< Misplaced Pages:Arbitration | Requests | Case | Transcendental Meditation movement Browse history interactively ← Previous edit Next edit →Content deleted Content addedVisual WikitextInline

Revision as of 02:35, 26 February 2010 editDavid spector (talk \| contribs)Extended confirmed users5,047 edits →Harassment: Oppose← Previous edit		Revision as of 02:47, 26 February 2010 edit undoWill Beback (talk \| contribs)112,162 edits →Proposals by Keithbob: comments, add sigs for KbobNext edit →
Line 194:		Line 194:

	:'''Comment by parties:'''		:'''Comment by parties:'''
			::'''Proposed''' ]
	::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:24, 24 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:24, 24 February 2010 (UTC)
			::'''Support''', except for the "camaraderie" part.   <b>]  ]  </b> 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
	::

	:'''Comment by others:'''		:'''Comment by others:'''
Line 207:		Line 208:

	:'''Comment by parties:'''		:'''Comment by parties:'''
			::'''Proposed''' ]
	::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:25, 24 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:25, 24 February 2010 (UTC)
	::'''Support''' ] (]) 12:40, 25 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Support''' ] (]) 12:40, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
			::'''Support''', though I haven't seen evidence of actual harassment or personal attacks.   <b>]  ]  </b> 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
	::

	:'''Comment by others:'''		:'''Comment by others:'''
Line 220:		Line 222:

	:'''Comment by parties:'''		:'''Comment by parties:'''
			::'''Proposed''' ]
	::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:32, 24 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:32, 24 February 2010 (UTC)
			::'''Support''', though that applies to all editors, including the many "primary purpose editors" involved in this topic. Note also that Keithbob has discouraged the inclusion of a non-neutral SPA in this RfAR. If Kbob believes in this principle then I don't understand that objection.   <b>]  ]  </b> 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
	::

	:'''Comment by others:'''		:'''Comment by others:'''
Line 233:		Line 236:

	:'''Comment by parties:'''		:'''Comment by parties:'''
			::'''Proposed''' ]
	::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:42, 24 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Support''' ] (]) 19:42, 24 February 2010 (UTC)
	::'''Unsure''' How does one tell that two people "make the same types of edits"? Seems impossible to me, which means that this criterion makes no sense. ] 02:32, 26 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Unsure''' How does one tell that two people "make the same types of edits"? Seems impossible to me, which means that this criterion makes no sense. ] 02:32, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
			::'''Support'''. This seems to be applicable here, since we have many editors with the same POV using the same IP networks.   <b>]  ]  </b> 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

	:'''Comment by others:'''		:'''Comment by others:'''
Line 246:		Line 251:

	:'''Comment by parties:'''		:'''Comment by parties:'''
			::'''Proposed''' ]
	::'''Support''' ]		::'''Support''' ]
			::'''Disagree'''. If problems persist then they need to be raised repeatedly. User talk pages are appropriate places to raise concerns about editing. However, note that Olive has repeatedly made accusations about my editing and has refused to substantiate those claims. Making unsubstantiated or false accusations is a form of incivility.   <b>]  ]  </b> 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

	:'''Comment by others:'''		:'''Comment by others:'''
Line 258:		Line 265:

	:'''Comment by parties:'''		:'''Comment by parties:'''
			::'''Proposed''' ]
	::'''Oppose''' Haven't seen any evidence of this extreme behavior. ] 02:35, 26 February 2010 (UTC)		::'''Oppose''' Haven't seen any evidence of this extreme behavior. ] 02:35, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
			::'''Oppose''' There is no sign of any behavior like this in this case.   <b>]  ]  </b> 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

	:'''Comment by others:'''		:'''Comment by others:'''

Revision as of 02:47, 26 February 2010

Main case page (Talk) — Evidence (Talk) — Workshop (Talk) — Proposed decision (Talk)

Case clerks: Dougweller (Talk) & AlexandrDmitri (Talk) Drafting arbitrators: Risker (Talk) & Roger Davies (Talk)

Misplaced Pages Arbitration

About arbitration Talk Arbitration policy (CU/OS) Guide to arbitration Noticeboard + Talk Search archived proceedings Ban appeals Report
Open proceedings All open requests Case requests Clarification and Amendment requests Arbitrator motion requests Enforcement requests
Active sanctions Contentious topics (Log) General sanctions Editor sanctions
Arbitration Committee Discuss + Contact Members Procedures Elections Talk History Clerks + Talk Clerk procedures Conflict of interest reports
Audit Talk Statistics Talk Reports (pre-2016)

Track related changes
v t e

This is a page for working on Arbitration decisions. The Arbitrators, parties to the case, and other editors may draft proposals and post them to this page for review and comments. Proposals may include proposed general principles, findings of fact, remedies, and enforcement provisions—the same format as is used in Arbitration Committee decisions. The bottom of the page may be used for overall analysis of the /Evidence and for general discussion of the case.

Any user may edit this workshop page. Please sign all suggestions and comments. Arbitrators will place proposed items they believe should be part of the final decision on the/Proposed decision page, which only Arbitrators and clerks may edit, for voting, clarification as well as implementation purposes.

Motions and requests by the parties

Template

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed temporary injunctions

Template

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Questions to the parties

Proposed final decision

Proposals by Durova

Proposed principles

Responsibility of organizations

1) Editors who access Misplaced Pages through an organization's IP address and who edit Misplaced Pages articles which relate to that organization have a presumptive conflict of interest. Regardless of these editors' specific relationship to that organization or function within it, the organization itself bears a responsibility for appropriate use of its servers and equipment. If an organization fails to manage that responsibility, Misplaced Pages may address persistent violations of fundamental site policies through blocks or bans.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support The Scientology ArbCom is directly on point and is controlling precedent for this matter. This does not require extensive or prolonged debate. ArbCom should act swiftly to protect Misplaced Pages by putting an end to this long-standing and untenable abuse of Misplaced Pages through clear organization-sponsored astroturfing. Fladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:37, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. This has been recognized in previous cases, and is common sense. Will Beback talk 00:06, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

~~Support~~-- — Kbob • Talk • 12:46, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose in current form. While I support the intent and principles of this proposal I feel it needs to be modified to reflect the unique circumstances of this case. The above proposal was crafted in response to the Scientology case which had its own particular set of circumstances such as volunteers editing at the Scientology offices (this is my understanding anyway). In this TM case there are some unique circumstances such as a small town with a dominant IP provider (Lisco) and a university campus IP system that is used by faculty, employees, students, guests and the public (on its library computers). I think there is an opportunity here for the Committee to consider this speficic situation and make specific decisions that will have bearing not only this case but on other small towns and other campuses. For example can a student at Harvard use the campus IP system to edit the Harvard article on WP? Such decisions will have ramifications that radiate far beyond the handful of editors who are involved in the case and deserve careful wording that reflects the specifics of this issue.-- — Kbob • Talk • 17:32, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Reservations. The weight given to this principle must be determined with reference to the overriding importance of advancing Misplaced Pages’s purpose: to be a reliable source of information. Although I have not been an editor on the Transcendental Meditation article, it has serious problems—and these are not due to too much input from the TM editors. Hickorybark (talk) 22:48, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Analogous cases: (i) Durova has already drawn attention to the anaolgy to Harvard. Should we restrict editors with Harvard IP’s from editing the Harvard article? “But Harvard is not a cult and it doesn’t psychologically damage its students.” Oh, really? (ii) Should we restrict CERN scientists from editing the CERN article? “But there are no pressing controversies regarding CERN.” (In fact controversies range from whether the billions of euros couldn’t have been better spent, to whether CERN might accidently produce a black hole which could destroy the solar system.) The anti-TM group of editors is pushing as aggressive an agenda as any cult, and you don't need a Check User report to see the evidence--the TM article has degenerated to where it reads like a lurid gossip column.

