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== List of sock-puppets? ==
== Streamlining the reporting procedure ==


I am a professor at a large state school in the U.S., and am starting a research project on how companies use Misplaced Pages to influence public perception. Is there a way to get a comprehensive list of all sockpuppets that have been blocked on Misplaced Pages? I have been looking around, but, have found nothing. Reply here, or on my talk page.
The current procedure for reporting suspected sockpuppets is confusing to many editors; a bunch of cases submitted recently have been improperly formatted. I think streamlining the procedure would make things easier for the users submitting cases and the admins dealing with the cases. ] is a good model to follow, I think; it's much easier to submit a case there.


Any other thoughts you might have on ways of identifying paid users, or Misplaced Pages articles edited by paid users, would be appreciated. Thanks!
In the streamlined procedure, there should basically be three steps:


] (]) 12:46, 13 September 2013 (UTC)
1. Create the case subpage. We could use an inputbox similar to the one on ]--a mockup can be found at ]. Right now, this step is quite difficult for users--some enter the case details directly onto the SSP page, some users create the subpage but don't use the template, which results in an unformatted mess that's hard to fix.


2. Enter the subpage into ]. It would be really nice if this step could be automated.


3. Inform the alleged puppetmaster and sockpuppets on their user talk pages. In my opinion, there's no good reason to put the suspected master/puppet templates on user pages--it introduces a bunch of extra steps, and creates the possibility of an edit war, when the user(s) remove the template from their user page. A note on the user talk page should give the accused parties an opportunity to respond.


== Meatpuppets? Give me a break! ==
This would be much simpler than the current procedure, and would lead to a more clearly formatted page. ] (]) 02:29, 1 February 2007 (UTC)


Suppose 20 employees of a small firm know that it's in violation of labor or environmental laws. They collectively sign up and post the facts, which are NPOV within the community in which the company operates.
Building on that idea and Akhilleus's mockup, here's actual working code. Try it out, and if it satisfies, uncomment the copy that's already on the main page (commented out). -- ]&ensp;<small><sup>]</sup>/<sub>]</sub></small> 19:20, 9 March 2007 (UTC)


This "meat puppet" rule neatly silences all but one. Then, of course, people who instinctively suck up to wealth and power can pile on to the whistle-blower.
<!-- {| class="messagebox"
|-
| style="text-align: center" |<span style="font-size: 125%">'''To start a case:'''</span></br>Cases are created on subpages of this page. To do so, add the name of the '''puppetmaster''' (the '''''main account''''', not the sockpuppet!) in the box below (replacing only the word ''PUPPETMASTER'', leaving the rest as is), and click "Start a case." You will be taken to a page where you can fill out the request.
|}


<inputbox>
type=create
editintro=Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/000_Docs_000/000_Header
preload=Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/000_Docs_000/000000
default=Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/PUPPETMASTER
buttonlabel=Start a case
bgcolor=#F8FCFF
width=50
</inputbox> -->{{space|15}}''(Inputbox commented out here, now activated on ] main page.)''


Basically, wikipedia is based on a Western, individualist model of personality and as such is absurdly infected with binary thinking: people have no nuance: they think of the strangers they encounter as either "good guys" (envisioning them in most cases as members of the dominant class in their community, usually white Americans but perhaps sometimes as high-caste Hindus when the member is from India), or unspeakable "trolls" (does anyone see the racism implicit in this term, which has much to do with early-mediaeval displacement of the Celts?)
I think this is a great improvement, and I'm in favor of implementing it. ] (]) 22:31, 9 March 2007 (UTC)


Therefore, by labeling a poster's friend a "meat puppet" you've neatly avoided having to address their point.
Based on there having been no objections to your proposal in over five weeks, I've made the inputbox operative on ], along with substantially revamping the instructions to make use of it... and put collecting evidence and opening the case '''before''' tagging suspect accounts with links to that case. If this was silly of me, that's easily moved around (but why?). Also headlined each item to make the sequence easier to follow in a quick reading.


I demand the removal of all such labels from wikipedia.
You'll also find that {{tls|socksuspect}} and {{tls|socksuspectnotice}} are a little bit smarter than they used to be:


] (]) 09:18, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
You still have to enter the puppetmaster's name into {{tls|socksuspect}}, because that's posted on the suspected sockpuppet's userpage and has no way to know who the master is unless you give it a name... but once you do, it looks up the '''most recent''' SSP report for that name: (2nd), (3rd), (4th), up to (20th) if anyone gets that far unblocked.


== Difficult to start report ==
On the other hand, {{tls|socksuspectnotice}} gets posted on the suspected puppetmaster's talk page, and it will still take the parameter you give it... but if you don't give it '''any''', it looks up the most recent SSP report for that that user.


It just takes too much effort to compile a sock report, even for the simplest cases. I have been put off reporting cases in the past because I know from experience that I will need to devote a fair chunk of time to getting it completed. Here are some suggestions (but I have no idea how to do any of this myself);
So you can keep on using these two templates just the way you have... but you can also skimp on effort a bit, if you choose. -- ]&ensp;<small><sup>]</sup>/<sub>]</sub></small> 06:53, 10 March 2007 (UTC)


1. Above the "Start a Case" button, have an edit box for the puppetmaster name rather than just expecting the user to edit a text line. This will give a visual clue that a name must be entered before pressing the button.
== Sockpuppet query ==


2. After, completing the report, automatically add it to the current cases. I can't think of any circumstances where you would create a report and then not list it. This eliminates one step for the originator.
If i suspect a user or two of being a sockpuppet but am not sure who, then what should i do? ] 22:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
:You'll need to know who you suspect them of being sockpuppets of, but once you know, follow the instructions at ] to report it. -- ] 03:30, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


3. Automatically add the needed tags to the suspects talk pages. There is no reason that the reporter needs to do this manually. However, a warning to the reporter that this is going to happen might be in order.
::Can't a procedure be set up so that if you don't know who the master is, you can add suspected sockpuppets anyway? ] 10:14, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


Thanks for listening
<s>:::How are you able to suspect that someone is a sockpuppet without knowing who they are a sockpuppet of? If you want, you could probably mention it at ], but for any action to be taken, you'd need a good idea of who the puppetmaster was. -- ] 17:46, 16 February 2007 (UTC)</s> Don't pay attention to my silly advice, read the knowedgable information of Akhilleus below! -- ] 20:18, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


] 14:10, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
Simply south's question has been answered at ]. Note that if you have good evidence that sockpuppetry is occurring, Checkuser can sometimes find the master account for you. ] (]) 18:01, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


==Assistance required==
== Administrators: Help I'm blocked on Wiktionary for being a sock puppet ==
This is all too confusing for me! Would someone please look at ] and ] for me. They have both been active creating articles which have been deleted as non-notable/spam etc, and recreating them when deleted. I have posted about this on ]. Ankur0412 has posted a message of support on Pvsamrat's talk page. I think they are possible sock puppets of each other. Would someone experienced in these matters take the case up please? ] (]) 10:37, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
:Think I've managed to do it, but the instructions are not clearly written and seem daunting to first timers. ] (]) 11:08, 4 February 2008 (UTC)


== ] returns for archiving ==
Hello Admins,


My apologies over the last few weeks for my bots which have mysteriously been taken off my crontab! (I'll have to blame someone from the Toolserver for that..) They will start to archive again from this notice onwards. Thank you. &mdash; ] <sup>]</sup> 06:31, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
My account of the ] has been blocked on wiktionary for being a sock puppet of ] but this is not true. As far as I can tell, I am unable to make any edits on wiktionary whatsoever, so I am clueless as to how to resolve the issue over there. It would seem that the sock puppet process is not as mature over there as I never heard about that user until the block was imposed. Please help me resolve this issue. Thanks.


