Revision as of 02:51, 17 November 2005

• ]

Request for arbitration is the last step of dispute resolution. Before requesting arbitration, please review other avenues you should take. If you do not follow any of these routes, it is highly likely that your request will be rejected. If all other steps have failed, and you see no reasonable chance that the matter can be resolved in another manner, you may request that it be decided by the Arbitration Committee.

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Currently, there are no requests for arbitration.

No cases have recently been closed (view all closed cases).

Currently, no requests for clarification or amendment are open.

The procedure for accepting requests is described in the Arbitration policy. If you are going to make a request here, you must be brief and cite supporting diffs. New requests to the top, please. You are required to place a notice on the user talk page of each person you lodge a complaint against.

0/0/0/0 corresponds to Arb Com member votes to accept/ reject/ recuse/ other.

This is not a page for discussion, and Arbitrators may summarily remove or refactor discussion without comment.

• Arbitration policy
• Administrator enforcement requested (shortcut WP:RFAr/AER)
• Developer help needed
• Arbitration template
• Misplaced Pages:Arbitration policy/Precedents

How to list cases

Under the below Current requests section:

• Click "";
• Copy the full formatting template (text will be visible in edit mode), ommitting the lines which say "BEGIN" and "END TEMPLATE";
• Paste template text where it says "ADD CASE BELOW";
• Follow instructions on comments (indented), and fill out the form;
• Remove the template comments (indented).

Note: Please do not remove or alter the hidden template

Current requests

Ted Wilkes, Wyss, and Onefortyone

Involved parties

I request a merge to the previous case on Onefortyone seeking an addendum stating that Wyss and Ted Wilkes lay off 141. In my personal opinion they have been harassing him, and I've seen them go out of their way to revert him. Redwolf24 (talk) 02:51, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

Well, this very step has been tried by Ted Wilkes it seems. He has tried to RfAr Fred Bauder over this all. I would like to get a wiki-restraining order between Onefortyone and the two others. Redwolf24 (talk) 02:51, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by party 1

 (Please limit your statement to 500 words)

Statement by party 2

 (Please limit your statement to 500 words)

Statement by party 3

 (Please limit your statement to 500 words)

Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (0/0/0/0)

EffK, formerly known as Famekeeper

Involved parties

• Robert McClenon, complaining party (party 1)

• EffK, defendant
• Famekeeper, defendant

This editor has been engaging in an extended effort to use Misplaced Pages to present a theory of Roman Catholic Church complicity in and active support of Adolf Hitler. This effort has involved personal attacks on other editors, accusations of bad faith (including that other editors are acting as agents of the Vatican), and using article talk pages as a soapbox.

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

This will be done within 24 hours.

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

A user conduct Request for Comments was posted in July 2005. The link has been deleted from the user conduct RfC page, but the RfC itself is available at Misplaced Pages:Requests for comment/Famekeeper. The RfC summarizes the previous steps that were taken prior to posting the RfC.

Statement by party 1

The RfC contains a summary of the conduct in question.

Also see the following diff of a frivolous request by the editor in question to ban another editor: http://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Wikipedia_talk:Requests_for_arbitration&diff=27989592&oldid=27748413

Statement by party 2

Concurrent to this RfA I posted my sole disputant for the year , User:Str1977, and to Robert Mcclenon ( talk ) .

McClenon does not understand the sources of my bulk contributions and WP corrections , McC thinks or pretends that I represent a vandalous attacker upon the church, when I bring only published source .

I have never wanted to give an email to WP , and so cookie-loss means I changed name variations.

As to Str1977 , pages Reichskonkordat, Weimar Republic and Centre Party Germany for today 17 November 2005 , will show that Str1977 , after a year long edit-war , has accepted the gist of my sources and NPOV . I believe that WP has finally enabled me to correct the Str1977 ,and , after irksome discourse (filibustering to McClenon) I have repaired serious fault in WP .

Str1977 by present allowance of my edits which he consistently removed (in provacative manner) over 12 months , the same day that Mcclenon starts this RfA , proves the RfA a form of ad hominem ,illustrating the WP faith problem better than my supposed crime .

This is McClenon's second case against me (RfC) & I signed , a day late an RfC against him as lying bully . I take no pleasure here , nor enjoy intellectual provocation and denial of source by means solely of the two user's interpretation .

I believe this RfA is last ditch attempt to remove the accusations made by the world at large , from Wkipedia , following from my demands that the opposition ( my good friend nevertheless , Str1977 ]] put up or shut up . The new allowance of my edits to remain within the above articles , is the result.

My blocker has always been Str1977, who hopefully has stopped the denials . I was suggested by Jimbo to leave , I did for 2 months, WP deteriorated as I proved and I came back because three users , one Str1977 started posting "FK research" , my location by country , and shared accusatory condemnation of me in WP, calling me a paranoid schizophrenic conspiracy theorist with writing disability .

All these users should be admonished .

This thorniest historical issue is defended here by actual 'denialism , something reflected in greater cyberspace . I openly claimed recently there is not one political error I have made so far . I unknowing concurrently of this RfA seek an apology from McClenon and congratulate Str1977 on final good sense in accepting my NPOV . Links may follow. EffK 01:37, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

.

Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (0/0/0/0)

Fred Bauder

Involved parties

• Ted Wilkes ("party 1")
• Fred Bauder ("party 2")

Summary

• Fred Bauder said on his Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2005/Candidate statements:
• "I am one of the original arbitrators appointed by Jimbo and have participated in most of the cases that have been decided." At Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2005/Candidate statements/Fred Bauder it was noted by User: Snowspinner and acknowledged by Fred Bauder that he "write the lion's share of the proposals for the arbcom at present." Further, Fred Bauder is active on other parts of the Internet and at this website], he asserted: "I am a regular editor on Misplaced Pages and kind of part of its establishment."

Misplaced Pages's Arbitration Committee was created under the authorization of Jimmy Wales and not only is Fred Bauder's conduct in carrying out his duties with the Arbitration Committee extremely important, it is powerful position that influences policy and sets precedents. His actions can profoundly affect not only the conduct and attitudes of Misplaced Pages contributors to, but Misplaced Pages's credibility through the impression and attitude of non-participants from the media, scholastic institutes, or other interested parties from the public at large. As such, persons serving on the Arbitration Committee must be subjected to a higher level of review. While I do not believe we should ever demand anyone reveal their background as a condition of serving on the Arbitration Committee, but in a case where someone presents professional credentials for appointment or election to the Arbitration Committee, then their past professional conduct from the public record is of extreme importance in determining their suitability to hold office. Anybody can edit at Misplaced Pages, but to be given the power to sit in judgment of the actions and ideas of others and effect policy, requires the utmost of integrity. It is perfectly normal and quite proper for the other members of the Arbitration Committee to acquiesce to the opinions of someone calling themselves a retired lawyer and, by his own admission (above), to date Fred Bauder has written the lion's share of the proposals for the arbcom.

Since October 31, 2002, Fred Bauder has asserted on his User page that he is a "retired lawyer." Mr. Bauder's Talk pages reveal that a number of Wikipedians have consulted him in his capacity as a "lawyer" or as a "retired lawyer." Fred Bauder is in fact not a retired lawyer, he is forbidden to practice law by the Colorado Supreme Court. As seen here in the Supreme Court record, Fred Bauder was disbarred in 1997 and has never been reinstated. In 1999, the Supreme Court affirmed his disbarment and that court order remains in full force and effect as a result of his failure to comply with Colorado law. The Court document states that Fred Bauder was disbarred in accordance with the American Bar Association regulations because he intentionally or knowingly violated the terms of a prior disciplinary order and such violation causes injury or potential injury to a client, the public, the legal system, or the profession. The case record states he was found guilty of extremely serious charges including complete disdain for the justice system. Among the things the Supreme Court ordered so as to protect the public from conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice was the findings that:

• that Fred Bauder knowingly disobeyed an order of this court in violation of Colo. RPC 3.4(c);
• that Fred Bauder knowingly disobeyed an order of the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado;
• that Fred Bauder was engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice;
• that Fred Bauder failed to cooperate in a disciplinary investigation;
• that Fred Bauder ignored the disciplinary proceedings;
• that Fred Bauder has failed to meet the Court's requirement that he demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is again fit to practice law;

On 22:12, November 13, 2005, for the benefit of clarification, I asked Fred Bauder here on his Arbitration Committee Candidate question and answer page the following:

• When Jimmy Wales asked if you would be interested in serving on the Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee did you advise him that you were under disbarment by the Colorado Supreme Court?

Exactly as he did with the Supreme Court of Colorado, Fred Bauder showed complete disdain for an essential part of the Arbitration Committee candidate assessment process and ignored this request for information. By withholding vital information about his claim to professional credentials, Fred Bauder deliberately misled Wikipedians and jeopardized Misplaced Pages's crucial efforts to fulfill Mr. Wales attempt to make Misplaced Pages credible and reliable.