Conclusion. It has been repeatedly stated without argument that Scientology is the controlling precedent for this case. But the dis-analogies are obvious and crucial: the TM organization has a record of responsible conduct and mainstream legitimacy that sets it apart. It is not our mandate to override the judgments of scientific decision-makers, granting agencies, accreditation boards and the like. To be sure, the TM organization has hostile and determined detractors, and they are noteworthy. But they do not represent the mainstream, majority viewpoint and it is not Misplaced Pages's mandate to try to legitimize their point of view. Moreover, ArbCom is under no obligation to fulfill their wishes regarding the outcome of the current proceedings. Hickorybark (talk) 22:48, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Reservations If Misplaced Pages can't systematically determine what the IP of an organization is, how can this be a principle? Early on it assumed that any Lisco IP was affiliated with MUM, but that's not the case. TimidGuy (talk) 12:34, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Suggesting a few basic principles that will probably be relevant no matter how the case progresses. This one is an exact copy of Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/COFS/Proposed_decision#Responsibility_of_organizations and Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology/Proposed_decision#Responsibility_of_organizations. Was originally proposed here in response to an argument that CU-confirmed edits from Church of Scientology Internet connections would not constitute conflict of interest if the editors were volunteers of the Church of Scientology rather than employees. Durova 20:57, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

This seems reasonable to me as long as the organizations IP address is clearly identified and established. Has this been done? If so, what is it? I don't think that has been made clear yet. That would be an important step in developing and enforcing this proposed guideline.-- — Kbob • Talk • 07:04, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. Already shown as an appropriate statement from the Scientology case. Applicable and relevant here to this case. Cirt (talk) 07:45, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Regarding Keithbob's question, this proposal is a principle rather than a finding of fact. The determination of fact is up to the people who have access to that information. Either way the principle is relevant as a statement of our standards and expectations. Durova 19:37, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Good point, thanks for the clarification.-- — Kbob • Talk • 12:47, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. I support the principle of COI here, assuming it can be shown that the pro-TM editors are definitely employed by a TM organization or school. However, I agree with Scientology being a precedent only with the following understandings: (1) Scientology is a religion; TM is not; (2) The Church of Scientology has been accused (with evidence) of many violent and/or evil acts against rebellious members; TM has never fostered or committed violent and/or evil acts (however, certain advanced TMM programs do make unreasonable medical claims). David Spector 03:33, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you. This principle is unrelated to whether an organization is a religion. It could apply to any organization. Durova 04:30, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Re: Hickorybark, actually the analogy was to Princeton and Columbia two infinitely superior universities and the original linked proposal included this in the discussion Proposed. This seems flexible enough to cover decentralized corporations, universities, etc. without undue burden on editors who act in good faith. DurovaCharge! 08:42, 15 July 2007 (UTC) Of course we wouldn't sanction any university without cause, not even humble Harvard. But if COI editors from Harvard spent years promoting all things Harvard and deleting/watering down anything negative about the university, then if the associated policy violations were severe enough this same proposal would apply to them. Durova 22:56, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for the clarification, and the clause, "without undue burden on editors who act in good faith," is an important qualifier. Obviously, you aren't expecting university librarians to monitor the WP editing behavior of patrons accessing the internet through the university servers. WP's remedial action would be to block the university's IPs and require individual users from the university to apply to Misplaced Pages on a case-by-case basis. I appreciate that this is a pragmatic approach to a complex problem, but I think there might be a more straightforward approach which would be both more effective and less judgmental. Is there any precedent for simply locking the contentious pages and ArbCom's hand-picking a committee of the least adversarial and most knowledgeable editors to develop the pages? Hickorybark (talk) 00:15, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Content disputes are outside the remit of Misplaced Pages's Arbitration Committee; it handles conduct issues. Misplaced Pages administrators routinely block educational institution IPs for vandalism, and when the conduct issues are serious enough those school blocks may be lengthy. When librarians and school administrators fail to resolve habitual problems Misplaced Pages may do so. Durova 04:12, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you.Hickorybark (talk) 20:35, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Does this mean that I have a presumed conflict of interest for articles related to Telenor? Taemyr (talk) 03:18, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Regarding Kbob: actually the particular wording was drafted by me in 2007 per the links and the quote provided above. The intention was not specific to the Scientology case at all; it is a statement of general principle applicable to any institution. It's a little surprising that confusion exists on that point; let's hope this dispels it. Durova 04:17, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Does Misplaced Pages have a systematic way of determining the IP of an institution? Wouldn't such a principle be contingent on that? Does it depend on me or someone else getting a statement from the MUM IT department? I'm happy to do so. Would that suffice? How would I present it? And how could it be verified? TimidGuy (talk) 12:32, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Principles aren't contingent upon practical factors. There have also been places where editors have argued that we shouldn't have a sockpuppet policy because checkuser can be evaded. Practical discussions take place at findings of fact and remedies. Durova 16:45, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Financial conflict of interest

2) Persons who receive financial compensation from an organization have a conflict of interest when they edit Misplaced Pages articles about that organization.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support. It isn't necessary for someone to be paid specifically for editing. If they are paid by the organization then they have interests tied to that organization's existence and prosperity. Will Beback talk 00:06, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Tuckerj1976 (talk) 00:16, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support-- — Kbob • Talk • 12:48, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Conditional Support. In the interest of Misplaced Pages's primary objective of producing high quality, fair, reliable and informed articles, an editor with an acknowledged conflict of interest may be permitted--even encouraged--to continue editing, if the value of this editor's in-house expertise outweighs COI considerations and the editor has demonstrated the maturity to edit in an objective, neutral manner. This determination would have to be made on a case-by-case basis. Hickorybark (talk) 19:13, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support As a faculty member at MUM, I have a conflict of interest. TimidGuy (talk) 12:38, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Standard definition of financial conflict of interest. Supplements "Responsibility of organizations" proposal above for non-volunteer members of an organization. Covers paid employees and could extend to indirect compensation such as the staff of a contracted PR firm or paid freelancers; see here for a historic example where an individual rejected an offer of paid freelancing. The intention of this proposal is to mirror real world understanding of conflict of interest, thus minimizing the chances that misguided efforts would result in public embarrassment. In a nutshell: if an organization pays you and you edit Misplaced Pages articles about that organization, then you have a conflict of interest regardless of which computers or Internet connections you use. Durova 20:57, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Yes, agreed as stated above. Durova brings up some additional relevant details.-- — Kbob • Talk • 07:17, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. This is a very good supplement and complementary hand-in-hand with "Responsibility of organizations", above. Cirt (talk) 07:46, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. However, note that the validity of COI has nothing to do with Scientology. COI applies even if the TM case has differences from the Scientology case. David Spector 03:39, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

