Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard: Difference between revisions

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:Are the personal attacks on [[Talk:RationalWiki]] glaring enough (for someone else) to redact? - [[User:David Gerard|David Gerard]] ([[User talk:David Gerard|talk]]) 19:38, 14 March 2016 (UTC)
:Are the personal attacks on [[Talk:RationalWiki]] glaring enough (for someone else) to redact? - [[User:David Gerard|David Gerard]] ([[User talk:David Gerard|talk]]) 19:38, 14 March 2016 (UTC)

Hi {{ping|NatGertler}} In your making the statement ''you've not shown he had any conflict on the edits he made, nor shown why the edits were problematic'' your are missing the central issue—which is so critical that, this past October, Wikipedia and Wikimedia filed a lawsuit about it as they were being specifically targeted by the NSA for surveillance.<ref>http://boingboing.net/2015/03/10/wikimedia-sues-the-nsa.html</ref> Let me explain.

The specific targeting being done by the NSA against Wikipedia (and others) was detailed by [[Glen Greenwald]] using the secret documents provided to him by [[Edward Snowden]] that described the ''dirty trick'' tactics used by GCHQ’s previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in utilizing extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction against their targets.<ref>https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/</ref>

Last year too, the [[Electronic Freedom Foundation]] (EFF)<ref>https://www.eff.org/</ref> gave an intensive two-day series of presentations (which I attended) outlining these NSA ''dirty trick'' tactics against Wikipedia (and others) and how to spot them, specifically in identifying NSA ''sockpuppets'' (an online identity used for purposes of deception).

The specific targets the EEF noted for attack were almost all writers whose articles opposed the US government, war, etc., including [[Glen Beck]], [[Alex Jones]], [[David Icke]] and, yes, even the anonymous writer [[Draft:Sorcha Faal]]—who, you should note, is apparently so feared that the [[Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS) used 10 of this writers reports in compiling their document of right-wing terrorism.<ref>http://www.getliberty.org/files/09-502%20Interim%20Response%201.pdf</ref>

Now as I’ve outlined here (and the other references to this submission I’ve included too) and in having the EFF’s knowledge of what to look for in spotting NSA tactics used by their sockpuppets against their targets, it took only about two weeks for me to discover the questionable/suspicious use of Wikipedia by {{u|David Gerard}}, that include:

His successful nomination for deletion of the Sorcha Faal article on Wikipedia, then editing on [[RationalWiki]]: Sorcha Faal is the alleged author of an ongoing series of "reports" published at WhatDoesItMean.com, whose work is of such quality that even other conspiracy nutters don't think much of it. <ref>http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Sorcha_Faal</ref><ref>http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Sorcha_Faal&action=history</ref>

His editing on [[RationalWiki]] of [[David Icke]]: Wikipedia: David Icke is an English writer, public speaker and former professional footballer and sports broadcaster. He promotes conspiracy theories about global politics and has written extensively about them. [[RationalWiki]] David Icke is a human singularity of insanity best known for his reptoid conspiracy theory. <ref>http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/David_Icke</ref><ref>http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=David_Icke&action=history</ref>

His editing on [[RationalWiki]] of [[Alex Jones]]: Wikipedia: Alex Jones is an American conspiracy theorist, radio show host, documentary filmmaker, and writer. [[RationalWiki]]: Alex Jones is a far right radio personality who never met a conspiracy theory he didn't like.<ref>http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Alex_Jones</ref><ref>http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Jones&action=history </ref>

His editing on [[RationalWiki]] of [[Glen Beck]]: Wikipedia: Glenn Lee Beck is an American television personality and radio host, conservative political commentator, author, television network producer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. [[RationalWiki]]: Glenn Beck, former rodeo clown and Fox News clown, is an American right-wing "commentator" and a high school graduate who got lucky. <ref>http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Glenn_Beck</ref><ref>http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Glenn_Beck&offset=&limit=500&action=history</ref>

Though none of this proves that Gerard (or his cohort {{u|Jytdog}} ) are NSA sockpuppets, operating on Wikipedia for the express purpose of destroying the reputation of their targets, the [[prima facie]] (first encounter or at first sight) evidence does deserve to be more closely examined by someone here with much greater experience, and expertise, than myself.

After all, if Wikipedia and Wikimedia believed this issue to so critical that they filed a lawsuit against the NSA, shouldn’t it be important to all of us too? By the way, their lawsuit was thrown out of court by the judge who said Wikipedia isn't widely read enough. <ref>http://boingboing.net/2015/10/25/nsa-spying-judge-tosses-out-c.html</ref>

I hope this has made you understand my concerns. Thanks. [[User:Picomtn|Picomtn]] ([[User talk:Picomtn|talk]]) 07:41, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

{{reflist-talk}}


== Libby Schaaf ==
== Libby Schaaf ==

Revision as of 07:42, 15 March 2016

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

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

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

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


Jason Graves

The user is an SPA on the article of the same name. Added copyvio material to the article from Jason Grave's internet site. No response to multiple attempts to discuss the COI, username, and COPYVIO situation on his talk page [1]. The article had been tagged for having been edited by a probable COI editor but the tag was removed by Jason Graves [2]. When the tag was restored it was immediately removed again by an IP (just 2 minutes after Jason Grave's last edit) [3]. After a two month break Jason Graves has returned to the article, removing the COI tag again [4] and copying more material that is already online elsewhere. I have not yet determined if this is material that was at one time in this article and was mirrored before being deleted here, or if this is another copyvio.

It seems very likely to me that this user is indeed Jason Graves and thus has a COI. It's also likely that he has edited this article recently using at least one IP. Note that the article was created in 2008 by another SPA, User:Jasongmusic, who granted permission via OTRS to use copyrighted material in the article. I contacted OTRS about this article and was told that the original ticket could not be applied to the new material added by Jason Graves.

So, either we have a COI editor who is aware of the permission issues but is choosing not to follow the correct procedure for granting permission this time, or less likely, we have a case of WP:IMPERSONATE. Meters (talk) 03:08, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

  • I'm debating giving them a short block for adding copyrighted information. They've been warned multiple times prior to their last edits and they've still continued adding copyvio. I'll try reaching out to the website itself to ask them to update permission. Tokyogirl79 (。◕‿◕。) 08:41, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • Tokyogirl79 is more generous on this than I am. The username (a violation of the username policy) and the repeated removal of the COI notices would be sufficient for me to want a block on the user. In addition, the article is barely referenced, so as far as I am concerned it could be deleted for not meeting notability. It is unacceptable to state that the music has been licensed for TV shows without some verifiability, or to claim awards without proper references (that one goes to an interview). It seems clear that he has composed music for many games, and may be notable, but the WP skills of the editor of this page are seriously lacking and bordering on fraudulent. Since this has gone on for quite a while, I don't see how any more warnings are warranted. LaMona (talk) 02:02, 8 February 2016 (UTC)pReply[reply]
In what way is using your own name a violation of user name policy? I have an obvious curiosity on this. --Nat Gertler (talk) 02:55, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes LaMona please do reply to that. If you got a bit carried away that's fine - please just REDACT accordingly. It is important here at COIN that we talk about blocks with care and only for clear and repeated violations of policy with no sign that the user is "getting it". Jytdog (talk) 02:59, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
There's no username issue unless the user claims not to be Jason graves. That's why I brought it to COIN. I don't usually post here, but my understanding is that is the right thing to do with a suspected COI editor who has not declared said COI. I'm looking for a consensus that this is a COI, so that for a start, the COI tag on the article can stick. Meters (talk) 03:05, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes, under the "Real Names" section: "Do not edit under a name that is likely to imply that you are (or are related to) a specific, identifiable person, unless it is your real name. If you have the same name as a well-known person to whom you are unrelated, and are using your real name, you should state clearly on your userpage that you are unrelated to the well-known person. If a name is used that implies that the user is (or is related to) a specific, identifiable person, the account may sometimes be blocked as a precaution against damaging impersonation, until proof of identity is provided." So the problem with the username is that it is 1) either proof of COI or 2) could be construed as someone masquerading as the person. I obviously should have worded it that way in my message. LaMona (talk) 03:21, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • The username didn't bother me too much, although I will say that it kind of came off as a company username like "Jason Graves Music Inc" or something to that extent. Tokyogirl79 (。◕‿◕。) 04:40, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
The article subject is notable, with lots of awards and credits. There are better sources than the one in the article.[5][6] The subject of the article is in the position of having been heard by hundreds of millions of people who have no idea who he is. While the editor behavior is a problem, the article seems mostly legitimate, although it needs better citations. John Nagle (talk) 23:56, 11 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
User:Nagle I didn't suggest that the article's subject wasn't notable. Why are you bringing that up? I'm simply asking for consensus that this user has a conflict of interest in this article, which is what this board is for. He uses the same name as the subject of the article, he continues to add material from the subject's webpage, he removed the conflict of interest tag on the article, and he refuses to discuss the COI issue. My understanding is that this is the place to bring such concerns, so that a consensus may be reached whether a user has a conflict of interest in a particular article or not. Meters (talk) 02:38, 21 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
It is obviously a case of COI. I just opened a discussion with Jason to try to teach him what he should be doing. Generally talking to folks nicely gets you pretty far on these things. But we'll see if he responds and how that goes. Jytdog (talk) 03:13, 21 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Can't hurt, but don't hold your breath. I tried several times before I brought it here. Meters (talk) 03:52, 21 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Re: "Why are you bringing that up?" Because COIN is about both article content and editor behavior. When promotional editing is suspected, one of the first questions is, "is the subject notable"? If not, the article can be deleted, and the COI issue becomes moot. Here, there's no reason to start an AfD. A next step is a quick review of what article repair work is needed. This article isn't too bad. (Far worse cases come up here.) Others are already trying to engage in dialogue with the editor. The COI editor hasn't edited in over two weeks, so there is no immediate need for a block. The idea is not to bite the new editors merely for not knowing the rules, and to assume good faith. See WP:BITE and WP:AGF. John Nagle (talk) 06:09, 21 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Nagle Again, I didn't suggest that the subject of the article isn't notable, and I didn't suggest deleting the article. I also didn't ask for him to be blocked. I asked for a consensus that he is a conflict of interest editor since he had repeatedly added copyvio material and removed the COI notice, per the guidelines for this notice board, specifically "talk page discussion has been attempted and failed to resolve the issue, such as when an editor has repeatedly added problematic material over an extended period" and "COIN may determine whether a specific editor has a COI for a specific article." As I have clearly said, this is either a case of a COI user, or less likely, a case of impersonation. I've tried to contact him several times without response. I raised the issue at OTRS. Tokyogirl79 has attempted to contact the website the material was being copied from, but there is nothing on the talk page indicting a response. Now Jytdog has attempted to contact the user, again without a response. How does any of this support your accusations of violation of WP:BITE and WP:AGF? I don't understand how you could possible make those accusations had you looked the article's history and the user's edit history and talk page. And the fact that he hadn't edited in two weeks when you made your comment is immaterial. He was active immediately before this notice was started, when he returned to this article after a two month hiatus. Meters (talk) 20:09, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I just stubified it, and copied the laundrylists and other unsourced content to the Talk page. There is absolutely COI going on here, and the article was bloated via abuse as a personal, promotional webpage. I don't think there is anything left to do now. The User:Jason Graves account has not been used since Feb 4 per its contribs. Thanks again for bringing this here Meters - it was the right thing to do. Jytdog (talk) 20:35, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thanks. I really think we gave him every opportunity. Meters (talk) 23:05, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • Hello, Tokyogirl79, Jytdog - I am working for Jason Graves and have been the one attempting to bring the his article up to standard. Some time ago we received an email from an 'Tokyogirl79' who stopped responding to our attempts to fix the COI issue. Being very new to the wiki system we did not see this discussion page or were even aware of it. We were attempting to resolve the situation through email but the user was unresponsive to any of our messages. If the COI is such that the 'Jason Graves' username is problematic, (even though that is exactly who it is), then I am more than happy to create a different one, and given that wiki volunteers started this conversation with us in email I fully expected them to continue that, but this was not the case. We want this situation resolved for the sake of the wiki page and of course we have absolutely zero interest in breaching any rules on wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jason Graves (talkcontribs) 16:52, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Could you please engage with me to try and find solutions to these problems, in is not the case that I was contacted 'numerous times' it is infact myself that had trouble contacting the volunteers. I am approaching this with honesty and a desire to create a long term and accurate solution for the page. Jason Graves —Preceding undated comment added 19:13, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Sorry - I will drop a note on your Talk page. You have been doing this wrong (I know, it is kind of hard to figure out how to do it right) - let me see if I can help you get this straightened out. Jytdog (talk) 19:16, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I fully appreciate I have been doing this incorrectly, I apologize for the inconvenience and I am very keen to set this right, thank you. Jason Graves —Preceding undated comment added 19:19, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
OK, please reply over at [[Talk:Jason Graves}}. Jytdog (talk) 19:24, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Gun trusts