Mr. Bauder is prohibited by a Supreme Court order from practicing law in the State of Colorado but has done so from his Colorado based computer, admitting to practicing law here saying, "I will try from time to time to contribute regarding matters which I am able to with respect to questions raised as I did in the question of the Pablo Picasso copyrights."

When the Supreme Court of Colorado declares that Mr. Bauder is unfit to practice law and that his conduct is injurious to the safety of the public, then he has no place sitting in judgment of others on the Arbitration Committee. On July 14, 1997, the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado grievance committee publicly censured Fred Bauder "for soliciting for prostitution during a phone call with the wife of a dissolution of marriage client." - See People v. Bauder , 941 P.2d 282, 283 (Colo. 1997). Mr. Bauder editing at Misplaced Pages is one thing because his views can be reversed, but serving on the powerful Arbitration Committee is quite another. With someone who believes it is acceptable to hire women to work in prostitution, how many female contributors coming to Misplaced Pages would be comfortable being judged by that person in arbitration on any of a wide range of women's issues such as morality, human rights and other extremely important topics? And corollary to that, how many people reading those articles would ever accept them as being credible?

At User talk:Fred Bauder/Archive 5#Sorry, Fred, User:Jguk brought up the disbarment issue and asked Fred Bauder to step aside as an Arbitrator. Mr. Bauder replied:

• I don't agree as the underlying matter is payment of costs not something that relates to honesty. Fred Bauder 12:19, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

Unfortunately, because "shooting the messenger" happens so often at Misplaced Pages, when User:Jguk voiced his legitimate objections about the propriety of Fred Bauder serving on the Arbitration Committee, Jguk was ganged up on by a small group and attacked for his bringing up the subject. Fred Bauder's reply was a fabrication as in fact the miniscule amount of money at issue vis-à-vis the loss of a twenty-year career and a public censure, was for adjudicated costs after Fred Bauder refused to obey an order to appear before a disciplinary hearing and was found guilty by the Colorado Supreme Court grievance committee and publicly censured for his dishonest conduct in violating the laws and rules of the Supreme Court of Colorado:

Fred Bauder refused to obey an order to appear for a hearing into charges of an extremely serious violation of misconduct and the suspension of his right to practise law was temporarily set at a standard thirty days pending a sentencing following the full hearings. However, the interim suspension becomes permanent by court order as a way to protect the public until Fred Bauder obeys the order and appears before the court where the facts and evidence against him will be disclosed in their entirety. At that hearing the Court order states he then must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is again fit to practice law pursuant to which lifetime disbarment or other fixed term of suspension is then permanently set. By not showing up for his disciplinary hearing, Mr. Bauder avoided disclosure and an examination of all the facts surrounding his illegal actions. As such, we do not know why he was willing to forfeit his career and accept a public censure and who and what it was that Fred Bauder did not want revealed.

The idea that any man would attempt to convince a woman to work in prostitution is abominable, but for a lawyer entrusted with information from a client during divorce proceedings (protected from all others via lawyer/client privledge) that includes their income and financial situation, to then solicit the client's wife for prostitution is one of the most egregious violations imaginable. Utilizing a client's confidential information and then communicating with the opposing party to the case to work in illegal activity is an offense that most always ends in lifetime disbarment. Now, at Misplaced Pages, Fred Bauder, while in the position of a judge, again exercised conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice by violating the most fundamental principle for the judicial process applied by all the democratically recognized courts of the U.S., Canada, all member states of the EU and others plus the United Nations International Court of Justice at The Hague. No person at Misplaced Pages knows better this most sacred universal principle than someone trained in the law.

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

• I have notied Fred Bauder here.

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

• Fred Bauder has refused to answer a question at Arbitration Committee Candidate question and answer page. Attempts to have him rectify his misconduct in dealing with others and with the complainant in this matter as seen here, have been ignored and was followed by surreptitious actions in order to skirt the issue.

Statement by Ted Wilkes

Fred Bauder was convicted by the Supreme Court of Colorado of an extremely serious breach of professional conduct and disbarred. Fred Bauder misled Misplaced Pages as to his status as a lawyer and after being appointed as a founding member of the Arbitration Committee, lied about the circumstances when confronted with the fact of his disbarment. Fred Bauder's integrity issues for which the Supreme Court of Colorado found him guilty, have surfaced in his actions as a member of the Misplaced Pages Arbitration Committee. The quality of the work in the case I brought before the Committee, and his actions and assertions since, are consistent with the Supreme Court of Colorado grievance committee reasons for his disbarment.

During the hearing on my complaint as to the conduct of Onefortyone/Anon 80.141 et al, here at Misplaced Pages:Requests for arbitration/Onefortyone/Workshop#Sources cited by Onefortyone, certain of Fred Bauders actions were improper. Before the Arbitration case was closed, Fred Bauder advised the defendant that: We assume you are a good editor who sometimes goes too far. In addition, pursuant to the Arbitration Committee's ruling, Fred Bauder began acting as an adviser to defendant Onefortyone. Following my notice to Onefortyone that I considered his continued actions were improper and I was preparing a refererral to the Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee for a violation of his probation, Fred Bauder interfered with the process in defense of Onefortyone and used threats and intimidation against myself and another party who also opposed the continued actions and disruptive tactics of Onefortyone.

There is a pattern of misconduct by Fred Bauder at Misplaced Pages that is consistent with the type of disregard for rules and propriety for which he was disbarred by the Supreme Court of Colorado. While I have not done a detailed search, a cursory review shows that Paul Beardsell complained about such conduct at User talk:Fred Bauder/Archive 6#Tkorrovi vs Psb777 saying to Mr. Bauder: "Surely you find it strange that an allegation is made and before a response can be tabled you are already saying you agree with the complainant!"

Evidence of misconduct at Misplaced Pages by Fred Bauder

During the hearing on my complaint as to the conduct of Onefortyone/Anon 80.141 et al, here at Misplaced Pages:Requests for arbitration/Onefortyone/Workshop#Sources cited by Onefortyone concerning Misplaced Pages:Reliable sources usage in articles on Nick Adams, Natalie Wood, Elvis Presley, James Dean etc. that were deliberately interlinked by Onefortyone/Anon 80.141 et al, Mr. Bauder inserted the following opinion:

• Sources are surprisingly good - Fred Bauder 14:09, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

This assertion was careless and without foundation of any kind. It was replied to here

Following the Arbitration Hearings, User:Onefortyone began his established tactic of repeatedly inserting into the articles the same unacceptable information and variants which the Arbitration Committee had ruled against. Despite being reverted by me and other users, Onefortyone and his Anon 80.141 continued his disruptive tactics to which I notified him on 18:28, 6 November 2005 (UTC) here that his actions were improper and I was preparing a refererral to the Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee for a violation of his probation.

Following this notice, User:Onefortyone began discussions with Fred Bauder on his talk page, complaining about Ted Wilkes reverting his edits and falsely accused Wilkes of making personal attacks against him and others. Following these discussions, Fred Bauder interfered with the process and acted as an advocate on behalf of User:Onefortyone/Anon 80.141, accusing Wilkes here 16:17, 8 November 2005 of going too far and then makes the unfounded and unresearched declaration on behalf of User:Onefortyone that " the link to the Crime Magazine article was good." This was then followed up here on 14:09, 12 November 2005 with Mr. Bauder abusing his position as a member of the Arbitration Committee and declares: "I think his complaints are justified. If he took you to arbitration over this I would vote to accept the case." Fred Bauder also issued this same threat here to User:Wyss who had also reverted some of Onefortyone's improper edits.

In response to the actions and threat to me from Fred Bauder I advised him here on 15:14, November 12, 2005 that:

• "I think it important to point out that your rendering of an opinion of a central issue under Arbitration and giving advice here to User:Onefortyone during the previous Arbitration Committee hearing was a highly questionable action that breached the Arbitration process and usurped the authority of the remaining Committee members. Continuing in the same vein of giving advice now places you in a conflict of interest that I think violates the neutrality that is fundamental to the credibility of the Arbitration Committee. With all due respect, I believe the message you left on my Talk page and at User Talk:Wyss that came to the conclusion, based on an "impression," that "If he took you to arbitration over this I would vote to accept the case" is improper and could well be adjudged as intimidation. "

Fred Bauder responded here, on 15:21, 12 November 2005:

• "Referring someone to Misplaced Pages:Association of Members' Advocates looks good on paper. I recognize the problems which exist with reference to my advising Onefortyone, however he is a Misplaced Pages editor in good standing and is entitled to have the decision respected. Under the circumstances it is quite proper for him to complain to an arbitrator. " Fred Bauder 15:21, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Fred Bauder's derision of members of Misplaced Pages's Association of Advocates is unacceptable and his admission that he knows there is a problem with an Arbitration Committee member advising defendant Onefortyone is intolerable. As such, I advised him as follows on 15:41, November 12, 2005 :

• "In response to your reply on my Talk page to the above, I would have to say that given the seriousness of the issue with respect to the absolute integrity of the Arbitration process and that you admit to the problems which exist by advising Onefortyone, in any further process involving the same issues with me or anyone else versus User:Onefortyone I would be making a formal request that you recuse yourself. Thank you. " - Ted Wilkes 15:41, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

The response by Fred Bauder to this on Revision as of 15:47, 12 November 2005 was a further obfuscation and distortion, done deliberately by someone trained in the law. It states:

• "Codes of judicial conduct prohibit ex parte communications with litigants. Communications here, in the open, on talk pages, are not ex parte communications as they are open to everyone's view, including yours."