All of the editors in the COFS and Scientology cases were volunteers so this distinction was not needed there. Durova 04:34, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Personal beliefs

3) Personal adherence to a belief system does not in itself constitute a conflict of interest. Individual adherents of belief systems--large or small, old or new--are welcome to edit Misplaced Pages without fear of sanction when they abide by site policies.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support. Mere beliefs do not create a conflict of interest. However advocacy is not allowed, whether by believers or dissenters. Will Beback talk 00:06, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support -- — Kbob • Talk • 07:18, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support TimidGuy (talk) 11:44, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:20, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed. Durova 20:57, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Yes. A very good distinction. Cirt (talk) 07:46, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Agreed but not relevant to TM. See above ] (this seems unsigned; see WP:SIG)

Conflict of interest

4) Misplaced Pages's conflict of interest guideline advises people to edit with caution in certain situations. In itself it is not a prohibition against editing, although Misplaced Pages's administrators and Arbitration Committee may weigh conflicts of interest if behavioral problems arise.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support This is just a restatement of a long-standing guideline. Will Beback talk 00:06, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support-- — Kbob • Talk • 07:19, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support TimidGuy (talk) 12:36, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:22, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed. Durova 20:57, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Yes. Especially appropriate in conjunction with "Responsibility of organizations" and "Financial conflict of interest", above. Cirt (talk) 07:47, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Proposals by Keithbob

Proposed Principles

Misplaced Pages's Purpose

1) The purpose of Misplaced Pages is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors. Use of the encyclopedia to advance personal agendas or to publish or promote original research is prohibited.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed Keithbob

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:24, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support, except for the "camaraderie" part. Will Beback talk 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Behavior

2) Misplaced Pages users are expected to behave reasonably, calmly, and courteously in their interactions with other users. Conduct, such as personal attacks, incivility, assumptions of bad faith and harassment is prohibited.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed Keithbob

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:25, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support TimidGuy (talk) 12:40, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Support, though I haven't seen evidence of actual harassment or personal attacks. Will Beback talk 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Single Purpose Accounts (variation of Crit's version)

3) Single purpose accounts are expected to contribute neutrally and should take care to avoid creating the impression that their focus on one topic is non-neutral, which could strongly suggest that their editing is not compatible with the goals of this project.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed Keithbob

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:32, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support, though that applies to all editors, including the many "primary purpose editors" involved in this topic. Note also that Keithbob has discouraged the inclusion of a non-neutral SPA in this RfAR. If Kbob believes in this principle then I don't understand that objection. Will Beback talk 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Sock and Meat Puppets

4) In some instances it may not be possible to determine with complete certainty whether multiple editors with the same or different IP’s are sockpuppets or meat puppets. In such cases, remedies may be fashioned which are based on the behavior of the user rather than their identity. The Arbitration Committee may determine that editors who edit with the same agenda and make the same types of edits be treated as a single editor.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed Keithbob

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:42, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Unsure How does one tell that two people "make the same types of edits"? Seems impossible to me, which means that this criterion makes no sense. David Spector 02:32, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. This seems to be applicable here, since we have many editors with the same POV using the same IP networks. Will Beback talk 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Casting Aspersions

5) It is unacceptable for an editor(s) to continually accuse another editor(s) of misbehavior or conflict of interest in an attempt to besmirch their reputation. Concerns should be brought up in the appropriate forums with evidence, if at all.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed Keithbob

Support David Spector

Disagree. If problems persist then they need to be raised repeatedly. User talk pages are appropriate places to raise concerns about editing. However, note that Olive has repeatedly made accusations about my editing and has refused to substantiate those claims. Making unsubstantiated or false accusations is a form of incivility. Will Beback talk 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Harassment

6) Harassment is a pattern of offensive behavior that appears to a reasonable observer to have the purpose of adversely affecting one or more targeted persons, usually (but not always) for the purpose of threatening or intimidating them. The intended outcome may be to make editing Misplaced Pages unpleasant for targeted persons, to undermine them, to frighten them, or to discourage them from editing entirely.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed Keithbob

Oppose Haven't seen any evidence of this extreme behavior. David Spector 02:35, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose There is no sign of any behavior like this in this case. Will Beback talk 02:47, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed remedies

Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.

Template

1) {text of proposed remedy}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of proposed remedy}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed enforcement

Template

1) {text of proposed enforcement}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of proposed enforcement}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposals by Cirt

Proposed principles

Purpose of Misplaced Pages

1) The purpose of Misplaced Pages is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors. Use of the encyclopedia to advance personal agendas – such as advocacy or propaganda and philosophical, ideological or religious dispute – or to publish or promote original research is prohibited.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:39, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support I think this principle is important in this case. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose in its current form. Again, we need proposals that accurately reflect the needs and specific characteristics of this case which has distinctions from the Scientology case. For example Scientology is a self proclaimed religion and ideology. Transcendental Meditation is a mental practice and although there are related organizations and philosophies, they are not necessarily (individually or combined) ideological, philosophical or religious. This point is debatable and both sides of the debate could cite many reliable sources. It should be noted that the TM organization does not characterize itself in that way, while Scientology does. So while I accept the fact that TM and its organizations and related philosophies have been lumped together and referred to as Neo-Hindu, a New Religious Movement and a cult by various authors etc., this is not a universally held conclusion or fact. Therefore this issue should be addressed in a separate proposal. If the above proposal read: "The purpose of Misplaced Pages is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors. Use of the encyclopedia to advance personal agendas or to publish or promote original research is prohibited" I would support it. I will propose this in my own section-- — Kbob • Talk • 17:48, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:45, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Purpose_of_Wikipedia. Cirt (talk) 07:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Looks like a reasonable and uncontroversial application of a principle from a previous case. Durova 19:43, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Decorum

2) Misplaced Pages users are expected to behave reasonably, calmly, and courteously in their interactions with other users. Unseemly conduct, such as personal attacks, incivility, assumptions of bad faith, harassment, disruptive point-making, and gaming the system, is prohibited. Making unsupported accusations of such misconduct by other editors, particularly where this is done in repeatedly or in a bad-faith attempt to gain an advantage in a content dispute, is also unacceptable.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:39, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. It's worth noting that the expectations include, but are not limited to, civility. In this case there have been repeated unsupported charges of misconduct, for example. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose in the current form. I would enthusiastically support a proposal that cited behavioral issues such as personal attacks, incivility, assumptions of bad faith. Significant evidence of these forms of disruptive behavior have been presented on the Evidence Page so it is certainly relevant. However, despite some superficial parallels to Scientology, this case has its own distinct dynamics and characteristics. Therefore the carbon copying of proposals from Scientology to this page is problematic in my view. In particular this proposal's mixing of many guidelines, some of which are not prominent in this case makes this proposal one I cannot support in its current form.-- — Kbob • Talk • 17:07, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Hickorybark (talk) 19:46, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Decorum. Cirt (talk) 07:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

