Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/SPI/header

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Welcome to Sockpuppet investigations (SPI). Here, users can request discussion about possible breaches of the sock puppetry policy. Please see the sockpuppet policy for detailed definitions and descriptions of what sockpuppetry is and is not. This page is used to discuss whether a user is likely to have violated that policy, or breached other restrictions (eg blocks or bans) using multiple accounts. For exceptionally sensitive matters (e.g. harassment, privacy), please contact any CheckUser or any Arbitration Committee member, by e-mail  (how to). CheckUser CheckUser is a tool that allows authorized users to look at technical information left when a user/IP makes an edit. This technical information can help determine if a single person is using more than one account. Use of the checkuser tool is governed by policies on the English Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation levels. For more information, see the Foundation policy, the local policy and the Foundation privacy policy. When not to request CheckUser There must be credible evidence supporting the suspicion of sockpuppetry. Requests for checkuser without supporting evidence will be declined, because CheckUser is not for fishing. CheckUser requests are also not  magic 8-balls or magic pixie dust, and such requests will likewise be rejected. CheckUser should not be requested to investigate canvassing or meatpuppetry, or if the account(s) suspected have not edited for many months (i.e. are  Stale). In addition, if behavioral evidence alone clearly indicates sock puppetry (see the duck test) then any CheckUser requests will likely be rejected. Quick CheckUser requests See #Quick CheckUser requests. This page may also be used for other CheckUser requests unrelated to sock abuse, such as: Blatant attack or vandalism accounts, and an IP block is needed Collateral damage checks for proposed IP range blocks Purported suicide notes and threats of harm (try IRC first in an emergency here) Evidence and SPI case guidelines You need to provide evidence showing the accounts or IPs are acting in a disruptive or forbidden manner, which other users will then assess. If there is no evidence, then nothing will happen and can result in the case being speedily closed by the SPI clerks. Most SPI cases are decided based upon behavioral evidence, that is, the behavior of the accounts or IPs concerned. This evidence needs to be explicit; that is, use verifiable evidence in the form of diffs, links to the pages in which the sock puppetry is occurring, and reasonable deductions and impressions drawn from said evidence. Evidence solely consisting of vague beliefs or assumptions will be rejected. Some general guidelines when making your SPI case: Remember to always assume good faith when possible. After submitting a case, consider notifying the suspected accounts by adding {{subst:socksuspectnotice|PUPPETMASTER}} ~~~~ to the bottom of their talk pages. Notification is not mandatory, and may, in some instances, lead to further disruption or provide a sockpuppeteer with guidance on how to avoid detection. Do not use any section headers ("===") on case pages as this will break the report templates and mess up the formatting. Keep it simple. Simple, concisely presented evidence leads to a quickly resolved case. After administrators and/or checkusers have reviewed the case, it will be closed and archived by an SPI clerk. (Administrators may mark a case closed using {{SPIclose}}.) Submitting an SPI case If you are already familiar with the instructions, create the case by replacing "CASENAME" with the name of the oldest account, or previous case name in the box below. For example, if the case name is about User:John Doe or a prior case is at Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/John Doe, then you should enter Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/John Doe in the box, then click the button. Start an SPI case WITHOUT a CheckUser request Start an SPI case WITH a CheckUser request Instructions for requesting checkuser on open cases Anyone can request CheckUser at any time on an open case if it is necessary. (This is done automatically if you use the "Request CheckUser" box to create your new request.) If you wish to request CheckUser to any existing open case, then do the following: Add {{RFCU|CASE LETTER|No2ndLetter|New}} under the "Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments" section. Note: if you used the "Start sockpuppet investigation plus CheckUser request" box to create your new request, then this will already be done, and the template will be placed under the "CheckUser request" section. Replace "CASE LETTER" with one of the code letters provided (A, B, C, D, E, or F) If a second reason to request CheckUser is necessary, then replace "No2ndLetter" with another code letter. A clerk will review the case and make a determination as to whether CheckUser is needed. A clerk will either  endorse the case for CheckUser attention or  decline the case. If the case is declined, then the case will be included back on the list of SPI cases that do not have CheckUser requests. If the case is endorsed, then a CheckUser will check all given accounts for technical evidence; this may take a while. At the end, CheckUser may post their results under the "Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments" section, stating which accounts are  confirmed to be the same user, which ones are  likely,  possible, or  unlikely that they are the same user, and which ones are  unrelated or  inconclusive. Sometimes, underlying  IP(s) may also be blocked. The case is then placed back in the list of non-CheckUser requests pending further comments from clerks or patrolling administrators, or it may be closed by a CheckUser or clerk if all issues have been addressed. See also List of archived SPI cases since January 2009 (Note: archive is over 500KB large) SPI clerks and clerking Suspected sock puppets and Requests for checkuser – predecessors to SPI which both ceased as of January 2009 The SPI bot's user page, talk/bug page and edits.