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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sandstein (talk | contribs) at 09:07, 13 March 2019 (→‎Arbitration enforcement action appeal by SashiRolls: closed). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


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    GiantSnowman

    GiantSnowman is warned to follow the letter of the restriction imposed by the committee carefully. Per the restriction, cases of sock-puppetry should be referred to another administrator if three escalating warnings are not practical or reasonable. GoldenRing (talk) 11:01, 6 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

    This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below.
    Requests may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs (not counting required information), except by permission of a reviewing administrator.

    Request concerning GiantSnowman

    User who is submitting this request for enforcement
    UninvitedCompany (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) 00:30, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    User against whom enforcement is requested
    GiantSnowman (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

    Search CT alerts: in user talk history • in system log

    Sanction or remedy to be enforced
    Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/GiantSnowman#GiantSnowman admonished and placed under review - to wit, "[GiantSnowman] may not block an editor without first using at least three escalating messages and template warnings"


    Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it
    1. The February 26, 2019 block of 5.151.172.213 for 48 hours with an explanation of "Block evasion"
    2. The February 15, 2019 block of 124.62.79.115 for 48 hours with an explanation of "Vandalism-only account"

    Reviewing the contributions for 124.62.79.115, it does not appear to me that this user is engaging only in vandalism. There appears to be a dispute regarding content and sourcing, and an allegation that some material added is a hoax. There has been little dialogue with this user and it is unclear to me whether the underlying problem is that the user is contributing inaccurate material in good faith, is contributing accurate material that lacks sources, or is deliberately perpetrating a hoax. In any case, this is not a vandalism-only account, and the three esacalating warnings required by the arbitration remedy were not placed.

    Reviewing the contributions for 5.151.172.213, this user is not engaging in vandalism. Rather, this user is also in a content dispute with GiantSnowman. The talk page for this user is blank, and I cannot find any explanation for the block beyond that in the block log. I surmise that the basis for the block is that the IP may be a sock of Woking123 (talk · contribs) (see Category:Suspected Wikipedia sockpuppets of Woking123 but note that GiantSnowman is the only contributor), but the evidence for this is far from conclusive, and the IP may well be another editor at a nearby location who shares (unsurprisingly) the same geographically-limited interests. In any event, this block is not based on vandalism, and the three escalating warnings required by the arbitration remedy were not placed.

    Diffs of previous relevant sanctions, if any

    None

    If discretionary sanctions are requested, supply evidence that the user is aware of them (see WP:AC/DS#Awareness and alerts)

    N/A, not a discretionary sanctions request

    Additional comments by editor filing complaint

    For background, the block of 5.151.172.213 appears to be a continuation of a dispute over sourcing that started in 2016. See User talk:Woking123. GiantSnowman placed escalating blocks related to the sourcing dispute, and Woking123 evaded them, and has been indefblocked for socking. The problem however is that the initial blocks that led to the socking do not appear to be well-justified by blocking policy, both because the additions of unsourced material appear to be minor and in good faith, and because the articles involved are ones where GiantSnowman is (and was) a primary editor.

    Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested

    https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:GiantSnowman&diff=885589888&oldid=885540349


    Discussion concerning GiantSnowman

    Statements must be made in separate sections. They may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs, except by permission of a reviewing administrator.
    Administrators may remove or shorten noncompliant statements. Disruptive contributions may result in blocks.

    Statement by Legacypac

    My prior research suggested that GiantSnowman blocks users as socks of this one editor who made but a handful of edits several years ago. Users and IPs are blocked whenever anyone goes near a group of pages. There is no SPI case for this, just an accumulation of blocked IPs and registered users. I came to the conclusion there is but the weakest of connection between these users and he was abusing the block button. It seems highly unlikely that the alleged sockmaster would pursue such a minor issue for years on a few football pages. A clearcut ignoring of his restriction, doing exactly what lead to the whole ArbComm case.

    @Tony-he has a block button as an Admin. He used it to block an alleged sock of a user he as blocked alleged socks of before. If this is really the same user he violated his restrictions with a consecutive block. If it is not a sock he violated his restrictions with a warningless block. That it took several days to notice should not mean he will not block someone else on the same basis tomorrow. Only a block of GS or removal of his block button will stop the ongoing disruption by a rouge admin. Legacypac (talk) 04:48, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    If blocking an Admin does not stop him from imposing blocks that is just wrong. If after a multi week ArbComm case we learn the authorized sanctions are unworkable that is just wrong. GS has no problem blocking random editors for very little or no reason. The incredible leeway being extended here to let him keep a clean block log is NOT how non-Admins are treated. We are blocked first, questions maybe asked later. Legacypac (talk) 12:53, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    • @User:Jayron32 your position goes exactly against the ArbComm discussion here [1]. If you don't like the decision take it up with ArbComm but if you refuse to follow the decision you may face your own ArbComm case. The blocking of alleged Socks of his favourite punching bag was what lead to these restrictions, yet he went right back to blocking the alleged same user again. This is a bright line violation and the mandated remedy is a block. Legacypac (talk) 17:12, 2 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    @Jayron32 please don't be a troll. Address the substance of my point - that your interpretation of restriction is wrong or admit you did not read the restriction. Legacypac (talk) 07:01, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Tgeorgescu

    I have no opinion upon whether the blocks are right. Anyway, if GS suspects sockpuppetry and the users engage in WP:TE or vandalism, I'd say block them on the spot, don't wait till they produce more damage. Tgeorgescu (talk) 04:47, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Gricehead

    As the person requesting the block of 124.62.79.115 on WT:Footy, to give background this is a user who adds literally hundreds of invented football players and managers to historic squads, going back to 2016 across at least four static (or at least long term fixed) IP addresses. They occasionally add an innocuous edit to a football space which isn't vandalism, but well over 95% of their edits are of the type mentioned. They have often gone unnoticed for long periods due to the difficulty of disproving a negative on historic articles, but eventually they slip up and add one of their inventions as a 24th player in a 23 man international squad, causing the light to shine on their other efforts more closely. Never have any of the four IPs we've collectively discovered interacted on their talk pages. At least one of them (49.143.151.98) had escalating blocks placed and returned each time but the last, year long, block to continue the disruptive editing. By this time they'd moved to a new IP address. This was a good block. Gricehead (talk) 10:53, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by WBG

    Good blocks per BK and Floq. Close this without letting this to go into the more heat than light territory. WBGconverse 11:50, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    • Sandstein, But blocking GiantSnowman would not prevent them from using the block function.--Nope, it would. GS (once blocked) can't unblock himself and thus can't block anybody else except the one who blocked him at the first place. WBGconverse 11:56, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by GiantSnowman

    I'm always happy for my blocks to be reviewed. One was clear vandalism (as confirmed by Gricehead, and I understand the IP has now been re-blocked by Floquenbeam for the same behaviour) and the other is a clear sock per DUCK and Black Kite's comments. I'm currently on holiday so not really online over the next few days...read into the timing of this report what you will (yes, I will assume bad faith here, thanks, given that it would have been nice if Uninvited Company could perhaps have spoken to me first about the two blocks in question rather than running straight here trying to get me in trouble (which is what it appears like)). GiantSnowman 11:59, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Fram

