User talk:Charles Matthews: Difference between revisions
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:You have absolutely no foundation for saying that. It amounts to abuse. And frankly telling me that I don't know the guideline is ridiculous. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 20:06, 6 December 2006 (UTC) |
:You have absolutely no foundation for saying that. It amounts to abuse. And frankly telling me that I don't know the guideline is ridiculous. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 20:06, 6 December 2006 (UTC) |
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::I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to abuse you, Charles. I see it quite the other way around: I think I have every reason to believe that ''you'', and your fellow biased arbitrators, are abusing ''me'' (and of course, the bio subject to whom you accuse me of being identical). As far as the COI guideline is concerned...well, suffice it to say that if you mean to flatly forbid those connected to the topics of particular articles to edit them even under the most dire circumstances, then you'll need to substantially reword it...and you'll ''also'' need to do more than a little soul-searching about the ethical soundness of tying peoples' hands even while declaring open season on them, their reputations, and their work. For every notable person on this site, you have a dozen vandals and would-be detractors. It is hardly to Wikipedia's advantage to set precedents which hand these vandals and detractors a general and unconditional victory over their potential victims, as you and others on the ArbCom seem to want to do. [[User:Asmodeus|Asmodeus]] 20:54, 6 December 2006 (UTC) |
Revision as of 20:54, 6 December 2006
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Enion
Re: your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Enion Halili. The history of the Enion redirect[1] only indicates one edit. Once User:Fortune500 created the article, he removed some links which should not have pointed to "his" page. Making a disambiguation page would have been a better choice, but I see no reason to assume that he was motivated by anything other than good intentions. His misunderstanding of the purpose of Wikipedia may be vast, but I think he may be feeling bitten right now. (Just a guess based on the fact that he seems to have given up and gone away.) Xtifr tälk 19:58, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
- Removing red links is a bad thing. He may think he is more important to WP than a minor character in William Blake; but I believe we should make utterly clear that, from the encyclopedic point of view, that is not so. Charles Matthews 20:01, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
Two RfAr's filed by User:Nathannoblet
Please note that this user filed two unexplained RfAr's simultaneously, not just one. You have voted to reject one by for consistency's sake ought to go back and do the same with the other. Newyorkbrad 20:53, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Johann Hari page and sockpuppets
I'm a little miffed by the appearance of about 3 new editors who are fairly obvious sockpuppets, not only by looking at their one issue (one page!) contribution histories but also by the text style. I won't bang on about it on the discussion page, but surely I don't have to be bound by false concensus?Felix-felix 13:39, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
- You are alleging that these are sockpuppets. My approach has been, firstly, to make it clear that we can check this (CheckUser). If I do this and you are wrong, you are worse off than before. You could be wrong, with some like-thinking friends being summoned as 'meatpuppets'. Since using sockpuppets is not in itself actionable, I'd advise you just to see how it goes. I have also laid the groundwork for further blocks under the personal attack policy. I'm quite prepared to act on any misbehaviour; my main aim is to get the talk page discussion back into normal channels, not to prove that I have the power to apply bans. Charles Matthews 14:36, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Hi Charles, it's Dave. The people who have posted are certainly not sock-puppets of mine; a few have offered contact details to verify their identities to +prove+ they are not sock-puppets.
I'm really tired with all this and very keen to find a compromise. I offered what I thought was a reasonable compromise tonight and Felix immediately deleted it (including the enhanced section on global warming that you wrote and I much preferred).
Felix and I are clearly going to keep alternating edits, me putting them in, him cutting, me putting them back, etc etc, which seems like a real waste of time. That isn't good for wiki, and it's frankly very tedious.
If you could check in to the discussion and just adjudicate on (a) the public domain picture I keep posting, and (b) the sections on nuclear disarmament, global warming and the line and the environment, it would really save a lot of time. If you decide against me I will totally abide by that; if you decide against felix, I hope he will too. - Dave
"Giano" arbitration and pending proposal
The so-called Giano arbitration is about to close, but there is a pending motion by an arbitrator (to modify the proposed ban of User:John Reid) on which several of the arbitrators have not voted. My views and those of other editors can be found on the talk page. You may want to give this attention before the case is actually closed. Newyorkbrad 12:30, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- Not the vote that I, or many other editors who have commented, would have supported, but thank you for the follow-up. Newyorkbrad 12:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- Thank you for the alert. For myself, fast-tracking the closure of this case was a preferred way. Possibly the most significant case of this year, in terms of its impact. Don't want to say more, but do believe me when I say that there has been discussion of its aspects. Charles Matthews 12:52, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- Oh, I am sure enough of that. My extensive comments on various aspects are on the Workshop and PD-talk pages so I won't repeat them here (though I don't know how many arbitrators read those pages). I was glad to give a heads-up, though I was fairly sure you'd be a vote against my position that this ban is a serious mistake and will undermine any other positive results the decision might have. Newyorkbrad 13:20, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- Thank you for the alert. For myself, fast-tracking the closure of this case was a preferred way. Possibly the most significant case of this year, in terms of its impact. Don't want to say more, but do believe me when I say that there has been discussion of its aspects. Charles Matthews 12:52, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- One can argue against fast-tracking cases on the grounds that decisions may be hasty, or just look hasty. Doesn't apply here. We could hardly not notice implications of this one. We can play how will this look? to a fair extent, but that is ultimately not the job. It seems inevitable that there will be Wikipedians who will misread it. There were about 50 sections to vote on, as I recall. I think it is important that people don't read the wrong things into how it has gone. There is precious little we can do about that: the whole tone of vehemence and exaggeration that accompanies certain styles of debate here militates against rational outcomes. Which is roughly where this case came in. For myself, I pay most attention to the internal AC debates, and least to lobbying and attempts to pressurise Arbitrators. I've been alert to what we are deciding, and I hope and believe we are making the most of an extremely unfortunate conjuncture of things.