I replied as follows here on 15:55, November 12, 2005 with this:

• "The issue is that a member of the Arbitration Committee should not be rendering a judgment on his own advice. That fundamental is inviolable. Thank you." - Ted Wilkes 15:55, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Mr. Bauder has stated that he favors openness, but following these exchanges he in fact practiced the opposite. Behind the scenes, Mr. Bauder orchestrated the creation of the Misplaced Pages:Mentorship Committee and without asking, instructed three people to monitor Onefortyone as seen Revision as of 04:43, November 13, 2005 that:

• "we didn't ask for 141 to be assigned us- we assigned ourselves Jarlaxle and Marmot, but we were busy organizing things. It was Fred Bauer (a member of ArbCom, I believe) who told us to monitor 141 mere hours after the page first went up. I think this unilateral, unsought action of his justifies my description."

Again behind the scenes, the third person Fred Bauder told to monitor Onefortyone was User:FCYTravis who instead of monitoring, took up the defense of Onefortyone and began reinserting the edits of Onefortyone as he deemed them to be appropriate while following the directions here of Fred Bauder.

A committee of Fred Bauder's legal peers and the Supreme Court of Colorado declared that he is not fit to practice law. He deliberately misled Wikipedians into believing that he simply retired from the practice of law when in fact he is forbidden to do so. Someone who has been publicly condemned by the Supreme Court grievance committee for countenancing women to engage in prostitution work is abhorrent and frightening to women. When that same person is given the powerful position as a member of the Arbitration Committee and then leaves an intimidating message on a female contributor's talk page, is dangerous and unacceptable for an organization such as Misplaced Pages. No Wikipedian should be placed in a position where their conduct is judged by Fred Bauder and his history and actions severely tarnishes Misplaced Pages's reputation.

Statement by Fred Bauder

You are the third person to dig up this dirt. I can understand your feeling that, using it, you can deal a knockout blow. However, from my perspective, as I never engaged in the original behavior I was charged with (the charge being trumped up), and was being asked to pay for transportation and lodging for a witness that testified regarding behavior I never engaged in, I feel innocent and put upon rather then either guilty or contrite.

That said, my personal situation does give me time to do work for Misplaced Pages, a very worthwhile project. All in all, I think it worked out well enough. Fred Bauder 21:59, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (0/5/0/0)

1. Reject. This isn't even close to a matter for the arbcom to handle. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 20:38, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
2. Reject. As per Mindspillage, addressing this is not within the Arbitration Committee's mandate. Jayjg 20:59, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
3. Reject as outside our mandate. Kelly Martin (talk) 21:10, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
4. Reject, Appeal of an arbitration case is to User:Jimmy Wales Fred Bauder 21:43, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
5. Reject ➥the Epopt 23:01, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Tmayes1999

Involved parties

• Tmayes1999

and

• Christopher Thomas
• Fastfission
• DV8 2XL

Brief summary

User:Tmayes1999 repeatedly places content at A-bomb, despite consensus that it be merged/redirected to nuclear weapon and nuclear weapon design.

Confirmation of awareness of request

Notices were placed on the following pages:

• Talk:A-bomb -
• Talk:Nuclear weapon -
• User talk:Tmayes1999 -
• User talk:Fastfission -
• User talk:DV8 2XL -
• As I'm the one filing the RFArb, I can be assumed to be aware of it without a note on my user page.

Previous attempts at dispute resolution

Extensive discussion has been held on the following pages. In all cases, the consensus was that any new content in A-bomb should be merged into Nuclear weapon and/or Nuclear weapon design, with A-bomb itself being a redirect to one of these pages.

• Talk:A-bomb
• Talk:Nuclear weapon
• Misplaced Pages:Pages needing attention/Physics

Additional attempts to explain to Tmayes1999 what the rationale for the merge/redirect was were made on:

• User talk:Tmayes1999

Additional correspondence has occurred via email. If users choose to quote it, it can be put in their statements.

Statement by Christopher Thomas

I became aware of A-bomb when it appeared on Misplaced Pages:Pages needing attention/Physics as a page needing cleanup. At that point, it had been merged/redirected to nuclear weapon at least twice. After surveying the associated conversation threads on Talk:A-bomb and Talk:Nuclear weapon, I concluded that it did indeed appear to be duplicate material, and reverted to the most recent redirect page. Since then, it has been repeatedly restored by Tmayes1999 and reverted by other users.

Fastfission, DV8 2XL, and others have tried to explain to Tmayes1999 that a duplication of material from Nuclear weapon and Nuclear weapon design really isn't a good idea, that he should expand those two articles if he feels they aren't sufficiently thorough, and have requested that he improve his fact-checking, spelling, and grammar both in A-bomb and in his changes to Nuclear weapon and Nuclear weapon design. I've stayed out of this.

I received Misplaced Pages-relayed email on 15 Nov. 2005 from Tmayes1999 accusing me of malicious vandalism. I attempted to explain relevant Misplaced Pages policies regarding duplication of content. While he hasn't called me names since then, comments on User talk:Tmayes1999 indicate that other users have been called similar things by him. --Christopher Thomas 04:33, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

• Point of clarification: I've started an RFC, as suggested by Theresa Knott, but I have strong doubts that it will accomplish much. It may give formal approval to getting an admin to lock A-bomb in redirect form, but Tmayes1999 has already spent much effort attempting to modify ] in ways that other editors have not considered appropriate, indicating that his disputed editing activities are not limited to the A-bomb article. The reason that I went straight to RFArb is that I do not think that Tmayes1999 will accept instructions to change his ways unless they have the ArbCom's backing. Several editors, including myself, have repeatedly tried to point him at the relevant policies and explain matters already (per talk page cites above). This does not appear to have had any substantial impact. --Christopher Thomas 21:31, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Tmayes1999

(Please limit your statement to 500 words) The other partys in this dispute have been wrongly deleting and redirecting an article, I wrote in wickipedia called A-Bomb. I want this article restored as a stand alone article in wickipedia. I seek to enforce my right to have my own A-bomb article , which is separate from the nuclear weapons article, and the nuclear weapon design articles in wickipedia.

That is all I want. That it is alll I seek here. I want the other parties to this dispute to leave my A-bomb article in wickipedia alone. The other partys in this dispute have no right to insist that their nuclear weapons articles be the only wickipedia articles about nuclear weapons. They have no right to act like malicous vandals by deleting, and redirecting my A-bomb article. If I were to delete and redirect their nuclear weapons article,again , and again in order to insist that my A-bomb article be the only one in wickepedia , and their articles be deleted, and redirected in favor of my A-bomb article : I would be doing them a wrong. I demand that the wrong doing of the other partys in this dispute against me me ,and against my A-bomb article be ended. Tmayes1999

Statement by Fastfission

The user has a somewhat fundamental misunderstanding about how Misplaced Pages works, both socially and technically (so far, this is the best example of both issues). I began with the assumption that with a patient explanation and polite assistance the user would eventually come around and be able to channel his obvious enthusiasm into producing good content. However this does not seem to have been the case, and the user has not provided any indications of change in a positive direction or willingness to address the criticisms by others.

I second the factual account given by User:Christopher Thomas above. Though I'll admit it is a bit condescending to say, I feel a bit sorry for the editor in question because they are clearly in some way very confused, and they clearly have enthusiasm about the topic but are unable at this point to express it in a productive manner, for reasons unknown to me.

