person cannot raise any questions here, I cannot even find what one can argue about here. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 18:05, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Statement by Optakeover

I am a recent-changes and vandalism patroller, and when I came across this set of edits that removed a set of placenames en masse, I decided to revert them. However, sensing that the edit was a matter of content dispute, I decided to seek advice from #wikipedia-en-help ^connect as RhinosF1 mentioned. RhinosF1 did assess the edits and decided that the edits were going against consensus that was already being built on the article talk page (through a move discussion; more on that below), and did decide to revert their further edits, an action I personally endorse, while I personally made only one revert to the article page. It is very apparent 217.19.216.247 (Anon) is aware of the controversy surrounding the topic of the name.

The pertinent issue seems to be deciding whether the current name used, "Transnistria" is somehow politically "biased", and "Pridnestrovian" should be used instead. Talk:Transnistria#Requested move 17 February 2018, a discussion to move the page to "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic" was closed as No Consensus back in 2018, and since then we have settled on WP:COMMONNAME as the decider of what that name should be. Anon has since repeatedly attempted to push through with his edits, claiming that the current name in his own thinking and his own research that the current name is "biased". As the discussion had moved to his talk page, I have repeatedly requested sources that proves the current name is biased. His replies have been to repeatedly state that the name just is biased, that somehow what he wrote is the fact. I have already informed him of Wikipedia policies and guidelines WP:NPOV, WP:RELIABLE and WP:COMMONNAME. I have especially understood that based on Neutral Point of View, whatever any user/editor thinks is right, Wikipedia doesn't take sides, and editors must present reliably-sourced information, using sources free from their own editorial slant and bias to back any content, especially controversial content. Not only Anon has failed to gain the support from any other recent discussion participant or consensus from the community, but has already demonstrated his refusal to discuss with us just because we disagree with him:

"Until the arguments against me are provided on the points of each rolled out change, I have nothing to discuss with you. So far I have not seen anything but charges, threats and attempts to transfer here the discussion about renaming an article that is not related to my edits and your rollbacks." 217.19.208.96 (talk) 10:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC), on User talk:217.19.216.247

Anon has also demonstrated behavior that shows his reluctance to listen to other editors, and has already made up his mind about users having views that differ from his:

"It is more appropriate to say that pro-Romanian editors of Wikipedia themselves are engaged in the promotion of this terminology through English version of this encyclopedia." 217.19.208.96 (talk) 18:16, 21 April 2019 (UTC), on Talk:Transnistria

I think this quote is pretty telling that this user is not only refusing to reach a middle ground and consensus with any editor, he is simply refusing to get it, and somehow we are ridiculous or as biased as the powers-may-be who came up with such a biased "Transnistria" name just for explaining the prevailing sentiment on the choice of the name for the subject topic, thereby disagreeing with his sweeping edits.

The Anon is certainly quite a sharp editor, and has repeatedly responded to most of our quotations on policy and procedural quotes in an attempt to exploit piecemeal interpretations of them, like subsequently repeatedly requesting for discussion on the issue on the article talk page (Despite his thinly-veiled contempt towards those who disagree with him - branding them as failure to respond to his "arguments" as "biased", etcetera ad nauseam), and especially his sudden change of tone after this edit, where he wrote:

"Nobody argued with me, did not make a single argument or even words in general against the amendments, which are mostly stylistic in nature. What then to discuss with you? Idiot." 217.19.208.110 (talk) 15:03, 20 April 2019 (UTC), on User talk:217.19.216.247, for which he received a warning from El_C.

On the matter of sources

Anon has mentioned about the sources he used in direct citation to his edits on the name. I leave it to all the participants here to discuss and decide how to interpret these sources, but I shall express my own views here, and let this ANI discussion be the place where we get to decide on how reliably and neutrally-sourced Anon's edits actually have been.

Anon was probably referring in particular to the edits in the range of [313]. Out of all the links used (most were in citation for information on the Holocaust, etc and thus weren't pertaining to the controversial name), the only link I shall comment on is https://novostipmr.com/ru/news/19-04-19/zadnestrove-transnistriya-pridumali-rumyny-pridnestrove-prinyali.