- By the way, you raised another matter with me, at around the time this was breaking news. I'd like to assure you that I did see that this got discussed, even if you may not have seen any outcome. Charles Matthews 14:26, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Fast-tracking of ArbCom decisions is hardly a concern. In fact, as an outside observer who has now participated in the process (though not as a principal party) a couple of times, in my mind the biggest issue affecting ArbCom's functioning is the (understandable) delays in the proceedings. I still think the ban on John Reid is a bad mistake, and may raise it before Jimbo, but I understand if you feel constrained against commenting further. I've never sought to "pressurize arbitrators" with anything other than the force of my observations and arguments, for whatever they may be worth. As for the other matter, I was going to follow up on that as well, as it seemed to have dropped off the page out of sight, so it is good to know that was discussed as well, albeit in a less than fully transparent process. Newyorkbrad 16:05, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Yes, an appeal lies to Jimbo, as a last resort. It ought to come from the person in question, really.
As a separate general comment, enWP seems to grow monolithic and entrenched structures that are then hard to reform. It is not really clear to me how to cope with this. We (roughly speaking) find a structure that at least does what it claims to do, and then put up with the bumpiness of the out-turn (I'm thinking about AfD, RfA as well as the AC). The reason is not hard to see: it's run by volunteers, and getting the management consultants in is not an option.
Charles Matthews 16:08, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Yes, an appeal lies to Jimbo, as a last resort. It ought to come from the person in question, really. Charles Matthews 16:08, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- John Reid doesn't plan to do anything, per the discussion on the proposed decision talk and on his usertalk page. He's being philosophical about things and says he can use a week off anyway and will "scrupulously respect" his ban. I think others including myself are a good deal more unhappy about the ban than he is. There will be a feeling that an excellent contributor was punished "for speaking out" during a contentious time. Please note, which I have tried to emphasize throughout, that my strong opposition to a ban does not mean I appreciated the stridency of his comments or that I agreed with any or all of them.
- As for your meta-comment, if you were to put together a list of suggested changes I'd be glad to comment on them.
The lawyer (hopefully not wikilawyer) in me suggests that not banning the good-faith volunteers would be a place to start, but that wouldn't be a helpful observation at this point so I'll won't say it.Newyorkbrad 16:21, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Well, the smart reaction to being treated unjustly here (as the victim perceives it) is to do exactly as you describe. What you say rather suggests he needs no advice in the matter. Charles Matthews 16:25, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- The concern, of course, is that others could be deterred from contributing to policy discussion, and there arises a disquietude that a fellow contributor was treated unjustly. (Plus, of course, we lose a week of good edits.) Presumably your response and that of the other arbitrators who support the ban would be that the type of discussion he was engaged in should be deterred. I accept that's a judgment call. Newyorkbrad 16:40, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm not going to comment, but I think it is clear enough that the 'job description' for an Arb includes things that are not purely judicial. Charles Matthews 16:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Shorter statement
Just for your information. I have now written a shorter statement concerning Lochdale's request for arbitration. See [2]. Onefortyone 19:18, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
- Thank you. Charles Matthews 21:39, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Charles de Gaulle (R 91)
Regarding Charles de Gaulle (R 91) : Can you please have a look at this and advise what to do about what is happening on the discussion page ? Thanks a great deal. Natobxl 04:42, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- You may be relying too closely on Wikipedia:Reliable sources. While that page retains guideline status, it also carries a 'dispute' warning, and it has gained a reputation in some quarters as basically unhelpful. If you have a serious dispute over unreferenced material, there are ways to approach it; and here it is important to assume the good faith of others involved. Charles Matthews 07:43, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- What are the other avenues that we can explore if we have an unresolved dispute ? My objective is not to have this article lockedup. I'd really like some independant third-party observers to view the situation and provide some comments to resolve this appropriately.Natobxl 14:13, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- Strange to say, in all these years we haven't come up with better ways to deal with disputes on content than the parties trying to hammer out a compromise version. That actually works. If it's not working, I would ask first whether there is some behavioural issue that is an obstruction to talk-talk as a way ahead. If there is, and you get an admin involved in looking over the page and how editors are acting, that usually calms things down. Charles Matthews 14:22, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- Actually, the coordinator on these topic areas (as far I understand) is Kirill Lokshin. However, he already got involved in the article's discussions-page and also on his talk-page User talk:Kirill Lokshin. Therefore, to have as much objectivity as possible, I'd like an unbiased 'third-party' opinion.Natobxl 14:40, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- For Charles & Natobxl:I've had a look over the dispute given a third (and hopefully unbiased) opinion at Talk:Charles de Gaulle (R 91). Mark83 14:44, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- User:Kirill Lokshin is an admin, so it is smart to take a lead from this person. I don't know what coordinator on these topic areas; that's not a formally recognised status. A relevant WikiProject is a good place to look: talk pages for WikiProjects serve as topic forums. Charles Matthews 14:47, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- I hoped that we could find more third-party observers to comment ... without getting friends and family onboard ofcourse :-) Actually, User:Kirill Lokshin did already volunteer an opinion. Like the rest of us, he too is involved in the discussion. We are all 'in the ring'. That is why I'm trying to get some outside observation as suggested by Wikipedia guidelines on consensus finding.Natobxl 17:21, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