    No comment on the vandal block, it seems from comments from others that this was an obvious vandal. About the Woking sock block: for starters, it is a clear sock, no doubt there. Whether the block of an obvious sock is within the letter or the spirit of the ArbCom restriction doesn't really concern me either. For this specific sockmaster though, I would urge GS to try a different approach. When I looked in the history of this sock, it was very unclear what their indef bvlockworthy behaviour was. Every edit by these socks I have looked at (socks from October 2018 or thereabouts, not earlier ones) looked to be perfectly factual. So I would urge GS, the next time he spots one of these socks, to approach it on the talk page and start a discussion about a way forward for both of them (e.g. pick one named account, no more IPs, and no more blocking), as the current situation is a huge timesink for both without any benefit for enwiki. Of course, if I'm missing stuff and the sock is actually inserting sneaky vandalism, copyvio's, ... then unblocking is not an option. Fram (talk) 13:50, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    @Sandstein, if you are just expressing your opinion, no problem of course. But if you are stating your intention, please don't. Give them if necessary a warning that sock blocks con't fall under the "vandalism" exception, ask them to give better summaries (as NYB does), propose ways forward (like I did), but blocking now seems extremely harsh for this. Fram (talk) 15:44, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Berean Hunter

    It is ironic that GS has been brought here for issues related to not communicating. Can someone show me where he was asked about this? The remedy requires GS to "respond promptly and civilly to queries about their Wikipedia-related conduct and administrative actions and to justify them when needed", but he wasn't given a chance. That bit of fact-finding would have helped to forego this whole report because the underlying incidents have since gained the endorsements of uninvolved admins that one issue is about a vandal, and the other as an IP sock. There is nothing actionable here. Oppose taking any action against GS.

    Since the committee does not make policy, I doubt that it was their intention when writing the remedy to override existing policies concerning banned editors and sockpuppets. I don't believe it was their intention to tie GS's hands by making him adhere to some fictitious system of escalated templates that is out of process. You don't warn banned editors or sockpuppets, you just block them. Those that are asserting that he should be placing warnings are incorrect. The language of the remedy may need to be corrected at ARCA to more accurately reflect the committee's intentions and help avoid confusion.
     — Berean Hunter (talk) 16:44, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by isaacl

    Regarding the applicability of enforcing remedies from an arbitration case: as described in arbitration case 2015-10, under the remedy "Common sense in enforcement", administrators should not second-guess the remedies and corresponding enforcement actions issued by the arbitration committee. Thus on principle, I don't see staleness as a reason not to enforce a violation of terms by which an editor is under review. However, the same remedy in 2015-10 also states Except for the cases when the Arbitration Committee has predetermined the set of escalating sanctions to be imposed for violations of a final decision, the severity of the sanction imposed should be commensurate with all circumstances of the case at hand, including the seriousness of the violation and the possible recidivism of the editor in question. As Floquenbeam stated, given that the circumstances is an obviously correct block, enacting a block on GiantSnowman does not seem to be suitable reaction. isaacl (talk) 21:06, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    I also agree that it is not reasonable to expect warnings to be given to obvious socks, as the standard response is revert, block, and ignore. isaacl (talk) 21:18, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    I had forgotten the discussion at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/GiantSnowman/Proposed decision#GiantSnowman admonished and placed under review, which does make it apparent that the arbitrators intended warnings to be given to known socks, given a distrust on the interpretation of known. isaacl (talk) 00:04, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Levivich

    At Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/GiantSnowman/Proposed decision#GiantSnowman admonished and placed under review, the arbitrators have a discussion that begins with GS is asking if the wording could include an exception to the edits of known sock puppets. Levivich 17:03, 2 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Result concerning GiantSnowman