It is worth noting that the allegations surrounding this case appear to be considerably less extreme than the allegations surrounding the Scientology dispute, where one editor had used a sockpuppet account to make wholly unfounded accusations regarding controlled substances and prostitution. The current case could bear a little bit more time to see whether its misconduct allegations will actually be supported: one editor made strong assertions (but theoretically supportable allegations) at RFAR and then added she would be unavailable for evidence until today. So without prejudice as to the factuality of those assertions, as a principle this is reasonable. Perhaps modify with the caveat that WP:AGF defaults to good faith misunderstanding in non-extreme situations. Durova 19:59, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Single purpose accounts

3) Single purpose accounts are expected to contribute neutrally instead of following their own agenda and, in particular, should take care to avoid creating the impression that their focus on one topic is non-neutral, which could strongly suggest that their editing is not compatible with the goals of this project.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support. This case has both single purpose editors (both "pro" and "anti"), and even more "primary purpose editors", those who devote 50% or more of their edits to a topic. Both are allowable, but they need to edit neutrally. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose in current form. I would support the proposal if the phrase "instead of following their own agenda" was removed. That phrase is very vague and could be interpreted in many ways. Editors on WP may have many agendas ie. to improve their copy writing, improve their social skills and on and on. -- — Kbob • Talk • 18:01, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Hickorybark (talk) 20:19, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Single_purpose_accounts. Cirt (talk) 07:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Reasonable at any arbitration where single purpose accounts are involved. Durova 20:01, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Multiple editors with a single voice

4) It is rarely possible to determine with complete certainty whether several editors from the same IP or corporate server are sockpuppets, meat puppets, or acquaintances who happen to edit Misplaced Pages. In such cases, remedies may be fashioned which are based on the behavior of the user rather than their identity. The Arbitration Committee may determine that editors who edit with the same agenda and make the same types of edits be treated as a single editor.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support Per comments above and below Tuckerj1976 (talk) 20:32, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support This is a key principle in this case. The POVs of the nine TM editors are indistinguishable, they edit the same articles to promote the same agenda, and they all use the same IP networks. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support However, IMO, note that this also applies to editors Fladrif, Doc James, Kala Bethere, and perhaps others, who, although clearly different people in both their specific concerns and writing styles, appear to have a single and equally strong POV in opposition to the validity of TM. If the editors in opposition to the pro-TM editors were less convinced that TM has no value, I doubt that this RfArb would have occurred. For example, in past years I have several times raised the issue of high course fee (and even mention of less expensive alternatives to TM) as being notable for inclusion and have been opposed by pro-TM editors, yet no problem resulted because we discussed these issues cooperatively without UNCIVIL (pretending to be BOLD) deletions or reversion prior to consensus being reached. Many current active editors on both sides (not just pro-TM) use BOLD to hide POV. I feel that progress in creating a better article has been impeded roughly equally by editors who are admirers and critics of TM. I don't care if editors have a strong POV; I do care if they are incapable of cooperating in creating an NPOV article. David Spector 22:35, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Misplaced Pages needs to be evidence based and based on the best available evidence. Using the highest quality reviews on a controversial topic is a must. As well extraordinary claims require extra ordinary evidence. The fact that this same organization claims that TM can give one eternal life, allow one to fly, and become invisible at will should make all of use skeptical of their claims.Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 15:18, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose in current form. Will propose an amended version in my own section.-- — Kbob • Talk • 18:06, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support I support Cirt's principle, but not the partisan comments by User:Fladrif, User:Will Beback and User:Doc James, above. Hickorybark (talk) 20:39, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Multiple_editors_with_a_single_voice. Cirt (talk) 07:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Actually this originally came from the Starwood arbitration. A necessary functional solution to a difficult problem: without this it would become too difficult to remedy exploitive conduct at certain topics. Durova 20:30, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Use of accounts

5) Creating accounts ("sockpuppetry") or coordinating accounts ("meatpuppetry") to manipulate the consensus process; to create alliances to reinforce a particular point of view, to engage in factional or tactical voting; to create "ownership" of articles; to evade topic bans or blocks; or to otherwise game the system, is prohibited.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support The Scientology ArbCom is directly on point and is controlling precedent for this matter. This does not require extensive or prolonged debate. ArbCom should act swiftly to protect Misplaced Pages by putting an end to this long-standing and untenable abuse of Misplaced Pages through clear organization-sponsored astroturfing. Fladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC); Fully support Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:40, 21 February 2010 (UTC); Support It's impossible to determine whether it is one person or several using a computer. Collusion between editors to promote a POV or exert ownership of a topic is harmful to the consensus model of Misplaced Pages editing. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC); Supported as a principle, but agree with Will that pinning down SOCK or MEAT is difficult. Even OWNing is hard to show, since long-term editors have more knowledge and experience about the article and its history, giving them a naturally more authoritative position than newcomers. In this case, both pro-TM and anti-TM editors have frequently shown OWNing behaviors toward more neutral editors, such as Will and myself, not only to each other. David Spector 00:34, 23 February 2010 (UTC); Support Hickorybark (talk) 20:44, 24 February 2010 (UTC)
Support-- — Kbob • Talk • 21: 49, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Use_of_accounts. Cirt (talk) 07:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Supporting as a principle. Durova 20:04, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

I would prefer the word "disruptive" rather than "prohibited". Although it amounts to the same thing.Taemyr (talk) 03:24, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Feuds and quarrels

6) Editors who consistently find themselves in disputes with each other whenever they interact on Misplaced Pages, and who are unable to resolve their differences, should seek to minimize the extent of any unnecessary interactions between them. In extreme cases, they may be directed to do so.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Fully Support The article has grown far to "heated" and this principle must be applied Tuckerj1976 (talk) 20:34, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support The same set of editors keeps getting into similar disputes with a succession of other editors. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Note that this applies to all problem editors, not just pro-TM editors. David Spector 03:59, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose because there has been no evidence presented thus far that indicates that this kind of situation has occurred in the current case. Rather there have been accusations so disruptive behavior, incivility, harassment, personal attacks and edit warring and we should draft proposals that address those issues and avoid ones (like fueding) that don't seem to apply specifically to this case.-- — Kbob • Talk • 18:11, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support In the present case, however, I think it will be too difficult to fairly and judiciously administer blocks and restrictions to individual editors or IP address ranges, in a way that will enhance the contested pages. Hickorybark (talk) 21:29, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Feuds_and_quarrels. Cirt (talk) 07:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