- For a further administrator opinion, post a request on Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard. Charles Matthews 08:46, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
RfArb Cbuhl79
Hi Charles,
I have no idea if out of band contact is apporpriate, and I sincerely apologize if it is not. However, I feel this issue is important enough to warrant a little follow up by me. You are the first ArbCom member to vote, and your reasoning "let this dispute die" seems to be influenced by the user's constant rambling about content. I'm calling his behaviour into question. Without some sort of censure, this guy is going to (1) damage the credibility of wikipedia; and (2) frustrate other editors to the point that they probably will not wish to continue working on whatever articles he's hawking. It seems absolutely inconceivable to me that he can get away with all this -- he is consistantly dishonest, acts in bad faith, and uses good faith issued to him to slander the reputations of the other editors involved (about half a dozen). How should this be appropriately handled, if not by RfArb? Thanks for any advice! /Blaxthos 11:31, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
- He actually contacted me offline, and I said getting another admin involved is the right way: take advice from an outside admin. He seems to have gone about this the wrong way, though. So I'm not surprised that there has been some blowback. I'm prepared to put this down to ignorance of the system, and my hope is that with further community involvement, he will figure out that nothing much comes from unpopularity. Charles Matthews 11:35, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
- My main concern is that after your counsel (and admonishments from other users) he misreported facts to administrative notice boards against me, and even put warning templates on my spaces. I've been on Wikipedia since 2004, and have never once been involved in any kind of administrative action or process. I tried a week ago to let this die as ignorance of the system, but the user seems particularly unwilling to listen to anyone else regarding what is proper content, action, or behavior. We're not talking about one or two people, either -- we're talking about his defiance of probably 8 to 10 editors' patient and good-faith efforts to handle it as you have suggested (references available). I am seeking this remediation as a last resort -- I am convinced that the only thing that will prevent him from causing more problems (by disinterpreting more policies and crying foul at every turn) is going to be disciplinary action. The fact that he further exacerbated the situation after you told him to talk to an admin and I told him I was dropping it in good faith that he was misunderstanding the system seems to be a perfect example of my point. In any case, I appreciate the time you've taken. :-) /Blaxthos 15:03, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
If it's as bad as you say, and is affecting many people rather than just being a localised dispute, then a community ban becomes possible. That is, admins collectively decide on this. A community ban can be appealed to the ArbCom, who will review what was done at that point. Charles Matthews 16:04, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
Question about what you said about CoI on the Gary Weiss page
You said [[3]] "WP:COI doesn't say that, it says the exact opposite. It has been heavily refactored in recent days, but the whole trend is that deletions are under standard policies, and there is no guideline about leveraging conflicts of interest into deletions.". Now, I get the feeling I'm probably being pretty dumb, but were you responding to me or Cla68? Thanks for your time. Edward Wakelin 21:27, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
- To Cla68. Charles Matthews 23:27, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
- Thank you. Don't know why I didn't figure that out. Edward Wakelin 23:52, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
Saw this and thought of you!
Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee_Lounge/Go. :-) Carcharoth 23:33, 31 October 2006 (UTC)
- NB. For the record, the page got deleted a few weeks after I pointed it out above. And yes, I was one of those voting to delete it. I was just surpised it lasted as long as it did. Carcharoth 23:37, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
Hi Charles. There has been a bit of discussion going on about this category in various sections of my talk page, and I thought that as the creator of the category, I would let you know in case you have anything to add. Thanks, JPD (talk) 10:18, 3 November 2006 (UTC)
- Thanks for your comments. Unfortunately, I wasn't clear enough - the most recent discussion is further down the page, where aonther user has suggested a different name for the category. JPD (talk) 10:29, 3 November 2006 (UTC)
About the Birch-Tate conjecture
Thank you for your speedy expansion of my newly made article. When you refer to the "main theorem of Iwasawa theory", do you mean the "main conjecture of Iwasawa theory," mentioned in the end of the Iwasawa article? Sr13 09:10, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
- Yes. I wrote that thoughtlessly (late at night); but obviously it is only really relevant where it is a theorem rather conjecture. Charles Matthews 12:14, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
By78
I don't think anything you'll say will change this guys mind. He likes his edit, example at the Go Seigen edit war I had with him. CanbekEsen 22:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
- Well, User:By78 is cutting good references out of the Shusai article. That's a serious matter. Also, no reason at all to put 'p' for dan. We should agree that dan means pro, as the default. But the edit-warring, particularly removing sources, is something that can be taken to an RfC immediately. Charles Matthews 23:00, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
Thanks!