== Need clarification on the rules ==
] 03:17, 8 March 2007 (UTC)


Let me give an example.
: This issue has been resolved. ] 19:05, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
An editor is blocked for a year.
During that year a number of very short lived accounts appear editing the same topics as the blocked editor and in the same style.
After the block expires the originally blocked editor continues editing, in some cases making very very similar edits to those made by the suspected sock-puppets.
Is it too late to now make an entry in "suspected sock puppets", in order to possibly have the original block extended if the evidence is considered enough for judgement? --] <sup>]</sup> 11:25, 29 February 2008 (UTC)


:It isn't too late to do so, but whether or not there would be any merit to it, I think, boils down to IP addresses. When blocked, the original editor's underlying IP should have been blocked, and account creation also blocked. That means that if the new accounts were created from by the original editor, whilst blocked, then it would have been from a different IP. As a result, whilst a suspected sock puppet case might provide sufficient evidence that the editor had been abusing multiple accounts to avoid a block (and thus deserved to have the block reinstated, and / or extended), the only definitive way to prove it would be a check-user, which would presumably show different IP's, and thus unable to conclude definitively one way or the other. Hope that helps! <sub>] ]</sub><sup>]/]</sup> 13:25, 29 February 2008 (UTC)


== 2nd ==
==Accusations of sock-puppetry==


When opening 2nd case for a user, the new page treats it as though it is ] instead of ] but it seems that the suspected sockpuppeteer name is not allowed to be corrected. Therefore the suspected sockpuppeteer name stays as ]. This is stupid as that one doesn't exist.
Nobody is making accusations of sock-puppetry anymore. I certainly am not. ScienceApologist has admitted using three user names on ]. I am therefore stating baldly the fact that SA has employed sock-puppets. The fact that SA can admit this and yet still protest his innocence is breathtaking in both it's arrogance and its total lack of integrity. Who are you now trying to kid, yourself?.] 01:57, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
:The above comment was posted by ], apparently taken from ]. I don't really understand why it's here. ] (]) 02:28, 13 March 2007 (UTC)


(That is ]. Btw, this is just an example)
==Curious as to the silence ==
I'm new to reporting sock puppets, but is there any reason as to why there doesn't seem to be any feedback on the pages? I reported Landau7 and it would seem to not just be my report, but others. What will occur in the event that the 10 days run out and an admin doesn't comment? ] 07:32, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
:This page doesn't get much attention from admins. If there is an urgent problem it's best to post it at ]. ] (]) 14:38, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
::I have posted it there and the problem still hasn't been resolved. ] 10:49, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
:Agree with Akhilleus; unfortunately, the only administrator to my knowledge that said he or she will try and clean up this page was Seraphimblad...earlier today. So there is quite a backlog. I'm trying to help provoke discussion on the individual subpages. I'm not sure if the "10 days" thing is a technical issue or just a procedural issue...and, at any rate, you can see that it is being ignored anyways. Again, if you have specific issues where the user is obviously a sockpuppet of another, then report them to ], where you should be able to get a reply sooner or later. Otherwise, please help out here if you can. BTW, I'll look at your post at ANI and your sockpuppet report a little later. --] 16:35, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
:: Thank you. :) ] 16:38, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
:::Sometimes, things do get backlogged. It's getting worked on, and they ''will'' get examined, hopefully sooner in the future. Your patience is much appreciated, these can take some time to look through and make a determination on, and I'd rather make one good determination than ten bad ones. ] <small><sup>]</sup></small> 05:59, 28 March 2007 (UTC)


Users should be allowed to correct this to the proper suspected sockpuppteer. ] (]) 21:58, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
== Blocked user creates new account is that sockpuppet? ==
A previous user who was indef blocked I suspect created a new account. Thier contributions almost pick up perfectly where the other left off. The edits are identical at times to edits made weeks ago that were contested. Is this sockpuppetry? Or something else entirely? If so what. Is this accept policy? The account but not the person is blocked? --] 22:29, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
:That's a sockpuppet, yes. Go ahead and file a case. ] (]) 22:31, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
::took some digging but I added it. --] 23:46, 17 April 2007 (UTC)


== RFCU for IPs? ==
== Suspected sock puppet tags on user pages ==


I was advised to request an RFCU for ], but RFCU is geared towards reports of registered user accounts as sock masters, not IP addresses. The RFCU template is not designed for entering an IP address as the sock master. Does RFCU take IP addresses as sock masters? - ] (]) 15:37, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
There's a discussion at ] about putting notices of suspected sockpuppetry on user pages. Currently, step #8 of the reporting process tells us to "Tag the suspected sockpuppet(s)" by placing {{tl|socksuspect}} on their user page. This sometimes leads to edit wars when the tagged user gets upset and removes the notice from their user page, and the user who reported them restores the tag. As far as I can see, the notice on the user page serves no practical purpose. The accused parties should be informed of the SSP case with a message on their user talk page (that's currently step #9). Therefore, I think we should get rid of the step of tagging user pages, which will eliminate some edit warring and simplify the reporting process. ] (]) 13:10, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
:You could use ], ], ] and other similar tools. The whole point of checkuser is to find which IPs are being used. ] 05:23, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
:It notifies the rest of the community who may not monitor the administrative boards. WHy not tag and temporarily protect? <strong>] </strong>|<small>]</small> 14:04, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
:The note on the user talk page should be sufficient to inform the wider community. The user page should not be protected in these situations, because a fair number of users who are reported aren't sockpuppets; and at any rate users are allowed to remove warnings from their userspace. ] (]) 14:18, 23 April 2007 (UTC) ::Whilst a RFCU would clearly be a waste of time in determining whether the IPs are related (you already have the information that checkusers use to decide this), a RFCU can be used to discover whether the batch of IPs are also related to any registered accounts. ] (]) 07:33, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
: Well CheckUser isn't magic, it can't look over the internet and see who is using the computer, checkusers use a combination of information (the biggest being the IP addresses of editors with usernames which aren't visible to everyone else) to give some technical weight to if they are the same user (Checkuser can be negative even if they are socks and vice-versa it isn't 100%). You have the IP information, so the checkuser isn't required to do such analysis, and the checkuser looking at an IP won't be able to discover related IP information. I'd have to ask what you think the value of the exercise it though? As above it can't determine an identity of who it is, it can't predict future IPs etc. so what value is knowing they are all the same person? In reality if the IPs are individually engaging in blockable behaviour, then just get them blocked as and when they arise. If it really gets out of hand then reports to ISPs are possible. --] (]) 09:02, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
::Or tag and don't edit war over it if they remove the tag. <strong>] </strong>|<small>]</small> 15:37, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
:::That's a nice idea, but edit wars over users removing warnings from their talk pages are pretty common; we can't stop them by saying "don't edit war!" But we can eliminate an opportunity for edit warring by not tagging user pages. Also, note the ] procedure--they don't require any notification of the suspected users, not even a note on the user's talk page. Compared to Checkuser, SSP is mired in instruction creep. ] (]) 16:37, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
::::No doubt - I'm just giving the perspective of a non-admin who has been involved in some SSP events, and I found it helpful to find the user page tag when I was looking at a suspicious user. But I'm not involved enough to know if it's more trouble than its worth as you're suggesting. Just don't streamline so much that non-admins are left clueless. <strong>] </strong>|<small>]</small> 18:05, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
:Let me add some comments from another side - an incorrectly accused editor. I recently was accused of being a sockpuppet and wouldn't have even known a case was filed (or even known where to check for one, as I wasn't aware of how this process worked before), if it wasn't for the tag being placed on my user page. The tag doesn't say you ARE an abusive sockpuppet, just that there is currently discussion about the possibility.
:I think the tagging process is useful in notifying the user and community, and removing it by the user is a conflict of interest (obviously) and should be strongly discouraged. In my case, they found there was no problem and later an admin removed the tag for me. I think this is a perfect example of how it should work. People caught sockpuppetting will invariably get upset, trying to change the process will not elliminate that. Keep the tags. -- ] 23:35, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
::Gregory9, whoever filed the case on you, if they were following the steps listed on the page, should have done two things to inform you of the case: tag your user page with the {{tl|socksuspect}} notice, and left a {{tl|socksuspectnotice}} note on your talk page. From looking at the history of your user page and user talk page, your user page was tagged (), but Ati3414 never left the notification on your user talk page. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
::If we make the change I'm proposing, users will still be notified on their talk pages. Now, it's still possible that the person filing the case won't follow all the steps and won't leave a notice on people's talk pages. It's my belief, though, that users are confused by the SSP instructions, and if we make the procedure simpler, people are more likely to follow all the steps. ] (]) 00:47, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
:::Hmm... I didn't realize he didn't follow the instructions correctly. Looking at the instructions again, it sounds like it distinguishes between a puppetmaster (the "original" account) and a sockpuppet. The instructions only say to put {{tl|socksuspect}} on a sockpuppet's user page, and don't say to put anything on the talk page. But the puppetmaster is notified on his talk page.
:::So you're just suggesting to notify all parties on their talk pages instead of treating the "sockpuppets" and "puppetmasters" differently? I agree, that sounds simpler. However it seems like it justs moves the problem of some people reverting notices on their user pages, to reverting on talk pages instead. So while I agree your proposal could simplify things some, I don't agree it will reduce any edit warring over these issues.
:::If you switch to only notifying on the talk page, maybe there should be a policy to always put such notices on the TOP of the page (so it doesn't get buried in the talk page and edittors interacting with this user are informed better). Actually, maybe that is why they suggested to put it on the user page instead in the first place. After all, I agree with ] that these notices are also to notify the community rather than just the immediate user. -- ] 04:27, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