May I ask the specific relevance to this case? In Scientology there was one administrator who had followed a particular editor to multiple articles, etc. and had been through ten formal dispute resolution attempts with that editor (it was entirely one-sided; the editor had never followed the administrator). Shortly before the arbitration began that administrator showed up at AE, denigrating that same editor without disclosing the history. Combined with other evidence it added up to an obvious grudge. A crucial element is how that grudge carried across multiple subjects for several years. If the TM dispute is contained entirely within the scope of the TM subject, then AGF defaults to normal editorial differences. It would only be appropriate to include this principle if there is evidence of conflict outside the normal scope of shared topical interest. Durova 20:15, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Okay, you have a very good point. I think this is just simply a very good thing to have as a more generalist principle. I leave it up to the judgment of the Arbitrators as far as inclusion in a final decision. Cirt (talk) 20:40, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

If the evidence takes a certain direction this could become very relevant. Will wait and see regarding that. Durova 20:46, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Proposed findings of fact

Transcedental Meditation organization and editors

1) Editors involved with articles regarding the Transcedental Meditation movement (TM) have been tied to IP ranges from Fairfield, Iowa and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, which is home to the Maharishi University of Management, who runs the TM movement. Many of the editors appear to be editing as single purpose accounts with likely meatpuppetry and possible sock puppetry occurring at articles within the topic.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support SPI findings are incontrovertable. Fladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC) Fladrif (talk) 20:09, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. There's no question that these editors are using IPs based in Fairfield/MVC, a small community. TM practitioners and employees of the movement account for at least a quarter or more of its population. It is likely that these editors know each other personally and participate together in the daily group practice sessions. It is possible that they are friends, neighbors, colleagues, housemates, or even spouses of each other. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Yes obvious with a little examination.Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 00:31, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose as stated Maharishi U doesn't run the TM movement. There are TM organizations all over the world. The university has no relationship with them. And the university has no relationship with many of the TM organizations in the U.S., such as Maharishi Ayurveda Products International. Further, my feeling, per my comment below is that there's no solid evidence of sock puppetry, and in particular sock puppet abuse. You won't find an instance of a particular IP accessing two different accounts within the 6-hour lease period. Further, it should be obvious to anyone familiar with the participants that the TM-related accounts have very different editing patterns and manner. Each account began as an obvious newbie, unlike Tucker and Kala. TimidGuy (talk) 12:16, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Maharishi U doesn't run the TM movement. Bevan Morris is the head of the university and the head of the U.S. Country of Peace. The same people run both organizations. Will Beback talk 12:28, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

It's incorrect as stated. It would be more accurate to say that two individuals associated with Maharishi University of Management also head two TM-related organizations in the U.S. The relationships among all the various organizations in the U.S. are unclear. But in no way, for example, does Bevan Morris oversee The Raj Health Spa in Fairfield or Maharishi AyurVeda Products in Colorado. The whole idea of the TM movement is an artificial construct. There are many independently incorporated organizations. TimidGuy (talk) 12:43, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

The King ( Nader Raam )of the movement is in the Netherlands yes? This pages seems to explain it a bit Global Country of World Peace --Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 12:51, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

OpposeThe SPI CU reported mixed technical findings and the matter has been forwarded to ArbCom for further consideration. Furthermore there has been no consideration or analysis of the behavioral evidence by any authoritative person(s) and text is still being submitted on the Evidence page. This premature proposal and voting is the Wiki equivilant of a lynch mob.-- — Kbob • Talk • 03:28, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose Although the IP range proves that all of the pro-TM editors are located at or near the campus of MUM, that doesn't indicate whether they are paid to edit WP to PUSH their POV. It doesn't indicate which, if any, are merely students or outside TMers, who would not fall under COI. It doesn't imply SOCK for reasons amply explained by TimidGuy, Will Beback, and others. It certainly has nothing to do with MEAT or SPA (SPA is indicated elsewhere in this case, I believe, and there is no way to show MEAT without a sting operation, and it may be too late for that).

Comment by others:

Proposed, from Misplaced Pages:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Transcendental_Meditation_movement#Statement_by_MuZemike and Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/TM editors/Archive. This could likely be changed to be more specific to the accounts and IP ranges involved. Cirt (talk) 07:27, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Uncomfortable about bundling two communities in Iowa with the Maharishi University itself. If an arbitration arose about the Princeton-Columbia college rivalry, would we encompass all of Princeton, New Jersey in a finding? All of New York City? Findings ought to be applicable to any comparable situation. This one needs refining. Durova 20:19, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

FWIW, Fairfield and MVC are essentially one community due to their proximity. The total settlement is quite small (about 11,000), in the middle of a sparsely populated farm region. It's quite different from universities or movementets based in larger communities. Will Beback talk 00:25, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

I will probably be posting another, more specific one, at some point soon. Cirt (talk) 20:34, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Within the scope of the privacy policy I'm wondering what's possible here. Back during the COFS arbitration one set of editors made specific claims about the Church of Scientology IT configuration. It would have strengthened their argument if they had provided a letter from the IT management to confirm what they were saying (several times I invited them to do so, but they ignored the suggestion--ultimately it appeared their claims were not very credible). A relevant question to this case is what the viable range of Internet connection options are for small midwestern communities. Some of the editor posts at RFAR and evidence imply that a single provider dominates nearly the entire market for the university plus two nearby communities, and assigns a narrow range of IP addresses randomly within that geographic area. I wonder how true that bears out. The local Chamber of Commerce should be able to provide basic information, and if the Maharishi University IT department is cooperative it might be possible to make better sense of things. Durova 21:02, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

It has been noted that it is not the ip range of an area but the ip range of a specific internet service provider with clear links to the TM org (Lisco) This has been found not just by the sockpuppetry case that started these proceeding but by the involved editors themselves ], ]. It has also been noted by the "TM editors that Lisco provides free wireless access in the town of Fairfield ]. Thus any IP "ban" or restriction could be based on this service provider and in connection to TM article specifically. Such restrictions are already in place with existing service providers due to abuse of their highly dynamic IP address assigning. This could easily be imposed here in a manner such as I have suggested above ] Tuckerj1976 (talk) 20:50, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Per your input, Tuckerj1976, I have researched free LISCO WI-FI availability in Fairfield, Iowa. The local public library appears to be using a different service, which leaves three to five local coffee shops and restaurants. Am not aware of whether LISCO reassigns IP addresses randomly throughout that geographic area. Durova 22:02, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

(un-dent) Thank you Durova. That is surprising given the statements of claimed sockpuppets/Lisco users ]. Perhaps I am simply to believing and naive. It makes things a little more difficult . I think I should simply step-back and leave this WIKI itself. I thnk you may have more expertise than me in this area. Tuckerj1976 (talk) 22:31, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

According to the 2000 census the city of Fairfield, Iowa had a population of slightly under 10,000 people. It wasn't likely a community that size would have a very large number of public wi-fi locations and some of those would use other carriers. The assertion didn't pass the sniff test. A few Google searches and phone calls took care of the rest. Durova 00:02, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