Statement by DV8 2XL

In Talk:Nuclear weapon User:Bluemoose asked why A-bomb had a separate article, this is when I first became involved with this issue. I stated there that as A-bomb was poorly written, full of factual errors and redundant that it should be but up for AfD and that it was my intention to do so if there was some support from other editors. The conclusion, after several exchanges, and an attempt to clean it up, was that the article should be redirected, and so it was. Detailed reasons were given to User:Tmayes1999 who failed to responded with rational counterarguments but instead only kept asserting that he wanted the A-bomb article restored. His final communication to us was as follows:

I want my A-bomb article restored and left alone by the people who have been trying to delete it or redirect it. THAT IS ALL THAT ASK FOR . THESE PEOPLE WERE IN THE WRONG TO TAMPER WITH MY A-BOMB ARTICLE. i AM VERY ANGRY ABOUT THIS MATTER. FROM ARBRITATION : i WANT JUSTICE. I WANT THIS GREAT WRONG CORRECTED. TMAYES1999 (sic)

• DV8 2XL 05:35, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (0/4/0/0)

1. Reject for now. Start a rfc on this. if the community agrees it's better to have A bomb as a redirect to nuclear weapon then do it and get an admin to protect the page. You don't need us to sort this one out. Theresa Knott ] 07:08, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
2. Reject per Theresa. Kelly Martin (talk) 12:06, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
3. Reject ➥the Epopt 18:25, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
4. Reject. Jayjg 20:08, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Nobs01 and others acting in concert

Involved parties

Nobs01 Rangerdude Cognition Herschelkrustofsky Sam_Spade

These editors, in various combinations and in various ways, have recently particpated in an editing war involving Misplaced Pages entries under my real name Chip Berlet, and the name of my employer Political Research Associates, both on the text pages and the discussion pages. I have been involved in editing disputes with all of these editors. The current editing war at Chip Berlet and Political Research Associates gives the appearance of using text entries in Misplaced Pages and discussion pages to bully another editor (me - Cberlet) in retaliation for editing disputes. A policy regarding such situations needs to be articulated, and if appropriate, the participants named above held accountable.--Cberlet 21:01, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

• Nobs01 - User_talk:Nobs01#Arbitration_filed_naming_you

• Rangerdude - User_talk:Rangerdude#Arbitration_filed_naming_you

• Cognition - User_talk:Cognition#Arbitration_filed_naming_you

• Herschelkrustofsky - User_talk:Herschelkrustofsky#Arbitration_filed_naming_you

• Sam_Spade - User_talk:Sam_Spade#Arbitration_filed_naming_you

• Cberlet - User_talk:Cberlet#Arbitration

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

At various times I have been in mediation or participated in requests for comments with most of these editors. I am currently in a stalled mediation with Nobs01 and a dormant mediation with Sam_Spade. Herschelkrustofsky is the subject of an arbitration sanction that involved LaRouche entires in which I participated. --Cberlet 21:01, 15 November 2005 (UTC) Also sought mediation with Rangerdude and Nobs01 --Cberlet 14:14, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Cberlet

This case involves establishing the boundaries of proper editing and discussion behavior on Misplaced Pages when a Wiki editor is also the subject of a Wiki entry under their real name and identity. The editors named in this arbitration vary greatly in terms of their behavior, with Nobs01 having the most problematic edit history. Some other editors named have simply participated on the discussion page. All have been involved in editing conflicts with me as a Wiki editor, and then been involved in editing or discussing the entries on me and my employer.

At the heart of the case is a complicated set of questions. If individual Wiki editors are discouraged from editing entries on themselves, what policies might be appropriate to advise Wiki editors who have been in editing disputes with an editor for whom there is an entry? What are the proper boundaries when digging up negative and derogatory information about a fellow Wiki editor with whom one has had a dispute? Is there not a built in bias? Shouldn’t there be some ground rules?

Since Wiki relies on published materials, does a person attacked on Wiki need to “publish” a response to every criticism posted on some marginal website or published in some highly POV print publication? How can persons with entries on Wiki defend themselves against the posting of false, malicious, and potentially defamatory text?--Cberlet 22:12, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Nobs01, Cognition, Rangerdude Herschelkrustofsky work as team regarding LaRouche and Chip Berlet -follow links after "user in question" who is Cberlet.

Nobs01 proclaims that after his superior edits I "crapped my pants" .

Cognition uploads distorted image to entry on Chip Berlet after inserting POV into Chip Berlet

After editorial content disputes with me, Herschelkrustofsky visits Chip Berlet to add negative material .--Cberlet 14:37, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Herschelkrustofsky, also suggests I am a government agent: "One of these editors briefly enjoyed, back in the 1980s, the status of being a cut-out for intelligence circles who were deployed against LaRouche; he has subsequently gone into well-deserved obscurity, and is now using Misplaced Pages as an attempt to relive his glory days." .

After editorial content disputes with Sam_Spade and Sam_Spade telling me "I suggest you chill the fuck out" I seek mediation Sam_Spade visits Chip Berlet to add negative material --Cberlet 14:14, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

After editorial content disputes with me, Rangerdude visits Chip Berlet to add negative material --Cberlet 14:31, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Rangerdude

Insofar as it involves me, this request for arbitration is completely frivolous. This is a case of an editor, User:Cberlet, who believes he personally owns and/or controls the content of Chip Berlet, an article about himself in real life. In doing so he commits a violation of WP:OWN. Berlet also frequently self-cites his own material, such as in this edit to the Ludwig von Mises Institute where he adds a link to a highly partisan Southern Poverty Law Center opinion piece he authored as if it were a factual source.

As this case relates to the other editors he named, most if not all appear to have drawn Mr. Berlet's wrath by editing either his article in a way that is critical or differing with his strongly exhibited POV's on other articles. While each of these editor disputes should be analyzed individually, there is certainly no "acting in concert" between any of them and myself against Mr. Berlet. All communications I have made with any of the other editors is public on wikipedia article and user talk pages, and in the few instances I have done so with these editors, the topic was something other than Mr. Berlet. Thus, as far as I can tell, Mr. Berlet's real grievance with me is entirely drawn from the fact that he doesn't like the content I added to an article he claims as "his" own, no matter how sourced and valid that content may be.

I have participated in edits on the Chip Berlet article in the past where I made counterbalancing NPOV additions. At the time I made these additions, the article was generally positive about Mr. Berlet and largely lifted from his own self-bio on his website at Political Research Associates. Mr. Berlet is a vocal political figure who writes with a strong leftist editorial POV. To counterbalance this bias, I added sourced and documented criticism of Berlet by conservative columnist David Horowitz to the article as WP:NPOV dictates. In seeking to comply with NPOV I also added several quotes and links to Berlet's responses to Horowitz so as to ensure his side of their dispute was aired as well. Mr. Berlet immediately reacted in hostility to this addition in a talk page post he titled "Help! Giant Blob of Horowitz hit my page" (emphasis added), which called for expunging the Horowitz criticism from the text and substituting a link to Horowitz's articles on the bottom of the page. This case is one of many where Mr. Berlet has referred to the Chip Berlet article as "my page" and has tried to control its content, violating WP:OWN

Berlet made similar attempts to exercise ownership over his organization's article, Political Research Associates. In a post that alleged bias against PRA, Berlet stated "We have discussed this problem at PRA, and we feel this situation needs to be addressed". In my response to this I suggested it was generally inappropriate for PRA to attempt to exercise control over an article about itself and suggested Mr. Berlet should "add to the article—not to subtract from it" if he felt that it was imbalanced against him. Mr. Berlet then responded in a post that contained hostile venom-laced attacks on persons who had criticized him and their supporters:

• "So far we have had this page taken over by...fans of a small uber-libertarian think tank the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
• "The critics of PRA quoted include...David Horowitz, who acts as the carnival geek of the ultraconservative political right."

This same post by Berlet alsol alleged that Lyndon LaRouche activists had taken over the article, yet when I looked into this allegation I was unable to find any LaRouche edits in the article's history at least since last year if at all.

Back on Chip Berlet a dispute over the size of Horowitz material followed and the page was temporarily protected until a version of the text was agreed upon. This agreement was reached between August 9th and 14th and a neutral admin removed protection.

From that time until the present I have kept the Chip Berlet article on my watchlist. When another content dispute involving other editors emerged earlier this week around November 12th or 13th, I read through the dispute and made a grand total of four talk page contributions. Two of these proposed compromises aimed at resolving the dispute and the other two urged editors whose tempers were flaring up to assume good faith . This arbitration request by Mr. Berlet stems from the November 12th-present dispute and now alleges some sort of vast conspiracy between myself and other editors to subvert articles that he appears to think he owns since they are about him. As can be plainly seen in the edit diffs indicating my involvement in this latest dispute, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, one of the editors who is generally supportive of Mr. Berlet - SlimVirgin - even agreed with one of the suggestions I made as a possible compromise.

In light of the above, I urge the Arbcom to reject and dismiss Cberlet's request, at least as it pertains to me, as frivolous. Should the Arbcom decide to investigate it further, I would urge them to examine the WP:OWN issue as it pertains to Mr. Berlet's behavior on articles pertaining to him in real life. Rangerdude 21:57, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Snowspinner

I would hope that the arbcom would take this case, as it touches on a major issue we face on Misplaced Pages, which is the treatment of expert contributors. Cberlet summarizes the situation accurately - because of his opposition to several groups - most notably our friends in the LaRouche movement - he is a target for harassment and defamation. On the one hand, as we've learned in countless cases (John Byrne, the Bogdanovs), we have to be careful about letting editors dictate the content of articles about themselves. On the other, it would be a far graver mistake to allow expert contributors to be driven off through campaigns of harassment by their political enemies. Phil Sandifer

One issue that I think this case makes clear is that editing to bolster the representation of one POV is not itself a violation of NPOV - yes, Cberlet's edits unquestionably reflect his POV. But even in the example of the edits Sam cites to Political Research Associates, the edits seem to me to be good NPOV edits. In one case, after wholly rewriting the article, CBerlet also adds an NPOV tag to it, showing, to my mind, extraordinary concern for the policy. But the edits cited - removing inaccuracies, trimming quotes that just slander, but don't support any of the claims made in the article - these are good things to do. They do not magically become bad things based on the editor who does them. Phil Sandifer 16:49, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Gamaliel

While it's important to resist the wishes of public and semi-public figures who wish to eliminate criticism of themselves, this goes beyond that and into the realm of grudges and personal attacks. Insertions of tangental and irrelevant references to Berlet in a number of articles and screens of references to "body counts" add up to a POV pusher with a grudge against this user. Gamaliel 22:34, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Sam Spade

Here is a brief summary of Cberlet's history of aggression towards myself.