:If all of the suspected socks are IPs, there's not much a checkuser could do. If there's any question of whether there are ''other users'' on those IPs, then a checkuser could potentially be worthwhile (whether such a check would be run, of course, depends on circumstances -- I wouldn't hold your breath). Most obvious uses of checkuser are out the window, once you know the IP. As MER-C mentioned, tools like whois can be very useful in determining potential ISP relationships or geographical similarities between IPs. &ndash; <span style="font-family: Garamond">] (])</span> 09:40, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
== procedural query ==
::Isn't RFCU also a way of confirming or denying <code>user-agent</code> matches from the server logs? The whois records for the IPs in ], all show an Egyptian origin. - ] (]) 02:00, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
::: Would that prove a great deal? Some user-agent strings are going to be fairly common so would be prone to false positives, it might add some weight to them being different people (but that's very easy to spoof from the same machine, and may vary if someone was using different internet cafes (say)). As I asked above, what value do you perceive in confirming these are indeed the same real person? In all practical senses assuming they are seems fine. As an aside in the ] request you mention the use of URL cloaking services, I assume these too are being added to the spam blacklist? (There should be no need for anyone to use them when externally linking from wikipedia) if they are new and unusual services they may inadvertantly be doing us a favour tracking them down --] (]) 14:56, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
:::: There is potentially more than just <code>user-agent</code> available as evidence, depending on what is recorded in the logs. I'd rather not go into the details here per ]. I agree with you that the use of url hiding services on wp seems generally undesirable. However, I seem to recall a long-ago discussion somewhere on the issue of blacklisting such services that failed to reach consensus. - ] (]) 21:05, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
::::: OK in the dim distant past I've certainly listed them for the meta blacklist and had them added, I guess things must have changed. (Tinyurl etc. are on ]) --] (]) 07:23, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
Range too big to block, take to RFCU (which has not been filed as far as I can tell), to sort this out. Or, go to ANI and ask for range blocks (I know too little about them to do one. <span style="font-family: verdana;"> — ] • ] • </span> 23:03, 9 March 2008 (UTC)


== Innapropriate handling of suspected sockpuppets? ==
quick question: if an IP has been banned for vandalism, and a registered user ''i am almost certain'' is the same person (which i'm sure an admin can verify) continues to edit, albeit constructively, what is the official policy? --] 19:13, 25 April 2007 (UTC)


I have been accused of sockpuppetry. Is it not permitted for the accuser to ask other users to provide evidence against the accusee? Please reply on my talkpage if you can, but right here is OK I guess. -- ]<font color = "black"><sup>''''']'''''</sup></font> 19:08, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
== Suspected puppet -- no time to make case ==


== Order of list ==
I am very confident {{vandal|User:Tenisnut3}} is a sockpuppet of {{vandal|Austinwoodtennis}}(indef. blocked). I don't have time to write up the case now. Their edits coincide almost completely, and they have the same content in their (deleted) user pages. Anyone volunteer to put it together? Thanks, ] 03:21, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
:{{ipvandal|71.143.18.42}} is the same. Compare to the user pages. ] doesn't seem to have been deleted yet, so check its history. He also vandalized ] minutes after Tenisnut3's last edit. ] 03:31, 4 May 2007 (UTC)


It seems like a lot of admins are taking cases from the top of the list where the cases are the oldest at the bottom.
== ] and ] and vandalization ==
I suggest that the page is augmented to show admins they need to go to the bottom of the pile first. ] (]) 13:39, 31 March 2008 (UTC)


== Need to get more admins active here ==
Both of these users have shown a marked fondness for vandalizing the ] page in recent days. Given the similarity in names and vandalism preferences, I think there is a reasonable chance the second account was created after the first account had been given a final warning. Is there any way to substantiate this, and/or impose any sort of penalty? ] 19:30, 4 May 2007 (UTC)


I tried posting on ] a few times, but it didn't help much. This has been severely backlogged for over a week, with some cases still needing attention from weeks ago. ''']''' '']'' ] 07:14, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
== User claims to have been unaware that he was vandalising - can/should I remove him? ==
:I try to drop by when I can - I cleared a handful yesterday, and intend to clear a few more today, if I get the time. I think a large part of the problem could be that (i) new cases are listed at the top, (ii) when there's a backlog, it looks immensely daunting. I think people could be inclined to drop by, scroll down, find one they look like they can knock on the head quickly (I'm guilty of that myself) then get rid of it. The bigger ones, or the ones further down the list, then tend to languish.
:I think there'd be a lot to be said for completely clearing the backlog - that would make it much less daunting, I think. I'll be rolling up my sleeves later... <sub>] ]</sub><sup>]/]</sup> 08:16, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
::I think that the comment one section above is on the right track, incidentally - perhaps it would be better to list old cases at the top, rather than the bottom. I think that might go some way to getting them dealt with more quickly...? <sub>] ]</sub><sup>]/]</sup> 08:17, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
:::I do agree that it makes more sense to do it that way, if admins are going to start at the top. Also agree about clearing the backlog. I worked with an admin a few days ago to help clear some cases, but there's a limit to what I can do, given that I'm not yet an administrator. I'm hoping we can get a few admins to work together here and get rid of this backlog. Maybe in the future, it can be kept at a reasonable level. ''']''' '']'' ] 08:19, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
::::I'll post on ] with a suggestion that we change the order around to see what people's views are generally. <sub>]</sub><sup>]/]</sup> 12:09, 4 April 2008 (UTC)


==Just a question==
I recently added ] to the list as a suspected sock puppet of ]. Both accounts had vandalised. Cavalierboy 28 soon contacted me and told me that he hadn't been at all aware that what he was doing was vandalism, and would in fact stop editing Misplaced Pages altogether. He even e-mailed me and asked me how to remove all the images he'd uploaded, because he wanted to leave Misplaced Pages.
This is quite a daunting task to initiate and while there are some guidelines, it's not completely clear what constitutes good evidence vs. so-so vs. bad. I'm mostly wondering if there is a good example of a well prepared sock puppet case that one could use as a guideline. Thanks. ] (]) 17:57, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
:Anything is fine, as long as it provides diffs and is likely to be truthful. An excellent current SSP case to model your potential one upon, is ]. ] (]) 18:18, 4 April 2008 (UTC)


== ifexist limit ==
While I'm fully aware that this might just be a way to get out of being blocked (or otherwise punished), his apology did seem sincere to me. I decided it would be better to simply point him in the direction of some Misplaced Pages policy pages, so I removed the report I'd left for him from the suspected sock puppets list.


FYI: This is one of the pages that surpasses the limit on "expensive parser functions" and is therefore listed in ]. It is mostly caused by the many uses of {{tlx|user5}} in the sockpuppet reports. January 2008 archive has "Expensive parser function count: 532/100" for instance :D --] (] • ]) 15:36, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
However, after doing so, I noticed that someone had replaced the sock puppet notice at the top of his page (Cavalierboy 28 had blanked it after apologising), and I realised that it might not be as easy as simply removing the report from this page.


== SSP/RFCU merger proposal ==
Therefore, I have two questions.


See ] - opinions valued. ]&nbsp;<sup><span style="font-style:italic">(]&nbsp;|&nbsp;])</span></sup> 22:29, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
a) Can I just remove the sock puppet notice from his page(s) and point him in the direction of Misplaced Pages's policies (especially ones regarding vandalism)?


==Reporting new information regarding closed case?==
or
The procedure for reporting new information regarding closed cases is not clear to me. As noted at ], a recent checkuser request has confirmed the status of a couple of previously unconfirmed socks from a now-closed case. It would be sensible to post this information on the closed case, but closed cases are not supposed to be edited or reopened. I added the info to the the talk page for the case, as instructed, but I don't know if any admins watch for new talk pages for closed sockpuppetry cases. --] (]) 13:34, 16 April 2008 (UTC)


==Orphaned request==
b) Should I replace the report, given that although he wasn't aware of it, he was still breaking the rules by vandalising with a sockpuppet?
I stumbled across ], which was never listed. —<small>{]} ] 15:10:10, 18 April 2008 (UTC)</small>


== Sockpuppet ==
The report I left is ] (its separate page hasn't been deleted yet) in case you wanted to check it out.