Two very similar articles seem to be packed with references that could be considered refspam. Examples:

  • guntrustdepot.com
  • guntrustlawyer.com
  • secureguntrust.com
  • 2atrusts.com
  • utahtrustattorneys.com

Not sure how bad this is or whether cleanup is necessary. More opinions wanted. – Brianhe (talk) 02:07, 13 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

At a minimum, I think these two articles need to be merged. Much of the text is identical and there is nothing to say why one is different from the other. Ravensfire (talk) 15:08, 13 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
The subject is covered at National_Firearms_Act#NFA_Trust. Gun trust and NFA trust are mostly sales pitches and coatracks for promotional links. Proposed deletion of both. John Nagle (talk) 20:46, 21 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes there is something going on with the editors - I just listed them here, and opened discussions on each of their talk pages. Also did what you would expect. Jytdog (talk) 03:33, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
@Jytdog: I'm adding to the list Rald17 who seems to like 2atrusts.com and utahtrustattorneys.com. Could you do your magic with that editor as well? - Brianhe.public (talk) 04:04, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Done, on their talk page and at spi Jytdog (talk) 04:11, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • just had a nice exchange with RawrRawringtonIII who said they would abide by the guideline. Also pointed me to Fullautogunguy with whom I have opened a discussion... Jytdog (talk) 00:43, 23 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Gun trust and NFA trust were de-prodded with the puzzling comment "PROD not appropriate for contested deletions". - Brianhe (talk) 07:43, 25 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes there is a wave of speedy and PROD patrolling by non-admins going on that I do not understand. Those folks think they are helping by ensuring these tags are used in the way they see as appropriate. From my perspective they are busybodies. But some people view me as a busybody, so what can I say. Jytdog (talk) 02:02, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

User:

Articles:

SpokenReasonsFF has been informed repeatedly about Wikipedia's conflict of interest guidelines and the requirement for paid editors to disclose their employer, clients and any other relevant affiliations:

SpokenReasonsFF has acknowledged a number of conflicts of interest:

None of these acknowledgements provide the details required by WP:COIDISCLOSEPAY, and none of them used the prescribed method for doing so.

As SpokenReasonsFF has acknowledged working as a publicist for several individuals in the entertainment industry, it seems likely that edits to the other articles listed at the top are also the result of undisclosed conflicts of interest.

SpokenReasonsFF continues to create articles with a promotional tone (Jimmy Tatro, Omar Dorsey, Cyrus Arnold) and make edits that clearly should not be made by an editor with a conflict of interest. For example, Wikipedia:Conflict of interest#Supplying photographs and media files states that "In some cases, the addition of media files to an article may be an uncontroversial edit that editors with a COI can make directly, but editors should exercise discretion and rely on talk pages when images may be controversial or promotional. If the addition of an image is challenged by another editor, it is not uncontroversial." Nevertheless, when SpokenReasonsFF's attempts to replace File:Paul Scheer by Gage Skidmore.jpg in Paul Scheer with a promotional headshot with unclear copyright status have been challenged by multiple editors including myself, SpokenReasonsFF has simply reinserted the challenged image:

LX (talk, contribs) 20:48, 18 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I guess I'd better add a comment here to keep this from getting archived without action. Is there anything I should have done differently when reporting this? LX (talk, contribs) 21:13, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Raheja Developers

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


This is regarding the undisclosed conflict of interest of Leoaugust with Raheja Developers Wikipedia page. He has made several edits to the page which has made it look like a completely negatively biased piece of article. When I tried to balance it by presenting the complete picture, I was forbidden by Sitush from doing so as I myself have disclosed COI with the subject. While I agree with his point of view, I also believe that this does not justify the condition that the page is in at present. Now for every argument I present he says I'm pushing my agenda while no one notices the actual problems that lie open with the page. I have several evidences that prove the COI of other user. I only want to discuss the problems objectively that remain with the page not to remove any correct information positive or negative. Mr RD 16:47, 19 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Mr RD: it was requested by Sitush in this edit summary that you make edit requests on the article's talkpage. That seems the appropriate way forward, but I don't see that you've availed yourself of that opportunity yet. - Brianhe (talk) 01:15, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thanks Brianhe (talk) for reiterating Sitush (talk) suggestion of carrying out the discussion on the merits of the content rather than the artificial COI issues that are being raised as a red herring. So, my discussion on @Mr RD:'s suggested changes are at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Raheja_Developers Leoaugust (talk) 17:01, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
@Brianhe: I did make edit request on the talk page. Here is my request. @Leoaugust:, do you deny having any COI with this page? From your edit history and by the evidences that I have found, it clearly seems otherwise. Mr RD 17:08, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Mr RD. In general, it is really foolish, and a waste of everyone's time and energy, for editors locked in a content dispute to try to engage editors on "the other side" directly about their potential COI. You have opened it here, now please let other people address it. Please focus on content, not contributor. Thanks. Jytdog (talk) 10:26, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • I have looked into this, and I believe that Mr RD has a point, and have raised that with Leoaugust on his talk page. As I reviewed things, it also became clear that Mr RD has not disclosed his employer, client, and affiliation with regard to his paid editing work. He has disclosed that he has edited for pay, which is what we want, but he has not complied with the Terms of Use, and he needs to do that. He has also directly edited the article, which the COI guideline strongly discourages. I have raised those issues with him, on his talk page. I have added both of them to the headers of this posting. I also reviewed the history of that article, and it has a really sordid history of promotional editing by socks. I added headers to the Talk page reflecting that. Jytdog (talk) 09:51, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I think Mr RD's edits in general could do with some scrutiny. Of the few articles that I've looked at, created/edited by him, there seems to be a lot of poorly sourced, POV, promotional rubbish. In addition, some rather deceptive edit summaries that claim to add references, but merely add linkspam. At least there is some honesty in saying "company X" paid me to write an article." the linkspam masquerading as references is far more of an issue. Spacecowboy420 (talk) 07:20, 25 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I agree with that. I appreciate very much that he is disclosing his paid edits but he still has to learn what really good quality content is like. Jytdog (talk) 07:28, 25 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I can't blame him. I can however blame the rules here that allow any form of paid editing. Spacecowboy420 (talk) 08:27, 25 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Sudip Bose, again

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


This has become a slow-motion back and forth between those trimming promo from the article, including admins Doc James, DGG and JzG; and several anons and at least two SPAs adding it back. One registered editor named above never answered my questions ([7] and [8]) about being a paid editor. It's the third time this article has been brought up at COIN: see also Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard/Archive 88#Sudip Bose and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard/Archive 93#Doctors and surgeons. It's increasingly difficult to AGF over this. – Brianhe (talk) 06:13, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The article was obviously created by the subject and has been subject to heavily promotional editing. I say we nuke it from orbit. It's a net drain on the project and the guy really is not so notable as to make the effort worthwhile. Guy (Help!) 09:04, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • Perhaps AfD 2 is the best solution Borderline notability combined with clear promotionalism is an good reason for deletion. I !voted keep at AfD 1,but the subsequent history showed I was wrong about that. DGG ( talk ) 09:05, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I missed this before; a detail caught by teb728 [9]. Sitaray claimed to have created the article which means he's editing the article under multiple accounts and is also using the name of the subject of the article. - Brianhe (talk) 10:47, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Indeed. It is hard to find anyone adding content tot his article who is not at the very least part of the subject's PR team. Guy (Help!) 10:54, 20 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Isn't the draft a violation of the contributors' copyrights, since it does not include the appropriate attribution per WP:COPYWITHIN? - Brianhe (talk) 08:56, 29 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Not being an admin, I cannot see if it is the same article or not. Jytdog (talk) 21:08, 29 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I was always under the impression that everything contributors do is released into the public domain. In any event, I have asked for a speedy of that draft. There is also an SPI pending, and on top of that the article creator has disclosed that 1) He has been using two accounts and 2) He is a paid editor. Coretheapple (talk) 21:56, 29 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Coretheapple plagiarism and copyright and licensing are distinct but related things. yes, each contributor owns the copyright on contributions that they create. under the Terms of Use, contributors do grant CC licenses to the copyright on their contributions. where plagiarism comes in, is ... if you contribute someone else's work as your own (plagiarism) it wasn't yours to license and the whole thing falls apart. the guideline on how to copy content within Wikipedia appropriately, without violating the WP:PLAGIARISM guideline, is Wikipedia:Plagiarism#Copying_within_Wikipedia. In addition, if you are plagiarising you are a) also violating someone else's copyright and b) even if they licensed it CC, you are violating the CC license by not attributing. i hope that make sense. Jytdog (talk) 22:13, 29 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • recorded confirmed socks from Coretheapple's SPI filing. Thanks for filing that. Jytdog (talk) 05:15, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
off topic
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Fine, but please curb your tendency to engage in extended colloquies when dealing with this particular paid editor, per the second paragraph of WP:COITALK. Your posts on the AfC talk page have served no useful purpose other than to jack up his billings and complicate matters, as well as possibly given him a lesson in how to avoid speedy deletion. Coretheapple (talk) 14:14, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Oh I didn't realize that you had posted this here - I replied to its instance at the Talk page of the now-deleted draft. First, WP:COITALK is advice for paid editors and presents absolutely no bar to editors engaging with paid editors. None. Second. You have this assumption that this editor is/was being paid by the hour and are drawing conclusions, and even "advising" me, based on that assumption. If you actually study boards where paid editing work is bought and sold, they are almost all paid by the job. I don't think I've ever seen per-hour work posted there. And we don't know if Sitarary is a freelancer, of an employee of a PR agency, an employee of Bose's foundation, or Bose himself. You are free to hold sloppy garbage in your mind, but please don't foist it on me. Third. And while you seem to want to treat paid editors like vermin, I treat them like people. Because they are. People often respond well to education. Not always. But to me its worth trying. So no, I will not join your pitchfork brigade, Core. I won't dehumanize people. Jytdog (talk) 01:41, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
You know, between your topic ban and your interaction bans and your being banned from half the talk pages in creation, I really think that your insult-happy account is probably the last place I would seek wikiquette advice. So thanks a bunch but spare me the sanctimony, Coretheapple (talk) 02:28, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
You know, blah blah personal attack blah blah. Just put away your pitchfork - that is all too human behavior, but it is not Wikipedian. (and I think you meant to post this above, as it is not responsive to this thread. If so, please feel free to move your comment and mine up there) Jytdog (talk) 02:30, 3 March 2016 (UTC) (strike, was moved Jytdog (talk) 02:50, 3 March 2016 (UTC))Reply[reply]
Well since you were saying basically the same thing in two places, it doesn't much matter but I moved it. Look, it is not a personal attack to point out that you are 1. Insult-happy; that's been pointed ouit to you repeatedly and 2) see below. Coretheapple (talk) 02:49, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Adequacy of paid editing disclosure