The charges Cberlet brings are of course absurd, and in my regards likely consist of nothing more than a recent thank you note from nobs on my talk page, and questions I asked here. I have no idea who User:Cognition is, for example, and have had only fleeting contact w the other named parties. It would be interesting if Cberlet or my other accusers provided evidence for their claims.

I had, however, been considering bringing a case against Cberlet for his neverending POV pushing (have a glance at his contributions sometime), but I am uncertain he is so bad as to require banning.

I will examine my evidence, and his recent contributions, with what little time I have to spare during midterms, and will comment regarding a counter-suit at another juncture.

Sam Spade 23:26, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Case against Cberlet

Cberlet is the clearest example of POV pushing I know of on the wikipedia. I intend to make this as clear as possible.

Premises:

• User:Cberlet is Chip Berlet
• Chip Berlet is notable enough for a wikipedia article
  • Chip Berlet is an a opinionated journalist
  • We know what Chip Berlet's POV is (roughly)
• Cberlet makes edits of the same POV as he expresses in his profession, sometimes even citing his POV.
• Cberlet's POV is not often notable

Examples:

• Cberlet cites himself

• Cberlet expresses his POV on his articles talk page

• Opinionated edits regarding his employer, Political Research Associates
  • , ,

While the wikipedia has many professors (or other sorts of experts on various matters) who are also editors, they are not allowed to cite themselves, by name, in the article namespace; nor express their POV therein. If someone else cites them due to their notability, that is of course allowed. They should not however become interfered in such matters.

Sam Spade 00:30, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

(Please limit your statement to 500 words)

Statement by SlimVirgin

I hope the committee will accept Cberlet's case. Chip Berlet (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) was created in May 2004 by an IP address within a range known to have been used by the LaRouche accounts (Herschelkrustofsky et al), who used the page as a platform for LaRouche criticism of Chip until the second LaRouche arbcom case in January 2005. In July, Rangerdude fell out with Cberlet on other pages, opened an RfC against him on July 25, and then started editing Chip Berlet on July 28 (the first time he'd edited it), inserting criticism, which raised a potential legal problem of negative material being inserted with malice. (I'm currently having to defend myself, in the arbcom case against Rangerdude, against charges that I violated NPOV and AGF when I tried to stop him. ) Now Nobs01, who often edits with Rangerdude, is inserting that Chip was closely associated with "defender of terrorism," and has made comments that look like threats, implying that if we don't retain the material, he'll insert even worse, which again raises the issue of malice. "If you want to spend weeks discussing the Weather Underground, Philip Agee ... fine. In the end, you may wish the namespace only included 'an apologist and defender for terrorists and terrorism'," "The two deaths from terrorists incidents can be included to give context, if necessary," and "Mr. Berlet knows efforts to suppress documentation often lead to more documentation being presented." SlimVirgin 01:52, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

In fairness to Rangerdude, he has made a helpful suggestion for compromise between Nobs01 and the other editors, and hasn't backed Nobs up this time. SlimVirgin 02:10, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Herschelkrustofsky

Since February of this year, I have made no edits to Chip Berlet and a grand total of three edits to Talk:Chip Berlet: this one, where I caution other editors about the use of weasel terms; this one, where I answer a question by Willmcw about Berlet's employment at High Times magazine, and this one(with a four word follow-up question to SlimVirgin here,) regarding the use of an advertising-style promotional photo in the article.

Consequently, I have reason to wonder what motivated Cberlet to include me in his request for arbitration. I also find it odd that Cberlet wishes to represent such a heterogenous grouping of editors as "acting in concert." Berlet cites two messages on my talk page from Nobs01, while omitting my response on Nobs' page; to put the matter in context, I have reconstituted the entire exchange here.

As regards his case more generally, I agree with Rangerdude that this falls under WP:OWN. Misplaced Pages policy protects User:Cberlet from personal attacks, but provides little protection to Chip Berlet, the public figure (an irony to be appreciated by those of us who witnessed Cberlet repeatedly bite newcomer Zirkon in discussions over the article Fair comment.) Chip Berlet is without a doubt a public figure, although if he were as prominent in his field as Snowspinner, SlimVirgin and Willmcw insist, I should think he would have no need to spend hours each day promoting himself via Misplaced Pages. User:Daniel Brandt, in his own abrasive way, attempted to argue that he should "own" the article Daniel Brandt, and met with little sympathy. Of course, Cberlet should not need to edit the article Chip Berlet, because he has SlimVirgin and Willmcw as proxies to do it for him.

In the second LaRouche arbitration case, a unanimously adopted finding of fact was that "A strong point of view expressed elsewhere on a subject does not necessarily mean POV-pushing editing on Misplaced Pages; that can only be determined by the edits to Misplaced Pages." If this was intended to be a gentle warning to Chip Berlet/Cberlet, it has fallen on deaf ears. In the event that the ArbCom agrees to hear this case, I will pursue a counterclaim against Cberlet for:

• POV pushing
• Original research (much of the self-quoting that Cberlet has introduced into Misplaced Pages has never been published outside of his website)
• Exploitation of Misplaced Pages for commercial purposes
• Incessant violations of Wikiquette, including personal attacks (Sam Spade has already referenced some doozies.)

--HK 07:39, 16 November 2005 (UTC)]

Statement by third party Flcelloguy

As mentioned above, a mediation was requested between Cberlet and Nobs01 by Cberlet on September 27 and began shortly thereafter. As a member of the Mediation Committee, I was assigned to the case, which involved several articles relating to the VENONA project. Mediation has been ongoing ever since and was only suspended today by myself because of this Arbitration case. I only bring up the mediation because it is mentioned by the plaintiff above, and also because the mediation involves the plaintiff and one of the defendants (Nobs01). The matters that we discussed at mediation only related to the VENONA project article; thus, the issues are at best tangentially related to the issues brought up in this Arbitration case. However, it is clear that Cberlet and Nobs01 stand on different sides of the river and that both are in dispute with each other more than just at the articles that mediation covered.

The mediation is on Misplaced Pages and is available at Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_mediation/Cberlet_and_Nobs01 and its corresponding subpages. I will be more than happy to detail the mediation more clearly or to clarify any questions that Arbitrators may have regarding this mediation on request.

Thanks very much. Flcelloguy (A note?) 20:36, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by Nobs01

I believe there is a long trail of User:Cberlet editing in bad faith and other applicable policy violations. This is primarily a content dispute, which Cberlet has made little or no effort to use proper citations or methods, insisting upon his priveleged POV as an "expert". His opening statements here, "acting in concert", "most problematic, or "as team regarding LaRouche", are provably false, and may be another policy violation of abuse of process. The same is provable regarding his Mediation request. If necessary, the other users named here should be separated from User:Cberlet's conspiracy theory about "digging up dirt".

Let me also add, I have always acted in a manner that separates Mr. Chip Berlet, aka User:Cberlet, acting in the capacity of a fellow Wikipedian, from the Chip Berlet Wiki article.

However this case proceeds, before it concludes, we shall document that Mr. Chip Berlet and Political Research Associates, was singled out by an authority widely recognized as the "foremost analyst of left and right wing extremism" in America, as one of four of the most extremist organizations purporting to be a "Watchdog group". This may be helpful to Misplaced Pages, given the overreliance on Mr. Berlet as an inhouse "expert", which may have created NPOV distortions in several articles. nobs 00:19, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

Grand total of 3 edits lifetime were content was added to Chip Berlet, ; 20 edits total lifetime since 13:23 3 August 2005 as follows: 4 rv; 11 fmt, notes, cites, or further reading; 1 wikify; 1 img. Given the above claim "Wiki editor is also the subject of a Wiki entry... Nobs01 having the most problematic" please mark as Exhibit 1 of abuse of process nobs 02:15, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (3/0/0/0)

• Accept ➥the Epopt 23:43, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
• Accept Fred Bauder 02:30, 16 November 2005 (UTC) Based on Nobs01's edits to Talk:Chip Berlet
• Accept Jayjg 19:59, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

HeadleyDown, JPLogan, others

Article

Neuro-linguistic programming (Talk)

Involved parties

Users concerned (Note: new suspected sock-puppets get added regularly)

• HeadleyDown (talk | contribs)
• JPLogan (talk | contribs)
• DaveRight (talk | contribs), also apparently edited as D.Right (talk | contribs)
• Bookmain (talk | contribs)

Additional suspected sock-puppets:

• AMaulden (talk | contribs)
• AliceDeGrey (talk | contribs)
• HansAntel (talk | contribs)
• JaseC (talk | contribs)

(Not all of these accounts are causing problems to an equal degree as others, partially since some have been here longer than others. Roughly the above list is in order from most actual damage to date, to least. It is not known which of the above are bona-fide editors and which are just less active sock-puppets or cronies, since although not all have been disruptive, each of the above has engaged in at least some of the common styles of behavior described)

Brief summary of case

The neuro-linguistic programming ("NLP") article has been damaged by aggressive POV warrioring, vandalism, and flagrant ongoing breach of Misplaced Pages policies from multiple accounts over the last 3 months, including multiple breach of 3RR, POV aggression on other pages related to NLP, reams of rants on the talk page, attribution of false credentials to sources, deletion of the ArbCom vote motion, deletion of other users comments, and regular avoidance of courteous talk page requests in favor of deletion and further POV-addition.