I make these comments:

1) This source still only comments on the name controversy on one side. Changing the name in favor of one version on the back of sources that only side one side of an issue is NOT NPOV.

2) The source is published by a publisher that claims to represent the partially-recognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Where a reliable, neutral source is concerned, this source is already called into stark question.

3) And my most important point: on Wikipedia, NPOV is the recognizing of multiple opinions and pieces of information, whether they are right or wrong, true or false. However as a neutral encyclopedia that claims to document articles and issues by stating all angles of an issue fairly, how then do we state information that is meant to provide the facts of what something is, in difference to all the opinions? I think it's very clear to (most) Wikipedians the fact is we engage in collaboration and discussion to separate fact from opinion, thereby writing fairly by documenting factual information backed up by sources, and covering a spectrum of opinions, even disproved or contradicted ones, by which their notability and existence as pieces of opinions are also verified by sources. This collaboration and discussion is important when we actually start to come to agreements and compromises, based on our own converging viewpoints on all these issues, about what should and should not be included.

And with that, as far as I'm concerned the Anon has made zero attempt to provide meaningful sources that are reliable, and free from their own editorial bias. It's kind-of like an irony, in my way of seeing how things have panned out so far.

Conclusion

I think it's very clear that Anon's behavior has been extremely disruptive. His refusal to assume good faith while engaging editors, insisting that what he wrote is the cold hard fact, uncivility and continuous attempts to reintroduce his own edits contrary to current contributing community's sentiments are a definite sign of his refusal and failure to get the points that we have all been making, and Anon should and must be sanctioned for his role in this content dispute. I hope this ANI discussion is where we will finally clarify and iron-out this controversy. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 16:42, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• This looks to be a conventional edit war between an IP-hopper and a group of regular editors on the Transnistria article. The IP seems to be engaged in WP:RIGHTGREATWRONGS since they added "is considered very offensive to the locals" to the article in Wikipedia's voice, when referring to the name 'Transnistria'. Apparently the word 'Trans' is what is considered offensive, since the left bank of the Dniester is only 'beyond Dniester' from the viewpoint of Romania, whose army occupied the area during the Second World War. I suggest we semiprotect Transnistria and invite the IP to open a move discussion at Talk:Transnistria if he thinks it is not the best name. That move discussion will probably fail since a related move proposal was voted down in January 2018. The IP addresses that are warring on this article geolocate to Moldova. EdJohnston (talk) 17:13, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• @EdJohnston: That sounds like a good idea. I'd be happy to proceed with giving the article whatever level of protection is needed and forcing a discussion although I do suggest someone uninvolved like you reverts the IPs last edit to the article per WP:STATUSQUO. My only other concern is the IPs behaviour in relation to calling people 'idiot' and refusal to get the point which led to this this so I'd recommend the IP is strenly warned about how to handle disputes with blocks happening if personal attacks and aggressive pushing of opinions and false accusations happen in the future. RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)} 17:26, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• You are talking about the existence of a dispute where a consensus was not reached, so for some reason it was decided to leave the article in one version, but not in another (it is not clear why). In this case, you will provide a link to the discussion where was discussed about where to use the official name, and where name which the spoken in certain circles (and not about how to call it: this is a discussion right now). On the talk page, I also explained why rule WP:COMMONNAME is out of place here, but this refers to the discussion about renaming an article, not my edits: I did not rename the article. But you did not want to substantively lead the discussion, it is easier for you to attack a specific editor.

• "His replies have been to repeatedly state that the name just is biased, that somehow what he wrote is the fact" - this is a blatant lie, because there are two sources that directly confirm this. Any comments on them are missing again, just edits were canceled.