There is some question as to whether the paid editor involved in this article, User:Sitaray, who has just attempted re-creation of the article at AfC, is in compliance with WP:PAID. He initially disclosed something called "Kolweb" as his employer, with Bose the client[10]. He then reverted that eleven minutes later, and makes no further reference to that employer. It's hard to explain this reversion other than an effort not to disclose his/her employer, which is required by policy. Since there are several "Kolwebs," he would also have to provide more than just that name. Coretheapple (talk) 15:21, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Oh that is a nice catch. Kolweb is an Indian company that offers web design and online marketing services per their site. For example if you look at the bottom of Sudip Bose's website, you will see that Kolweb built it (the name there links to the Indian site), and this youTube video promoting Bose was posted by an account called Kolweb that links to a google-plus page with the same corporate logo. So hm.
You know, I think the instructions at Template:Paid are kind of unclear. It says there:
employer = Name of the company or individual paying for the contributions
client = Name of the company or individual on whose behalf the contributions are made; this will often be the subject of the article. In many cases the employer and client will be the same, in which case only the employer will be shown.
This is really built for freelancers. If somebody hasn't lived through all these discussions it might be unclear what goes where. Assuming that Sitaray works for Kolweb, he/she surely knows that Bose would be the one actually "paying for the contributions". So there is room to see honest mistake there. The instructions there and at the policy page about what the terms "employer" and "client" mean, could be better. That might be good to clarify. In the meantime, I will ask Sitaray. They might not be around anymore... Jytdog (talk) 01:55, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Off topic
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I hope that they are not around anymore. This is not a good faith contributor. They are a paid account that materializes periodically for the sole purpose of servicing accounts. It is not entitled to the presumption of good faith. So no, I don't put away my pitchfork and yes, your treating them like misguided puppies is amusing. Now, I don't expect to hear from Sitaray; that account has gone. In the unlikely event it rematerializes I can take it from there. You can treat it like a newbie even though it has been around for seven years and has admitted to using two accounts in this article. I will treat it like a paid editor. Coretheapple (talk) 02:49, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
You did ask them nicely about it even before you posted here above. That was good of you, thanks. We'll see what he says, if anything. He may have heard me when I explained on the deleted Talk page why further efforts would be futile at this time, given the sources that exist... in which case he may be able to explain that to his bosses, and this goes away, that way, instead of us playing whackamole. Nobody wants to waste time, especially not people spending money. Jytdog (talk) 02:55, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I wasn't trying to be nice. This is an abuser of the project. It is obvious that the person behind this account has been socking like it is going out of style. I counted something like seven socks on this article, counting IPs. I'm not saying be abusive, but yes, brisk and businesslike if it is necessary to be in contact with one of his accounts. Your attitude toward obvious bad-faith accounts is just plain weird. Unhelpful too. You need to snap out of it. Coretheapple (talk) 03:09, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Even abusers of the project are people, and you did write nicely. But your claim of certainty that there is one person operating the several accounts is premature, as the SPI has not yet closed. Put the pitchfork down And your claim that the charity was fake and had no 501c3 from the IRS was wrong. Your claim about what WP:COITALK says is wrong. So many wrong things. Coming in so hard, with such blanketing suspicion, just isn't helpful to you or anyone. It creates yet more work to verify the claims you are making and just creates a lot of unnecessary noise and drama. Jytdog (talk) 03:31, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
COITALK specifically cautions against getting involved in long-drawn out conversations with paid editors. There are also policies, guidelines, rules, edicts and common sense against getting involved in long-drawn-out conversations with time-wasters and trolls, so this conversation is over. Coretheapple (talk) 03:53, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
No, there is no "caution against". It just says "should be aware" - so that editors can choose if they want to spend their time, or not. That's it. It is only your dark mind that reads it that darkly. Jytdog (talk) 04:06, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thanks, that's the best example of hair-splitting I've found recently. Damned if I know why you are banned from so many talk pages and were topic banned for this kind of nonsense. Are you done? Coretheapple (talk) 04:57, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Here is what you wrote: Fine, but please curb your tendency to engage in extended colloquies when dealing with this particular paid editor, per the second paragraph of WP:COITALK. That is wrong. Not hairsplitting wrong. Dead wrong. Please stop mischaracterizing the guideline. Jytdog (talk) 05:31, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
So engage in extended colloquies with paid editors. Engage in extended colloquies with your doorstop. I could care less. You seem to enjoy wasting other people's time. It's a big thing for you. Have a good one. Coretheapple (talk) 05:39, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I don't need your leave, but appreciate your offer nonetheless. However, I haven't been addressing that - I have been addressing your justification. It is bad for everyone when key guidelines are mischaracterized, especially in unreasonable ways. But this is especially harmful with regard to the COI guideline, which is still embattled in some quarters - and this is exactly the kind of garbage that people opposed to stronger COI management claim that we, who work for stronger COI management, do and say. And here you are actually saying it. So please stop. And I will keep saying that as long as you keep spouting this. Because it hurts all of us. So just stop. Jytdog (talk) 05:58, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Uh, no. I won't stop. (Whatever it is you want to stop - I forget.) Why don't you repeat yourself for another few thousand lines? Coretheapple (talk) 06:04, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thanks for showing how unseriously you take the COI guideline. That is a sad thing. Jytdog (talk) 06:27, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
No, I take the guideline seriously. However, I don't take you seriously. Coretheapple (talk) 11:48, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The account has clarified that he is directly employed by the subject of the now-deleted article. So his disclosure seems to be OK at the present time. Re-instating previous archiving. Coretheapple (talk) 13:12, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Have unarchived and holding it open pending conclusion of SPI. Checkuser confirms socking. Please don't archive this until the SPI has been resolved, so as to complete the record for future reference. See Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Sitaray/Archive. Coretheapple (talk) 05:33, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

679699sof

Account has helpfully admitted to conflict of interest [11]. Insofar as they're translating content from German Wikipedia and adding properly sourced material, the edits are constructive. However, there have also been repeated attempts to add trivial content about non notable family members, which I've deleted from several articles, and copious promotional and copyright violations at Adriana Sanford. Taken in all, the articles are a mare's nest: some may fail notability, others are replete with sources that can't be easily referenced (do they refer to the subjects in depth, or in passing?), and all need to be double-checked for neutrality. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 16:26, 23 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I agree that Adriana Sanford is a promotional mess, but the others are long since deceased and so this is probably more of a WP:NOR issue rather than COI as I can't see what they stand to gain from writing about them. Obviously if they aren't notable they shouldn't be included and WP:NOTGENEALOGY is relevant to some of the content. SmartSE (talk) 18:31, 23 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I've just started Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Adriana_Sanford. SmartSE (talk) 18:38, 23 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Deceased they may be, but since the editor claims to be related, there's the uneasy sense that Wikipedia is being used to publish articles on their family tree--it's notability by extension. Must every bio expand to give us family history, as here [12] and here [13]? 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 21:26, 23 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Agree, they're a single-purpose account for creating their family tree. Almost every bio has a very similar family life section, and almost all of the newly created bios are about non-notable people. I've AfDed a few of them. Joseph2302 (talk) 22:17, 23 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thank you, Joseph2302. I think Philippina Espenshied is awfully flimsy as well. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 02:36, 24 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I'll just note here without excessive elaboration that the year of birth birth date of the subject was divined by the article author without any apparent citation, and appears as part of the username of the article author. They also have access to a previously unpublished image of the article's subject (according to TinEye) and sufficient proximity to get it released through OTRS. - Brianhe (talk) 11:24, 24 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

My regret is that I didn't pursue this more avidly when I discovered some of the edits back on February 8--alas, real life has taken precedence. There's a heap of copyright violations, some of which I've removed. My thanks to those who've followed up on the report, done some cleaning and nominated articles for deletion. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 18:11, 24 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I've added a second, apparently dormant account up top. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 18:14, 24 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Lots of the articles have been deleted now. Joseph2302 (talk) 16:10, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Splunk

Hi all, I've proposed several updates/additions to Splunk, here — some factual updates, additional citations and a few expansions of basic information. I have a COI and won't be editing directly, but I would really appreciate it if someone could take a look and provide feedback. Thank you! Mary Gaulke (talk) 18:52, 26 February 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Any takers? Anything I can do to make my suggestions easier for someone else to review/respond to? Thanks! Mary Gaulke (talk) 20:45, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
@MaryGaulke: Greetings, Mary. I'll have a look this weekend. I'm not sure how productive I will be, but I can get a start at least. Thanks in advance for declaring your connection. --Drm310 (talk) 00:23, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thanks so much! Really appreciate it. Mary Gaulke (talk) 00:37, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Jabong.com

I did some cleanup but more is needed; has been tagged as promo since June 2015, shortly after it was created. Article is associated with a bunch of SPAs at least one of whom was reported earlier at COIN: Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard/Archive 93#Lightbox Ventures. Brianhe (talk) 09:06, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Biba Apparels

Uncovered during investigation of case immediately above (User:Drruchig). Looks like a team of SPAs was at work on this article. Brianhe (talk) 09:16, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Funimation and its employees

Morgan Berry and Danielle McRae, both with Funimation, showed up the same day and made articles about themselves. Now that both are up for deletion, two more accounts have popped up, Otaku.Unknown and TheOtakuClub, whose only edits are related to Morgan Berry. It seems a clear case of meatpuppetry at best. 206.41.25.114 (talk) 14:34, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

This pair of contribs speak volumes [14].SephyTheThird (talk) 18:40, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Both articles are in the AFD process but mostly because they have not met WP:ENT notability. Should the articles be retained, then COI should be declared. AngusWOOF (barksniff) 20:46, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Articles deleted via afd, Danimcrae has recreated Danielle McRae as a begging point for it to be restored. Requesting action taken over this blatant disregard for procedure and continued COI.SephyTheThird (talk) 12:20, 8 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Reward Gateway

I've traced edits by 82.110.75.2 to the PR firm Hudson Sandler Ltd who represents Reward Gateway. This is a clear conflict of interest.

They also represent Joules (clothing) as well as Bakkavör, similarly undisclosed conflicts of interests. Deku-shrub (talk) 20:41, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Allen Shoup

User creates article, submit it for WP:AFC which then fails, makes edit again and then passes; I assume this to be a B-class article as rated, I nominated this for for DYK, alarm from reviewers have been raised that somebody have been paid to create this article. Which leaves me scratching my head as in contrast to this, one of the article I created failed AFC which was then bypassed without passing AfC. Since the DYK nomination was withdrawn, that article creator have reemerged again. In short, it appears that the editor have been paid to edit this article. Donnie Park (talk) 20:58, 1 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Precision Group


All editing promotionally around Shaun Bonétt and his Precision Group.