    This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the sections above.
    • What are we supposed to do here? I know the remedy says to report to AE, but we can't exactly block someone for using the block function, because per the blocking policy, it's only supposed to be used to prevent ongoing disruption to the project, which clearly isn't the case here. There is no authority to topic ban in the remedy, and regardless, a topic ban from blocking may as well be a desysop. The most I think we can do within policy here is log a warning to follow his sanctions and note that editors are free to take him to ARCA for future violations. TonyBallioni (talk) 03:00, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      Block for a week, then longer if it happens again? I don't understand this question. only supposed to be used to prevent ongoing disruption to the project, which clearly isn't the case here – Sure – if these blocks are nobrainer obvious vandalism, then there's no ongoing disruption – but there's also no arbitration remedy violation, so obviously don't block anyway! ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 04:13, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      You missed my point with the quote you cited: the only enforcement provision the case had was blocks (the default enforcement provisions). Per WP:BLOCKNOTPUNITIVE, we can't block GS just to punish him for violating a sanction unless we think that block will serve some purpose in preventing future disruption, which I don't think there is any evidence of. If GS was on a blocking spree, then yeah, blocking him would prevent something.
      What has been raised here is two unclear-if-violations blocks, one two weeks ago and one 48 hours ago. The one two weeks ago is stale, so a block for that would be nothing put a punishment. The one 48 hours ago for block evasion, well, that's more recent, but if that's all that can be found I'm not really seeing an argument for a block even if it's a violation. TonyBallioni (talk) 04:40, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      Further clarity here: I think if this was a timely report (it’s not) and there appeared to be an ongoing threat of bad blocks/violations of the remedy, we could theoretically have a preventive block here. What we have now, is two blocks, one that this report caused an admin to reblock over that was two weeks old. Another that is almost three days old and may be valid. We also have a report that was filed when the person who enforcement against is on vacation, hasn’t made a block since the last one, and is going to be away for at least 2 more days. In these specific circumstances even if there was a violation, my understanding of the facts and reading of the blocking policy would not consider a block to be preventative, even though it may be in the future. TonyBallioni (talk) 06:29, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      I don't think I missed your point! The block would, ostensibly, serve the purpose of preventing GS from blocking anyone in the future. The things you're saying are true about a lot of AE blocks – admins will hand out really long blocks for things that in and of themselves are not disruptive, but do violate arbcom remedies (hopefully because they are part of a larger pattern of disruption). They're done to prevent further violations of arbcom remedies, i.e. disruption. I can not fathom why this case would be any different. Is it because GS could self-unblock and then go right on blocking others? That isn't what you're talking about, is it?? (That wouldn't end will for GS, obviously.) ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 17:17, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      We would not block in similar circumstances if the editor was a non-admin. It is both the lateness of this report, and its lack of actions to act upon that are the issue. One possible hyper-technical violation of the remedy that was impossible to comply with anyway, plus the editor in question is on vacation and was never talked to? A block here would achieve nothing. TonyBallioni (talk) 17:31, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      A+ ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 17:34, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I have not reviewed the other editor yet, but regarding User talk:124.62.79.115, they were definitely vandalizing, and have been for a month. It took me a little research to verify, and only after all that work, I stumbled across this: Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Football/Archive 122#South Korean Inventing IP Editor back. I understand there might be some bad blood here, but UC could have asked GS about this on his talk page... Anyway, the wording of GS's sanction exempts him from having to make 3 escalating warnings for obvious vandalism. The IP was at it again today; I've blocked for 3 months. No comment either way on the other editor yet. Maybe tomorrow.
    p.s. If there is a problem with the other editor, Tony's still got a really good point above.... --Floquenbeam (talk) 03:34, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • Comment There's little doubt that the second editor, 5.151.172.213, is an IP sock of indefblocked user Woking123, both through IP location and behaviour. Uninvited Company claims that "the IP may well be another editor at a nearby location who shares (unsurprisingly) the same geographically-limited interests" - which is possible, except that the IP (and the others) are 100 miles from Woking. Anyway, assuming this is a sock of a blocked user, how is GS supposed to give them three escalating warnings? We don't even have templates for that because obvious socks just get blocked... Black Kite (talk) 10:16, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • My reading of the remedies is that AE has jurisdiction over this issue. But I would decline to exercise this jurisdiction. The only authorized enforcement action is a block. But blocking GiantSnowman would not prevent them from using the block function. Even if, therefore, we were to conclude that GiantSnowman violated the restrictions applying to them, the sanction we could impose would be ineffective in preventing further violations of the restrictions. Therefore, if action is necessary here, it would need to be taken by the Arbitration Committee. Sandstein 11:42, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • Thanks for the info. A block would therefore be an effective remedy. That being the case, I am of the view that the request has merit. The applicable restriction reads: "[GiantSnowman] may not block an editor without first using at least three escalating messages and template warnings". GiantSnowman does not contest that they have violated this restriction in the cases reported here by not leaving any prior messages for the IP users at issue. Even assuming that the "clear vandalism" exception applies to the first case, the second case is allegedly a case of socking, which is not vandalism, and the exception therefore does not apply. I would therefore block GiantSnowman for a week in enforcement of the restrictions. Sandstein 15:29, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • Well, yes, of course, it would not ordinarily make sense to leave three escalating messages to a suspected sock to tell them to stop socking. But it's not up to us to decide whether the restrictions make sense. They say that there must be three escalating messages before a block (obvious vandals excepted). So GiantSnowman has to leave three rather pointless messages to the sock, or ask somebody else to block it. If that restriction makes no sense, then ArbCom should change it. To me, this illustrates that this sort of micro-managing restriction is almost always a bad idea, but that's not up to me to decide. Sandstein 22:41, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I want to disagree with various admins above. The arbitration committee have restricted GiantSnowman's use of the blocking function and asked us to enforce that restriction with blocks. It is, I think, generally accepted that blocks placed at AE can be considerably after the fact and that the deterrent effect of such blocks is how they satisfy WP:PUNITIVE (the majority of blocks for 1RR violations fall into this category, for instance). It seems bizarre to me to argue, as Sandstein has above, that although the arbitration committee has placed restrictions and authorised blocks to enforce them, it would not ever be possible for AE admins to place blocks.
      Secondly, I think he has violated his restriction here. The vandalism block I'm happy to let lie; it's obvious vandalism if you know about the Korean football vandal and not obvious vandalism if you don't know about them. But the sock-puppetry block is a clear violation of the restrictions. There is no exception in the restrictions for sock-puppetry. He is required to either give the appropriate warnings (they need not be templated) or to consult another admin regarding the block. Yes, this is onerous and bureaucratic, but thems the breaks when you're found to have abused the block button.
      Thirdly, I think we need to be very careful here not to be seen to be treating admins brought to AE differently to non-admins; some of the responses here so far seem to me to be looking for reasons to avoid action and we oughtn't to do that. That said, I don't think the violation is so egregious that we should block on a first offense, just as we probably wouldn't block or ban an editor for a single instance of mild TE.
      Given all of the above, I'd close this with a logged warning to carefully observe his restrictions. GoldenRing (talk) 12:40, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      • @GoldenRing: two points. First if this report had been filed against a non-admins violating a TBAN, it would have been laughed out of AE for being stale and UninvitedCompany would be looking at a logged warning not to waste time and to stop going through the weeds of another editor’s contributions with the intent of finding violations (which given the timing, is clearly what happened here.) Taking any action on this report would be treating GS different because he was an admin.
        Second, the deference argument is nonsense (sorry for being so blunt). It’s commonly used in an attempt to get around the prohibition on punitive blocks, but if the only purpose of a block is to deter, it is just punishing someone. There needs to be some form of likely future disruption it is preventing, and in this case there clearly is none. TonyBallioni (talk) 16:35, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
        I agree with your first point; I can not figure out what UninvitedCompany was trying to accomplish here. These super-trivial reports of behavior that is obviously not an actual problem seem like a huge waste of time for everyone involved. Save it for if/when GS issues bad blocks. ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 17:32, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I'm not sure I find either of these blocks to be substantive violations; they seem, (to borrow a phrase from basketball) ticky-tack at best. The 5. was a block for socking/block evasion. We don't typically warn for those. And there seems to be agreement that his assessment of who it was is correct. The 124. is more problematic, in that it does appear that he did not warn three times, however it seems that the opportunity to sanction specifically for that has passed. I am in agreement that issuing a block 2 weeks later for any singular, non-continuing action is not useful. I would be comfortable sanctioning with a logged warning and a clear message that if GS continues to issue vandalism blocks without warnings, we can revisit this with an eye on further sanctions. --Jayron32 13:16, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      • Jayron, the way I read the wording of the restriction is that 3 warnings are required for anything that is not clear vandalism. If there's something to sanction for the socking block, OK (haven't looked yet). But I would oppose any kind of logged warning for the vandalism block, as I do not think he violated the restriction. It says "GiantSnowman is placed under review indefinitely; during the review, with the exception of obvious vandalism, he is subject to the following restrictions..." (emphasis mine). Plus, stepping back and doing a reality check, it would be weird sanctioning him for a 100% obviously correct block; the issue from the ArbCom case was the mass rollback and blocks that weren't obviously correct. --Floquenbeam (talk) 13:25, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
        • Just to be clear, I think a logged warning is the most severe sanction I would be comfortable with. The least severe sanction I would be comfortable with is "nothing at all". That is, I'm equally OK with doing absolutely nothing. Sorry I wasn't more clear. My only point was that, given that these violations (if there were any at all) were so minor, there should be no substantive sanction against GS, at most a warning. But if the finding here is that it isn't even worth logging a warning, that's cool too. The cries for his head because two weeks ago he blocked someone in an entirely justified manner seems histrionic. --Jayron32 17:26, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • No action is warranted. GiantSnowman should use slightly more descriptive block-reason summaries (e.g. “inserting false statistics in multiple articles” or “obvious sock of vandal XYZ”) to make the reasons for these sorts of blocks more explicit. Newyorkbrad (talk) 13:59, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • My take on this from being on arb com at the time, was that the blocking of obvious socks was not intended to be an exception. The only exception was obvious vandalism, which includes " (such as page content being replaced by obscenities) or obvious violations of the policy about biographies of living persons. " (fromWP:BLOCKING POLICY). It was my impression that we meant what we said. DGG ( talk ) 04:46, 2 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    That was the reason behind our use of "broadly interpreted"-- to avoid creating problems about what did or did not fit under the remedy. It seems that it did not work--the argumentation just shifted to the exact boundaries of "broadly" The creativity of those on arb com is no match for the deviousness of the community. DGG ( talk ) 20:24, 2 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    I’m not sure “deviousness” is the right word there. Newyorkbrad (talk) 14:59, 3 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm pretty sure "creativity" isn't the right word either. Are you actually saying that the restriction was designed to stop GS from blocking obvious socks? If it was, the "creativity" of ArbCom was pretty short-sighted. Black Kite (talk) 00:53, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • @Legacypac: Did you just say you'll file an ARBCOM case against me unless I block GS? Please do that. I need I good laugh. --Jayron32 05:51, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      @Legacypac:: I'm not trolling. When you said "you may face your own ArbComm case" I thought you meant "you may face your own ArbComm case". If you did not mean that, you should not have said it. As to the rest of your statement, I don't believe that I am wrong. I stand by everything I have said to this point. --Jayron32 14:24, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Arbitration enforcement action appeal by SashiRolls

    Appeal unanimously declined. Sandstein 09:07, 13 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.


    Procedural notes: The rules governing arbitration enforcement appeals are found here. According to the procedures, a "clear, substantial, and active consensus of uninvolved administrators" is required to overturn an arbitration enforcement action.