In case it helps, the two fixed IPs used by Maharishi University of Management are 69.18.50.85 or 209.152.117.83. Any Misplaced Pages editing from campus would be from one of these two IPs. There are four Internet providers in Fairfield: Mediacom, Iowa Telecom, Natel, and LIsco. Of the approximately 2,500 people in Fairfield who practice Transcendental Meditation, I would estimate that 200 at most are employed by Maharishi U and other Maharishi-related institutions. And that estimate would be high. Somewhere someone gave a figure of 200 staff at Maharishi U. That seems way way high. Plus, a large number of staff don't practice Transcendental Meditation, such as food service and maintenance personnel. Yes, Lisco was started by someone who practices TM, as many other businesses in Fairfield have been. When meditators moved here, they had to create their own jobs. Fairfield has received national recognition for being a center for entrepreneurial activity. Most of the employees at Lisco aren't meditators. Anyway, the upshot of this is that I think you can assume that someone editing Maharishi-rellated articles from a Fairfield IP may practice TM, but beyond that I don't know that you can make any assumptions. Also, because Lisco's DHCP server atypically assigns a new IP when the lease time is up, I don't think there's solid evidence for sock puppetry. I wish that allegation could be dropped. I don't think you'll find a single instance of a particular IP being used to access two different accounts within the 6-hour lease period. Please let me know if you'd like me to get a statement from Lisco or any of the other service providers here in Fairfield regarding anything. TimidGuy (talk) 12:09, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Unsourced assertions do not help. Substantiation would be very useful. Durova 17:06, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Would it help if I forwarded the e-mail from the campus IP department that gave the info about the dedicated IPs used by MUM? Here's an article from 2006 that gives info about a quarter of the population doing TM.. Here are articles in the New York Times and Wired magazine about the entrepreneurial activity in Fairfield, which is sometimes referred to as Silicorn Valley. An interesting case study on Fairfield being one of the nation's most entrepreneurial small towns. These sorts of sources support the idea that someone living in Fairfield isn't necessarily employed by MUM or a Maharishi-related organization. I could get a statement from Lisco about the behavior of their DHCP server. But even absent that, the principle behind dynamic allocation is that it allows ISPs to have fewer IP numbers than they have customers. The DHCP server reclaims and reallocates IP numbers after the lease time expires, such that a single IP number can be used by different customers. I'd like to do anything that can help clarify. Please let me know what that might be. Thanks. TimidGuy (talk) 12:18, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

It's up to the arbitrators to make the determination. Several of those things appear potentially useful; it would depend on the details. A statement from the campus IT department? Probably yes, if it speaks on point. An article comparing Fairfield to Silicon Valley? Probably less so; that's likely to stall at the comparison of Silicon Valley's 2 million residents to Jefferson County's stable population of 16,000. Best to focus on the items that would be most convincing. Durova 04:34, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Where would I present a statement from campus IT? The point of the articles was to establish the number of meditators in Fairfield and the fact that most are not employed by TM-related organizations. TimidGuy (talk) 12:24, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Template

2) {text of proposed finding of fact}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed remedies

Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.

Scope of Transcendental Meditation movement topic ban

1A) Editors topic banned by remedies in this proceeding are prohibited (i) from editing articles related to Transcendental Meditation movement or practitioners of Transcendental Meditation movement, broadly defined, as well as the respective article talk pages and (ii) from participating in any Misplaced Pages process relating to those articles, including as examples but not limited to, articles for deletion, reliable sources noticeboard, administrators' noticeboard and so forth.

1B) Editors topic banned under this remedy may apply to have the topic ban lifted after demonstrating their commitment to the goals of Misplaced Pages and their ability to work constructively with other editors. The Committee will consider each request individually, but will look favorably on participation in the featured content process, including both production of any type of featured content, as well as constructive participation in featured content candidacies and reviews. Applications will be considered no earlier than six months after the close of this case, and additional reviews will be done no more frequently than every six months thereafter.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Oppose Scientology was a different situation. Topic-banning only the pro-TM editors ignores the almost-equal infractions by the anti-TM editors. David Spector 16:21, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose as currently worded. This phrase is much to vague and problematic. "practitioners of Transcendental Meditation movement, broadly defined," A specific list of existing articles should be specified. At present there are 35+ BLP's list in the Practitionars of Transcendental Meditation category. This group of articles is arbitrary and with no criteria for inclusion or deletion. It ranges from the Maharishi to Shirley MacLaine to Igor Kufayev (who?). -- — Kbob • Talk • 19:13, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Scope_of_Scientology_topic_ban. Cirt (talk) 07:36, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Discretionary topic ban

2) Any uninvolved administrator may, on his or her own discretion, ban any editor from editing within the Transcendental Meditation movement topic. Prior to topic banning the editor, the administrator will leave a message on the editor's talk page, linking to this paragraph, warning the editor that a topic ban is contemplated and outlining the behaviours for which it is contemplated. If the editor fails to heed the warning, the editor may be topic banned, initially, for three months, then with additional topic bans increasing in duration to a maximum of one year.

All topic bans and blocks arising out of this sanction are to be recorded at Misplaced Pages:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Transcendental Meditation movement#Log of topic bans and blocks. Appeals of discretionary topic bans may be made to the imposing administrator, the appropriate administrators' noticeboard (currently WP:AE), or the Committee.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Oppose Scientology was a different situation. Topic-banning only the pro-TM editors ignores the almost-equal infractions by the anti-TM editors. David Spector 16:23, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Discretionary_topic_ban. Cirt (talk) 07:36, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Single purpose accounts with agendas

3) Any editor who, in the judgment of an uninvolved administrator, is (i) focused primarily on Transcendental Meditation movement or practitioners of Transcendental Meditation movement and (ii) clearly engaged in promoting an identifiable agenda may be topic-banned for up to one year. Any editor topic banned under this sanction may be re-blocked at the expiry of a topic ban if they recommence editing in the topic having made few or no significant edits outside of it during the period of the topic ban.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support Seems like this would solve the problems.--Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 15:12, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose Scientology was a different situation. Topic-banning only the pro-TM editors ignores the almost-equal infractions by the anti-TM editors. The wording of this section only addresses infractions by pro-TM editors. The problems interfering with productivity related much more to CONFLICT among all editors, not POV-PUSHING by only the pro-TM editors. David Spector 16:24, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose It has very problematic wording such as "focused primarily on Transcendental Meditation movement or practitioners of Transcendental Meditation movement" what constitutes "primarily focused"? The category of articles: "practitioners of Transcendental Meditation movement" is far too vague and grammatically incorrect (who practices a movement?) to do anything but cause future arguments. This phrase "having made few or no significant edits outside of it" is also far to vague. We want to create remedies that are clear cut, easily recognized by all parties and easily enforced by Administration.-- — Kbob • Talk • 19:25, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Single_purpose_accounts_with_agendas. Cirt (talk) 07:36, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Account limitation

4) Any editor who is subject to remedies in this proceeding, or who wishes to edit from an open proxy, is restricted to a single current or future account to edit Transcendental Meditation movement-related topics and may not contribute to the topic as anonymous IP editors. They are to inform the Committee of the account they have selected, and must obtain the Committee's approval if they wish to begin using a different account. All other accounts showing the same editing patterns are to be blocked indefinitely.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support Scientology was a different situation, so it is irrelevant. However, there is clearly more than ample abuse to prohibit IP address editing of this controversial article. David Spector 16:26, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose as worded, because it is again vague. There are at present 80 articles listed in TM Movement category. Also what kind of remedies? Admonishment? Disruptive behavior? Incivility? temporary blocks?-- — Kbob • Talk • 19:36, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Account_limitation. Cirt (talk) 07:36, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Editors instructed

5) Any current or future editor who, after this decision is announced, makes substantial edits to any Transcendental Meditation movement-related articles or discussions on any page is directed:

(A) To edit on these from only a single user account, which shall be the user's sole or main account, unless the user has previously sought and obtained permission from the Arbitration Committee to operate a legitimate second account;

(B) To edit only through a conventional ISP and not through any form of proxy configuration;

(C) To edit in accordance with all Misplaced Pages policies and to refrain from any form of advocacy concerning any external controversy, dispute, allegation, or proceeding; and

(D) To disclose on the relevant talk pages any circumstances (but not including personal identifying information) that constitute or may reasonably be perceived as constituting a conflict of interest with respect to that page.