Hello there, and thank you for doing the redirects to the Collectively Exhaustive Events and Mutually Exclusive Events articles. I'm the one that moved them, but I'm not familiar enough with Wikipedia's structure to know when I haven't left everything as "tidy" as it should be. capitalist 04:45, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
- Two things: upper case in titles has to be there for some good reason; you left the double redirects, as in the prompt after a page move. Charles Matthews 08:58, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
Block
Please block 194.144.111.210. This user to wage edit war, all users reverted this edition [4]. This user have all caution in discussion [5]. PS. WP:3RR. LUCPOL 17:15, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
- 95% edits from this user is editwars or 3RR, 0% god edits. See: [6] - all 16 editions --> 12 editions = edit war or/and 3RR, 4 editions = ~ edits. LUCPOL 17:19, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
- I suggest you mention this on Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents. Charles Matthews 17:22, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
Monday Club
I have replied on the Talk Page to your unfair comment. Why is the left-wing stance always preferable on Wikipedia? Maybe you should put something to this effect on the Wikipedia Home Page. Chelsea Tory 20:11, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
Fictional texts
I'd love any input or organization you might be able to put to User:Phil Sandifer/Fiction essay. I'm trying to work out on broad principle some of the popular culture issues, at least as they relate to fictional texts, so that debates over them are somewhat less sterile, and so that everyone is on the same page about things like sourcing. Phil Sandifer 18:32, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
Regarding the Iran-Iraq War Case
Hello there. I try to go out of my way not to get involved in ArbCom cases usually, unless I'm already involved, however I have seen that you have refused to rule on the Iran-Iraq war case. I would like you, should you have the time, to read over Essjay's statement on the behalf of the Mediation Committee's behalf and see if that may change your decision. Thanks for your time. ✎ Wizardry Dragon (Talk to Me) (My Contributions) (Page Moves) (Support Neutrality on Wikipedia) 21:21, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
Quick question about discussion pages
Hi. One the Monday Club talk page you pointed out to me there were talk page guidelines, and that you'd be removing talk that didn't comply with them - which is totally fair enough by me. Can I ask though, are the guidelines at the top of the page generally applicable across WP talk pages? So for example, if on a page users have gone off on a tangent and filled the page with discussion which isn't actually about the content of the article (though presumably related to the topic!), is it acceptable to move or delete it? --SandyDancer 21:38, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
- There is a guideline page, no? Yes, it's a standard header. Editing material out of talk pages goes against transparency, and so in a sense it's a last resort. Before that, I would usually try to archive rambling threads, which isn't particularly controversial unless it removes things that are recent and relevant. Charles Matthews 22:36, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot. You have been most helpful. --SandyDancer 22:47, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
Konstable Arbitration case
As it may or may not affect this arbitration case, Konstable has given up his admiship rights by asking Angela for it's removal and it has been carried out. Just thought I would let you know this. semper fi — Moe 02:01, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
Go Teacher
Hi, I saw that you're good at go. Can you suggest any good teaching sites other than the ones at the go article? Yankee Rajput 22:52, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
- Goproblems.com, the Go Teaching Ladder are both useful. Charles Matthews 22:57, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
Eric Lerner Ban
Since there seem to be enough votes to ban me from editing any article that I am expert in, I just want to make a few points to each of the arbitrators personally so there is no excuse that they don’t know what they are doing.
Not one of you have said what the difference is between my case and that of a climate researcher editing an article on climate research, which is specifically allowed by the Wiki conflict of interest policy. Any professional scientist by definition has a financial interest in the funding of his or her research. Climate researchers "make money off of" climate research. Especially in any controversial field, they must appeal to the general public to generate political support for the governmental funding decisions that they depend on, if they are at universities.
- We do not allow 'promotional' editing by anybody. It is against our policies to have scientists in any way overstating their own importance, or that of their subfields. Charles Matthews
Like myself, anyone working for a corporation has a financial interest in that corporation raising money from the public, both through the sale of products and the sale of shares.
Arbitrator Bauder has said that Bill Gates should be allowed to edit the article on Windows as an expert, yet in no way says how the same rule would not allow me to edit “aneutronic fusion” as an expert.
Aneutronic fusion using the plasma focus is NOT just my work. I am one researcher among quite a few in all these fields, just as a climate researcher is one among many. Nor is that the only approach to aneutronic fusion. Someone who thinks aneutronic fusion is a good idea could, for example, invest in TriAlpha’s Energy, which has a competing approach, or a Congressional aide might be inspired to allocate some money to University of Illinois' effort on the plasma focus.
The case is even clearer with "plasma cosmology" because I never have, unfortunately, gotten funding for this work (except my brief stint at European Southern Observatory.)
Quite clearly no general rule seems to be operating here, at least none that any of you have chosen to defend, that distinguishes my case from that of any other professional expert who makes a living from their research.
- You'd be wrong about that. Charles Matthews
My only conclusion is that the intent is simply censorship—to eliminate all those promoting certain viewpoints, specifically on cosmology, from Wikipedia. I assume that if I am banned for conflict on interest, anyone who in any way supports a similar viewpoint will be banned as my “meat puppet”.
If I am mistaken and you actually do have some way of showing how a general rule would lead to my banning, but not the a banning of every other professional scientist, I hope you will post it on the proposed decision talk page.
Eric LernerElerner 00:40, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
- You are mistaken in assuming that legalistic arguments work here. The mission is to write an encyclopedia. We can ration participation in that enterprise as we see fit. Charles Matthews 08:49, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
Jellybeans
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/JellyBellyBeans.jpg/120px-JellyBellyBeans.jpg)
Here are some Jelly beans for you. I love jelly beans as they have sugar in them and most people love sugar. But on the other hand just receiving somthing from somone else just makes you happy and also just giving this to you makes me happy. I hope to spread the jelly beans all over Wikipedia, so here, you can have this lot. Please enjoy them. (I like the lime ones.)
Editors need a bit of a sugar high too.