I am a bit confused, but I found a sock puppet of ],
(And I'm aware that if he's so disillusioned with Misplaced Pages, whether or not he gets blocked isn't particularly important - but it's the principle of the thing. I don't want to report someone who had no idea what they were doing was wrong. And in any case, if he changes his editing behaviour after reading up on the rules, he might be encouraged to stay as a helpful contributer.)
Operating under the name of ]. Could an admin please block him.
] <small>(] ])</small> 11:41, 30 April 2008 (UTC)


== please archive this request ==
Thoughts? --] 04:47, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Hello,
I filed thi
*http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Suspected_sock_puppets/Mantanmoreland

..but then I realized that I should have filed a CU instead, which I did (]). So therefore; could somebody please archive the above Sock-puppet request?
Thanks! Regards, ] (]) 11:23, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

== Wikistalk ==

First off, I am writing this without my username on purpose. This is ]. I have a case of Wikistalk with ]. He has been editing article I have created almost exclusively. For a small portion of the list of articles he has done this to see the following.
] , ] , ] , ] , ] , ] , ] , . Please not that he did not mark any other NBA All-Star games as stubs (presumably because I didn't create them). Here are more examples. ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]. It seems to me he carries a beef with me since I reverted his incorrect edit on 02:48, February 27, 2008 about the 2007-08 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team. Here is a listing of all of his edits Please also take not that this has gone on for months at a time.

--] (]) 20:21, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

== Non-admins closing cases ==

Are non-admins allowed to ''close'' cases? I refer to ], where ] decided to arbitrarily close the case, and archive it, while admitting to not even reading the full discussion on the page, and worse still, admitting to not even ''looking'' at the opening evidence. I really feel that's a little (a lot) unacceptable. --]<sup><small>]</sup></small> 15:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

*Well, I know Shalom edits SSP quite a bit, and looks through many of the reports here. I trust their judgment. While a non-admin closing a report may be out of process, did he do something incorrect? If not, just let it be. <span style="font-family:Monotype Corsiva;">] ]</span> 15:21, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

:: Yes, he admitted to not looking at the opening evidence. That's very poor behaviour. I think, unless the case is reviewed by an admin, I will bring it to ]. --]<sup><small>]</sup></small> 15:25, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

:::The reviewer ''did'' look at the evidence, and assessed the case. Your refusal to listen to the decision places you in the same position as Jack Forbes. ]]] 15:42, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

:::: The user ''admitted'' that he did ''not'' . That is ''very'' black and white. --]<sup><small>]</sup></small> 15:44, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

:::::Please try to read in context. He says that he/she did not read the opening evidence that discussed what proved the IP was mine, because I openly stated the IP was mine, meaning there was no need to prove or disprove that. The user read all the relevant information. I suggest you go to the AN/I now, as I am becoming increasingly tired of your persistence, and would like this to be dealt with now. If not, then move on. You and Jack Forbes are tiring the entire community with your antics. ]]] 15:51, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

::::::This is beyond the pale. He said that he only read some of the comments and did not look at the underlying evidence. That evidence was key to the argument over whether you intentionally misled people. At the least, an admin with experience at SSP should have taken a look at the evidence and arguments.

:Simply get an Administrator to either re-open the cas ''or'' declare the case closed. Thus removing any doubts. ] (]) 16:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

::I've done that. ] <sup>]</sup> 15:13, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

== Warning the accused ==

I made a number of attempts to warn at ] in accordance with the instructions given (see the history for what I tried). I totally failed to get the template to work, & gave up, just entering my own words instead. Could someone revise the explanation so it's clear what to do? ] (]) 11:05, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
:I added it for you. For future reference add: <nowiki>{{subst:socksuspectnotice|1=LuisGomez111}} ~~~~</nowiki>, changing the name to the sockpuppeter in question. ] <sup>]•]</sup> 11:09, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

::Sorry & thanks. I see what I did wrong now: I wrote puppet instead of suspect. Might I suggest the actual text be available on the edit page here for direct copying to avoid hand-copying errors. The edit page gives only a transclusion to a page with no link that I can find. ] (]) 14:48, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

== Request for priority? ==

I realise there are alot of cases, but can someone with experience (perhaps even checkuser status) take a look at ]? We have a new (self-confessed) sock-puppet everyday, who has claimed they "will not stop until their edits are kept". This individual has already spoiled an important mediation process, and has inserted several copy-vio images onto Misplaced Pages, so I think this warrents a priority of sorts. <small>--<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;border:2px solid #A9A9A9;padding:1px;">] | ] </span></small> 20:22, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

== Is real evidence required? ==
Can anyone just make up stuff, get a few buddies together and post the same nonsense and get someone labeled a sockpuppet? Is any real proof required? Do the people looking at these cases look at the evidence? ] (]) 19:26, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
:There has to be some sort of proof, such as diffs, that can be shown to link an account as a sockpuppet. Just a bunch of people pointing fingers saying "S/he is a sock puppet" isn't enough. ] (]) 19:30, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
::How about pages that are not on Misplaced Pages but the internet, and that no longer exist? Is it enough for an accuser to say they saw it and a bunch of their buddies saw it? How about saying a nickname on a non wikipedia site and a nickname on a different sites forum are the same people? How about multi step theories with half the steps missing? ] (]) 23:31, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
:::Sockpuppetry only refers to Misplaced Pages, again backed up with evidence on Misplaced Pages itself. What happens on different sites really doesn't apply to Misplaced Pages. ] (]) 00:24, 29 July 2008 (UTC)
::::If that is true, then must go against the rules on how these cases should be judged. None of the so called evidence happens to be on Misplaced Pages. None of it can be checked because it doesn't exist. Yet the person who judged this claim said the evidence was so strong it linked me to another user who had not edited in months.] (]) 01:42, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
:::::There ''is'' hard evidence in the case you posted, though. There are diffs of suspiciously similar behavior listed in the case. ] <sup>(])</sup> 12:53, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

::::::As did another editor, but he was not declared a sockpuppet. So all the evidence required is that you make 2 edits like someone else? ] (]) 14:55, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

== Is there a way to appeal the findings ==
How can someone appeal the findings of an admin who looked at a sockpuppet case? ] (]) 12:20, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
:See the ] page. You'd start by discussing it with the admin. He or she should also help you to pursue an appeal, if you ask, perhaps suggesting another admin to review the case, or you can find one yourself. If the matter is urgent, you can start a report on ], the incident report noticeboard, to get some attention from independent administrators. Be sure to remain civil, to assume that if a mistake has been made, it was done in good faith, and to stay focused on the narrow issue of the sock puppetry allegation.
:If the accounts accused of sock puppetry have both been editing, during any period involving 500 edits or more (from each), there is a method I have discovered for proving or refuting sock puppetry with high certainty. This is still confidential, but I'd be willing to look at pairs of such accounts, and could intercede if it looks like an incorrect finding has been made. --] (]) 13:20, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

== Indicators ==

Can we start employing ] to help improve clarity (especially in long reports)? ]] 00:41, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

:I find the use of these indicators confusing, because I associate them so strongly with Checkuser that when I see them on SSP I think a Checkuser has been run. If the closing admin confines their comments to the "conclusions" section and the only comments in that section are from the closing admin, things should be clear enough, I think. ] (]) 12:03, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

::I agree with Akhilleus. They're so associated with checkuser that it's ingrained in my consciousness (and I'm not the only one) that it implies you did a checkuser and determined "likely", "confirmed", or "unrelated". ''']''' '']'' 20:50, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
:::Agree with the above - since in some instances an SSP case does progress to a CU but within the original SSP sub-page and without a separate CU being opened, there is considerable scope for confusion. <sub>]</sub><sup>]/]</sup> 20:51, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
:::: Ok, I guess I'll just stick with {{tl|IPblock}} and {{tl|Completed}} then. ]]

== Mea Culpa ==

I am responsible for the multiple accounts (Upward15 being one of them) making some of the same changes – repeatedly. I got carried away and I abused my privileges. I know some of what I did was inappropriate. I’m sorry. I feel bad and I will abstain from editing Misplaced Pages. I feel admonished and I’m sorry. I will leave a similar message on Scarian’s page. I hope that my mistakes won’t harm my co-workers ability to participate on Misplaced Pages. I am responsible for the multiple accounts and I take full responsibility. Thank you. ] (]) 17:46, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

==Some advice sought==

Over on ] there is currently efforts to gut the article down to nothing and remove anything at all that is not sourced to her official biography. It is not a high traffic article, but recently several newly created accounts have started reverting changes and saying the same thing basically "no discussion needed" and are all putting in the same version. There are also several raw IPs that appear to step in when the user accounts are close to 3RR. Is there enough material there to pursue this for sockpuppeting? ] (]) 18:37, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

==Lost==
I had hoped to enter a mild case of sockpuppetry by ] who has successfully circumvented a semi-protect on ] for nuisance edits. The user name is in red in the history yet his edit was allowed. He also edits under several IPs one of which I believe to be 99.1.99.177. As usual, when I tried to enter this directly on the prior page, my previewed template was in red so I abandoned that and tried going to "some other" page where I seemed to be encouraged to do a similar search for sockpuppets which didn't turn up anything but still couldn't enter template. I'm stuck. What now? ] (]) 21:08, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