  • James mccosker only edits promotionaly around Precision Group
Precision Group
Shaun Bonétt
Adelaide Central Plaza. Owner is Precision Group
MacArthur Central. Owner is Precision Group
Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre. Owner is Precision Group
Pran Central. Owner is Precision Group
White Horse Hotel, Surry Hills. Owner is Precision Group
Victory Hotel. Owner is Precision Group
Port Canal Shopping Centre. Owner is Precision Group
Customs House Port Adelaide. Owner is Precision Group
144 Edward Street, Brisbane. Owner is Precision Group
Towers of Chevron Renaissance. Contain Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre
Other than token edits, edits to other articles are based around Bonétt, egs [15] [16] [17] [18]
  • 220.233.10.158. Matching James mccosker with this (immediately cleand by James mccosker) and edits to User:James mccosker/sandbox. Also edits to User:Phil1371/sandbox (see below)
  • Phil1371. Creating infoboxes and galleries for Precision properties [19] [20] (used by James mccosker in his edits), reviewing Pran Central article created by James mccosker minutes after creation [21].
  • Prancentral sole edits are a picture gallery of Pran Central in [User:Phil1371/sandbox]. Shares name with Pran Central
  • EditorJ16. after some toke edits all edits have been on Precision Group [22]
  • GarryEvan777. All edits have been on Precision Group [23]. Including review the article [24] which was created by James mccosker.
  • JohnDB. All edits are to Bonétt except for a request for an article on Bonétt's Heartfelt Foundation.
  • Pk.kimemia. Creation of 160 Ann Street, Brisbane, previously owned by Precision Group
  • HollieAzzopardi. Created previous adverts for Precision Group, Victory Hotel, Pran Central Plaza and MacArthur Central Shopping Centre. Only live edits are around Shaun Bonétt[25]. See also [26]. Her version of Shaun Bonétt removed there was than resored by a SPA IP [27] and refined by another [28]
  • 144edward sole edit is to the sandbox of James mccosker [29]. Shares a name with 144 Edward Street, Brisbane
  • Renzoy16 is a paid editor who has come in to "cleanup" the Bonétt article and remove tags. Renzoy16 denies being paid here [30].

A parallel sock puppet investigation is being created for some of these accounts. duffbeerforme (talk) 07:51, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/James mccosker duffbeerforme (talk) 08:15, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
The COI is obvious, particularly the use of images from their websites which have had CC notes added to them e.g. [31] [32]. We need to check whether the buildings are notable. Given that, the appearance of Renzoy16 making edits like this is obviously worrying given that they are predominantly a paid editor and it's hard to believe that their edits to the article aren't paid for. SmartSE (talk) 10:01, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes. Thanks all. I am going to try to talk to them and will hold off and helping with cleanup til that happens. Jytdog (talk) 21:28, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Relevant history at Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard/Archive 96#Renzoy16. This user appears to have returned to undisclosed COI (paid) editing. - Brianhe (talk) 10:09, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

updated with SPI findings so far Jytdog (talk) 01:30, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

recorded editing on talk pages of articles and tagged them. Jytdog (talk) 05:26, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Atlantic Coast Brands again

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Editor Anrd8 ignored October 2015 query about paid editing status and has resumed editing Atlantic Coast Brands today. Refer to Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard/Archive 89#Atlantic Coast Media Group for history. Brianhe (talk) 08:29, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I've nominated it for AfD. Joseph2302 (talk) 07:33, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

An apparent COI account created the bio in 2012 and has done most of the editing since then. Some good writing and sourcing, amid which are interspersed promotional sentences and unacceptable references. Could really use a going-over by neutral editors. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 15:42, 2 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Zeus Mortgage

Is it WP:ADMASQ? Its creation was definitely a work for hire per this. Calling Nagle who has a good eye for business notability. This one seems to hinge on how fast the company grew in 2011. Many sources are actually corp press releases, including at least one that was deceptively sourced to an industry magazine. Brianhe (talk) 09:58, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Added another editor Blueskymorning who also created suspiciously promotional Trip Ross, TeamSnap, Woozworld. - Brianhe (talk) 10:02, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Eonon

I thought I'll bring this up in case this article gets recreated again. Article creator user:Silena have appeared to be the creator of the press releases, the articles appears to be recreated after it was deleted with updated information. [[AAll of these have WP:SPA in common but three of those have since been banned (promotional username). In all, Donnie Park (talk) 11:49, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Donnie Park: you have to notify users that are reported here. Would you do that, please? You can use the template at the top of the page, or use your own words on their talkpage. - Brianhe (talk) 12:36, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Sorry, I reported Silena (talk · contribs) and HKSEO86 (talk · contribs) as one was the creator and the other one that seems the most recent editor. I just new to all this COI thing and until a few days ago, I discovered it. I brought this up in case it gets recreated again. Donnie Park (talk) 12:54, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Kamal Dhaliwal

The SPA user created an article about themselves with no references which was speedily deleted. Then they recreated the article again. The article was tagged for A7 again but the user deleted the tag. It was restored and the editor reported here, but the user continues to edit war to delete the tag, re-adding references to Wikipedia itself. Prhartcom (talk) 16:42, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

When the administrator speedily deleted the article, they apparently also deleted history of the editor's contributions to that article (I've never seen that before). Therefore, there is no longer any documentation for this COI. The user has stopped, so this case be archived. Prhartcom (talk) 05:20, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The Care Bears Movie

Animator has changed name and gender identity from David Brewster to Darlie Brewster, [33] and wants the current name to be used in the article. Recent editing on The Care Bears Movie. [34] Pinging Cyphoidbomb as COI was declared on his talk page. [35] This will likely affect any and all animation articles that use the name. While it's not a big deal to change to Darlie on the article itself, with citations to the new name, care must be done not to disrupt the quoted text on existing citations as the IP had done and to follow WP:BIRTHNAME Also, Darlie does not have an independent Wikipedia article at the moment, but COI would be declared if such is created. AngusWOOF (barksniff) 20:27, 3 March 2016 (UTC) updated 20:49, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thanks for this, AngusWOOF. Related, I've asked our friends at Wikiproject LGBT to weigh in here. The issue of WP:BIRTHNAME was causing me some confusion and the rest of the obviously-available sources were not helping much. MOS:IDENTITY doesn't really address what to do when someone was once credited as A and is now credited as B. There was nothing about this at WP:BLP and even the LGBT project page was a bit vague. Compounding my confusion, The Matrix credits The Wachowski Brothers, while Bound (1996 film) credits Lana Wachowski individually. One other matter at the Care Bears article, I could not access the reference in question, and there were no useful archives at Archive.org. Anyhow, I'm rambling. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 22:31, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I'm trying out the Bruce (later Caitlyn) format for that article. If desired, it can be Caitlyn (credited as Bruce). There aren't any he/she pronouns to tweak, and nothing in the infobox for now. However, other productions may present that issue. And found a link to the updated archive, but it is still behind a paywall. This is still strong enough for COIN right? AngusWOOF (barksniff) 23:35, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Yemeni Civil War detailed map

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


This user apply to edit Yemen Civil War template map without mention sources or web news link with regard to the warning given (1). while ago he had been warned by Admin because of violation three revert rule & edit warring (2). i start discuss for dispute resolution on talk page (3) but he refused to answering. it's important note that not his first sabotage, this action is repeated over and over again by him. to see can refer to "contributions" section in his profile. right now that i'm typing this matters he reverted two edit without giving decisive reason. (4) please stop this saboteur. K!lluminati (talk) 23:44, 3 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

WP:OFFTOPIC - this is a board for resolving possible conflict of interests as defined in WP:COI
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
@LightandDark2000: could be a witness. Kiluminati is a Wikipedia:Single-purpose account. He refused sources that mentionned Hadi advance. The account appeared in December and he speaks of vandalism. He removes sources such as Masdar speaking advances loyalists and source map with Al Masira , official media Houthi . This is unacceptable. And he accused the others to vandalism. He had been warned here and here. --Panam2014 (talk) 11:48, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Firstly i'm not one Wikipedia:Single-purpose account, there are numerous edits from me on various pages such as Libyan Civil War, Sinai insurgency, Taliban insurgency, Syrian, Iraqi, and Lebanese insurgencies and ... that exists in my profile and can be seen from here even in definition of single-purpose account said that “while many single-purpose accounts turn out to be well-intentioned editors with a niche interest” and come in elsewhere “Evidence that the user seems to be editing appropriately and collaboratively to add knowledge in a niche area may suggest the user is likely to be an editor with a preferred focus” and “New users acting in good faith often edit topics in which they have a general interest. Users who continue to work within a narrow range of articles may find it difficult to build credibility in community discussions, although extended improvement to a specific section of Wikipedia should not disadvantage an expert opinion. As with all Wikipedia articles, users need to cite the relevant verifiably published evidence from reliable sources to support their point of view. Inevitably, some experienced editors might not agree with cited interpretations during content discussions.” why not to be well-intentioned ? if all of my edits be biased i never shouldn't have edited benefit to Pro-Hadi based on facts, but i did that not once, rather several times.
Secondly, why should't newcomers speak of Vandalism ? according to which laws ? have accused me to ignoring & removing Masdar & Al-Masirah source while he reject & denies it at here (not interesting? :D) in hint and previous reprimand by @NJA: admin he told resolve your dispute on talk page but this user rather than discussion and settling disagreements was fleeing from answering. i notice to him multiple times but he neglects!.
it was suggested what is way out form bewilderment and achieve to stable conditions consensual even was voted regulations used about editing map in similar topics and pages. I repeat again just only way to coming out of debate that's be enacted of laws and all of user follow-up of them, it seems best rules can be like so :
  1. Media which are reliable, credible and valid, no naming Unreliable and Invalid.
  2. for inserting & actions of edit on map BE USED both side of opinions & sources.
  3. per any change in map MUST be provided one WEB NEWS LINKS.
  4. references, cited components & constituent parameters & elements in web news links MUST be clear, specified & availability.
  5. forcefully avoid of bias, prejudice, hatred & grudges of Partisan, Ethnic & Factional.
and
6. A reliable source for that specific edit should be provided.
  • a) A well-known source that has a reputation for neutral (not biased) territorial control coverage, can be used (is deemed reliable) for all edits.
  • b) A well-known source that does not have a reputation for neutral (not biased) territorial control coverage, can be used (is deemed reliable) only for edits that are unfavorable to the side it prefers (favorable to the side it opposes).
  • c) A source that is not well-known (or that has proven inaccurate for all edits) cannot be used (is deemed unreliable) for any edit. This includes all maps (see item 2- next).
7. Copying from maps is strictly prohibited. Maps from mainstream media are approximate and therefore unreliable for any edit. Maps from amateur sources are below the standards of Wikipedia for any edit. They violate WP:RS and WP:CIRCULAR. WP:RS: “Anyone can create a personal web page or publish their own book, and also claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published media, such as books, patents, newsletters, personal websites, open wikis, personal or group blogs, Internet forum postings, and tweets, are largely not acceptable as sources.” Source: Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources WP:CIRCULAR: “Do not use websites that mirror Wikipedia content or publications that rely on material from Wikipedia as sources.”
8. WP:POV pushing and intentional misinterpretation of sources will not be tolerated. If you are not sure about what the source is saying (or its reliability), post it on the talk page first so that it would be discussed.
other comments from contributing editor @PutItOnAMap, YemArabSf, Khalifa trooper, SvEcHpInXID, and HCPUNXKID: can be helpful & determinative in subsequent decisions. K!lluminati (talk) 16:56, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
First, I ask Kilumnati cease to qualify those who do not think like him vandals or saboteurs . This is a personal attack and I demand punishment. For its wars of editions of removing information about advanced Yemeni government , just see his latest contributions . Enough 's enough of this pov pusher . And personal attacks , simply view comments for change , there's always a personal attack. Moreover, it is somewhat strong coffee that has come out of nowhere in December 2015 , already knows the community pages of Wikipedia and has the nerve to accuse of vandalism. So he who does not know the definition. Moreover, it is certain that behind the Kiluminati account hides an experienced account , perhaps even banned. --Panam2014 (talk) 17:19, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
K!lluminati this is a board for dealing with potential conflicts of interest, not for resolving for content disputes. You have not said why you believe Panam2014 may have a conflict of interest, nor what that outside interest is. Please define it, and please provide a dif showing why you believe there is a conflict of interest. thanks. Jytdog (talk) 17:07, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
In the beginning should be said due to accusation WP:SOCK i prefer to get under WP:SPI for clarification. In the event acquittance slanderer be punished by enforcement authorities.
One of main principles of Wikipedia it's Encyclopedia WP:5P1 that emphasis to “All articles must strive for verifiable accuracy, citing reliable, authoritative sources.” and had come in laws WP:RS: “Anyone can create a personal web page or publish their own book, and also claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published media, such as books, patents, newsletters, personal websites, open wikis, personal or group blogs, Internet forum postings, and tweets, are largely not acceptable as sources.” but Panam2014 violated it e.g. at here as regards all of fabricated maps are approximate it can be an example of WP:COI.
Or another principle of Wikipedia is neutral point of view WP:5P2 and WP:NPOV that one of subdivisions is avoid of Bias point. in brief deduced from This Law: “A common argument in a dispute about reliable sources is that one source is biased and so another source should be given preference. The bias in sources argument is one way to present a POV as neutral by excluding sources that dispute the POV as biased”. Panam2014 is a fanatic Pro-Hadi and accuse opposite comments to supporting the Houthis(Counterpoint of Pro-Hadi) to true or false. e.g. at here, here and here this is contrary to the policies of Wikipedia WP:5P2 and seems can be an instance of WP:COI. and other items that will be told if necessary. K!lluminati (talk) 00:47, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thanks, what you are describing sounds like advocacy, not conflict of interest. Please see WP:ADVOCACY. Those kinds of content disputes get resolved best at the neutral point of view noticeboard, WP:NPOVN. I am closing this, as this has nothing to do with COI. I am sorry you are stuck in such a difficult dispute, all of you. Jytdog (talk) 01:03, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Jytdog: Hello. I demand an immediate sanction against the puppet socket for general behavior on the encyclopedia. For Warring he did with @LightandDark2000:, where it distorts the meaning of Article to deny that to update the map with the advancing troops Hadi . Furthermore, I demand punishment for his personal attacks, defamation that are calling me a vandal, saboteur and fanatical pro Hadi . Panam2014 (talk) 09:04, 5 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Low-frequency internal