There is strong suspicion that most of the users involved in this are sock-puppets or cronies. All eight of them seem (from their contributions list) to have arrived on Misplaced Pages in the same limited period, immediately homed in on the same NLP article, write with similar style wording and agenda, edit at a similar time of day, and none (with a minor exception) has worked on any article except NLP and its related articles to any significant degree since. This was underlined today by the near-simultaneous arrival yesterday following discussion of research and usage, of not one but two previously unknown Misplaced Pages users AMaulden and JaseC, in an identical manner, who immediately began the likewise identical behavior in likewise almost identical style.

Despite being warned several times that referral to ArbCom would be needed, requests to desist by multiple users, and mediation, this has continued and got worse. A vote by other editors including example DIFFs was held, and received a 7-0 vote in support of a view that mediation was fruitless and to seek arbitration.

The matter is slightly complicated because we are not completely sure which of the named users, or indeed other editors on the article and talk page, are sock puppets or cronies. We think most if not all of the named ones are. We don't wish to lose information held by genuine editors (if any) or exclude genuine views (however extreme), however HeadleyDown at least is a confirmed vandal, almost certain sock-puppeteer, and POV warrior, and appears incapable of handling even sourced cited research that contradicts his views, and several/most of the named users are almost equally problematic and likely sock puppets for him or others.

So what we would like to ask is that:

1. HeadleyDown, possibly JPLogan, plus the other named users (including newly arriving sock puppets or similar) who appear not to be making a bona-fide positive contribution to the article and fail to act in accordance with wiki policies and standards, to be permanently prevented from editing on the subject of NLP or its articles, and
2. If any of the other named users are bona fide editors who have acted disruptively, that they are limited to an appropriately sized and WP policy-compliant criticism section on NLP-related articles, with a one-revert limit (and permission for a short term ban and ArbCom re-referral as deterrents if repeated).

Our aim in asking this is to strike a balance: we don't wish to lose valuable input from other genuine views, or the positive contribution of genuine editors in the above list (if any), but also neither do we want the articles degraded by disruptive ones.

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

All parties have been notified, both by general notice on the article's talk page DIFF and individually: HeadleyDown DIFF, JPLogan DIFF, DaveRight DIFF, D.Right DIFF, Bookmain DIFF, AliceDeGrey DIFF, AMaulden DIFF, JaseC DIFF, HansAntel DIFF

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

The article and its editors have run the gamut of reasonable discussion.

The Neuro-linguistic programming article has been through discussion, dispute, and 5 weeks of mediation. The degree of POV warring has been extreme. I asked for mediation a second time specifically with HedleyDown (Oct 30) and specifically to discuss and gain mutual agreement about NPOV and how it applies to this article. However his actions in the few days following made it highly unlikely this would be fruitful. A formal talk page vote was finally held (Nov. 3) and editors agreed 7-0 that mediation should be deemed unlikely to be fruitful and the matter passed to ArbCom for a ruling. This is because the core issues are not about individual section edits, but about virulent POV aggression and policy breach which is not being addressed, has not been addressed in the several weeks since a mediator was appointed, continues unchanged and unabated, shows no sign of change, and is causing significant friction and deterrence to otherwise neutral editors who are becoming unwilling to edit the article against such hostility and name-calling.

The users concerned have been told in polite terms, direct terms, directed to wikipedia policy, and had wikipedia policy summarized for them by multiple users, despite lack of civility, who have usually been dismissed or had personal remarks for doing so. In the meantime they continue between them to engage in aggressive POV warring on the talk page, the article and elsewhere, inappropriate editing, deletion of cited sourced material, and personal attacks/remarks.

Multiple warnings that an ArbCom referral vote would be held were given, with repeated requests by multiple users to cease policy breaches and other actions so as not to have to take that step.

Subsequent to the article's ArbCom vote, HeadleyDown increased his breaches of wiki policy, including deletion of the Arbcom vote and users posts, in the last 24 hours two new users (AMaulden and JaseC) - most likely sock puppets - have been added to the article, and users posts have been deleted.

Although mediation technically has not ended, it has been 3 months since this all started, 10 days since the above vote on the talk page, and 5 weeks since mediation began, and nothing's changed of any significance. It's still (to cite FuelWagon) "some of the most biased editing I've read... If you're a POV warrior using Misplaced Pages to advocate against something, you need to find a different encyclopedia to edit." , and the suspected sock-puppets etc keep coming.

Statement by FT2 (on behalf of complainants)

The Neuro-linguistic programming article, which has for the most part been well run in a civil manner in the past, has been disrupted principally by users HeadleyDown, JPLogan, but also with POV degradation, personal attacks and/or remarks by others such as User:DaveRight, Bookmain and AliceDeGrey. There is now strong suspicion that most if not all of the named users may be sock puppets, due to similarities in their editing and histories. Having run the gamut of reasonable discussion, other contributors to the page in question voted to request arbitration.

None of the users named have made any any significant contribution to any topic other than this one topic and other NLP-related articles (with the exception of DaveRight on Neurofeedback and Speed reading). In some instances they have continued their POV approach on NLP to the detriment of other pages too. In essense, they have acted as POV warriors with a single viewpoint who have proven unable or uninterested in the wiki approach or policies, and have little interest in anything beyond their own view. (eg, see: Psychopablum created by JPLogan). Fundamentally they do not seem to show the slightest ability or care for collaborating in a wiki manner. Indeed their idea of collaboration is insults and ignoring or dismissal of issues, often with personal attacks and remarks. Since apparently joining Misplaced Pages at similar times (HeadleyDown Aug 2005, JPLogan and AliceDeGrey Sept 2005, DaveRight Oct 2005, etc), all have done virtually no other editing except POV degradation on the NLP article and/or negative talk page comments to its existing editors.

Accordingly it is the majority sense of those presenting this request that an appropriate ban from Misplaced Pages NLP editing is appropriate, and this is what is requested.

Examples of POV warring (DIFF examples of each given in the ArbCom vote on the article talk page)

• POV suppression
• Repeated deletion of sourced material or cited fact about the subject by reputable authors, often followed by addition of more POV material.
• Personal attacks
• Ignoring of requests to discuss edits
• Citation of fraudulent credentials of renown ascribed to an author to back up a slanted source (a web opinion presented as scientific "research")
• Falsely representing the opinion of professional bodies or ignoring their actual opinions as stated on their own website (which had been pointed out multiple times).
• Defamatory personal attack (eg, JPLogan's NLP talk page comment "I'm sure someone will find a citation for it... Wanna make some money out of NLP?" in response to deletion of personal view added to article by editor)

These and other examples can be found as DIFFs in the Arbitration vote.

Arbitration vote and DIFF citations at

Talk:Neuro-linguistic_programming#Arbitration.

Other action before Arbitration vote

• Prior to the vote, a formal request was posted to the mediator's talk page for an opinion whether he felt the mediation process was able to resolve the issue.
• I and others also warned HeadleyDown and others on multiple occasions that co-editors' patience was running out, and that he needed to respect NPOV policy, as numerous other editors had also stated. I told him explicitly on three occasions that his present type of conduct would be unacceptable on Misplaced Pages, and would ultimately lead to an Arbitration Committee referral to prevent him editing the article. His reply was initially to agree to renewed mediation, but almost immediately to revert to personal remarks and increased POV attack.

Votes for referral (with support for statement that mediation is unlikely to be fruitful)

1. FT2
2. Comaze
3. Lee1
4. FuelWagon
5. GregA (originally posted as User:203.217.56.137)
6. User:PatrickMerlevede
7. User:Justin Anderson (also posting as 211.27.105.9)

In addition one other user has indicated strong support but not voted due to short time of editing:

• Faxx: "If the history of this discussion has demonstrated anything, it's the pointlessness of trying to engage Headleydown and his ridiculous sock-puppets in a constructive dialogue. lets just get to arbitration a.s.a.p .... FT2 has already moved for arbitration not long ago. There were votes although I did not participate due to not really participating in the editing. I've just been reading the endlesly recycling discussion. Nothing will get done this way. HeadleyDown obviously has nothing better to do with his time than pursue his crusade." and

Users voting against arbitration

• None, other than comments by the users concerned.