==Whoops==
I'm an idiot and forgot to remover the User: prefix in the case of ]. Please forgive me - I haven't tried to fix the mistake for fear of making things worse. Cheers, ] (]) 09:51, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
:I fixed it for ya! ]] 11:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
::Thanks! ] (]) 23:19, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

==Sock-puppet report revert==
Hi SQL, those links to userpages are just names. The editor seems to have just created names and did not fill any information on the page. If you click on the discussion page of ] you can find the editor was blocked. The other 2 accounts have been created today itself back-2-back in time and have been used to pursue the same motive as ]. --] (]) 02:39, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

==What to do about abusive sock puppet accusations?==
Being the potential target of a false and abusive sock puppet accusation has caused me to look at the process. It seems very unfair, one sided and, as demonstrated at least by my case, open for abuse. This is at least the 4th sock puppet case with the accuser as either the initiator or a strong advocate of sanctions. In all cases he/she is making the accusation against editors who are disagreeing with him/her. It is part of his/her bullying of editors to suppress all dissent from his/her viewpoint. It seem to me there should be some sort of abuse of process sanction against such editors (he/she is very careful to not infringe any policy). I will produce whatever evidence is necessary to prove I am not a sock puppet, but I find it absurd and disappointing that there does not appear to be any recourse in this or any other process that I can find. Any advice. ] (]) 04:37, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

== Tools: time analysis ==

Does anyone have a tool or efficient method of analyzing editing by time of day and day of week? I've tried to put information into a spreadsheet but have found it hard to get Excel to parse the times, to convert them into datecode, and then to do analysis. Any ideas? ]] ] 21:22, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

== Backwards reporting style ==

I'm sure this must have come up before, but if not /shrug, I'll still make my noises...

Reporting SSPs is backwards and non-intuitive from expected. When I report to AIV, or any other noticeboard, I report '''the user at hand'''. Here, I start my report with the "master" account, which may be several years old, and which I may not even be aware of. I file my report, it's backwards. In this case, I'm filing ], based on the ''current user'', RhoLyokoWarrior, but I should actually be filing it as ], at which point, I think it's too late. Just a little annoyance for me, but which rears its head whenever I do need to use SSP. ] ] ] 16:07, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

:I was thinking the exact same thing when I created one yesterday, I ended up creating a new report which I then realized was back to front and it then had to be manually linked to the old one(s). ] (]) 16:50, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

:I don't think everyone approaches it the same way. Some day, Soccermeko will be back, and I'll report him at the 12th generation of his socking report. I really won't be paying much attention to what IP address he is editing from or what silly name he's cloaked himself in this time ... I'll just recognize the compulsion to inflate Nicole Wray's status and inability to conjugate verbs, and say "Damn it, it's Soccermeko back again". ] (]) 17:03, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

== ] ==

Anyone knows why it's not archiving? ]] 11:41, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

==User:GNAADar ==
] and ] both have same user page. Neither has edited in a long time, so I don't know whether this is something that still needs to be addressed. Maybe it can be handled just like ]. -- ] ] 07:23, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

== creating sockpuppet categories ==

It would be very helpful if persons creating sockpuppet categories (such as ]) would use the {{tl|sockpuppet category}} template. This automatically makes ] a parent category and keeps them from clogging up ]. - ] (]) 21:51, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

:A point to clarify on the page. Also clarify the difference between using {subst:uw-socksuspect|1=SOMExUSERxHERE} and putting ] (for example) on a talk page. Is the latter only if there already is such a category. Or do you put it on as your first comment to the suspected sock puppet?? Carol Moore 17:15, 25 October 2008 (UTC)]

==Blocked user Consist==
] has been blocked indefinitely, but a person claiming to be consist and using a range of IPs has been a nuisance at ] since early Oct 2008 - see ]. The process for reporting suspected sockpuppets looks as bad as tax return, and I suspect Consist is relying this to get away with continuing disruption. --] (]) 23:36, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

== a request ==

When creating a category for a sockpuppet or suspected sockpuppet, please include {{tl|Sockpuppet category}}. This will prevent the category from showing up on reports such as Misplaced Pages:Database reports/Uncategorized categories. Best wishes, - ] (]) 19:23, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

==Where they at==
I haven't seen this before in other article's I've looked at. If you enter "Marriage" at for English Misplaced Pages and then go through the list of User statistics from the highest number of edits on down, you will come across an amazing string of blocked, banned, or no longer editing users and others who fall into such a category. -- ] ] 17:26, 28 November 2008 (UTC)
==] & ]==
Seems to be related to ] and seems to have created a ] article about self (]) and is back on the controversial family that he has created for the genus '']'' which seems to have gone without question on the Romanian WP. ] (]) 12:29, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

== Offsite 'check user' function ==

There is a new tool, which provides 'check user' capability available which could be worth evaluating. ] (]) 21:54, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
:Virgil is a clever fellow. His older versions were powerful enough, actually, to be of quite some... dunno what. Worry? Use? Interest? ++]: ]/] 22:33, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

== Templates used in reports ==
Would it be possible to remind people to use a template to format users in doing reports to be one that includes the CU link? Someone used user5 instead of Socklinks ... Might save a step or two. ++]: ]/] 22:30, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

== Ways to assist? ==
Hi, I noticed that this page has a backlog notice. I'm an admin and would like to become more involved but I'm not exactly sure what I could do to help. Is there some sort of clerk role or way that someone can start getting their feet wet by helping out? Regards, ] (]) 22:29, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

== Bot unhappy with some SSPa tags. Why? ==

I noticed the following SSP reports have been tagged for a while with {{tl|SSPa}}, but the bot isn't archiving them.
#section: ] • page: ]
#section: ] • page: ]
#section: ] • page: ]

Can someone with more knowledge of... whatever it is that I need more knowledge of... figure out why? I've tried to fix one and it still won't archive. Bot isn't on strike because recent reports I've closed myself get archived within 5 minutes. The only clues I have (and they may be red herrings) is that in all three reports, when I first clicked on "edit this page", the SSPa tag at the top didn't show; I had to load the page, do a cache purge, and ''then'' edit the page; and that all three have either a number at the end of the page name, or a (Xth) at the end.

Also, it might be easier to manually archive them than figure out what's wrong, but I'm scared I'll mess it up. Is there anything involved in the archiving beyond simply removing them from the page? A list I need to update, for example?

Last question: does anybody watch this talk page? I see lots of questions and no answers; are they being dealt with on user talk pages, or am I talking to the void here? --] (]) 00:00, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

:Yeah, E-man and I had the same trouble a while back. We contacted the bot owner and he just told us to double check we were doing it right. So, when we both can be bothered to clear out the backlogs, I just get E-man to archive them manually. He didn't have any trouble archiving; just chucked them in there. ]] 00:21, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

::My brain finally popped out of idle, and I realized I just needed to look at the bot's contribs to see what needed to be done. I've removed the three reports manually, and archived them to ]. I'd still love to know why it's doing what it's doing. --] (]) 04:38, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

:::The most logical thing would be to ask the bots owner again, but, seeing as I didn't get the greatest of responses last time, I vote for you to do the asking ;-) ]] 14:18, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

:::: I also encounter similar experience. The bot owner's response was horrible. He denies that his bot is not functioning properly on some cases and instead, ask us to verify that we didn't subst {{tl|sspa}}. ]] 14:30, 23 December 2008 (UTC)


== ] ==

Just as a heads up, the RFCU/SSP merger will be going live on January 10th. The cases on this page will be moved to a subpage until they are handled and new cases will be filed using the new process. The new page can can be found ]. Any comments, concerns, or suggestions are welcome on the talk page. ] <sup>]</sup> 22:48, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
:Don't hesitate to come and break things ;) -- ] <sup>]</sup> 15:51, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
==Can someone intervene here?==

Barryispuzzled has returned with multiple sock puppets. He was already indefblocked for sockpuppetry. He said he would come back through sockpuppets, using whatever connection he could find. He focusses on the ] and the ] articles, deletes material and tries to start disputes. Here is his sock case ]. As you can see, he has already used Sycorax and Prospero in his puppet names, as well as numerous puppets ending with 2 digits (01, 02, 03, 20, 14, etc.)