This user has not edited for a couple of years, but everything in their history is promting the work of a single academic, Kuo-Chen Chou, including at least three complete articles on effects purportedly named after Chou: Chou's distorted key theory for peptide drugs (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views), Chou's invariance theorem (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views), Chou's pseudo amino acid composition (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) (now a redirect).

This could really do with a knowledgeable editor reviewing with a view to cleanup. Guy (Help!) 10:51, 4 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Punjabigrooves.com

See related Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Spam#punjabigrooves.com (permlink). Spammimg across 80-odd articles. Brianhe (talk) 11:24, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Still spamming e.g. [36]Brianhe (talk) 09:00, 8 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Link search. 58 links remaining, although not all are in the article space. Elaenia (talk) 23:46, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The bio just plain needs more eyes on it from objective editors, since its content and tone appear to have been controlled, for a very long time, by the subject. The giveaway this morning is the flowery opening, but more issues may reside within. Thanks. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 13:03, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

They've started talking at their talkpage (technically at my talkpage, but I moved it to theirs). They don't seem like they're going to stop editing it anytime soon, and are demanding someone remove the COI/autobio tags.
If someone could do a full article cleanup, then they can be removed. Joseph2302 (talk) 15:06, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Though removal of the templates isn't contingent upon it, I'd like to see Ms. Mir's account banned from editing the article, and advised only to make suggestions at its talk page. Her persistent inquiries at Joseph2302's talk page indicate what's wrong with autobiographical editing, including ownership and rationalization that other artists' bios are written by their agents. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 16:06, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
That said, there's broad enough coverage to expand the article through descriptions of the artwork, but it can't be entrusted to COI accounts. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 16:24, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Russian Wikipedia trolls

This is just a heads-up. The Guardian reports the existence of "Russian Wikipedia trolls." [37] Seeing any suspicious edits to articles related to Latvia and Ukraine? John Nagle (talk) 18:47, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

This? Draft:Russian_Rebel_Army? I admit I'm not sure who benefits from this piece of blatant propaganda, but my knowledge of the area is limited. LaMona (talk) 22:26, 6 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
FYI some editors who I can't completely understand are edit warring over Trolls from Olgino and trying to build consensus on the talkpage for changes which I also can not understand. The article was pretty quiet until a few days ago. Brianhe (talk) 03:26, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Trolls from Olgino has been fully protected subsequent to ANI discussion (permlink). Brianhe (talk) 05:52, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
OK, AN/I has this one. Thanks. John Nagle (talk) 06:06, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
All right, and now all my edits are sabotaged under the guise of what I supposedly Kremlin agent. And do not care what I have experience in wikipedia for more than seven years, and I gave to a good status of 4 article. Solaire the knight (talk) 10:09, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I skimmed the original Stratfor paper cited by The Guardian. What they call "Wikipedia Trolls" (p. 62) are copy/pasting info from our articles out of context to other forums. Stratfor did not say they were altering Wikipedia, but did name the Trolls from Olgino aka Internet Research Agency as actors. Brianhe (talk) 06:41, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Oh. Good. So it's not a major problem for Wikipedia. John Nagle (talk) 21:45, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
There are plenty of Russian government-paid trolls around, as everybody who is involved in Russian-Ukrainian contentious issues knows very well. Some of them do not speak English and can only edit-war, others are more intelligent and manage to create a lot of disruption before they finally get blocked.--Ymblanter (talk) 07:34, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Global Innovation Index

The above editor has the following on their user page, "I work as manager of the GII, Global Innovation Index. My intention is to help improve and contribute to the GII and GII-related articles on Wikipedia in a neutral and accurate manner. I have taken note of the Wikipedia policies and guidelines, in particular of these relating to Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:Verifiability." and is heavily editing the article of their employer. Spacecowboy420 (talk) 09:21, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

That article has substantial problems: first, a ranking based on a complex proprietary calculation (as opposed to publicly available data) cannot be hosted on Wikipedia – see WP:CIL – so I've removed that; and secondly, there were copyright violations going back to the first version of the page. I've blanked it and listed it at WP:CP; it needs to be rewritten from scratch. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 11:22, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Cube b3

Cube b3 has two levels of conflict of interest. First is around his position as editor in chief for Dreamcast-Scene and has a blog Age-Media. This directly connects him to Redspotgames, Senile Team, NeoGeo Development Team, The GOAT Store and their products, as well as the use of Dreamcast-Scene as a source. See also User:Cube b3/sandbox/sg for a draft on a book where he (Bilal Zia) is the "external promo writer" (for those with admin tools, see the previous Dreamcast-Scene which if I recall correctly contained a de facto article for redspotgames after it's salting. (similar to the defacto article for Dreamcast-Scene currently in RedSpotGames)) See also the admission of bad faithed bypassing of salt at Talk:RedSpotGames [38].

Other more concerning side is what appears to be a clear case of undisclosed paid editing.

Treasure Data and Fluentd. Two adverts currently at afd.

Created Seller disclosure statement [39] to linkspam for KW San Antonio along with a promotional edit to Keller Williams Realty for KW San Antonio [40].

Cielo24. Promotional article with misreprented sourcing an unsource promo such as "Cielo24 has been positively received for its compliance to American Disability Act section 504 and 508"

BizBroker24. Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/BizBroker24. If User:Cube b3/ducksauce is anything to go by this was a blatant advert cobbled together from copyright violating copy pastes from various press releases.

Venom: Truth in Journalism. deleted 3 times in under ten minutes as Unambiguous advertising or promotion.

UK2 Group. Nominated at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/UK2 Group simply as "advertising" which is what is was. duffbeerforme (talk) 12:41, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Let's funnel my contributions down. I write on technology > electronics > Video games > SEGA > Dreamcast > New Games. The primary conflict is that I state on my profile I am also a writer for a Sega Dreamcast website. A website that is for and by enthusiast's and without commercials. I have created several articles such as the ones listed and they often use references from Dreamcast-Scene however they use a lot more references from other websites because I strive to write non bias articles and RedSpotGames can attest to a fair and well rounded article.--Cube b3 (talk) 18:48, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
About the deleted articles. I missed the NGDEVTEAM afd. I will create a better page for it and I discussed with the person who deleted it that I will create it in my sandbox and present it to him before posting it.

That BizBroker page was not created by me I was involved in the AfD. Venom: Truth in Journalism. This is a superhero short film by the creator of The Punisher: Dirty Laundry. Both projects have received about the same media coverage. The Venom article is extremely important towards my history as a Wikipedian because prior to Venom I did not know what a sandbox was. I would create an article on Wikipedia directly and edit it over and over until I was done with it. I was extremely agitated that my page got deleted and almost left this platform all together. It has been many years but fortunately a nurturing Admin came and had a talk with me and taught me how to use Sandbox. I didn't bother with the Venom article again because frankly I watched the film and was like it would be cool if I can create the article before anyone else. I am surprised none of the Marvel fan community has created an article for it yet.--Cube b3 (talk) 18:57, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Cube b3 actually did a LOT more spamming of KW San Antonio. Some of it was also copyright violations. A few of the many examples [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]. duffbeerforme (talk) 11:50, 8 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
A lot of my articles have been deleted in the last week. I have contacted the deleting admins for a copy of the articles. I have also asked them to review those pages when I recreate them in my sandbox with more references.