An apple a day keeps -The Doctor- away. Or does it! (talk)(contribs) 02:20, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration#Appeal_of_Prof02
Please take notice that a request for arbitration concerning you has been filed at Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration#Appeal_of_Prof02. Fred Bauder 14:11, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Urgent motion in Hkelkar case
As one of the ArbCom partaking in this case, your input/co-operation into this temporary injunction would be greatly appreciated. I wouldn't have sent you a message, but given the nature of what has occured, and the potential to stall this ArbCom case, everyone involved needs a speedy resolution or else I suspect the case will break down. Cheers, Daniel.Bryant [ T · C ] 00:19, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
- Hkelkar has been unblocked; BhaiSaab admitted to attempting to contact him in real life. There may be other important issues here but I have removed the motion for emergency unblock as moot. Thatcher131 01:42, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
1930's Poetry
I see that you have been involved in a few 'Poet's Pages' Still interested? DJ 12:52, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
- Yes. I work on various things. Charles Matthews 12:59, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
Any objections to the couple of tweaks to the Richard Church (poet) and Wilfrid Gibson pages? DJ 13:11, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
- I've copy-edited those pages, to bring them more in line with house style. Charles Matthews 13:49, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
Thanks, I' still learning here DJ 18:46, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
Peter Lewis AfD
As you have worked on the Peter Lewis page, I have just suggested on the AfD that you add some references to other's comments on his work, and, by all means, add a main article for the GRW theory, preferably written so non-physics types can understand. ;).DGG 04:51, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
Hello I am User:SuperDeng and have been indef blocked by an admin
To make a long story short
The admin who has a personal grudge against me, had made up some very nice stories about me and has continuously blocked for me 6 months. And a few months ago one of blocks ended and I made a grand total of 0 edits, but then a new char whos ip was not possbile to check appeared started makeing similar edits to mine so he was accussed of beeing a sockpuppet and I got blocked again. Now this can not be a sock puppet since I Superdeng did not do any edits and even if we were the same person then that dosent matter since superdeng was makeing zero edits the new account was created one week after my block was lifted. Bahh this is not a short story it is long. Anyway all I want is a fair trial on the arb com board where I have a chans of defending myself and not where everyone of the imaginasions of the admin is percieved as fact.
So what ever policy i violated has been served in full after 6 months.
- You seem to have been a rather unwise editor in the past. Try being coherent, slow down and check what you write. Charles Matthews 10:14, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
- YES, but can you remove my indef BAN?
- Using upper case is SHOUTING. I don't really see you've learned much in your time away. Charles Matthews 16:57, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
- So can you lift the indef ban? Because I should never have gotten it in the first place. Even if I did create a new character after my block was lifted who cares because superdeng did not make 1 single edit so user lokqs who got me indef banned cant be a sockpuppet since user superdeng did not make any edits
- Try making sense, if you want your case to be taken at all seriously. Charles Matthews 19:08, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
- I have been blocked for a about 6 months now and I need one character where I can have dissucssions and not get blocked every time I make a point. Or get reverted because "oo it is superdeng lets revert him" I need a character where the arguments can be judged by them selves and have have them jugded by oppinions about the person who is behind the chracter.
- Ok, I want my indef block to be lifted.
- Why?, First because it all started with user:lokqs, now he was created about 1 week after a ban of mine had been lifted. Now the thing is that I superdeng had made a grand total of zero edits after my block had been lifted. And all of my edits since then and after lokqs got blocked have been on talk pages.
- Now what is worth noteing is that "A" lokqs was created after my block was lifted and that no edits were made by superdeng and "B" no ip check was possible to do on lokqs so any activety of sock puppetry is pure speculation
- Even if lokqs was the same person as me which he is not then then he can not be a sockpuppet because superdeng made no edits and no where does it say that you can not start a new character. Any edit with superdeng will get reverted because it is superdeng.
- I have been blocked for a about 6 months now and I need one character where I can have dissucssions and not get blocked every time I make a point. Or get reverted because "oo it is superdeng lets revert him" I need a character where the arguments can be judged by them selves and have have them jugded by oppinions about the person who is behind the chracter. this is a nice sentence so I dubbled it.
I think you are saying that you have been evading the block; and that you think we can't check IP numbers for logged in users. You are wrong to evade the block; contact people by email. And we can perfectly well check whether superdeng and lokqs are from the same IP number, as you should know. Charles Matthews 19:54, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
- No, Look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_checkuser/Case/SuperDeng As you can see no ip check was possible on lokqs on the 2nd of november "Declined since no check is possible. Dmcdevit·t 22:26, 2 November 2006 (UTC)" If no ip check was possible on the 2nd of november then no ip check would have been possible on the 4th.
- Also what about my indef ban can it be lifted. It was placed by a single admin who has a personal grudge against me. And it was not placed by anyone in the arbcom.
- And I need to block lifted so that I can make my case on the arbcom board.
As I say, you can use email to contact admins and ArbCom members. Charles Matthews 13:55, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- And do what? All I want is my ban to be lifted because it was made on very ifi reseaons. As I ahve said user lokqs was created one week after my original block had neded and therofre cant be a sockpuppet.
- I have tried posting on some of the talk pages and mailing other arbcoms and you are the only one who has given a response.
- So you want me to mail you?'
- And If I could stress yet again that my indef ban was placed by a normal admin because he wanted to not because the arbcom or jimbo said to do it —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.249.102.38 (talk • contribs) 19:20, 4 December 2006 (UTC).
- In plain english : I want my character unblocked what must I do to get it unblocked.