"Not only Anon has failed to gain the support from any other recent discussion participant or consensus from the community, but has already demonstrated his refusal to discuss with us just because we disagree with him" - It's a lie again. It was I who repeatedly asked to justify my actions and continue the discussion on the talk page of the article. Not? Then stop pushing your points of view, hiding behind rules that you don’t follow. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 17:38, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• I brought two sources:

Transnistria или Pridnestrovie? Красносельский рассказал, как «правильно» называть Приднестровье по-английски

«Заднестровье» - «Транснистрия» придумали румыны, а Приднестровье принял народ

That is, direct quotations of direct participants (President of PMR and Professor of History of the Pridnestrovian State University) are given through official mass media. I suppose that an adequate person cannot raise any questions here, I cannot even find what one can argue about here. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 17:47, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Dear 217.19.208.96, my request is to please stop adding your comments to my statement body. It's much better if you add them below as comments to my comment. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 17:56, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Sorry, I placed them at the top. Some kind of crash. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 18:00, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I didn't ask you to remove your comments. For transparency's sake I have reverted your deletion of your own comments. Optakeover^(U)(T)(C) 18:05, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

As you like, I, especially, have not finished writing them yet. In general, I commented on your statements about me, but I wanted to put it in a separate block. And already managed to place them higher in the text. And already managed to place them higher in the text. Here you formulate the essence of your claims, then we will discuss (as long as there is nothing really in the case), otherwise it is just inconvenient to even write anything in such a stream of edits. 217.19.208.96 (talk) 18:13, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I think you're missing the point massively, The sources you have given above are useless as we need independent, reliable sources and at no point have we 'hid[den] behind rules [we] didn't follow' we have only enforced consensus which means until otherwise decided the article should as it is. Despite the fact you never moved the article, you have still repeatedly throughout the article changed which word is used as the name which still is against consensus even if you can't technically move the page. I also ask that you stop accusing us of breaking rules unless you can back this up or action needs to taken in that regard. RhinosF1^(chat)_{(status)(contribs)} 18:17, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• After reading the comments here and seeing that the IP has been edit warring, I've gone ahead with three months of semiprotection for Transnistria. If anyone still believes that Transnistria is incorrectly named, use Talk:Transnistria to get consensus for your view. If the editors decide to use WP:COMMONNAME as the criterion, they will find from a Google search that the name 'Transnistria' is twenty times more common than 'Pridnestrovie'. EdJohnston (talk) 19:07, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Page move topic ban for Joseth Felix Torres

• Joseth Felix Torres (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Joseth Felix Torres (talk · contribs) has a history of undiscussed, controversial, and disruptive page moves - earlier today Panthera leo leo to Northern lion then to North lion, and Panthera leo melanochaita to Southern lion then to South lion (both reverted by @Sam Sailor:). They have been reverted and warned multiple times. I suggest an indefinite topic ban from making any page moves. Pinging @Loopy30, Elmidae, and BhagyaMani: who have raised this issue with me recently. GiantSnowman 13:47, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Unresponsive to reversals of decisions made in recently concluded talk page discussions. cygnis insignis 14:48, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

This editor seems too confused to be able to follow a topic ban. They almost never use talk, and their article edits are nearly 100% reverted by others. It would be more practical for an admin to issue an indefinite block. EdJohnston (talk) 14:57, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• Regretfully, I'd advocate an indef block here. Just about every edit the editor has made so far has had to be reverted. They are clearly well-intentioned but completely unresponsive and ham-fisted; lots of fun was had when they got hold of what appears to be the substantially altered English translation of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae and used that to work over an article that is based on the original Latin version. Edit-warring, zero responses. Now they've gotten onto two-step page moves to misspelled common names; again, no reaction to objections. I think by now there have been enough chances to show some basic cooperative ability. --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 15:59, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Continued addition of unsourced info despite repeated warnings

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

Please could someone look at the edits of Mrjackmarley. Despite repeated final warnings and 3 blocks, he continues to mass change genre's without providing any sources whatsoever. Robvanvee 14:44, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Agreed. Indeffing now, with any unblock contingent on acknowledging prior warnings and a statement that he will not continue to make unsourced genre changes. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 17:33, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Kesha disruption from Russia and Belarus

A handful of IPs are being disruptive at articles related to Kesha, the singer. The IPs are from Russia and Belarus, and they very likely represent block evasion by Special:Contributions/Denis7248427, Special:Contributions/Dionis_Zhmailik and Special:Contributions/Денис_Жмайлик. Involved IPs listed below. Binksternet (talk) 18:25, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

• 22 Apr – 83.102.203.152 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 13 Apr – 83.102.203.202 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 6–11 Apr – 83.102.203.76 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 5 Apr – 217.118.78.99 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 4 Apr – 217.118.78.113 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• 25 Mar – 178.34.150.95 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))