    To help determine any such consensus, involved editors may make brief statements in separate sections but should not edit the section for discussion among uninvolved editors. Editors are normally considered involved if they are in a current dispute with the sanctioning or sanctioned editor, or have taken part in disputes (if any) related to the contested enforcement action. Administrators having taken administrative actions are not normally considered involved for this reason alone (see WP:UNINVOLVED).

    Appealing user
    SashiRolls (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) – ~~~
    Sanction being appealed
    "SashiRolls is indefinitely prohibited from commenting on AE requests to which they are not a party." (16 December 2016) source
    Administrator imposing the sanction
    Timotheus Canens (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA)
    Notification of that administrator
    [2]

    Statement by SashiRolls

    Recently, I saw somebody appealing on this board and I thought back on the fact that I've been banned for 750+ days from this board for my comment in Sagecandor v. Tlroche. That effectively stopped me from commenting. I'd also recently received some IP abuse ("fascist" diff) and from a sock named Dan the Plumber (more name calling:§) who turned out to have serious Syria issues and to be a sockpuppet of Sayerslle. The person who exposed this sockpuppet now appears to have left Wikipedia in disgust. Finally, a recent case seemed to suggest that here and now the feeling might be that it is excessive to prohibit people who provide actual evidence of an established pattern of behavior from speaking at AE. Two people have suggested making my case here.

    Here are the details of the original case: on Saturday, 3 December 2016, Sagecandor insinuated I was a "Russian propaganda agent" at NPOV/N, while misrepresenting my contributions. (diff) On 10 December 2016, someone I do not know opened an AN/I case about Sagecandor and left me TP-notification that they had done so. In that AN/I case, the contributor currently known as GMG insinuated (in small letters) that I should be banned from all noticeboards for asking Cirt why they were so reticent to respond to another contributor's questions about their pre-Sagecandor identity. (NB: occurrence 20 of 34 for Timothyjosephwood at AN/I in that archive: diff. )

    On 15 December 2016 Sagecandor accused Tlroche of being disruptive for creating a reference sub-section with {{reflist}}, then {{reflist-talk}} at NPOV/N (diffs 10-12), and for responding to SC having falsely accused them of "forging signatures" in diffs 4-5. At this point, Cirt had brought 3 cases to AE as Sagecandor in the space of a week and I thought I should provide diffs showing that 1) they were extremely averse to being transparent about their history and 2) they were making things up about the person they were currently prosecuting. I did not comment in the other two AE cases they had brought. (Cf. archive 204) As a result of the above, on 16 December I was indefinitely prohibited from commenting on AE requests to which I am not a party. I have never broken this prohibition. Within ten days of receiving that prohibition, I was blocked from en.wp entirely when Cirt prosecuted me with his Sagecandor sockpuppet.

    Over a week ago, I asked Timotheus Canens to reconsider whether he thought his current ban was justified or not. He did not wish to do so (edit summary: no). I asked him for diffs supporting the view that a topic-ban from AE was necessary or desirable. I have, to date, not received any.

    I have no intention of "casting aspersions" on anyone, nor do I have a "battleground mentality". I've made 2500 edits or so since returning around Toussaint (2018), quite a few of which were in controversial areas editing alongside editors whose reputations for, let's say, having "strong opinions" are well established. Two pages that I was the principal author of have also appeared on the en.wp front page (both nominated by others) during that time. The time-consuming process of reliving some of these moments to fill out the form here has been a bit of a wp:pain, which went beyond the bureaucratic question of filling out forms.

    It is entirely possible that I will never have reason to comment on an AE case that I am not a named party to. In other words, I believe I wandered into the middle of a heated battle surrounding Cirt's mission as an undercover editor without knowing what I was getting into, and will seek to avoid having that happen again. I have no intention of using AE as a soapbox in the way that it has been used in the past. I would like my full wiki-zen-ship privileges restored, and have the last active sanction against me removed about the CIRT affair, as it serves no purpose and discourages me from participating in this legendary land of socks and honey.

    My wikiscans: en | fr (this data is based on the "individual edit" rather than "substantive edit")

    Thank you for reading this, and sincere apologies for any damage I've done: I make awkward editing mistakes. Too many. that's why my edit totals are so high, because I fix it when I make a mistake. Unfortunately prior to 2016 my experience with mediawiki was overwhelmingly on a personal wiki where nobody cares if you make 8 edits to get a paragraph right. I'll try to improve in this area.

    MrX, you were the first commenter on Sagecandor v. Tlroche and on this request. Concerning your comment generally, I'll just add these two WMF diffoscopies : (x-Sage) | (x-Snoog). Association is no crime. Demonstrating one isn't either.
    For the connection with your AN/I case, please glance back at this talk page section that Dan the Plumber opened on the BLP we recently ran into each other on. The WP:DEWitude of that BigBlueTM 4-word-link-button that Dan added about the chemical attack on Tulsi Gabbard's BLP is a question we should probably ask about on the TP one of these days. But, yes, this is indeed the same Dan whose edits the long-term editor you were seeking to have indeffed was reverting. I opened my statement with links to their peppy PA. I sekritly suspect (assuming nothing) that the anon. IP may have been Daniella the Electrician but I've been wrong before.
    Your typing is convincing, though. Letter by letter you've re-scoped a reminder as an accusation (which I grant, magnified 200x through spectral diffoscopy, it does rather resemble... that's why I provided a link to document the reason for my concern in the first place). Your decontextualized zoom-blur-up of (go tempora, go SnooX!) into a 2nd degree snark-crime is fair enough, too, I suppose. Is there a don't joke with the regulars! essay somewhere? In any case, that page has calmed down a bit, don't you think? On a more personal note, I had no intention of bringing up your actions on Ms. Gabbard's BLP or your recent actions at ANI, as I am not bringing any "request for action" against you. Since you're here though, I'll send you some wikiwiki aloha!
    Cullen: I first read the comment I alluded to about wildebeests extracted from its original context off-wiki, so yes there is a sinking edge to its echo. I was just stealing BHG's word (beasts, actually) to describe "attack socks" (which she was not) and trying unsuccesfully, I fear, to morph/anonymize her into Dahl's famous "the BFG". In point of fact, though, I had assumed the comment had been excerpted from a completely unrelated recent AN/I drama-fest. Instead, it was said at AN in still another completely unrelated case; as it turns out, one you were involved in. I actually didn't know that because I'm not "watch-listing" (subscribed to) either board. I hope you will take this into consideration.
    Jorm: I believe part of why admins found me annoying back in the post-2016 landscape was the number of times I gnomed my statements at AE, that is why I've done my gnoming in my sandbox before posting here. I also felt/feel it likely that defending Hidden Tempo got me in trouble with some admins. As for why I was blocked, specifically, on this page related to Sagecandor, I think only the blocking administrator could say. And I hope he does.
    More generally, thanks to everyone, too, who has spent time reading through this appeal carefully and taken the time to comment.
    Levivich, Mr Ernie, JFG, I really appreciate knowing there are some people out there who think I'm worth doing that for. :D SashiRolls t · c 19:08, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Timotheus Canens

    Statement by MrX

    Admins should duly decline this appeal. There is no benefit to SashiRolls commenting in AE requests for which he is not a party. The comments in this AE request by SashiRolls were indicative of a WP:BATTLEGROUND mentality with respect to SageCandor/Cirt.