The sockpuppet page you referred me to: you realise that it mentions large numbers of sockpuppets you have created to get round your block? You don't seem very good at keeping to the rules, or even signing your posts. Charles Matthews 22:23, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- And you seem to be very skilled in avoiding direct questions ;) 83.249.102.38 22:30, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- And I did not sign because I thought you viewed all messages in edit history 83.249.102.38 22:30, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
Below the edit box, it says this: On talk pages, please sign your comment by typing four tildes. And there is also a policy about 'no personal attacks'.
To be quite frank, you seem to have made matters much worse for yourself with your sockpuppets. You are not impressing me with your messages here. Do you know what to do when in a hole? (Clue: it is a matter of stopping digging.) Charles Matthews 22:45, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- Alleged sockpuppets. Remember that no ip check was ever possible on lokqs as has been proven. No ip check was possible on the 2nd of november so no ip check would have been possible on the 4th.83.249.102.38 23:16, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- Not doing anything wont get me unblocked. And I have been blocked for 6 months. I made no edits for a whole month when I was unblocked and still I got blocked, for alleged sock puppetry. I did not want to make any edits so that no one could say that directly after my block had ended jumped into an edit war. 83.249.102.38 23:16, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- I got Indef blocked by a single admin to my knowledge that is not allowed so I should be unblocked because of that.
- This mess started with lokqs who can not be a sock puppet since he was created after i say again after my block was lifted and no ip check was possible to make. 83.249.102.38 23:16, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- And above all I want my day in court.83.249.102.38 23:28, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- Also if you look into my edits and the alleged sock puppets you can see that they are not crazy vandals that vandalize pages left and right. But do constructive edits. 83.249.102.38 23:55, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
I'm not aware of serious disruption by SuperDeng. As the guy is dyslexic, his socks are easily recognizable and not really disruptive. But, Deng, you should stop using sockpuppet accounts. This is against our rules and is easily exposed. If you want to lead a coherent discussion, you should desist from this practice altogether. Other than that, I believe that indef block is out of the question. There should be an account which Deng could legitimately use when the current block is over. --Ghirla -трёп- 07:52, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- There are rules here. Arbitrators are contactable by email. This user talks a lot about wanting this and that, but shows no real sign of respecting the norms of behaviour. I'm not going to pass an opinion on the original block, here and now. But where actually does Superdeng acknowledge that requesting the lifting of block could be asked for by email? Charles Matthews 09:37, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- As I said before I have sent mails but no one responded, I can send a mail to you and see if you respond. 83.249.102.38 12:19, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
You can send me an email. You should answer the points made in the 5 (five) checkuser cases made against you. I shall block the IP number because you are using it to evade a block. Charles Matthews 12:23, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
I may not have understood your recent edit to this article about Point-free geometry, which I just figured was a reference to Whitehead's point-free geometry needing disambiguation. After the change I noticed that Point-free geometry was a newly-created redirect. You are welcome to undo my change to Mereotopology if I misunderstood... One of these days I should figure out what point-free geometry really is. EdJohnston 16:44, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
- What you did was to pipe the link, rather than disambiguate. Are there any other kinds of point-free geometry? Charles Matthews 17:09, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
Wilfrid Gibson
Sent this to Debs by mistake
Sorry
"Thanks for the tweaks, but I'm not sure about one of them. I wrote that Gibson's work "may" have been eclipsed etc because I'm not certain that, in the long run, it was.
I've been reading some of Gibson's own critical pieces and although he had little time for Eliot & Pound,(As did Aldington) he was generous about other "modernists"
I would rather discuss this than be endlessly changing back & forth between us" DJ 21:10, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
- I provided the link to the Literary Encyclopedia page, which says his reputation declined dramatically. So the qualification is unnecessary. If you find some other opinion to quote, we combine them by citing both. The minimum of editorial comment is the ideal. Charles Matthews 22:28, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
Fair comment. I'll dig them out from my files asap.DJ 13:26, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
To begin with, an important review is that by A Clutton-Brock; TLS, 24/2/1927 Five Modern Poets where Gibson is considered alongside Eliot; AE; Read; and James Stephens (pp 113-114). It is concluded there that; "Mr Gibson's poetry... has its own specific qualities and is, in its essentials unique"
And in 1942 Philip Tomlinson refers to Gibson as "this distinguished poet" TLS 31/1/1942 p.57.
On the other hand Hugh l'Anson Fausset does sustain a fairly critical barrage at Gibson until the late 1940's (TLS ff). But even this suggests to me that Gibson has a reputation to be attacked.