I am a committed Wikipedian, I have been on this platform for almost a decade. My biggest mistake is that I have not read the rules and I have not read a lot of other things. I do not have a good defense, what I have to say may make me look worse but it is hard to read all the policies or even the tutorials for that matter. This is how I have learned how to tag pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Cube_b3/sandbox I have done everything here by trial and error and thanks to Duffbeerforme, I have spoken to a few admins hopefully some of them will guide me in the right direction towards the future.--Cube b3 (talk) 19:17, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Brbrvanderlinden, Barbara Vanderlinden and Inti Films

Edits are autobiographical or made on behalf of associated Belgian film and art projects and colleagues. The articles created by the editor require oversight from objective contributors to address promotional and/or unsourced content. 2601:188:0:ABE6:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 15:45, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Arkady Shilkloper

editors

Article Arkady Shilkloper is being edited by user Arkady Shilkloper. Tayste (edits) 23:09, 7 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Added another article on a related musician, an editor on that with autobiog-ish username, and another editor active at both articles. – Brianhe (talk) 09:15, 8 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Looks like COI per User_talk:Glaurie#TearSolutions Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 00:24, 8 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I've PRODed the article and am in dialogue with the user. SmartSE (talk) 17:15, 8 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Feedspot

Editors who have admitted to being connected to the website are constantly reverting any criticism of the company, even when references are provided. Same editors are adding promotional content to the article. To be honest, I'm not even sure the website meets the notability requirements for inclusion, as outside of the ~3 articles referenced, there's not been any additional coverage in the years since it launched. Even the 3 references are weak, in that they're brief reviews of a newly launched website. Elaenia (talk) 02:14, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I see NextBigWhat used as a significant source. In my opinion, corroborated by an independent investigation, this is a fake reference: a "news" site that prints advertorials as facts. See my October RSN thread which unfortunately was not answered. Brianhe (talk) 03:04, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Ya, that was the reference which made me say there were ~3 outside references instead of the 4 technically used. Based on what I've found and what you've linked above, I believe the website would best be characterized as a "press release" or even spam blog. Even their contact form allows you to submit press releases and advertising inquiries. Based on the contact page and WHOIS information, it seems to be a one person running the website, so it's really more of a blog than a real news website. Elaenia (talk) 03:12, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Agarwal113 said "I'm the founder of Feedspot" [48], Anuj Agarwal. Vineet Agarwal is listed as a co-founder and officer [49], matching the name of another editor Vineetagarwal1980. Yet another Agarwal was credited by Vineetagarwal1980 as author of the NextBigWhat piece [50], although the name does not actually appear on NextBigWhat. — Brianhe (talk) 04:24, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

CupoNation

Another article on a Rocket Internet subsidiary in the online coupon business. It looks like promo or nn for various reasons: Created and expanded in the last few days by SPAs. An section called The Swedish Housing Shortage concerns a dubious connection to refugees in Europe, and provides a quarter of the sourcing. The rest of the sources discuss routine startup funding, purchase of another nn company for undisclosed sum, and a self-cited factsheet. Brianhe (talk) 02:54, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I doubt it's notable. The references used and what I've been able to find via Google don't show significant secondary source coverage. Most of the references used in the article are either press releases or "news articles" written in a clearly promotional nature which are probably undisclosed sponsored posts. Elaenia (talk) 03:24, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
If you propose deletion with that rationale, I would be happy to endorse (PROD) or !vote to delete (AfD). Brianhe (talk) 03:31, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I can't AFD ●︿● at least not easily because my account's apparently not old enough to use Twinkle... so I'd have to manually substitute templates and all that. Elaenia (talk) 03:37, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Elaenia , it's not that hard to manually Prod or nominate for AfD. I've done so for many, many articles and have never used Twinkle. It takes at most a couple of minutes more, and frankly, making the process a bit slower, can also make it bit more thoughtful. Voceditenore (talk) 12:14, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Nominated for deletion. It's too soon for this startup. Very little independent coverage in depth. John Nagle (talk) 05:56, 10 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Karma (WISP)

Additional details available on Talk:Karma (WISP), but the gist is that an employee, along with a few IPs, are whitewashing the article by removing any criticism, even when properly cited. In its place, the connected editors are inserting promotional material. If you check the page's history, you'll see a long history of attempted removals of properly cited criticism and attempts to add content of a promotional nature to the article. Elaenia (talk) 03:47, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Well, there clearly is an issue with the company employees. But, frankly there is also an issue with disgruntled customers using the article as payback. COI works both ways. The "controversy" is far too long and repetitive for the kerfuffle involved and suffers from citation overkill. The references don't indicate that this "controversy" attracted major press attention, although there are a couple of balanced tech press articles on it. The references to a list of complaints at the BBB (verging on a primary source) and a website devoted to fighting any sort of cap on internet usage are inappropriate and unnecessary. Giving it an entire "controversy" section is undue as was the implication that this is an ongoing issue, and treating the article as a consumer newsletter. I have copyedited it from Karma has been the center of controversy the past several months over changing their Neverstop plan and cutting customers data multiple times. They are being accused... to Karma became a center of controversy in January 2016 over changing their Neverstop plan and cutting customers data multiple times. They were accused... Phrases like "the past several months" are utterly meaningless and unencyclopedic. They should not have been automatically restored without copyediting. Voceditenore (talk) 12:07, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I concur. I've done a little clean up, but the controversy section should be incorporated into the services section and the use of the company website as a reference should be reduced dramatically. That said, the company really need to start listening to the advice they've been given about editing with a COI. SmartSE (talk) 13:52, 9 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

OnTheMarket

From OnTheMarket Wikipedia entry restored after 'abusive' messages published by EstateAgentToday, which runs ads for OnTheMarket (OTM)

"Like most Wikipedia entries about businesses OTM’s entry is normally a straightforward promotional description of its service; the text includes a brief history of the portal and a list of its six founding agents."

My goodness!

ViAndre6 has made a single edit to Wikipedia - the OTM article in full. Can I call him an WP:SPA? I've removed the advertising material. Smallbones(smalltalk) 02:24, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

6D Global Technologies Inc.

I may be wrong, but alarm bells always ring when an article springs fully formed from a brand new editor, complete with formatted references, verging on overkill, and an equally well-formatted infobox, complete with company logo. I have removed the promotional section "Recognition" filled with non-awards. But this article will need eyes. The company is notable, although probably not for the reasons it would like to be, as you can see from the "Lawsuit" section added by another editor. The financier Benjamin Wey is alleged to have been a major (undisclosed) stakeholder in the company, and since 10 September 2015 is under several Federal indictments for securities fraud, stock manipulation, money laundering, and his role in an alleged fraudulent scheme to profit from undisclosed, controlling ownership of this and several other companies. Needless to say, the original editor did not mention anything of that, despite enormous press coverage. To their credit, they did state that NASDAQ had suspended trading in the company in September 2015, albeit without giving the reason. Voceditenore (talk) 17:01, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Actually, the article has been written with proper guidelines as I would want to think as under different username and anonymously I have had experience writing other wikipedia articles. But as always, issues arise. It is a small company and is notable for both good and bad reasons. Thank you for adding additional section of lawsuits. I would still consider restoring its recognitions albeit in a moderate manner than earlier. Santanu.baruah.cincinnati (talk) 12:53, 11 March 2016 (Eastern Time)
Santanu.baruah.cincinnati, do you have any connection whatsoever with 6D Global Technologies Inc.? Voceditenore (talk) 17:59, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Voceditenore Yes. I have. Santanu.baruah.cincinnati (talk) 13:06, 11 March 2016 (EST)
Thank you for honesty, Santanu.baruah.cincinnati. I now strongly suggest that you refrain from editing the article directly and propose any changes on its talk page. If you created the article as part of your employment, then you need to follow the policies and guidance at Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure. Voceditenore (talk) 18:12, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Voceditenore You're welcome. OK I will adhere to the guidelines. I am not paid for the article in any way whatsoever. Thank you. Santanu.baruah.cincinnati (talk) 13:14, 11 March 2016 (EST)

Add:

User:Santanu.baruah.cincinnati do you know anything about that account and the IP address? I note you haven't disclosed your COI on the talk of the article yet, I've done part of it, and listed these other two, which I presume are your's or someone you know? Widefox; talk 01:24, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Randolph Stone

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


The user identified above is a WP:SPA for polarity therapy per contribs. Created the Stone article. Added links to polaritytherapy.org for example in this dif. COI declared via username.

I tagged the Stone article for COI and lack of independent sourcing - poor sourcing is one sign of COI editing, as well all know. Kindzmarauli has removed the COI tag from the article, and has raised questions that I have some sort of bias, here on my talk page, to which I responded here. At the same time they were leaving me a message, I had raised questions on their talk page with them, here. They have not responded there yet. Hm. Anyway, as I said, Kindzmarauli is disputing the COI analysis here, so I am posting this to get other eyes on the two articles. I do believe Kindzmarauli has some sort of advocacy issues with regard to these topics, as they do not seem to be recognizing the poor sourcing and promotional nature of the Stone article, and indeed argued to keep it in the AfD. I'm not interested in getting to a big tangle with them; just asking for more eyes on the Stone article.

I have provided notice to Polaritytherapie at their talk page of their username violation here, and notified them of the COI guideline and asked them to disclose here. They have not replied there yet.

I do want to note that I erred in working on the article before I had completed the discussion with the editor. The kind of tangle Kindzmarauli is more prone to happen if clear disclosure is not obtained first. However in this case the COI issues with Polaritytherapie were so clear to me that I leapt ahead. Should not have done that.

Anyway more eyes would be great. Jytdog (talk) 17:42, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

And your proof of COI is what? First you accused a new account creating their first article of being an SPA, now you're saying I have advocacy issues? You've violated WP:BITE, WP:AGF... where else should I go? I've repeatedly asked you to refrain from poisoning the AfD well with templates and refrain from mass content blanking at that article, yet you persist and then have the gall to post edit warring templates on my talk page? If anyone has a bias here it is you, which is evident from your insistence on blanking a full third of an article and adding COI templates (when you haven't established the COI), in an effort to sway the ongoing AfD. That's the only rational explanation for your behavior. Kindzmarauli (talk) 18:15, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I didn't accuse you of advocacy, I asked you about it. And here, I said "do believe", which is not a claim that you actually have advocacy issues. There is a difference in both. In any case you are personalizing this. I opened this to the community by posting here, and am disengaging from you. Jytdog (talk) 18:36, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Your exact words from above: I do believe Kindzmarauli has some sort of advocacy issues with regard to these topics. Kindzmarauli (talk) 18:55, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Why did you restore obvious coatrack material? QuackGuru (talk) 18:58, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
It's not coatrack material. Why are you personally attacking me by making false accusations? Kindzmarauli (talk) 21:06, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
This was also coatrack material. QuackGuru (talk) 21:08, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Sorry, repeating a lie doesn't make it the truth. Kindzmarauli (talk) 21:20, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Jytdog, it looks like there are several non-involved editors looking at it, and I've added it to my watchlist as well. Brianhe (talk) 18:48, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
From the name looks like an obvious COI; from the edits, a pro-fringe editor inserting quackery into Wikipedia (while also deleting negative stuff about "polarity therapy" elsewhere), probably for interested reasons. Just what we don't want. Doubly depressing that we have Wikipedia:Randy's enablers showing up too. Delete the crappy content, warn the crap editors and - if they re-offend - ban them. Alexbrn (talk) 19:32, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Removal of criticism of energy therapy as ineffective treatment twice. Content was referenced and was restored by other editors with updated citations. He's COI, but I can't quite grasp how, yet. Elaenia (talk) 20:39, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • Polaritytherapie has disclosed that they are an advocate for polarity therapy, here and I do believe that they have no COI. I have apologized and said what I should have said, had i waited for a response to my inquiry, here. My apologies, again. The Randolph Stone article is indeed the product of advocacy, which is distinct from COI, which is a subset of advocacy. The advocacy does show. But there is no COI here, so I am closing this case. My apologies to everybody for not waiting for a response to my inquiry. Jytdog (talk) 20:52, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Disaster recovery