    As evidence that SashiRolls continues to take a battleground approach with content disputants, I give you these diffs:

    1. February 24, 2019
    2. February 24, 2019
    3. February 25, 2019
    4. March 1, 2019

    For context, this discussion at ANI involved me reporting a user for violating 1RR community sanction restriction on an article about a chemical attack in Syria; an article which SashiRolls was not involved with, in any way. SashiRolls simply followed me to ANI to cause trouble because he did not like the direction that another content dispute was taking on an entirely different article.

    If that is not enough, I invite you read his recent snipes on talk:Tulsi Gabbard directed toward Snooganssnoogans and me. If necessary, I will provide diffs of some of the more aggressive comments, however this one stands out as being a not-so-clever attempt at accusing Snooganssnoogans and me of tag team editing, which he did previously here.- MrX 🖋 21:46, 7 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Mr Ernie

    There's really no reason for this sanction to remain in effect. The whole thing revolved around SashiRolls and Sagecandor. Since Sagecandor has since been blocked, this sanction can be removed. It was enacted solely because of the perceived disruption at AE's by and about Sagecandor (which SashiRolls was actually right about). If any problematic behavior resumes, then it will be easy to re-apply the ban. People deserve second chances. Mr Ernie (talk) 09:41, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by JFG

    SashiRolls wrote a balanced and thoughtful reflection on what happened two years ago. In hindsight he was correct about Sagecandor, who I remember as a highly battleground-y and tendentious editor. Outside of this old dispute, SashiRolls is a constructive editor who manages to keep a healthy distance from his own point of view, while pointing out lapses in neutrality at various contentious articles. The sanction should be lifted without prejudice. — JFG talk 18:41, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by (involved editor 2)

    Discussion among uninvolved editors about the appeal by SashiRolls

    • First:

    I think some consideration should be given to the fact that SashiRolls was actually right about the socking concerns.
    — User:Boing! said Zebedee

    Second, I've been editing with Sashi at Yellow vests movement for a few months and it's been very enjoyable. Sashi is fun to work with. I think anyone checking out Talk:Yellow vests movement/Archive 1 and Talk:Yellow vests movement will see it hasn't all been rainbows and unicorns there: we've had good-faith disagreements as well as vandalism, edit warring, POV pushing, claims of anti-semitism, and more wikiwonders, but even during the high-drama times, I've never known Sashi to be anything other than a helpful, productive editor. He's also answered my questions, helped me out and encouraged me as a new editor. Two years is a long time to ban anyone from anything. I hope admin will accept and remove Sashi's remaining sanction. His record since being unblocked, combined with his record at the sister wiki projects before that, demonstrates he deserves to be an editor in good standing here. That, and what Boing said. Levivich 04:32, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    I don't see a single thing in this appeal that indicates that Sashirolls understands why this restriction was applied, nor any kind of comment about what they will do to change their behavior going forward.--Jorm (talk) 07:02, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    • Although this comment: "Is this just tigers churning in the night, or is it another sign of what the BHG has identified as a wiki-wildebeest syndrome?" may have a certain literary merit, it is indicative of an ongoing battleground mentality. Accordingly, I cannot support this appeal at this time. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 07:15, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I came to the opposite conclusion reading that comment. The heading, "Collateral damage", and the preceding lines, "Looking back into this matter a few days later I see that it (or events surrounding it) seems to have had the effect of causing the retirement of one of the people who made a statement (Fitzcarmalan). This does not seem to me a positive outcome..." made me understand it to be a statement of reflection, sympathy and lament, not battleground. Levivich 14:49, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Result of the appeal by SashiRolls

    This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the sections above.
    • Judging by the sound of crickets in this section I'd wager that I'm not the only admin who has had trouble building up the motivation to wade through the appeal above. It's like, "Here's a contentious meandering wall of text. Please grant this appeal so you can get more."</exaggeration> All I really want to see in an appeal is an understanding of what the problem was and a plan to fix it. Bonus points if it doesn't blast through the 500-word limit.
    Briefly addressing the substance of the appeal, I can't say I'm convinced that the battleground mentality is gone, but perhaps my view is being colored by my previous interaction with them [3] where they asked me to investigate 5-month-old "aspersions" made by an ideological opponent. ~Awilley (talk) 18:24, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I generally agree with Awilley. SashiRoll's request strikes me as battleground-y enough that I'd decline the appeal. While it might not be battleground-y enough to create a new topic ban, it's battleground-y enough to give me reason to think removing the restriction would be unwise. It might be a more difficult decision if this was a topic ban preventing them from editing particular topics, but this is just preventing them from jumping into unrelated AE threads. --Floquenbeam (talk) 19:14, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I agree with Awilley as well. An initial 750+ word statement followed by another ~500 words of replies is not the greatest way to appeal a restriction in a forum with a 500 word limit. That said I don't see a demonstrated understanding of the reason for the sanctions, but I do see continuing unhelpful contributions to admin discussions at least some of which show a borderline battleground mentality. Not enough to sanction for, but enough to make it clear that removing this restriction now will not be a net positive for Wikipedia. Thryduulf (talk) 14:50, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I also agree with Awilley, and am accordingly closing this request as declined. Sandstein 09:07, 13 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Volunteer Marek

    No action taken because a motion that would make this request unenforceable now has the support of a majority of arbitrators. Sandstein 15:18, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

    This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below.
    Requests may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs (not counting required information), except by permission of a reviewing administrator.

    Request concerning Volunteer Marek

    User who is submitting this request for enforcement
    Shrike (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) 06:38, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    User against whom enforcement is requested
    Volunteer Marek (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

    Search CT alerts: in user talk history • in system log

    Sanction or remedy to be enforced
    Wikipedia:Arbitration/Index/Palestine-Israel_articles#General_1RR_restriction :
    Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it
    1. 16:01, 7 March 2019 1RR of this edit [4]
    2. 6:54, 7 March 2019‎ 2RR
    1. 16:03, 7 March 2019‎ 1RR of this edit [5]
    2. 16:54, 7 March 2019‎ 2RR


    If discretionary sanctions are requested, supply evidence that the user is aware of them (see WP:AC/DS#Awareness and alerts)
    • Gave an alert about discretionary sanctions in the area of conflict in the last twelve months, on 21 June
    Additional comments by editor filing complaint

    The user broke 1RR two times in two different articles --Shrike (talk) 06:39, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    @GoldenRing: VM has inserted WP:UNDUE paragraph into BLP article [6] and I have reverted later I saw him again appearing on my own custom watchlist [7] --Shrike (talk) 14:06, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested

    [8] --Shrike (talk) 06:39, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Discussion concerning Volunteer Marek

    Statements must be made in separate sections. They may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs, except by permission of a reviewing administrator.
    Administrators may remove or shorten noncompliant statements. Disruptive contributions may result in blocks.

    Statement by Volunteer Marek

    None of these articles had a 1RR notice. On none of these articles does the 1RR notification pops up when you make an edit. The edits themselves are not related to P-I except in the sense that *everything* related to Israel is related to P-I. The edits are about internal Israeli politics.

    I would also like administrators to consider the nature of the edits. The info I added to these articles is *very well sourced*. The party in question has been described as the Israeli version of the Ku Klux Klan ("Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say it’s the equivalent in the United States of the KKK being welcomed into the corridors of power."). User:ShimonChai removed the well sourced info with spurious edit summaries, under the pretense that these weren't "inline citations" (they were). The same user has also build templates [9] for the party in question [10] as well as for the related Lehava movement (which has been described by the Anti-Defamation League as "extremely abusive, racist, inflammatory, and violent", and which has carried out terrorist attacks). I don't know if that indicates any connection or support for the party but it does raise eyebrows (just like if a user main contributions was making fancy KKK logos). User:Number 57 removed the info because... well, I'm not exactly clear as to why. Something something Nick Griffin. They also for some reason pointed to the article on the British fascist BNP as an excuse to remove this info, even though the BNP article in the very first sentence refers to it as "fascist". All of Number 57's justifications for their reverts have been vague and same for the discussion on talk ("get consensus!" which is usually an indication of "I can't say why this edit is wrong WP:IJUSTDONTLIKEIT). To be fair, I think Number 57 had a legitimate disagreement over *where* in the article the info belonged, although I did find their inability or unwillingness to articulate their reasons frustrating.