Any uninvolved administrator may on his or her discretion apply the discretionary sanctions specified in Remedy "Discretionary topic ban" to any editor failing to comply with the spirit or letter of these instructions.

A note concerning these restrictions shall be placed on the talkpage of each of the affected articles. In case of any doubt concerning application or interpretation of these restrictions, the Arbitration Committee may be consulted for guidance.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support fully and applicable to what has become "both sides" (pro and so called "anti" TM. While I really do believe that the "anti" camp are simply depicted so due to the enormous astroturfing that has taken place by the TM organization (and thus editors who have stayed with this article and argued so bravely against it should be applauded) there is always the possibilty that editors may arrive who really do have a negative POV against TM and will ignore any positive findings that might exist or arise. Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:48, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support This restriction is reasonable (but has nothing to do with Scientology, for reasons I have already stated). David Spector 03:11, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Editors_instructed. Cirt (talk) 07:36, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Proposed enforcement

Enforcement by block

1) Should any user subject to a topic ban in this case violate that ban, that user may be blocked, initially for up to one month, and then with blocks increasing in duration to a maximum of one year, with the topic ban clock restarting at the end of the block. All blocks are to be logged at Misplaced Pages:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Transcendental Meditation movement#Log of topic bans and blocks. Appeals of blocks may be made to the imposing administrator, the appropriate administrators' noticeboard (currently WP:AE), or the Committee.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support fully. Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:42, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support This sanction is reasonable (but has little to do with Scientology). David Spector 03:15, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Enforcement_by_block. Cirt (talk) 07:39, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Uninvolved administrators

2) For the purpose of imposing sanctions under the provisions of this case, an administrator will be considered "uninvolved" if he or she has not previously participated in any content disputes on articles in the area of conflict and is not mentioned by name in the Arbitration Committee decision in this case. Enforcing the provisions of this decision will not be considered to be participation in a dispute. Any disputes about whether an administrator is involved or not are to be referred to the Arbitration Committee.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support for reason stated above Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:42, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support This is reasonable (but has little to do with Scientology). David Spector 03:18, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Proposed, as applicable and relevant to this case. From Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Scientology#Uninvolved_administrators. Cirt (talk) 07:39, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Proposals by Tuckerj1976

Edited: Moved here from incorrect section noted by User:Durova. I hope this is now correct.

Overview

So called "Extremist pro TM editors (where data and facts are highly manipulated to make it appear that TM is the answer to the worlds problems (Issues in diverse arenas as: health, wealth, politics, terrorism, crime, education, the paranormal, and world peace). These "extremists" will only accept any edit that places TM in a highly positive light and include (after a quick review by myself):

TimidGuy (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
ChemistryProf (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
Littleolive oil (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
Roseapple (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
Bigweeboy (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
Keithbob (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
Luke Warmwater101 (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

(There maybe more, I simply note the presence of the above as the most persistant on the main TM article (although the investigation that started this suggests others maybe sockpuppets of the above and indeed of each other)

There is also one Administrator that seems to have an unusually friendly relationship with the "extremist" pro TM lobby Dreadstar (However, this maybe incorrect and would require wiki admins to investigate, although already mentioned I believe by others)

Editors

Above users should be topic banned from any article related to TM or the TM movement. This would mean that they could continue to use their obviously detailed knowledge of WIKI editing in other areas of WIKI. Thus helping to benefit other articles with their obvious editorial skills while those concerned about their POV maybe able to breath easier. At the same time, this would diminish fears by some (and the editors conduct) that these editors are part of a large organization with clear social, political and educational agendas allowed to propagate those agendas here unrestricted.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

SupportFladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

I generally agree that these seven accounts constitute the main "pro" group. However I'd disagree that they "only accept any edit that places TM in a highly positive light". I think this group is aware of Misplaced Pages policies and practices and know that at least token acknowledgement of criticism is required to avoid looking like blatant POV pushers. However they have consistently removed critical or non-positive material, minimized it, or buried it with excessive amounts of rebuttal or "balancing" material. Will Beback talk 00:39, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose The problems here are not caused just by the obvious POV-PUSHING by pro-TM editors, but by the many infractions by most of the active editors, as I discuss in my Evidence section. I suggest that most sanctions should apply to all editors engaged in edit warring or other continuing infractions of WP policy, regardless of their POV. Adoption of this Proposal would result in the virtual elimination of those with knowledge about TM, leaving those with an anti-TM POV to redo the article to have that POV. The unreasoning prejudice for TM among some editors is balanced by an unreasoning prejudice against TM among others. David Spector 03:29, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose' Evidence is still being submitted and there is mounting concern that the POV pushing and problematic behavior exists with several editors not listed above.-- — Kbob • Talk • 18:56, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Thank you for moving the proposals. These procedures can be confusing. Will give the evidence more time before commenting upon proposed remedies. Durova 20:25, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

IP addresses

It has been noted already that most of these editors live in the same area and seem to use the same service provider as the TM movement LISCO. We are aware that people using other service providers (perhaps due to highly dynamic IP addresses (such as certain mobile internet providers) have restrictions placed on them when editing wiki articles without a registered user id and indeed have to go through a check process while generating a new user account. It would not be difficult, given the findings here ] to do something similar with LISCO users. This would thus not restrict all users of these IP group completely from editing most WIKI articles

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support. Banning all LISCo IP addresses from the TM-related articles, subject to specific exceptions on application to ArbCom, would impose no undue hardship on any Fairfield area editor.Fladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support Remedies should be focused on editing TM-related articles. No one has identified problems with the editing of unrelated topics. Will Beback talk 00:39, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support, in principle, though this needs to be reworded in somewhat clearer language. Cirt (talk) 20:19, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose Blanket banning of all LISCO IP addresses is too broad. It excludes a major community having unique knowledge and experience with the topic, not just those editors who are a source of problems here. David Spector 03:35, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose this a sweeping and prejudicial proposal that would unfairly target thousands of Fairfield residents who happen to choose Lisco as their IP provider. I much prefer Timid Guy's proposal that selected editor who are Fairfield Lisco users be required to obtain a dedicated IP.-- — Kbob • Talk • 19:01, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

IP addresses directly owned by any part of the TM movement

Any to IP address connected directly to the TM movement should not be allowed to edit any TM related articles)

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support. Fladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Support. Clearly a conflict of interest. This could be reworded to be a bit more direct and specific, as per WP:ARBSCI. Cirt (talk) 20:20, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Unsure I'm not sure that everyone at an 'official' IP address would necessarily be a problem editor. David Spector 03:44, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose Durova has already made a proposal that contains better wording and a more universal application.-- — Kbob • Talk • 19:03, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

TM movement should not be allowed to edit based on religious or "spiritual" grounds

It has been noted by some editors that people from the TM movement should be allowed to edit TM articles based on religious or spiritual grounds and this leaves us in something of a difficulty. However, it must be noted that the TM movement itself claims that it IS NOT either a religion or a spirituality. Instead it claims the following:

What is Transcendental Meditation?