More later? DJ 14:11, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
- I'll put some of that quickly into the article as footnotes. Charles Matthews 14:16, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
- Done that. You probably get the idea. By the way, the TLS attributions are now easily verified (were anon)? Charles Matthews 14:22, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
- I'm not sure about the anonymity pre 1950's but will check. I used the online Archive to get them. But I can't (reasonably) argue with what you've done....DJ 16:11, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
Your recent edit to Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/ScienceApologist/Proposed decision (diff) was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to recognize and repair vandalism to Wikipedia articles. If the bot reverted a legitimate edit, please accept my humble creator's apologies – if you bring it to the attention of the bot's owner, we may be able to improve its behavior. Click here for frequently asked questions about the bot and this warning. // AntiVandalBot 17:17, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- What the hell? Charles Matthews 19:34, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- I suspect that it may be because you added so many links to a page at the same time, without adding unlinked text. David Mestel(Talk)
- It appears that because of the volume of the !votes, and the fact that all of them are the same, it appears that AVB thought that they were spam or nonsense. Best to bug the bot creator about it. ✎ Wizardry Dragon (Talk to Me) (My Contributions) (Support Neutrality on Wikipedia) 19:55, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- Bots should keep away from those pages. We have clerks, who are more reliable ... Charles Matthews 19:58, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- Someone nominated a bot for arbitrator this year, but I didn't think he was serious.... :) Newyorkbrad 20:00, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
- Best bet is to ask Tawker to keep AVB out of the ArbCom spaces. I can do that if you like. ✎ Wizardry Dragon (Talk to Me) (My Contributions) (Support Neutrality on Wikipedia) 20:01, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
TB2 caught the repetition, which is one of the things that sets it off. --Rory096 20:14, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
Eeeeek, Rory096 has the filter, but why the whitelist wasn't working. Well, I'll take a look when the toolserver comes back, I can't exactly access the toolserver right now -- Tawker 00:49, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
Questions for Charles
Hello, Charles - I am hoping you will reread the evidence and reconsider your vote to this arbitration, particularly as pertains to my editing. I have been only trying to maintain a neutral POV in an article that was under attack. I have assertively strove to maintain NPOV, rather than aggressively pushed a POV. My edits show that if you will look at them (your feedback is welcomed). Kindly review the evidence and your decision in the matter.
- AS far as I can see, you were edit-warring on the page up to the time it was protected. We have no concept of a page 'under attack', other than by vandals. I'm not happy with some of your cuts and edit summaries. Charles Matthews 18:24, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- Charles, I hadn't edited the article for a good ten hours before it was locked. That certainly does not qualify as "edit-warring". Whether or not you "like" my edits or cuts is not important. What is important is that they are well within guidelines and balanced. If there is a particular edit you think is in violation, please let's examine it. So far I have received a lot of criticism but no one has given me any specific feedback that might help me to be a better editor. Elaboration would be very much appreciated. --DrL 18:43, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
Ten hours? I think you have no idea what the term means, then. The characterisation as low-level edit warring is sound. Charles Matthews 19:06, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- Thanks for your input. You had said that I was "edit-warring on the page up to the time it was protected". I pointed out that the page was protected 10 hours after my last edit.
- As for your characterization of "low-level edit warring", my editing behavior was not any worse (and certainly more civil) than the majority of other editors in the article at that time. The analogy of driving on a highway seems appropriate. You want to stay both within the speed limit and at the pace of the other drivers. You try to keep up but not be the one who is pushing the limits so that if a cop is around, one of the other drivers will get the ticket (it didn't work that way this time). If you review my edits and the general editing going on, you can see that I was actually doing a good faith job of staying within the limits. I was certainly trying to and no one has given me any credit for my obvious good faith. --DrL 16:03, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- This is what we call 'wikilawyering', and it is deservedly unpopular. Your good faith is not 'obvious'. You were POV pushing; you were gaming the rules as you understood them. This is not the editing pattern of a newbie, as you claim to be, down the page from here. It is the editing pattern of the partisan editor, who reckons the 'code' is there to be gamed. I went through a large number of your edits yestersday, to satisfy myself of this. I do have better things to do, in improving the encyclopedia. Charles Matthews 16:17, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
In regards to Asmodeus, it is proposed that he be banned from editing the CML bio, but he has not edited that article disruptively or inappropriately (in fact, hardly at all). Please review his edits to the article and reconsider your vote instead of endorsing an unjustified ban. --DrL 14:36, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- We can impose a topic area ban as remedy, without justifying it article by article. Charles Matthews 18:24, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- Well, can it at least be justified by topic, then? I don't believe that Asmodeus's article edits could be considered the type of POV pushing that deserves a topic ban. Please help me understand this. Also, perhaps you can explain which of my edits have led to my proposed topic ban. I am really not getting this. I want to impress upon you that I am a good faith editor and I have always sought balance in my edits. I have striven toward this more and more as I have learned how to edit and collaborate with other editors. My request to you here is sincere. --DrL 18:51, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- The block log shows that your were blocked four times, for editing in this area. You continued to edit war. Charles Matthews 20:03, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- I have already commented elsewhere on the 2 bogus blocks proposed by Felonious Monk. They are absolutely not in the spirit of 3RR and in fact, I still don't see the 3 reverts. I do think I violated 3RR in the CTMU article, but that was a while back before I understood the rule. Where's the 4th? --DrL 16:03, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
'Another question:' You voted to ban an editor (Asmodeus) from editing an article that he has not edited since July. He has only edited it a couple of times and never violated policy. Can you elaborate on the reason for your vote or perhaps review your endorsement of this faulty proposal? --DrL 17:49, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- As before, if we think this is an appropriate remedy, we can apply it. Topic bans are much less severe than full bans. They are suitable for editors who are too concerned with one corner of the site. Charles Matthews 18:24, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- Yes, I can see that, but it should be reserved for editors that are so concerned with their corner of the site that they are violating policy. It should not be used as a tool to censor editors who are serving Wikipedia by doing good general editing and helping to maintain balance in controversial topics. So far no one has sought to help me to become an even better editor at Wikipedia, just to ban me. Wouldn't it make sense to give an editor feedback and try to work with him before seeking to ban him? --DrL 18:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
- 'Censorship' is a ridiculous argument, isn't it? There is no censorship here. Our experience is that editors pushing a POV to which they are too close self-destruct in the end, because they don't respect policy.
- As for getting help, on Talk:Christopher Michael Langan you hardly come across as the neophyte. Look, there you are referring to WP:LIVING by a shortcut name; and here you are trying to overawe another editor: I've been teaching research methods for years to people just about your age. Most of my students are probably not as smart as you but they'd pick this one correctly. Please don't pretend you don't know exactly how weak this is as a "source".