    User:Shrike him/herself has made problematic revert at Benjamin Netanyahu. The situation there is even more ridiculous. Right now, the biggest story of Israeli politics is that Netanyahu has made an alliance with this far-right, racist, "Israeli KKK", party in order to get a majority in the Knesset, in order to stave off potential fall out from the indicitments for corruption and bribery which have been filed against him. There is at least THIRTY stories on this in Haaretz. There is at least THIRTY stories on this in Jerusalem Post. There is at least FORTY, or even FIFTY stories on this in Times of Israel. It's been covered extensively in New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Time Magazine, New Yorker, ABC News, Tablet, Forward and scores of other publications. Basically ANY mainstream source has covered this story. Yet, Shrike removes the info with the edit summary that claims this is a "trivial detail" [11]. That is ... mind boggling. It'd be one thing if they rewrote or cut down some of the text, but wholesale removal of what is the biggest story of Israeli politics is clearly over-the-top POV pushing.Volunteer Marek (talk) 14:26, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    As for Icewhiz's spurious accusations - hey there Icewhiz, here again? - yes, I used bare URLs. This done for two reasons. First, we have bots that will come in and fill in the citation templates. Second, I often put in bare URLs initially, then come back and fill them in a little later. But here I was reverted before I had a chance to do so. I did in fact do that in the second edit [12]. I was still reverted. The whole "citations" thing was being used as an excuse. Ok, now, Icewhiz, can you explain how you can in good faith refer to THE major political story in Israel as "minor deal"? Volunteer Marek (talk) 14:36, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    User:GoldenRing " that in itself shows that 1RR was in force at the time the edits " <-- I'm not clear on how the fact that the notices were added AFTER the fact show that 1RR was in force at the time of the edits. I'll be honest. In every other area under ACDS, no notice means no restriction. I do realize that somehow P-I topics are different but who the hey can remember all that, especially if you're not all that active in the area? If I knew 1RR was in force, I wouldn't have broken it, since breaking 1RR is, well, just stupid. It's kind of ridiculous for there to be a situation where "we put these sekrit sanctions in place, but we're gonna tell you about them, except for a brief mention eight freakin' months ago which you are required to remember because you got nothing else going on in your life OR on Wikipedia". Who the hell can remember some message someone left on their page eight months ago???

    Also, I would like to very much point out that I do NOT have "a sanctions history approaching the length of the A1". In almost fifteen years of editing I've had a few sanctions ... three... four maybe, plus a couple blocks for mouthing off to admins from before 2012. Now, I'm not gonna hold that statement against you and I understand why you might think that; it's true I *am* always being dragged to AE by someone or other. So it may *seem* like I have been sanctioned frequently, but that is simply not the case (although I guess it depends on your definition of "length of A1"). Out of all my trips to AE, at least as of the last time I crunched the numbers, 70% resulted in no action, 23% resulted in a big ol' WP:BOOMERANG to the filing party and only 7% resulted in sanction and that's not even considering those which I got successfully appealed. I choose to edit controversial areas. In good part because some of my expertise is in that areas. But the fact that people try to use WP:AE to win content disputes is not my fault. Volunteer Marek (talk) 10:27, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    And seriously folks... and admins, it seems even arbitrators aren't aware that this works the way it does (i.e. applies w/o a template) and are surprised when they find out - see User:Doug Weller's statement over at the Arb motion Sandstein metions: "I've always assumed that it doesn't automatically apply and only applies if the {{ArbCom Arab-Israeli enforcement}} is added to the talk page and the edit notice ArbCom Arab-Israeli editnotice added to the article". [13]. If you set up rules in a stupid way, then yeah, people will accidentally break them. This is like putting in a stop sign but placing it behind a big ol' tree to make sure no one sees it and then saying "but we announced eight months ago that we'd have a stop sign there".Volunteer Marek (talk) 10:40, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by uninvolved DannyS712

    I just want to note that for the record, I alerted Volunteer Marek using {{AE-notice}} in Special:Diff/886743438. I have no connection to this enforcement request; I just didn't know if Special:Diff/886742901 met the requirements. --DannyS712 (talk) 06:51, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by OID

    Marek edits with correctly cited material. Reverted by editor claiming citation is wrong (no comment about the content) Marek reinserts (and on the latter occasion with proveit) showing nothing wrong with citation. Instead of expressing dismay that someone who edits in a controversial area is clearly being fucked with by tag-teaming, perhaps you should do something about the misleading edit summaries, tendentious and disruptive editing. Only in death does duty end (talk) 10:54, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    RE Icewhiz. The material is cited correctly. Citation *style* is not grounds for removing content - you change the citation to match the one in predominant use at the article if necessary. Claiming citation style issues to avoid making an argument on the content is one of the oldest tricks in the edit warriors manual. Only in death does duty end (talk) 11:07, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Icewhiz

    Beyond the possible BLP issues, VM inserted and reverted (in the batch above): Zvi_Sukkot insertion, Zvi_Sukkot revert1, Otzma insertion, Otzma revert1 bare URLs as citations which generally, per Wikipedia:Citing sources, is something that we avoid. This is far from "correctly cited material". Icewhiz (talk) 11:01, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    RE OID - A bare-URL is not a proper citation. If the URL breaks (and this happens quite often) - there is often no way to ascertain which published piece it refers to. A proper citation will generally including identifying information (at the very least - title of the piece, author (or venue)) - see WP:CITEHOW - this is beyond a style issue. Icewhiz (talk) 11:11, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    An ARBPIA banner is not required. I added it since the pages are clearly conflict related. I was somewhat surprised to see Marek for the first time in articles I had edited approx. 24 hour prior [14], [15] - my edits being the prior edits to his first.Icewhiz (talk) 16:45, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    RolandR - VwM.Mwv is EC (yet I still asked him to stay out of the core of ARBPIA). Otzma is not a typical party and is mainly known for its positions/actions in regards to the conflict.Icewhiz (talk) 17:50, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    Masem - I did not say a bareurl citation was not valid - it is - barely. It does not however meet WP:CITEHOW. I myself did not edit the two articles here after VM started. I did ask him to format bare URLs in Netanyahu.Icewhiz (talk) 18:10, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    @RegentsPark: - anyone may add the banner. It is merely informative (mainly to newbies, established editors should know better) and ARBPIA's General 1RR restriction is in force whether it is there or not (who decides? Admins at AE as well as ARCA. The banner is currently wrongly placed on several Iran/Israel articles ARCA decided was out of scope). Most of Otzma Yehudit's ideology is conflict related, and Otzma Yehudit#History mainly details activities versus Arab minorities and groups - it is clearly in scope. Over 90% of Zvi Sukkot's page is about alleged anti-Arab activities including his arrests due to them - the exception would be a single sentence on his marriage and kids.Icewhiz (talk) 05:03, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Number 57

    Whilst I think Marek was being a bit of jerk here, I don't believe this is an ARBPIA violation. I am fully aware of sanctions in that topic area, but I saw this as a dispute over domestic Israeli politics rather than being conflict-related. Neither article was tagged with the ARBPIA notice until after this had stopped. If I had thought this was conflict-related, I wouldn't have reverted more than once.