All these puppets were created in the last 3 days: ] (Jan 8), ] (Jan 10), ] (Jan 8), ] (Jan 8), ] (Jan 8), ] (Jan 9), ] (Jan 10) and ] (Jan 10). ] was started in August, when some of Barry's other puppets were created, and has been mostly dormant, but has now jumped in with mass reversions of the same exact material as Barry. Torricelli01 deleted sourced material, failed to use the talk page and used language identical to Barry in his edit summary here. This edit matched exactly these edits by the above socks: ,and very the very same as the combination of these two edits: and
Can some of you administrators intervene? Thanks. ] (]) 07:56, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

:Luna Santin has already caught them! ]] 09:33, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

== Please add ==
{{Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Oldyellerlives}}

Thanks --''']''' ''(] | ])'' 04:48, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Page is protected. Please also add: {{tl|Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Dcourtneyjohnson}}. Thanks. ] (]) 17:04, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
:Guys, ] is defunct. Please use the new reporting system; it *does* work. See ], and follow the directions. If you need assistance, ask at ]. ] (]) 17:23, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

== Banner removal ==

Hello! I was recommended to go here via ]. Here is the situation. Back in August, ] was called a sockpuppet, and banned for 24 hours, ]. However, the above user e-mailed ], the one who had banned him, and admitted to the admin that he was that I.P. and had only used it when he would accidentally forget to log-in. AGK had promised the user that he would remove the SSP banner on MarkRae's page, ("He said that he would remove the sockpuppet banner on 30 August because he felt that I'd 'learned my lesson', but I guess he's decided not but AGK retired before he could "). MarkRae didn't know if he should've deleted the SSP banner or not, since the admin had retired before he could, so I decided to go bold and remove it myself. However, recently, the user who had reported MarkRae for sockpuppetry has reverted my edit and re-added the SSP banner. I want to ask you guys this: If an admin has said that they would remove the banner but retired and left Misplaced Pages before they could do so, would it be correct of me to go bold and remove the banner myself? I was wondering if I was able to remove it, or if MarkRae could, or if an admin could remove it themselves. Thank you and have a nice day! :) ] (]) 00:42, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

== Guidance re. IP editor ==

Hiya. ] and ] are almost certainly the same person (based on contribs; IP addresses don't actually resolve geographically, but there're always other possible explanations for that). The editor's !voted under these IPs at ], and he also appears to be the same editor as ]. The editor's relatively short edit history and quick contributions to cats and AfDs to me suggests the possibility of either a) other IPs (in which case, c'est la vi) or b) perhaps a registered account. I don't think a checkuser request to "fish" for such an account would be approved -- or am I wrong? IP editors' comments at AfD I believe are generally discounted, so maybe this really isn't a big deal. But, anyone who spends more time than I looking into checkuser/sockpuppet issues want to weigh in? --] (]) 17:58, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

== Edit request ==

{{tlx|editrequest}}
Please add the shortcut ] to the article. ] ] ] 01:16, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
:We already have WP:SUSPSOCK and WP:SSP; is another required? And why is WP:RSP a sensible redirect for this page? &mdash;&nbsp;Martin <small>(]&nbsp;·&nbsp;])</small> 07:58, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
::If it is not sensible, than why we have it? Should i take it for ]? (not on my watchlist). ] ] ] 15:02, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
:::I've disabled the request. You could take it to RfD if you like. The redirect is completely unused. &mdash;&nbsp;Martin <small>(]&nbsp;·&nbsp;])</small> 07:24, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

== Edit request from , 28 October 2011 ==

{{FPER|answered=yes}}
<!-- Begin request -->

I want to list a WP:SSP user named "Amritballia" and not able to list it.
Please allow me to edit and list the suspected user.
Thanks.

<!-- End request -->
] (]) 13:39, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
: {{not done}} This board has been merged into ]. Go there and follow the instructions. ]] 19:58, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
:: Thanks for guiding me Anomie. ] (]) 05:19, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

== Brand New User Suddenly Nominating Articles for Deletion ==

]

No user page exists, and he is nominating AfD. This is very suspicious. How does he already know so much about Misplaced Pages?
I suspect ] for sockpuppetry. If anybody can find evidence for this user or a different user, I would be grateful. &mdash; ] (]) 20:16, 15 January 2013 (UTC)
:That is quite a stretch you make there. I see absolutely no behavior in common between those two users. {{user|Wfunction}} has been on the project since 2009, but has very few edits, and {{user|Kevin_Gorman}} is a long time editor who happens to disagree with you. --]] 20:27, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

==Sockpuppet==
On 30 July 2013, ] (]) was blocked indefinitely due to vandalizing ] adding unsourced materials and also uploading copyrighted images at Commons. Wikimedia, which later got deleted. On the same day at the blocking of Ethan haden731, another editor ] (]) start editing and also uploading copyrighted images at Commons.Wikimedia.

I think they are sockpuppets of each other because both edit Misplaced Pages from their mobiles and uploaded the copyrighted images for ], following the same pattern.--] (]) 13:05, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

== Protected edit request on 10 May 2020 ==

{{edit fully-protected|Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets|answered=yes}}
P;ease add <code><nowiki>{{short description|historical document}}</nowiki></code>. ] (]) 02:06, 10 May 2020 (UTC)
:To anyone responding to this, please see my comments at ]. ~ <span style="color:#DF00A0">Amory</span><small style="color:#555"> ''(] • ] • ])''</small> 03:10, 10 May 2020 (UTC)
::Is it important to have short descriptions on ancient unused project pages? ] (]) 08:54, 10 May 2020 (UTC)
:Probably not, but I have added {{tlx|short description|historical project page}} &mdash;&nbsp;Martin <small>(]&nbsp;·&nbsp;])</small> 20:15, 10 May 2020 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 10:01, 21 May 2024


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List of sock-puppets?

I am a professor at a large state school in the U.S., and am starting a research project on how companies use Misplaced Pages to influence public perception. Is there a way to get a comprehensive list of all sockpuppets that have been blocked on Misplaced Pages? I have been looking around, but, have found nothing. Reply here, or on my talk page.

Any other thoughts you might have on ways of identifying paid users, or Misplaced Pages articles edited by paid users, would be appreciated. Thanks!

Jlamro (talk) 12:46, 13 September 2013 (UTC)


Meatpuppets? Give me a break!

Suppose 20 employees of a small firm know that it's in violation of labor or environmental laws. They collectively sign up and post the facts, which are NPOV within the community in which the company operates.

This "meat puppet" rule neatly silences all but one. Then, of course, people who instinctively suck up to wealth and power can pile on to the whistle-blower.

Basically, wikipedia is based on a Western, individualist model of personality and as such is absurdly infected with binary thinking: people have no nuance: they think of the strangers they encounter as either "good guys" (envisioning them in most cases as members of the dominant class in their community, usually white Americans but perhaps sometimes as high-caste Hindus when the member is from India), or unspeakable "trolls" (does anyone see the racism implicit in this term, which has much to do with early-mediaeval displacement of the Celts?)

Therefore, by labeling a poster's friend a "meat puppet" you've neatly avoided having to address their point.

I demand the removal of all such labels from wikipedia.

Lilith2396 (talk) 09:18, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Difficult to start report

It just takes too much effort to compile a sock report, even for the simplest cases. I have been put off reporting cases in the past because I know from experience that I will need to devote a fair chunk of time to getting it completed. Here are some suggestions (but I have no idea how to do any of this myself);

1. Above the "Start a Case" button, have an edit box for the puppetmaster name rather than just expecting the user to edit a text line. This will give a visual clue that a name must be entered before pressing the button.

2. After, completing the report, automatically add it to the current cases. I can't think of any circumstances where you would create a report and then not list it. This eliminates one step for the originator.

3. Automatically add the needed tags to the suspects talk pages. There is no reason that the reporter needs to do this manually. However, a warning to the reporter that this is going to happen might be in order.

Thanks for listening

SpinningSpark 14:10, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Assistance required

This is all too confusing for me! Would someone please look at User:Pvsamrat and User:Ankur0412 for me. They have both been active creating articles which have been deleted as non-notable/spam etc, and recreating them when deleted. I have posted about this on wp:aiv. Ankur0412 has posted a message of support on Pvsamrat's talk page. I think they are possible sock puppets of each other. Would someone experienced in these matters take the case up please? Mjroots (talk) 10:37, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Think I've managed to do it, but the instructions are not clearly written and seem daunting to first timers. Mjroots (talk) 11:08, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

EBot II returns for archiving

My apologies over the last few weeks for my bots which have mysteriously been taken off my crontab! (I'll have to blame someone from the Toolserver for that..) They will start to archive again from this notice onwards. Thank you. — E 06:31, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Need clarification on the rules

Let me give an example. An editor is blocked for a year. During that year a number of very short lived accounts appear editing the same topics as the blocked editor and in the same style. After the block expires the originally blocked editor continues editing, in some cases making very very similar edits to those made by the suspected sock-puppets. Is it too late to now make an entry in "suspected sock puppets", in order to possibly have the original block extended if the evidence is considered enough for judgement? --Stor stark7 11:25, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

It isn't too late to do so, but whether or not there would be any merit to it, I think, boils down to IP addresses. When blocked, the original editor's underlying IP should have been blocked, and account creation also blocked. That means that if the new accounts were created from by the original editor, whilst blocked, then it would have been from a different IP. As a result, whilst a suspected sock puppet case might provide sufficient evidence that the editor had been abusing multiple accounts to avoid a block (and thus deserved to have the block reinstated, and / or extended), the only definitive way to prove it would be a check-user, which would presumably show different IP's, and thus unable to conclude definitively one way or the other. Hope that helps! The public face of GB 13:25, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

2nd

When opening 2nd case for a user, the new page treats it as though it is User:Bla... (2nd) instead of User:Bla... but it seems that the suspected sockpuppeteer name is not allowed to be corrected. Therefore the suspected sockpuppeteer name stays as User:Bla.... This is stupid as that one doesn't exist.