External link spamming by connected users. Judging by the page's history (and other editors' explanation on the talk page here and here, it's been a long standing issue going back at least 5 years. It appears the latest IP is connected due to the interest in links, but geolocation of the involved IPs is all over the place. See historical examples here, here, here, and here. There are several more incidents in the page history, so it looks like someone has a concerted effort to include commercial links which add nothing to the article and fall under WP:ELNO. Elaenia (talk) 17:57, 12 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Talk:Disaster_recovery#Insertion_of_spam_links - current talk page discussion started, although I question the usefulness because the same issue has been brought up a few times in the article's history and several other editors have already given good reasons for not including such promotional links when neutral resources exist. Elaenia (talk) 18:22, 13 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Seems to me a case of WP:REFSPAM. Anyway, I have reverted the last edit and added the page to my watchlist. --Lemongirl942 (talk) 16:43, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Thanks. In addition to the WP:REFSPAM, there are a ton of external links being added at the bottom of the page too. Elaenia (talk) 06:47, 15 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Tile (software)

Hi! I've proposed several edits to the article for Tile, here — a few factual updates, additional citations and basic details. I have a COI and won't be editing directly, but I would really appreciate it if someone could take a look and provide feedback. Thank you! Mary Gaulke (talk) 04:01, 13 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Donald Trump

From SPI:

Diffs for blanking/NPOV promo/COI on Donald Trump (over months):

User:591J please discuss here, continuing to edit the article while under suspicion of having a COI and seemingly ignoring this seems slightly WP:OWN. Here, sourced content was removed [57] "Removed illegitimate reference and sentence regarding material not being released". Care to explain, or about the other account? Widefox; talk 01:36, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Not sure if I'm doing this correctly here. My other account I can't recall the password to. No conflict of interest, just trying to do my part as a new member on someone who didn't have a page and needed one. :( 591J (talk) 12:58, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Controversial Islamic Article-90% of page wiped out by Muslims, possible bias

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


  • See before and after , article went from 110kb to 30kb :

What it used to be like
What it was changed to by group of Muslims

  • This is a controversial Topic on Islam. I feel the decision to delete data on this topic by 3 people: user:Eperoton, User:Al-Andalusi, User:CounterTime should be looked at again. This is because I worry there maybe a conflict of interest since they are Muslim and the article is about their religion.
  • I worry because the decision to remove the data was made entirely by the above 3 people ALONE and since all 3 are Muslims there is possible bias?
  • The article had a list of 100 battles of Muhammad. They changed it so it has about 20. What happened to the other 80. Are they not relevant?
  • I want to have this decision looked at again right here. Whether so much data should have been removed with the input of the wider community this time? A controversial article like this warrants it, instead of a discussion amongst a small demographic. I feel the original discussion could only have gone 1 way. --Misconceptions2 (talk) 05:06, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

--Misconceptions2 (talk) 04:43, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Comments

There appears to be a productive discussion on the talk page regarding the content in question. Perhaps it would be better to ping the involved users and discuss the issues there instead? Based on what I've read, it seems everyone there remains level headed and willing to discuss the issue. I'm not well-versed in Islamic studies, so I hesitate to be involved because it seems to be a very specialized dispute. Elaenia (talk) 04:57, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
My concern is the discussion was amongst 3 Muslims on whether to delete data on this article. As others were not involved I feel the decision needs to be looked at again. Since the topic is a controversial Islamic topic--Misconceptions2 (talk) 04:59, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
How do you know the users in question are Muslims? Regardless, I'd suggest simply referring to others as "editors" instead of labeling them by their perceived or actual religious affiliation. To other interested editors: it appears to be related to the List of killings of Muhammad AfD and second AfD discussions, which involved er... highly passionate arguments. Elaenia (talk) 05:12, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
No this discussion is about List of expeditions ordered by Muhammad --Misconceptions2 (talk) 05:13, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes, but multiple other editors are stating that List of expeditions ordered by Muhammad is materially not so different from the article mentioned above (as AfD links) - see talk page, first line. Regardless, I'm merely point out additional information for other COIN users to follow up on. Elaenia (talk) 05:16, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
We can discuss that here? Let me ask you. What in the original article should have been deleted after so many years and WHY? This article does not use the same sources of information as the user claimed. Even if it did why was it not nominated for deletion for 2 years? If it did it would be. The claim is baseless. --Misconceptions2 (talk) 05:20, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • This is not the "did people make the right edit" noticeboard. This is the conflict of interest noticeboard. The editors may be Muslims, but to consider them to have a conflict on that basis is to stretch WP:COI beyond reasonable limits, and to hinder over a billion Muslims from performing normal editing on article related to their faith and its history... and, by extension, to prohibit normal editing from Christians on Christianity-related articles, Jews on Judaism-related articles, and so forth. These people are not being accused of being members of Mohammed's family, or financially profiting from the religion. It looks to me like a discussion was going on there recently, you did a wholesale revert, then put in a nine word response to something on the talk page and before even seeing if anyone objected to that reversion, came to this noticeboard. I suggest going to the Talk page, having a discussion with the other editors, and trying to find consensus. --Nat Gertler (talk) 05:36, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
I just replied today. I was not in a discussion --Misconceptions2 (talk) 05:38, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
@NatGertler: It is certainly the case that Christians as well as Muslims and Jews (and indeed atheists) have attempted to push their PoV on Wikipedia.
I think it a little unfair to characterise this user's request for more eyes as "prohibiting normal editing" for Muslims.
All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 09:27, 14 March 2016 (UTC).Reply[reply]
  • Muslims have declined many article. It is not fair. So I do not agree with it. Why delete the information?--Sajithgayashan (talk) 05:55, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
  • Sajithgayashan is a new account who just so happened to stumble upon the article and COIN thread right when the issue started. Given previous organized off-site canvassing suspicions on the two AfD threads linked above and Misconceptions2's history of supposed sock puppetry/meat puppetry, it seems prudent to bring this up. My guess is there's again some organized forum or discussion place where the canvassing is occurring. CU is unlikely to return anything. Elaenia (talk) 06:11, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
This will turn into an edit war if people think everyone against these changes are me. So stop pushing that idea please. --Misconceptions2 (talk) 06:15, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
"I just replied today. I was not in a discussion" - The point is you need to be in the discussion. It looks to me like the only one here pushing an idea is you. Go talk with the other editors on the article talk page. LadyofShalott 06:21, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Ok i am sorry. It's my fault. Should of discussed in talk page instead of this page. I tought I was right but I was wrong.--Misconceptions2 (talk) 06:23, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Misconceptions2: is it OK if I close this case now? Brianhe (talk) 13:04, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Yes please close--Misconceptions2 (talk) 13:38, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Discussion moved

Discussion has been moved here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_expeditions_of_Muhammad#Controversial_Islamic_Article-90.25_of_page_wiped_out_by_Muslims.2C_possible_bias I have already invited a few people who have edited the article before to comment. So I would recommend there not be an edit war please.--Misconceptions2 (talk) 06:24, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

RationalWiki

On February 17, 2016, I began working on Draft:Sorcha Faal (which is far from complete) with the assistance of two longtime experienced editors (ref: Draft talk:Sorcha Faal) as I’m basically new to this entire process.

During my research I discovered that a previous article on this subject had been created here with it being nominated for deletion July 26, 2012 and resulting in no consensus reached on August 18, 2012. Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sorcha Faal

On April 3, 2013, this article again was nominated for deletion by David Gerard resulting in it being deleted on April 10, 2013. Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sorcha Faal (2nd nomination)

In reviewing editor Gerard, I then discovered that he was a trustee of the Rational Media Foundation [1] that hosts RationalWiki, which is a wiki that treats its subject matter in degrading, offensive and demeaning ways they call snarky point of view (SPOV), and which after the Sorcha Faal article had been deleted from Wikipedia, he was instrumental in creating and editing [2] in creating one[3] for RationalWiki.

In further researching Gerard’s Wikipedia to RationalWiki editing practices, I then discovered he had, likewise, done so too with David Icke and Alec Jones [4][5] for RationalWiki.

With an apparent bias, and conflict of interest, being evidenced by editor Gerard towards anti-war, anti-government conspiracy type writers, whose articles here reflect a neutral point of view here, I then queried him, on March 10th, at both Talk:RationalWiki (section: Bias of this sites editor?) and his user talk page.

Gerard’s initial March 10th response to my Talk:RationalWiki query refered me back to a reply he wrote at Draft talk:Sorcha Faal (section: Deletion review: Request to unban Sorcha Faal article), but which he started with u wot m8 that refers to You Wot Mate used in arguments or before a fight which is spoke in a quick aggressive manner.

On March 12th, at 20:05, Jytdog created a new section on my User talk:Picomtn titled Your question stating that he saw my query at Gerard’s talk page: I saw your question here, and if you like I would be happy to try to answer it. Let me know here, just below, and I will reply here.

On March 13th, at 11:55, I replied to Jytdog from User talk:Picomtn explaining all of my concerns and giving to this editor, too, a substantial background.

On March 13th, at 17:32, Gerard deleted the section from his talk page where I had queried him, and to this very second has yet to adequately and/or substantially respond to the concerns I’ve raised.

However, while Gerard has gone silent, Jytdog, whom I believed was actually going to help me, instead launched into a series of personal and offensive attacks against me, the last being on March 14th, at 09:32, when after I informed him that I was bringing this issue here to be (hopefully) resolved, stated: You don't know what you are doing and now you even want to go to a drama board.. Its just foolish, and by now it is about your ego.

I am far from being an expert in such things, but is it possible that editors Gerard and Jytdog are the same entity? Or, are they associated in such a way that they work with each other? Am I wrong in questioning the strange disappearance of one, and then the other one suddenly appearing to attack me?

In clarification too, I freely admit how new I am to this entire process, while at the same time knowing that the two excellent editors who have been guiding me have proved the validity of many things here—including this process I’m now embarking on.

And in summation, this request is being submitted here due to my belief that a conflict of interest currently exists with editor Gerard (and possibly Jytdog) who has a close personal and/or business connection with articles and article topics he edits on both Wikipedia and RationalWiki. Respectfully submitted, and Thanks for listening.Picomtn (talk) 11:12, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

References


FWIW, I'm not Jytdog, and I'm baffled that conspiracy is the go-to hypothesis here. I wasn't a trustee of RMF in 2013 at the time of the deletion of Sorcha Faal, which was deleted for being a BLP with nothing in the way of RSes (and the current draft still has this problem). Even though I am now (as of 2014), there is no meaningful COI in editing another wiki and writing about Sorcha Faal here, there or elsewhere. (Picomtn also claimed that writing at RW and writing at Wikipedia constituted a COI as it was a "competitor wiki".) The actual objection here appears to be that I am not a Sorcha Faal fan; however, it isn't required to be an advocate of a subject to write about it on Wikipedia, however advocates might feel about that. I answered Picomtn at length at Draft_talk:Sorcha_Faal#Deletion_review:_Request_to_unban_Sorcha_Faal_article with how to actually get the article recreated (bring the BLP-quality RSes), but it doesn't seem to have been accepted as the actual answer - David Gerard (talk) 11:31, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Respectfully David Gerard, Your stating that the actual objection here appears to be that I am not a Sorcha Faal fan is neither rooted in fact nor intention, and which merely by your saying that it is doesn’t make it true, particularly when not evidenced by facts. You being baffled that conspiracy is the go-to hypothesis is, likewise, not rooted in fact as what I’ve posited is a logical assumption (though not necessarily true) based upon the observed facts. (e.g. smoke rises over the hill, assumption is that a fire is burning, but could be something else.) By the very definition of the word competitor (an organism that lives in competition with another), Wikipedia and RationalWiki do, in fact, compete—the first striving for NPV of subject matter, the second existing in ridicule. Also, this COI submission has nothing whatsoever to do with the Draft:Sorcha Faal article and by your implying that it does constitutes your use of a red herring. Thank you. Picomtn (talk) 12:03, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Also, and again respectfully David Gerard, your statement that I wasn't a trustee of RMF in 2013 at the time of the deletion of Sorcha Faal can be described as disingenuous (not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does), if not an outright falsehood, as the facts prove that in 2010 you were one of the editors for the RationalWiki main history page [1], which for a site that describes itself as April 2007 The history of RationalWiki is shrouded in mystery at this point.[2] most certainly demands a more complete investigation. Thanks Picomtn (talk) 12:20, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Please note, and respectfully too David Gerard, your statement that there is no meaningful COI in editing another wiki is not supported by the facts outlined in Wikipedia:Plain and simple conflict of interest guide that says: Be transparent about your conflict of interest. Do not edit articles about yourself, your family or friends, your organization, your clients, or your competitors. With RationalWiki being your organization, you did, in fact, edit it without disclosing your COI ((21:53, 27 April 2013‎ David Gerard (talk | contribs) [1]‎)—not to mention the citied Wikipedia articles you edit and nominate for deletion, while at the same time editing them on your RationalWiki site. Thanks. Picomtn (talk) 12:40, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