    I also find the tag-teaming accusation above to be inaccurate. Firstly, with regards to the edits on Otzma Yehudit, I did not remove Marek's additions (as ShimonChai had), but instead moved them to a different part of the article (in this edit I actually reinstated the racism claim after Shimon had removed it). Secondly, I also pointed out to Shimon that their accusation of Marek not using inline citations was incorrect. Number 57 11:44, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by GPRarmirez

    • "As for Volunteer Marek; it's rather depressing to see an editor back here, what, 48 hours after having a sanction overturned? with a clear violation."

      I'd say less depressing and more red-flag alarming.GPRamirez5 (talk) 14:06, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by ShimonChai

    Am going to invoke WP:VOLUNTEER, and probably stop editing for awhile. ShimonChai (talk)

    Statement by RolandR

    I am surprised to see that Icewhiz thinks that an article about an Israeli political party is "clearly conflict related", since barely a week ago s/he gave the contrary advice to a non-edit confirmed editor asking where it was permissible to edit: "What yes... Israeli politics (as long as not extremely conflict related".[16]. If such articles are not covered by ARBPIA for edits by new accounts, then neither are they covered by the IRR ban. RolandR (talk) 17:22, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Nableezy

    @Sandstein: it seems Kafkaesque to sanction an editor for reverts to pages prior to a notice that a 1RR applies to that page being placed. Whether or not you are allowed to sanction somebody is a different question to whether or not you should sanction somebody. If somebody is editing a page with a good faith belief that it is not a part of the conflict and the 1RR does not apply and there is nothing to notify him that it does then I dont think they should be sanctioned for it. Hell, an admin violated the 1RR at the same article, and I dont think anybody is claiming that Number57 was acting in bad faith in assuming that this article was not covered under the sanctions. What should actually be punished is acting in bad faith, such as bringing a complaint about a 1RR violation where all the reverts took place before anybody ever claimed that the 1RR applied. All that is necessary here is a formal declaration that the 1RR applies or it does not (and personally I am of the view that most political party articles in this topic area are being included in the topic area even when they should not be). nableezy - 18:43, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by (username)

    Result concerning Volunteer Marek

    This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the sections above.
    • It looks to me like Number 57 (diff, diff), ShimonChai (diff, diff) and Volunteer Marek (diffs as above) have all broken 1RR on these articles. Neither Number 57 nor ShimonChai have been alerted to DS; not that this is necessary to deal with a 1RR violation, but it's at least extenuating. As for Volunteer Marek; it's rather depressing to see an editor back here, what, 48 hours after having a sanction overturned? with a clear violation. GoldenRing (talk) 09:44, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • If the articles had ARBPIA notices on them before the edits, this would have been a straightforward 1RR violation and a sanction. However, they didn't - Icewhiz added them after VM had made his edits (as Number 57 points out, he wouldn't have reverted more than once either if he'd been aware). As GoldenRing says, there's a bit of "gotcha" going on here. I'm somewhat unimpressed. Black Kite (talk) 15:41, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • on Icewhiz's contention that bare-urls are not valid citations, that's wrong. They are not complete citations and if we were trying to judge this article for GA/FA, that would not be appropriate. But I certainly know many an experienced editor including myself, trying to start or improve an article, to dump bare url references as a first pass, with the anticipation to come back later and fix those. As long as the url links to a clear and obvious source, those suit the bare minimum of WP:V and should not at all be considered actionable. --Masem (t) 16:35, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I'm on the fence as to whether this is an actionable 1RR violation. On the one side, the articles and reverts are about an Israeli politician and a political party, not the conflict. On the other side, the politician and the party seem to be notable in part because of their position on the conflict, which is covered in some detail in their articles, and conflict-related content makes up the majority of the text in Zvi Sukkot. Because the applicable restriction is very broad ("any page that could be reasonably construed as being related to the Arab-Israeli conflict"), when push comes to shove, this is probably inside the scope of the restriction. The presence or not of an edit notice is immaterial under the terms of the restrictions currently in force. I'll leave it to others to suggest appropriate sanctions. Sandstein 17:47, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • While these may technically be violations by a strict reading of the sanctions, I'm not seeing that in the circumstances the spirit is met - certainly we should be very careful to avoid encouraging "gotchas" and the appearance of tag teaming is also concerning. The purpose of awareness requirements is so that we don't sanction users for breaching rules they did not know were in force, so we need to evaluate whether it was obvious that the 1RR restriction applied to this page and in this case I don't think it was - the article is not related to the dispute, and it has previously been established that simply being related to Israel does not automatically make an article within the scope of the restrictions. Accordingly I think the appropriate sanction for VM here is a "no action" close, accompanied by a warning to Shrike not to play (or appear to play) "gotcha" with arbitration sanctions and a hefty trout for all the experienced editors claiming that a bare URI is not a citation. Thryduulf (talk) 23:31, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • @Thryduulf: The Ideology section of Otzma Yehudit reads: The party is considered to be Religious Zionist, Kahanist, ultra-nationalist, anti-Arab, and far-right, and has also been described as racist. It calls for the annexation of the West Bank, and for complete Israeli rule between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The party is against the formation of a Palestinian state, and advocates for the cancellation of the Oslo accords, as well as for imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount. The party also advocates for increased teaching of Jewish history in all elementary schools to "deepen Jewish identity in students". The party is against "freezing construction of Jewish settlements, releasing terrorists, or negotiating with the PA". The party advocates for the deportation of "Arab extremists". On 24 February 2019, party member Itamar Ben Gvir called for the expulsion of Arab citizens of Israel who are not loyal to Israel. The party advocates for what it calls "Jewish capitalism" as its economic system; they plans on saving "billions of shekels from the reduction of the defense budget following the removal of the enemy", which would be directed at infrastructure development, reducing bureaucracy and regulations, as well as allocating resources to strengthen "weak populations". The party also supports aiding the elderly and disabled. The party is also opposed to abortion. The party supports easing restrictions on the IDFs rules of engagement.. This is hardly the only A-I conflict material in these articles. I'm struggling to see how this is not obviously related to the conflict? GoldenRing (talk) 09:26, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I'm curious and should probably already know this. Who decides whether an article comes under a sanction? I notice that the ABPIA tag was added by icewhiz, not an admin and apparently someone with skin in the topic area. Shouldn't these decisions be made by uninvolved admins? About the violation itself, we should probably just let it go. The article was not tagged and we're just talking about response to reverts (like this one).--regentspark (comment) 04:44, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • We, the admins, decide this in the course of deciding whether or not to sanction. Talk page and edit notices are currently not relevant for this decision. But arbitrators are now discussing a motion that would make an edit notice (placed by an admin) a prerequisite for enforcement. Sandstein 08:07, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • Broadly, per Sandstein. All articles that are "reasonably construed" as related to the A-I conflict are subject to 1RR; I would suggest that Volunteer Marek has been here long enough to know that, and the notices that have been applied to the pages since this complaint was raised are a red herring (though obviously helpful to editors). No-one is here arguing that those notices are inappropriate; that in itself shows that 1RR was in force at the time the edits were made and that those concerned should have realised it. If Volunteer Marek didn't have a sanctions history approaching the length of the A1, I'd close this immediately with a warning; but he bloody well ought to have known better. If any editor actually involved in the situation had brought this complaint, I'd probably give a short block; as it is, this is a pretty naked attempt by someone not involved to get an opponent in trouble. GoldenRing (talk) 09:26, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • Thanks for the clarification on sanction notices (icewhiz, sandstein and goldenring). The ARCA motion under consideration is all the more reason to just let this go. Even if this could be construed as a violation, and I'm not sure it is one, it is a fairly minor one. A couple of reverts on citations (including the "inline citation" one). On the other hand, if the motion does pass, we're just penalizing something that, in a few days, wouldn't have been a violation at all. That seems overly bureaucratic to me and makes me see this entire exercise seems as a gargantuan waste of time. --regentspark (comment) 10:39, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I agree that in view of the motion, which seems likely to pass, and the borderline nature of the violation, this is probably not the best case for imposing sanctions. Sandstein 10:49, 9 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    BullRangifer

    The comment was clearly inappropriate, especially given the previous warning. BullRangifer has struck the comment and apologised and so I am closing this with no action, but this is thin ice being skated. GoldenRing (talk) 09:03, 13 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.