Mediator's comments

1. Following the Arbcom vote, the mediator commented that he felt it was neither efficient nor necessary.
2. Two days later the mediator added: "Note: to Headley et al, just because I am mediating here does not mean that I have the final say...."

Example events since arbitration vote

Despite the semblence of continuing mediation,

• HeadleyDown deleted the Arbcom vote post, in "revenge" for his reply being moved (unchanged) to the marked comments section below.
• HeadleyDown deleted two of Justin Anderson's comments from the Talk page.
• The 3RR has also been broken on at least two separate occasions preventing balancing material being added, or slanted writing being corrected. (example: 15:02 Nov 7 16:38 Nov 7 17:51 Nov 7 01:10 Nov 8)
• Multiple personal remarks and attacks
• The article has had further core factual material removed
• Related articles to NLP have also begun being degraded; when it was noted that some specialised material was being moved to side-articles, HeadleyDown's response was: "Hi FT2. Presently the NLP modelling page is full of hype and exagerated claims. I wonder why you didn't notice:) That will change soon enough. Regards HeadleyDown"
• Talk page posts explaining and discussing edits, with the intent of promoting mutual collaboration, continue to be bluntly ignored. (eg: )
• The definitions of the subject, cited from its founders' websites and standard texts, was deleted complete with citations, by JPLogan.
• An attempt to balance an apparent misrepresentation of an author was followed by ignoring the request to discuss on talk page, and deletion of the balancing quote and addition of more POV citations. This left the introduction with 3 selectively represented views showing a view that NLP was pseudoscience and a cult, and not one of the many research and other citations showing that the opposite view is strongly supported.
• POV warfare edits continue to the present time (eg in this edit series dated Nov 15 (12 days after the article vote and 2 days after the formal RFArb posting), DaveRight adds the word "pseudoscience" or "pseudoscientific" 3 times in different places and removes the {{dubious}} tag from a fourth. Following this edit, the article contains 25 mentions of the word "pseudoscience" or "pseudoscientific" alone, excuding section titles.

Other information

• One editor, User:TBP, was explicitly self-identified as a sock puppet on his talk page before becoming involved in this article Oct 17 DIFF. He played no part in the vote or its discussion, and only a minor role in the talk page debate, mostly between Oct 27-29.

We have acted with appropriate patience and reserve, but despite much patience, many flames, and much time, there is just no sign whatsoever of any intent to change, nor any significant indication they want to change enough to participate appropriately in Misplaced Pages NLP for the foreseeable future. We therefore ask that ArbCom accept this matter for Arbitration.

FT2 10:26, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

FT2 updates & responses to user statements

1. I agree with one aspect of Voice of All's statement, an initial IP check on all editors concerned would be helpful. The principle editors of the article and talk page recently are as follows: the eight editors named, the 7 voters named, Voice of All, Flavius vanillus, 203.100.233.178, 203.186.238.*, 211.30.47-48.*, 80.44.*, 81.151.*. However this does not change my feeling that mediation is likely proven fruitless, because the nature of the problem is not textual compromise within the article, but users engaging in vandalism, fraudulent credentials cited to bolster extreme view, fraudulent representation of professional bodies despite multiple correction, deterrance of editors, constant personal attacks, remarks and defamation, heavy duty slanting, and utter lack of civility or respect for editors or information.
    
   
2. I do not agree with Voice of All that "he blanket reverts were of edits to multiple sections". For most, this seems irrelevant. Quick examples (a few out of many): HeadleyDown replaces one paragraph in intro that presents 2 sides of a view, with 2 extreme views on same side (interesting observation: HeadleyDown uses nonsense word "psychopablum" but JPLogan creates an article defining that word and referencing NLP); JPLogan deletes the entire section of core definitions within the field by its founders complete with full citations on the mind-boggling basis that they are "uncited" and that citing them is "POV"; HeadleyDown removes a key qualifier in parentheses regarding the British Psychological Society leaving impression that Parkers view represents them accurately; HeadleyDown rewords an already unbalanced paragraph which had been compromised, with even more generalized wording that removes the "X said Y" qualifier; and again more selective POV insertion by DaveRight; Bookmain removes citation from British Dyslexia Association paragraph which uses NLP, replacing it by a subtlely misrepresented citation from Children In Therapy to state "NLP is quackery" (in fact it is attachment therapy and not NLP which is the target of that page, NLP is a technique claimed by attachment therapy protagonists to support it); Bookmain deletes a paragraph that states NLP rests on an observational rather than theoretical basis; ... which is re-deleted by AliceDeGrey when corrected; Bookmain edits the one paragraph on NLP in policing, 1/ replacing a factual "wide range" with "some", 2/ deletes the FBI's actual comment in support of NLP's efficacy, 3/ deletes a police statement that it is field proven, 4/ adds a spurious "claims to be", and 5/ adds a selective quotation after all this that NLP "has been tested by criminologists and has been found not to work in crime situations".
    
   
3. Re JPLogan's assertion that he is not a sock-puppet: This case is about sock-puppets or cronies. WP:SOCK#Meatpuppets refers to this when it discusses the creation of:
   "new accounts specifically to influence a particular vote or discussion. This is especially common in deletion discussions. These newly created accounts... may be friends of a Wikipedian, or may be related in some way to the subject of an article under discussion. These accounts are not actually sockpuppets, but they are... treated similarly. Neither a sockpuppet nor a brand-new, single-purpose account holder is a member of the Misplaced Pages community... The Arbitration Committee has ruled that, for the purpose of dispute resolution, when there is uncertainty whether a party is one user with sockpuppets or several users with similar editing habits they may be treated as one user with sockpuppets."
    
   
4. Response to Bookmain: Bookmain says, "It is blatantly clear that FT2 and... others have a very strong agenda to promote NLP... But they seem to be unable to even face the facts that NLP is considered pseudoscience and is completely scientifically unsupported." (Note the straw man).
    
   However this is not the case nor borne out by facts. For example, when I created the article "Principles of NLP" (proper discussion was too long for the main article), I did this neutrally on the classic Misplaced Pages basis: description, specific principles, sources, criticisms and rebuttals. It does not advocate a side. It describes and characterizes, and includes both viewpoints fully representing each. Please see that article where I wrote specifically under criticisms:
   • "The subject is open ended, that is, it does not specify how the information it obtains should be used, or what can be done with it. So NLP becomes very prone to quackery, incorporation of pseudoscience, and manipulative uses."
   • And again I wrote: "Stronger criticism is usually levelled at NLP as a whole, for the pseudoscientific hype, exaggerated claims and commercialization often associated with it by its practitioners, and this is discussed under the main NLP article."
   No other editor had worked on it article history and yet the mediator, reviewing it a week after drafting, made only one tiny phraseology improvement to the article upon review, leaving the entirety of the article otherwise unchanged .
   
   As well as straw men, Bookmain has a prior history on the article of inventing other fraudulent "facts" and misrepresentative assertations out of the blue to bolster his argument. Example: his characterization of a minor hypnotist, Dylan Morgan, as "a world renowned clinical hypnotherapist" and of a critical opinion piece by the man as "research" and "the final word": "Dr Morgan's scientific followup and final word assessment is entirely relevant. It is also the view of a world renowned clinical hypnotherapist." Bookmain DIFF (for the basis of my characterization of Morgan as minor, and the representation as fraudulent, see /Research#Morgan)
    
   
5. Re AliceDeGrey: Misplaced Pages is about neutral, rounded and balanced encyclopaedic summaries of subjects. Co-operation is a means, not an end. It ceases to be a means to Misplaced Pages's goals, when it is used to enforce an unbalanced and slanted view of one approach to a subject. WP:NPOV has been summarized for editors by FuelWagon, and also by myself more than once. If Alice is stating that I habitually delete "scientific fact" (or do so without discussing or indicating that a citation exists if needed) please present a few DIFF examples. It's very noticeable that this case as I have presented is full of numerous visible cited examples. By contrast, Alice's words, and those of HeadleyDown Bookmain DaveRight and JPLogan, are conspicuously lacking almost any examples of what they allege. As a side note, I notice that a list of 84 citations with links, of NLP used by credible organizations, has been provided. AliceDeGrey has not yet moved even a finger to discuss or acknowledge it, or to adjust the article to represent it fairly. It seems that there is a double standard for "facts" going on, and AliceDeGrey is part of the center of it.
    
   AliceDeGrey is somewhat disingenuous when she states "We do not delete scientific facts or advocate for its deletion" (implicit acknowledgement of a group of editors). See her own edits, , removing details of how NLP is used by cults making it seem NLP is a cult, removal of critical 1st half of quote, preface the intro definition with the sentence "Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a method proposed for programming the mind", adds "and remote ESP influence" to a list of NLP uses, adds "and dubious (Morgan 1993)" knowing that Morgan was an opinion writer yet referencing him as if he were a scientist , rvt/reinstates this adding untruthfully that this opinion of Morgan's is "A more recent scientific assessment" , then when corrected rvt/reinstates again this time adding a further misleading characterization as a "published follow up scientific assessment (Morgan 1993)" , removes a statement by one of America's foremost professors of linguistics that two of NLPs disputed presuppostions are in fact "major findings of cognitive science" , removes the observation on the contradictory nature of criticisms leveled at NLP , reinstates the "NLP is a method of programming the mind" deleted earlier , removes the skeptics dictionary reference deliberately leaving Carroll (2003) looking like a research academic , .....
    