- You had to go back a couple of months to find any kind of controversial edit. Here I exercise my editorial duty to call it as I see it when the situation warrants. It was fully justified and if you read the whole exchange, you will see that my stance was quite reasonable. I can also give you more information (that has been compiled and presented elsewhere) about the recipient of that comment, who started out life at Wikipedia as a single-purpose attack account. With so many editors that are gaming the system and using Wikipedia to attack people, it is remarkable that you are voting to ban a good faith editor like me. Again, I would urge you to please assume good faith on my part (I really have tried and honestly believe I stayed within bounds) review my editing behavior and your vote. TIA --DrL 16:20, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- Actually it was easy to find those edits, and to refute the claim that you simply didn't know the system. You should understand that Arbitrators rule on what is brought to them: your claims about so many editors that are gaming the system and using Wikipedia to attack people cut no ice at all. It is not permissible to be a partisan editor who 'stays within bounds'. All editors here are bound to our policy on neutral point of view, rather than being allowed to be to a certain degree partisan. I stand by my votes on the case. Charles Matthews 16:26, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
On the ScienceApologist RfAr
Hello, Charles. Please read my most recent edits to the ScienceApologist RfAr Workshop page [1,2,3, 4], and particularly this one right here. I hate to seem impertinent, but may I ask who you people think you are, that you can define the class of articles relating to the work of Christopher Michael Langan to include Crank (person)? Do you really think that this is appropriate?
- Obviously, yes, that is what we think is appropriate. Charles Matthews
- If that's all you have to say about it - a blank admission that you're calling Mr. Langan a "crank" - then in all honesty, you're an extremely poor excuse for an arbitrator. Above, you made it quite clear that this is exactly what you intended to do: "We can impose a topic area ban as remedy, without justifying it article by article". I.e., same topic, no need to distinguish between the articles. It's a disgrace. There's simply no way around it, and there's no excuse for it. You've openly, proudly, and intransigently displayed your bias, and that's it.
- You have to do better than putting words into my mouth. Charles Matthews
- But I'm not doing that, Charles. That is what you said above, and in the context at hand, it has only one possible meaning: that all of the articles from which I've been banned are included in the same general topic, namely, "Christopher Michael Langan and all related articles including but not limited to: Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe, Crank (person), and Academic elitism." This is the exact wording of the proposal into which you were effortlessly lured by one of the most open and unapologetic POV-pushers on this site (FeloniousMonk). As I say, there really isn't any way around it, and after trying so hard to reason with you and others here, it makes me almost sick to my stomach. Even if you deny that this is what you meant, and even if you're sincere in your denial, the psychological implications are clear: you're so innately biased against Langan and his work that you don't have an inkling of it. It's a sad, and perhaps prophetic, comment on the Wikipedia Project. Truly, this is a dark day in Wikipedia history. Asmodeus 20:39, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
And if not, then why are you voting on proposals without understanding exactly what they say? For that matter, why are you ignoring over five months of background on this case, including a long history of vicious personal attacks made against me and DrL?
- I don't condone any personal attacks here. I have had a hand in drafting the WP:COI guideline, and in particular in clarifying that claims of conflict of interest should not be pressed in POV debates. Charles Matthews 17:52, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- You're dead mistaken about what the guideline says. It encourages people directly involved in articles not to edit them, but clearly makes exceptions for attacks and other violations of WP. That's in fact what happened to the CTMU and CML articles, as you'd know if you were actually familiar with the background duly provided for the case. Furthermore, I haven't edited the CML bio in almost five months, and very seldom before that.
Regardless of any opinion to the contrary, we've tried very hard to address our problems within the bounds of WP, at the expense of vast amounts of our own time, and I'm still trying very hard to avoid reaching some extremely unpleasant conclusions here. But in view of the above observations, it appears to me that your decisions may contain substantial elements of personal bias and antipathy. In light of the facts to which I'm now calling your attention, can you do or say something to lay my misgivings to rest? Thanks in advance for your considered response. Asmodeus 17:45, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- No personal bias or antipathy involved on my part. Only the worst disputes come to Arbitration.I am used to accusations of bias, but I have to call cases as I see them. We deal with about 100 cases a year. Charles Matthews 17:52, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- You have my sympathies. But I'm afraid that doesn't justify the kind of openly biased arbitration I'm seeing here. As I say, you owe it to Wikipedia to reconsider. Asmodeus 19:18, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- You have absolutely no foundation for saying that. It amounts to abuse. And frankly telling me that I don't know the guideline is ridiculous. Charles Matthews 20:06, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
- I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to abuse you, Charles. I see it quite the other way around: I think I have every reason to believe that you, and your fellow biased arbitrators, are abusing me (and of course, the bio subject to whom you accuse me of being identical). As far as the COI guideline is concerned...well, suffice it to say that if you mean to flatly forbid those connected to the topics of particular articles to edit them even under the most dire circumstances, then you'll need to substantially reword it...and you'll also need to do more than a little soul-searching about the ethical soundness of tying peoples' hands even while declaring open season on them, their reputations, and their work. For every notable person on this site, you have a dozen vandals and would-be detractors. It is hardly to Wikipedia's advantage to set precedents which hand these vandals and detractors a general and unconditional victory over their potential victims, as you and others on the ArbCom seem to want to do. Asmodeus 20:54, 6 December 2006 (UTC)