(That is User:Bla... (2nd). Btw, this is just an example)

Users should be allowed to correct this to the proper suspected sockpuppteer. Simply south (talk) 21:58, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

RFCU for IPs?

I was advised to request an RFCU for 82.201.156.201 and related IP socks, but RFCU is geared towards reports of registered user accounts as sock masters, not IP addresses. The RFCU template is not designed for entering an IP address as the sock master. Does RFCU take IP addresses as sock masters? - Neparis (talk) 15:37, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

You could use whois, traceroute, geolocation and other similar tools. The whole point of checkuser is to find which IPs are being used. MER-C 05:23, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
Whilst a RFCU would clearly be a waste of time in determining whether the IPs are related (you already have the information that checkusers use to decide this), a RFCU can be used to discover whether the batch of IPs are also related to any registered accounts. Mayalld (talk) 07:33, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
Well CheckUser isn't magic, it can't look over the internet and see who is using the computer, checkusers use a combination of information (the biggest being the IP addresses of editors with usernames which aren't visible to everyone else) to give some technical weight to if they are the same user (Checkuser can be negative even if they are socks and vice-versa it isn't 100%). You have the IP information, so the checkuser isn't required to do such analysis, and the checkuser looking at an IP won't be able to discover related IP information. I'd have to ask what you think the value of the exercise it though? As above it can't determine an identity of who it is, it can't predict future IPs etc. so what value is knowing they are all the same person? In reality if the IPs are individually engaging in blockable behaviour, then just get them blocked as and when they arise. If it really gets out of hand then reports to ISPs are possible. --81.104.39.63 (talk) 09:02, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
If all of the suspected socks are IPs, there's not much a checkuser could do. If there's any question of whether there are other users on those IPs, then a checkuser could potentially be worthwhile (whether such a check would be run, of course, depends on circumstances -- I wouldn't hold your breath). Most obvious uses of checkuser are out the window, once you know the IP. As MER-C mentioned, tools like whois can be very useful in determining potential ISP relationships or geographical similarities between IPs. – Luna Santin (talk) 09:40, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
Isn't RFCU also a way of confirming or denying user-agent matches from the server logs? The whois records for the IPs in this particular IP case, all show an Egyptian origin. - Neparis (talk) 02:00, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
Would that prove a great deal? Some user-agent strings are going to be fairly common so would be prone to false positives, it might add some weight to them being different people (but that's very easy to spoof from the same machine, and may vary if someone was using different internet cafes (say)). As I asked above, what value do you perceive in confirming these are indeed the same real person? In all practical senses assuming they are seems fine. As an aside in the WP:RFCU request you mention the use of URL cloaking services, I assume these too are being added to the spam blacklist? (There should be no need for anyone to use them when externally linking from wikipedia) if they are new and unusual services they may inadvertantly be doing us a favour tracking them down --81.104.39.63 (talk) 14:56, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
There is potentially more than just user-agent available as evidence, depending on what is recorded in the logs. I'd rather not go into the details here per WP:BEANS. I agree with you that the use of url hiding services on wp seems generally undesirable. However, I seem to recall a long-ago discussion somewhere on the issue of blacklisting such services that failed to reach consensus. - Neparis (talk) 21:05, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
OK in the dim distant past I've certainly listed them for the meta blacklist and had them added, I guess things must have changed. (Tinyurl etc. are on the list) --81.104.39.63 (talk) 07:23, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Range too big to block, take to RFCU (which has not been filed as far as I can tell), to sort this out. Or, go to ANI and ask for range blocks (I know too little about them to do one. — RlevseTalk23:03, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Innapropriate handling of suspected sockpuppets?

I have been accused of sockpuppetry. Is it not permitted for the accuser to ask other users to provide evidence against the accusee? Please reply on my talkpage if you can, but right here is OK I guess. -- Ketchup Krew 19:08, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Order of list

It seems like a lot of admins are taking cases from the top of the list where the cases are the oldest at the bottom. I suggest that the page is augmented to show admins they need to go to the bottom of the pile first. hAl (talk) 13:39, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Need to get more admins active here

I tried posting on WP:AN a few times, but it didn't help much. This has been severely backlogged for over a week, with some cases still needing attention from weeks ago. Enigma Review 07:14, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

I try to drop by when I can - I cleared a handful yesterday, and intend to clear a few more today, if I get the time. I think a large part of the problem could be that (i) new cases are listed at the top, (ii) when there's a backlog, it looks immensely daunting. I think people could be inclined to drop by, scroll down, find one they look like they can knock on the head quickly (I'm guilty of that myself) then get rid of it. The bigger ones, or the ones further down the list, then tend to languish.
I think there'd be a lot to be said for completely clearing the backlog - that would make it much less daunting, I think. I'll be rolling up my sleeves later... The public face of GB 08:16, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
I think that the comment one section above is on the right track, incidentally - perhaps it would be better to list old cases at the top, rather than the bottom. I think that might go some way to getting them dealt with more quickly...? The public face of GB 08:17, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
I do agree that it makes more sense to do it that way, if admins are going to start at the top. Also agree about clearing the backlog. I worked with an admin a few days ago to help clear some cases, but there's a limit to what I can do, given that I'm not yet an administrator. I'm hoping we can get a few admins to work together here and get rid of this backlog. Maybe in the future, it can be kept at a reasonable level. Enigma Review 08:19, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
I'll post on WP:AN with a suggestion that we change the order around to see what people's views are generally. GB 12:09, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Just a question

This is quite a daunting task to initiate and while there are some guidelines, it's not completely clear what constitutes good evidence vs. so-so vs. bad. I'm mostly wondering if there is a good example of a well prepared sock puppet case that one could use as a guideline. Thanks. Wildhartlivie (talk) 17:57, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Anything is fine, as long as it provides diffs and is likely to be truthful. An excellent current SSP case to model your potential one upon, is Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Setanta747. Rudget (review) 18:18, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

ifexist limit

FYI: This is one of the pages that surpasses the limit on "expensive parser functions" and is therefore listed in Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls. It is mostly caused by the many uses of {{user5}} in the sockpuppet reports. January 2008 archive has "Expensive parser function count: 532/100" for instance :D --TheDJ (talkcontribs) 15:36, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

SSP/RFCU merger proposal

See WP:AN/SSP-RFCU merger proposal - opinions valued. FT2  22:29, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Reporting new information regarding closed case?

The procedure for reporting new information regarding closed cases is not clear to me. As noted at Misplaced Pages talk:Suspected sock puppets/Jvolkblum (2nd), a recent checkuser request has confirmed the status of a couple of previously unconfirmed socks from a now-closed case. It would be sensible to post this information on the closed case, but closed cases are not supposed to be edited or reopened. I added the info to the the talk page for the case, as instructed, but I don't know if any admins watch for new talk pages for closed sockpuppetry cases. --Orlady (talk) 13:34, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Orphaned request

I stumbled across Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Business Publication, which was never listed. —{admin} Pathoschild 15:10:10, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Sockpuppet

I am a bit confused, but I found a sock puppet of Komodo Lover, Operating under the name of Total Ignorent boy. Could an admin please block him. T.Neo (talk contribs) 11:41, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

please archive this request

Hello, I filed thi

..but then I realized that I should have filed a CU instead, which I did (Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_checkuser/Case/Mantanmoreland). So therefore; could somebody please archive the above Sock-puppet request? Thanks! Regards, Huldra (talk) 11:23, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Wikistalk

First off, I am writing this without my username on purpose. This is User:SportsMaster. I have a case of Wikistalk with GoHuskies9904. He has been editing article I have created almost exclusively. For a small portion of the list of articles he has done this to see the following. Homer E. Woodling , Robert F. Busbey , Weird U.S. , 2004 NBA All-Star Game , 1997 NBA All-Star Game , 1981 NBA All-Star Game , 1972 NBA All-Star Game , . Please not that he did not mark any other NBA All-Star games as stubs (presumably because I didn't create them). Here are more examples. Vixen (RV), Dodge Meadowbrook, Suzuki FZ50, Waterloo Hawks, Waterloo Hawks all-time roster, Moondog (mascot), Whammer (mascot), Robert E. Hawkins, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, 2007-08 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team, Maxwell Show. It seems to me he carries a beef with me since I reverted his incorrect edit on 02:48, February 27, 2008 about the 2007-08 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team. Here is a listing of all of his edits Please also take not that this has gone on for months at a time.