   
6. Re DaveRight: I find it strange there are both a "D.Right" and a "DaveRight". But we'll see what we see. As far as Dave's accusations go, they are inaccurate. He has posted the identical allegation, equally untrue, on the Talk page of the article, and my reply and citations stand good here too: Nov 3/after line 1794.
    
   I also cite other evidence of neutrality including my exclusion of a "support" vote under wikipedia policy same link/line 1725, my talk page posts and the cited section removed as discussed here and (see "response to Bookmain") the neutral inclusion of the various strong criticisms into the initial Principles of NLP article when I wrote it. On numerous occasions I explain edits on the talk page for discussion, and added balancing negative criticisms on NLP on several occasions where they seemed justified. For example here I try to represent both sides and ask others to edit if incorrect, I ask Headley to discuss so the edit can be agreed (ignored). On many other occasions and and and and and for examples of article edits that were explained, or citations offered, on the talk page. Edits were explained on the talk page: "Any criticisms please bring here... as I am unaware of anything controversial or disputed written in that section" and and a request to name "...one non-trivial example of a statement I added, that you feel is not supported factually and inaccurate." and "if you wish to revert please first mention here exactly which statements you feel are inaccurate. Rather than mass-reverting the entire definition. This is in compliance with wiki standards that say a dispute over wording should be hammered out on the talk page rather than repeatedly reverted"
    
   By way of contrast, the tone of DaveRight's contributions is somewhat... unwikipedian: Can anyone think of a good new religious name for NLP? How about The Church of New Rolling Wizdicks?DaveRight 06:24, 28 October 2005 (UTC)"
    

Statement by HeadleyDown

(Please limit your statement to 500 words)

Hello mediators/arbitrators. This is interesting. I simply want to say that arbitration is an extremely long way off, and our helpful mediator VoiceOfAll seems to concur with that. Mediation seems to be working well. Each time the NLP promoters (I call them that because a lot of them have a vested interest) remove lots of cited fact, the mediator steps in and they calm down. When the more neutral (sorry, less proNLPers) compromise (usually a lot in favour of NLP) the proNLPers calm down some more. I have to admit it does get very tedious to have to restore censored facts all the time, and have to keep answering the same questions all the time (badgering), so things do get a little heated at times. It doesn't help that nearly all non-proNLPers have been labeled sockpuppets at some time. But things are moving forward now the mediator has helped out. Actually there are often major moves in the direction away from arbitration. I personally am fairly ok with the idea of arbitration, but it seems a bit silly to do so when mediation is starting to work so well with a level head and an good and increasing understanding of the subject. Anyway, its all up to you. Regards HeadleyDown 12:33, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by JPLogan JPLogan 02:14, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Feel free to check my behaviour. You will find that I am no sockpuppet, although accusations abound. I really feel that the proNLP editors have just shot themselves in the foot again. Certainly I have held back on posting the more damning evidence against NLP, and I have posted plenty of remarks and solutions to solve problems. I suggest that arbitrators keep a due sense of humour. Certainly I find the whole thing ridiculous. The NLP promoters have gone against NPOV so many times. Anyway, do your best with all the checking. CheersJPLogan 02:14, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by party user:FuelWagon re: NLP

I became involved in the NLP article in October. I hadn't heard of "Neuro Linguistic Programming" until I found the article, and I have no personal bias for or against the topic. But it is clear to me that the article is in clear violation of NPOV. There appear to be a number of editors with proclaimed biases against NLP who are editing the article in violation of NPOV. Someone with a longer history of the article can present more evidence, but here are a few diffs that show some blatant biases that directly affect the article.

03:39, 3 November 2005 DaveRight does a blanket revert of a number of edits, reinserting a bunch of text including "Many such courses appear to depend more upon charismatic appeal, wish-fulfillment, quick fixes, and lack of critical faculty, than actual quantifiable results, and so are often considered pure pseudoscience." as well as "Similar to other amoral pseudoscientific psychocults such as Dianetics and EST" Both sentences present as fact what is actualy disputed opinions of NLP, namely calling NLP "wish fullfillment", "pseudoscience", "amoral", and "psychocult" (Violation of WP:NPOV)

03:24, 1 November 2005 DaveRight reverts with the edit summary "I think that deserves some punishment." (violation of WP:Point)

03:35, 16 November 2005 DaveRight reports in the pro-NLP section of introduction that NLP is "fringe", where the term "fringe" is POV, biased, and disputed.

17:13, 12 November 2005 HeadleyDown removes a critic of NLP's opinion from the criticism section ("Jan Damen describes NLP as occult"), rewords it to passive tense so the source (Jan Damen) is not mentioned and the opinion is presented more as fact, and then reinserts it into the pro-NLP section, making it look as if a pro-NLP source describes NLP as "occult". (Violation of WP:NPOV)

01:23, 16 November 2005 HeadleyDown again reports in the pro-NLP section of introduction that NLP is used for "occult" purposes, where "occult" is POV, biased, and disputed.

06:58, 23 September 2005 HeadleyDown modifies the first sentence of the introduction to say "(NLP) is a quasi-spiritual behavior-modification technique", where the term "quasi-spiritual" is clearly POV, disputed, and biased. (Violation of WP:NPOV)

02:52, 25 October 2005 JPLogan modifies the first sentence of the entire NLP article to say "NLP is a pseudoscientific self help development", where the term "pseudoscientific" is clearly POV, disputed, and biased. (Violation of WP:NPOV)

(update) Since AliceDeGrey states that I am advocating for cited facts to be deleted, I just want to point out something. The people who keep talking about "facts" want the article to say "NLP is pseudoscience", but since that "fact" is actually disputed by NLP sources, NPOV policy requires that the article instead say somethign like "Smith states that NLP is pseudoscience". The problem then becomes that certain editors see this as "removing" their facts.

HeadleyDown: NLP promoters remove lots of cited fact

DaveRight: The NLP promotional team are dead set on removing facts

AliceDeGrey: We do not delete scientific facts or advocate for its deletion as is happening on the discussion page now.

Bookmain: The pressure directed by them in order to bannish such scientific facts is enormous.

I have done nothing but convert disputed statements of fact such as "NLP is pseudoscience" into sourced assertions that are not disputed such as "Smith states that NLP is pseudoscience".

Allow me to chip in DaveRight 03:19, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Hello, I am not DRight:) I am Dave. OK. No idea who DRight is, but he has a cool name:) OK. For what its worth, you may want to look at the Scientology and Dianetics article page. Similar things seem to have gone on there. NLP is one of those pseudoscience subjects that recruits lots of believers who love to hear about "human potential, metaprograms, the difference that makes the difference, the science and technology of excellence" and so on. In fact, they have had all those things on the article at some point. It is interesting though, how often they advocate and even physically remove cited scientific fact. FT2 for example, keeps wanting to remove fact. He also posts his own opinion within the article even when there is absolutely no author who holds the same opinion. He posts strategically altered paragraphs (with the negative ending removed) in order to promote NLP. The fact is, NLP is a pseudoscience, according to scientists, psychologists, linguists, and anthropologists. In fact it is in the same category as Dianetics and EST and sometimes phrenology. The NLP promotional team are dead set on removing facts as they have physically done for months, and they have even tried to recruit vandals from newsgroups. Things do get a bit lively on the discussion page, though the only direct insults have been to poor old Headley. NLP promoter's call him things such as "dullard" and "wanker". No such activity has been seen from neutral editors towards proNLPers, dispite the ridiculous level of fact deletion. There is a general slur campaign against anyone who does not promote NLP. To my knowledge, no negative comment or insults or vandalism has been conducted from neutral editors to the NLPpromoter's pages. Anyway, go ahead and check my ip and tell the NLPpromoters to stop removing scientific facts. ATB Dave DaveRight 03:19, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Statement by party Voice of All

While I don't believe that arbitration is the best option for now, I would say that the placement of ((test3)) and ((test4)) signs, accuations of extreme POV, and use of alternate names is likely occuring on both sides here. An IP check on all of the users would be well appretiated, as duplicates can be banned, leaving only the true users. This will removed inflated edit wars and vote tallies/consensus.

I would note however, that I had already recommended that people edit one section at a time. The blanket reverts were mainly of edits to multiple sections. One the other hand, too much anti-NLP criticism has been going into the article recently, under the idea that it is a fact or he did actually say this; article's can not have every single fact about the topic, they must be streamlined, and some sort of balance between truth and representation of all POVs must be reached.Voice of All 00:20, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

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