Transcendental Meditation is a simple technique which gives a unique quality of rest to mind and body. It allows stress and tiredness to be released in a natural way, resulting in greater energy, clarity and enjoyment of life. ]

Will it interfere with my existing beliefs?

No. Transcendental Meditation is a simple technique that aids relaxation, relieves stress and provides physical and mental energy. The practice does not conflict with any existing beliefs, religious or otherwise; yet at the same time people often find that regular meditation gives clarity and perspective to their highest aspirations. ]

Then is TM a spirituality? Again, the TM movement (at least publicly) says no ]

So what is TM? The organization clarifies itself with this statement:

(Transcendental Meditation) will enhance your religion. Millions of people of all religions -- including clergy of all religions -- practice Transcendental Meditation. They report that the technique, by increasing energy and intelligence and eliminating stress and fatigue, allows them to better follow the tenets of their religion. Transcendental Meditation is a technique, pure and simple. It involves no religion, belief, philosophy, or change in lifestyle. ]

If this is correct then using the argument that TM should be allowed to edit the article on religious or spiritual grounds most be a flawed and is indeed an unusable argument (we cannot claim that an organization is something it says it is not, except in the context of an article and then only using reliable sources) . On this basis it should, and can only, be treated in the same way that WIKI would look at any organization making medical, social political or educational claims (and especially those where an exchange of money takes place). Would WIKI allow a drug company (or its representatives) to edit its own wiki page where it appears manipulate clinical data to suggest that its newest drug will "cure cancer" even when mainstream science says it does not? Clearly it would not. Tuckerj1976 (talk) 18:21, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Support. The posture of this matter is not whether adherents to some religion can edit an article about their religion. It is whether an organization, whether one regards it as a commercial enterprise or otherwise, should be permitted to astroturf Misplaced Pages.Fladrif (talk) 18:33, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

It is an oddly worded proposal, which I took to mean that "I have a right to edit about my beliefs" is not a reason to excuse an editor from the propsals and remedies that may be adopted here. I did not take it to mean "You may not edit about your beliefs" to be a suggested policy. If it were, I would oppose that, and as the others point out, it is impossible to know what any editor believes. Behavior is what ArbCom should be concerned with. Fladrif (talk) 22:08, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Disagree. We have no way of knowing what people really believe, and belief alone is not the problem. An editor can believe something to be true without using Misplaced Pages to promote it. The main problems that this case should address concern advocacy and collusion. Will Beback talk 00:39, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Support I think the reasoning is sound. There is no 'holy right' to PUSH a POV here. We cannot know that God takes a stand for or against any topic. TM is not a religion. All contributions should be reliably sourced. David Spector 03:51, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose-- — Kbob • Talk • 19:07, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

I'm not sure I understand this proposal, but if the idea is that followers of TM should not be allowed to edit the articles, I disagree quite strongly. We don't exclude people for their beliefs, but for their editing behavior. Woonpton (talk) 21:26, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Too diffuse. Durova 05:39, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Durova: you are not the first person to say that about any attempts I make at "official/officious" writing :-)Tuckerj1976 (talk) 19:48, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Proposals by TimidGuy

Proposed principles

Template

1) Fundamental to creating an encyclopedia is the fair and accurate representation of sources.

Support This is a fundamental principle and relevant to this case since there has been significant dispute over reliable sources.-- — Kbob • Talk • 18:50, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of Proposed principle}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed findings of fact

Misrepresention of sources

1) Doc James and Fladrif have misrepresented sources.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of proposed finding of fact}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed remedies

Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.

Requirement of fixed IP

5) Because Lisco's server atypically assigns a different IP after the 6-hour lease time, resulting in the situation where a given IP that's been used by one editor is occasionally assigned to another, creating the appearance of sock puppetry, Lisco customers are required to pay the extra cost of a fixed IP if they want to continue editing Misplaced Pages, thereby having a specific IP always associated with a specific account.

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Proposed. TimidGuy (talk) 17:43, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand how this proposal would solve the problems of TM editors taking ownership of TM-related articles, COI, tag teaming, and non-neutral editing, except that it would make it easier to identify accounts. Further, I don't see how it could be determined easily whether users have fixed or non-fixed IPs short of repetitive and invasive checkuser tests. Will Beback talk 21:30, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose I don't see that this even is a remedy. It is just a statement of fact relevant to determining sockpuppetry, which is not a major issue. David Spector 03:56, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Oppose This does not address any of the real issues in this case, and would be unduly burdensome to enforce. Is an named and logged-editor with LISCO as an ISP going to be sanctioned because their posts are coming from multiple IP addresses? Is some hapless admin or clerk supposed to monitor that? Arguments that the SPI's finding of rampant sockpuppetry/meatpuppetry is a mistake due simply to LISCO's use of dynamic IP addresses is a red herring.Fladrif (talk) 18:31, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Support This proposal addresses a specific issue of this case ie. dynamically assigned IP addresses giving the appearance of sock or meat puppetry which is a central point in this case. It gives the CU or Committee a layer of assurance that each IP address is unique and allows the Fairfield editors to be on a level playing field with all other editors and prevents them from being falsely accused of sock puppetry when there is no behavioral basis for it. Other accusations such as ownership, tag team editing and POV have been made by both sides involved in this case, and can and will, be addressed in other proposals. Citing them here as reasons for opposing this proposal seems rather odd.-- — Kbob • Talk • 18:47, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by others:

Not certain of the factuality of this. At any rate, it appears to be outside the scope of normal remedies. Durova 05:37, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

I could get a statement from Lisco. I certainly wouldn't mind paying the extra money for a fixed IP if it would make the Misplaced Pages community more comfortable. TimidGuy (talk) 12:32, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Oppose We are an encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Even those that are assigned IP addresses dynamically. Taemyr (talk) 03:28, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Template

2) {text of proposed remedy}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed enforcement

Template

1) {text of proposed enforcement}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of proposed enforcement}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposals by User:Z

Proposed principles

Template

1) {text of Proposed principle}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of Proposed principle}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed findings of fact

Template

1) {text of proposed finding of fact}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Template

2) {text of proposed finding of fact}

Comment by Arbitrators:

Comment by parties:

Comment by others:

Proposed remedies

Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.