  • As I told Picomtn on their Talk page, this is a very sad and unfortunately classic example of a new user personalizing a content dispute, in violation of about every behavioral policy and guideline we have. The content issue, is that David nominated-for-deletion Picmtn's first article, here. Instead of learning from that, Picmtn decided something must be wrong and went hunting. Picmtn actually posted this on the Talk page of their draft replacement article (kind of wierd), but then the same day posted this, with the header "Bias of this sites editor" on the Talk page of RationalWiki. It does not get more out of line than that. And now this filing, which at least is in an appropriate venue. But no less wrong-headed.
I will note this past COIN case, filed by a similarly upset and confused new editor. That is all I way say on this, as my efforts to dissuade Picomtn have already failed, and they intend to persist in going down the very wrong road on which they have embarked - namely personalizing a content dispute and blaming others instead of learning and moving on.
I will not close this, but I recommend that someone else does. Jytdog (talk) 17:07, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
@Picomtn: I don't see a substantive basis for a claim of either COI or socking here. Recommend you drop this as suggested by jytdog and pursue editing harmony on the relevant talkpage(s). If I'm wrong, please make a brief statement using diffs and specific connections to COI guidelines, as described at the top of the page. Brianhe (talk) 17:15, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi @Brianhe: Succinctly stated here, by me, are the facts provable by the aforementioned evidence and links:

  • At the top of this page it states: A conflict of interest may occur when an editor has a close personal or business connections with article topics.

Your suggestion of editing harmony is not possible due to the personal attacks/threats made against me by both David Gerard and Jytdog, both of whom, when this query was first made, and as the cited evidence proves, clearly shows their combined effort to intimidate me without offering substantive corrections and/or advice. Thank you. Picomtn (talk) 17:55, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I very much would like to teach you how this place works but you need to start from scratch. My offer still stands, even though you have gone yet further down the wrong road. Your prior posts about David and this filing are a wrong-headed attempt to "right the wrong" that you perceive with regard to the AfD nomination. This is transparent to everyone except you. You are unteachable as long as you persist in this. I believe people can pivot and choose a new path, which is why I keep offering it to you. Jytdog (talk) 18:06, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi Jytdog Your statement that I am in violation of about every behavioral policy and guideline we have is not supported any evidence you’ve provided to substantiate your claim. Also, I did not, nor does any evidence prove, that I decided something must be wrong and go hunting. In fact, the evidence proves that in my research I found a glaring COI and then notified the editor about it, to which he did not respond with facts supporting his/her position and, instead, engaged, along with you, in an intimidation onslaught against me. You are correct that in my query I titled the section "Bias of this sites editor"—but in your mentioning that here you failed to correctly cite this sections actual title that I wrote as being "Bias of this sites editor?"—and by your leaving out that question mark here you have attempted to change my original intent of questioning to one of accusation. (Shame on you.) Picomtn (talk) 18:10, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

It is not a "glaring COI". David edited the content of the RationalWiki one time, and that was an anti-promotional edit (he basically did the same thing to an attempt to create a new article, as he did to yours - but he was even harsher on the RationalWiki article) and it was 3 years ago. Your posting is entirely vindictive and has nothing to do with improving Wikipedia, and everything to do with your misguided perception of injustice. And I am done talking with you. If you come to me asking for actual help I will be glad to help you, otherwise I will not be responding to you further. Jytdog (talk) 18:18, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi @Jytdog: Your accusation that my actions and/or motivations are a "wrong-headed attempt to right the wrong that you perceive with regard to the AfD nomination" is neither supported by fact or any evidence, with it being, instead, another red herring. The true facts (and as the voluminous record at Draft:Sorcha Faal and Draft talk:Sorcha Faal proves) that I, in point of fact:

  • Solicited various editors at the Wikipedia:Teahouse to assist me with this project. (As WP suggests all new editors do.)
  • The first editor who agreed to assist me provided the template to create this article February 16th. (As WP suggests more experienced do to help those of us new to this process.)
  • With the assistance of another editor, from February 16th to March 10th we combined our efforts to help this article meet all of the required guidelines. (As WP guidelines advise to do before creating a final article.)
  • During this same period, I queried at least 4 other editors to assist with this project, with only one replying that they were unable to help. (As WP guidelines advise new editors to do, especially with complicated/controversial subjects.)
  • In seeking to find more competent editors to assist with this project, on March 10th, I began the deletion review process, and with a knowing that as soon as this ban was lifted the article would have no shortage of editors viewing it and (hopefully) improving it. (Following exactly the WP guidelines for doing so.)

These are called facts, nothing more, nothing less. For your accusation to be true I would have, from day one, not done any of these things and would have immediately done what you claim I’m doing. (And again, shame on you.) Picomtn (talk) 18:38, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi @Jytdog: The definition of glaring is, highly obvious or conspicuous, which this COI issue is—and the number of times this rule has been broken is not relevant, once is enough. And I still find it interesting that you and Gerard are working in tandem, hope someone more experienced here can figure out why. Picomtn (talk) 19:00, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

  • Actually, the number is quite relevant, particularly when the number in this case appears to be zero. You've not shown he had any conflict on the edits he made, nor shown why the edits were problematic. Writing about something somewhere besides Wikipedia does not make one's writing on Wikipedia automatically COI. Later becoming involved with an organization does not make one's earlier edits retroactively COI. Repeating the same accusations are not going to make them any more true. --Nat Gertler (talk) 19:09, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Are the personal attacks on Talk:RationalWiki glaring enough (for someone else) to redact? - David Gerard (talk) 19:38, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi @NatGertler: In your making the statement you've not shown he had any conflict on the edits he made, nor shown why the edits were problematic your are missing the central issue—which is so critical that, this past October, Wikipedia and Wikimedia filed a lawsuit about it as they were being specifically targeted by the NSA for surveillance.[1] Let me explain.

The specific targeting being done by the NSA against Wikipedia (and others) was detailed by Glen Greenwald using the secret documents provided to him by Edward Snowden that described the dirty trick tactics used by GCHQ’s previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in utilizing extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction against their targets.[2]

Last year too, the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF)[3] gave an intensive two-day series of presentations (which I attended) outlining these NSA dirty trick tactics against Wikipedia (and others) and how to spot them, specifically in identifying NSA sockpuppets (an online identity used for purposes of deception).

The specific targets the EEF noted for attack were almost all writers whose articles opposed the US government, war, etc., including Glen Beck, Alex Jones, David Icke and, yes, even the anonymous writer Draft:Sorcha Faal—who, you should note, is apparently so feared that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used 10 of this writers reports in compiling their document of right-wing terrorism.[4]

Now as I’ve outlined here (and the other references to this submission I’ve included too) and in having the EFF’s knowledge of what to look for in spotting NSA tactics used by their sockpuppets against their targets, it took only about two weeks for me to discover the questionable/suspicious use of Wikipedia by David Gerard, that include:

His successful nomination for deletion of the Sorcha Faal article on Wikipedia, then editing on RationalWiki: Sorcha Faal is the alleged author of an ongoing series of "reports" published at WhatDoesItMean.com, whose work is of such quality that even other conspiracy nutters don't think much of it. [5][6]

His editing on RationalWiki of David Icke: Wikipedia: David Icke is an English writer, public speaker and former professional footballer and sports broadcaster. He promotes conspiracy theories about global politics and has written extensively about them. RationalWiki David Icke is a human singularity of insanity best known for his reptoid conspiracy theory. [7][8]

His editing on RationalWiki of Alex Jones: Wikipedia: Alex Jones is an American conspiracy theorist, radio show host, documentary filmmaker, and writer. RationalWiki: Alex Jones is a far right radio personality who never met a conspiracy theory he didn't like.[9][10]

His editing on RationalWiki of Glen Beck: Wikipedia: Glenn Lee Beck is an American television personality and radio host, conservative political commentator, author, television network producer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. RationalWiki: Glenn Beck, former rodeo clown and Fox News clown, is an American right-wing "commentator" and a high school graduate who got lucky. [11][12]

Though none of this proves that Gerard (or his cohort Jytdog ) are NSA sockpuppets, operating on Wikipedia for the express purpose of destroying the reputation of their targets, the prima facie (first encounter or at first sight) evidence does deserve to be more closely examined by someone here with much greater experience, and expertise, than myself.

After all, if Wikipedia and Wikimedia believed this issue to so critical that they filed a lawsuit against the NSA, shouldn’t it be important to all of us too? By the way, their lawsuit was thrown out of court by the judge who said Wikipedia isn't widely read enough. [13]

I hope this has made you understand my concerns. Thanks. Picomtn (talk) 07:41, 15 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Libby Schaaf

User has been repeatedly inserting material about Libby Schaaf (current mayor of Oakland) sourced to mayor's or city's own website, which other editors have repeatedly reverted due to WP:RS and WP:UNDUE concerns, as well as in some cases WP:COPYVIO. User was three weeks ago blocked for sock-puppeting (hence the second listed account), apparently to avoid WP:3RR sanctions, and four days ago received a 72 hour block for 3RR. User has now returned reinserting the exact same edits as before. Under their appeal of the sock block, user stated that they "work at the mayor's office". The only engagement that user has appeared to have made on the talk page is an IP request for permission to edit the page while it was in semi-protected mode; they've not engaged in a thread there that was started about their edits. They have perviously been notified on their talk page about both COI concerns and the need to engage on the Talk page. User is a pure WP:SPA, and seems WP:NOTHERE. An extended block seems appropriate, and given the user's history of sockpuppetry, the article could probably use semi-protection as well. Nat Gertler (talk) 16:50, 14 March 2016 (UTC)Reply[reply]

  • Since Mezzi10 simply waited for the 72-hour block to expire and then immediately resumed edit warring, I have blocked them indefinitely. Hopefully that will at least bring them to the table. I have no objection to an unblock if and when they start to respond and show some willingness to enter into dialogue. I haven't semi'd the article preemptively, but please let me know if you notice it's needed. Bishonen | talk 17:45, 14 March 2016 (UTC).Reply[reply]