    This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below.
    Requests may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs (not counting required information), except by permission of a reviewing administrator.

    Request concerning BullRangifer

    User who is submitting this request for enforcement
    Rusf10 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) 18:19, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    User against whom enforcement is requested
    BullRangifer (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

    Search CT alerts: in user talk history • in system log

    Sanction or remedy to be enforced

    Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/American politics 2 :


    Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it
    1. March 12, 2019 Personal attack- calls me incompetent and says I should be topic banned.
    Diffs of previous relevant sanctions, if any
    1. July 20, 2018 Received a warning for personal attacks on another Donald Trump related page.
    If discretionary sanctions are requested, supply evidence that the user is aware of them (see WP:AC/DS#Awareness and alerts)
    • The above warning was issued within the previous 12 months and therefore qualifies.
    Additional comments by editor filing complaint

    Cannot believe that after narrowly escaping sanctions with a warning for exactly the same type of comments last year, BullRangifer continues to personally attack me for expressing views that he disagrees with. I have done absolutely nothing to provoke him here as I have not had any contact with him in months.--Rusf10 (talk) 18:19, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    • @BullRangifer:- You are mischaracterizing the AFD. The page was brought to WP:AFD as an WP:ATTACK page, this has nothing to do with GNG or a lack of sourcing.--Rusf10 (talk) 18:55, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • @BullRangifer:- This did not "START" here, it started last year when you were given a warning. Because you are already aware, there's not reason for me to start a discussion on your talk page that would presumably go nowhere. You should have been fully aware that attacks, battleground behavior, and uncivil comments are not allowed.--Rusf10 (talk) 19:38, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • @MastCell: What is the expiration time for a warning? BullRangifer's was roughly 8 months ago (not a year). So when @Awilley: brings up my warning which was issued around the same time as BullRangifer's, despite the fact I have done absolutely nothing to provoke BullRangifer this time, am I to assume that it can be disregarded too?--Rusf10 (talk) 00:46, 13 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested

    [17]

    Discussion concerning BullRangifer

    Statements must be made in separate sections. They may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs, except by permission of a reviewing administrator.
    Administrators may remove or shorten noncompliant statements. Disruptive contributions may result in blocks.

    Statement by BullRangifer

    • Frivolous, just like the AfD. It is not because we disagree on Trump, but because of filing a frivolous AfD which ignores article creation requirements. GNG is abundantly fulfilled, and I expect a speedy keep to happen soon. Rusf10 tends to come down on the opposite side of RS on all things Trump, and I consider that a matter of incompetence. We are supposed to side with RS and edit accordingly. There may be a disagreement on that, but it's not a matter for this frivolous AE. -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 18:46, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • You may want to review what an attack page is. If RS uniformly and consistently criticize someone or something, and we document that, WE are not attacking the subject, but are doing our duty. It may look like an attack, and it certainly is, but it's not OUR unsourced or poorly sourced attack, it's our documentation of the attack.
    On the subject of Trump's lack of honesty, all RS consistently document him as the most dishonest public person they've ever met, with abundant documentation and examination of whether it's a deliberate lie, a falsehood, an exaggeration, or a misrepresentation. It's now up to over NINE thousand false statements during his presidency. This all has a bearing on his veracity, and thus the article deserves to be kept.
    You are confused about the nature of a forbidden attack page and a properly sourced article which documents negative information. We are not attacking Trump, but RS are doing so. They are documenting all the times he shoots himself in the foot. We must document that. It's our job, and a disagreement about that does not justify an AfD or starting this disruptive AE proceeding.
    Arbitrators have more important things to do. I happen to have a talk page for discussing such things. AE is a "last resort" thing, so don't START here. -- BullRangifer (talk) PingMe 19:26, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by Ahrtoodeetoo

    1. I didn't see it as a personal attack. While I don't believe the complainant is incompetent, I think it's reasonable to question their ability to understand critical policies if they think Veracity of statements by Donald Trump is an attack page.
    2. A single personal attack shouldn't form the basis of an AE complaint unless it's really, truly, horribly, terribly, egregiously bad. This certainly isn't that. I'm not one to condone incivility, but come on now.
    3. BullRangifer struck the offending part of his comment and apologized.

    R2 (bleep) 19:47, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    Statement by (username)

    Result concerning BullRangifer

    This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the sections above.
    • Simply on context of BullRangifer's comment in light of Sandstein's warning in July 2018 resulting from this AE request, this looks like a cut-and-dry personal attack that would merit a block. Adding other comments above, there's even more reason as the editor displays a battlefield mentality. Rusf has every right as a concerned editor to question if the page is an attack page, and as I don't see any other previous attempt to delete that page, it's not like they are pushing any POV. Whether that's right or wrong is not the question here, but it certainly is not any type of behavior that should draw a personal attack that BullRangifer has been previously warned about. --Masem (t) 19:47, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • The comment by BullRangifer was inappropriately personalized. Questioning Rusf10's competence in this instance is arguably fair—any editor who's been here for more than a decade, as Rusf10 has, should have a basic understanding of what an attack page is, and should recognize that Veracity of Donald Trump, whatever its merits, is not one. But in the context of an AfD, it is enough to simply make the point that the proposed deletion grounds are incorrect. If there is a larger problem with Rusf10's editing or competence, then AfD is not the venue in which to raise it.

      That said, it looks like the warning to BullRangier is nearly a year old, and BullRangifer has stricken the offending comment and apologized. In terms of a proportionate response, I'm with Ahrtoodeetoo. A single personal attack, unless outstandingly egregious, is rarely sufficient grounds for a block or other AE sanction, and more to the point, the offending comment has already been stricken and an apology offered. A sanction at this point would be purely punitive—and disproportionate—although of course if a pattern of such inappropriately personalized commentary continues then the question could and should be revisited. Those are my thoughts, anyhow. MastCell Talk 20:05, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

    • Invoking WP:COMPETENCE is usually offensive and often unnecessary in my opinion, and it makes it worse when you pipe it as incompetence. And it was not the right forum for discussing that anyway. That said, I'd be more concerned if BullRangifer hadn't quickly stricken the offending comments and apologized (something I wish more editors would do). Also to be fair, on the subject of July 2018 AE warnings this one is probably also relevant. (Not calling for a boomerang or counter-warning...I'd personally lean towards closing with no action.) ~Awilley (talk) 20:59, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • Yeah, close with no action. I'm not calling for a boomerang either, but Rusf10 may want to be aware of of Awilley's special Thicker skin sanction. Bishonen | talk 21:39, 12 March 2019 (UTC).[reply]