--65.43.184.190 (talk) 20:21, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Non-admins closing cases

Are non-admins allowed to close cases? I refer to Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Fonez4mii, where Shalom Yechiel decided to arbitrarily close the case, and archive it, while admitting to not even reading the full discussion on the page, and worse still, admitting to not even looking at the opening evidence. I really feel that's a little (a lot) unacceptable. --Schcambo 15:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

  • Well, I know Shalom edits SSP quite a bit, and looks through many of the reports here. I trust their judgment. While a non-admin closing a report may be out of process, did he do something incorrect? If not, just let it be. Steve Crossin (contact) 15:21, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
Yes, he admitted to not looking at the opening evidence. That's very poor behaviour. I think, unless the case is reviewed by an admin, I will bring it to AN/I. --Schcambo 15:25, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
The reviewer did look at the evidence, and assessed the case. Your refusal to listen to the decision places you in the same position as Jack Forbes. Fone4Me 15:42, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
The user admitted that he did not look at the opening evidence. That is very black and white. --Schcambo 15:44, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
Please try to read in context. He says that he/she did not read the opening evidence that discussed what proved the IP was mine, because I openly stated the IP was mine, meaning there was no need to prove or disprove that. The user read all the relevant information. I suggest you go to the AN/I now, as I am becoming increasingly tired of your persistence, and would like this to be dealt with now. If not, then move on. You and Jack Forbes are tiring the entire community with your antics. Fone4Me 15:51, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
This is beyond the pale. He said that he only read some of the comments and did not look at the underlying evidence. That evidence was key to the argument over whether you intentionally misled people. At the least, an admin with experience at SSP should have taken a look at the evidence and arguments.
Simply get an Administrator to either re-open the cas or declare the case closed. Thus removing any doubts. GoodDay (talk) 16:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)
I've done that. Jehochman 15:13, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Warning the accused

I made a number of attempts to warn at User Talk:LuisGomez111 in accordance with the instructions given (see the history for what I tried). I totally failed to get the template to work, & gave up, just entering my own words instead. Could someone revise the explanation so it's clear what to do? Peter jackson (talk) 11:05, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I added it for you. For future reference add: {{subst:socksuspectnotice|1=LuisGomez111}} ~~~~, changing the name to the sockpuppeter in question. TheChrisD 11:09, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
Sorry & thanks. I see what I did wrong now: I wrote puppet instead of suspect. Might I suggest the actual text be available on the edit page here for direct copying to avoid hand-copying errors. The edit page gives only a transclusion to a page with no link that I can find. Peter jackson (talk) 14:48, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Request for priority?

I realise there are alot of cases, but can someone with experience (perhaps even checkuser status) take a look at Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Nimbley6 (4th)? We have a new (self-confessed) sock-puppet everyday, who has claimed they "will not stop until their edits are kept". This individual has already spoiled an important mediation process, and has inserted several copy-vio images onto Misplaced Pages, so I think this warrents a priority of sorts. --Jza84 |  Talk  20:22, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Is real evidence required?

Can anyone just make up stuff, get a few buddies together and post the same nonsense and get someone labeled a sockpuppet? Is any real proof required? Do the people looking at these cases look at the evidence? AlbinoFerret (talk) 19:26, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

There has to be some sort of proof, such as diffs, that can be shown to link an account as a sockpuppet. Just a bunch of people pointing fingers saying "S/he is a sock puppet" isn't enough. Wildthing61476 (talk) 19:30, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
How about pages that are not on Misplaced Pages but the internet, and that no longer exist? Is it enough for an accuser to say they saw it and a bunch of their buddies saw it? How about saying a nickname on a non wikipedia site and a nickname on a different sites forum are the same people? How about multi step theories with half the steps missing? AlbinoFerret (talk) 23:31, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
Sockpuppetry only refers to Misplaced Pages, again backed up with evidence on Misplaced Pages itself. What happens on different sites really doesn't apply to Misplaced Pages. Wildthing61476 (talk) 00:24, 29 July 2008 (UTC)
If that is true, then this case must go against the rules on how these cases should be judged. None of the so called evidence happens to be on Misplaced Pages. None of it can be checked because it doesn't exist. Yet the person who judged this claim said the evidence was so strong it linked me to another user who had not edited in months.AlbinoFerret (talk) 01:42, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
There is hard evidence in the case you posted, though. There are diffs of suspiciously similar behavior listed in the case. Admiral Norton 12:53, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
As did another editor, but he was not declared a sockpuppet. So all the evidence required is that you make 2 edits like someone else? AlbinoFerret (talk) 14:55, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Is there a way to appeal the findings

How can someone appeal the findings of an admin who looked at a sockpuppet case? AlbinoFerret (talk) 12:20, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

See the dispute resolution page. You'd start by discussing it with the admin. He or she should also help you to pursue an appeal, if you ask, perhaps suggesting another admin to review the case, or you can find one yourself. If the matter is urgent, you can start a report on WP:AN/I, the incident report noticeboard, to get some attention from independent administrators. Be sure to remain civil, to assume that if a mistake has been made, it was done in good faith, and to stay focused on the narrow issue of the sock puppetry allegation.
If the accounts accused of sock puppetry have both been editing, during any period involving 500 edits or more (from each), there is a method I have discovered for proving or refuting sock puppetry with high certainty. This is still confidential, but I'd be willing to look at pairs of such accounts, and could intercede if it looks like an incorrect finding has been made. --Abd (talk) 13:20, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Indicators

Can we start employing some indicators used by RfCU to help improve clarity (especially in long reports)? OhanaUnited 00:41, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I find the use of these indicators confusing, because I associate them so strongly with Checkuser that when I see them on SSP I think a Checkuser has been run. If the closing admin confines their comments to the "conclusions" section and the only comments in that section are from the closing admin, things should be clear enough, I think. --Akhilleus (talk) 12:03, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
I agree with Akhilleus. They're so associated with checkuser that it's ingrained in my consciousness (and I'm not the only one) that it implies you did a checkuser and determined "likely", "confirmed", or "unrelated". Enigma 20:50, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
Agree with the above - since in some instances an SSP case does progress to a CU but within the original SSP sub-page and without a separate CU being opened, there is considerable scope for confusion. Gb 20:51, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
Ok, I guess I'll just stick with {{IPblock}} and {{Completed}} then. OhanaUnited

Mea Culpa

I am responsible for the multiple accounts (Upward15 being one of them) making some of the same changes – repeatedly. I got carried away and I abused my privileges. I know some of what I did was inappropriate. I’m sorry. I feel bad and I will abstain from editing Misplaced Pages. I feel admonished and I’m sorry. I will leave a similar message on Scarian’s page. I hope that my mistakes won’t harm my co-workers ability to participate on Misplaced Pages. I am responsible for the multiple accounts and I take full responsibility. Thank you. 206.188.48.225 (talk) 17:46, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Some advice sought

Over on Esther Hicks there is currently efforts to gut the article down to nothing and remove anything at all that is not sourced to her official biography. It is not a high traffic article, but recently several newly created accounts have started reverting changes and saying the same thing basically "no discussion needed" and are all putting in the same version. There are also several raw IPs that appear to step in when the user accounts are close to 3RR. Is there enough material there to pursue this for sockpuppeting? Tmtoulouse (talk) 18:37, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Lost

I had hoped to enter a mild case of sockpuppetry by User talk:By749b who has successfully circumvented a semi-protect on Iraq War for nuisance edits. The user name is in red in the history yet his edit was allowed. He also edits under several IPs one of which I believe to be 99.1.99.177. As usual, when I tried to enter this directly on the prior page, my previewed template was in red so I abandoned that and tried going to "some other" page where I seemed to be encouraged to do a similar search for sockpuppets which didn't turn up anything but still couldn't enter template. I'm stuck. What now? Student7 (talk) 21:08, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Whoops

I'm an idiot and forgot to remover the User: prefix in the case of Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/User:Skyeromer. Please forgive me - I haven't tried to fix the mistake for fear of making things worse. Cheers, Mostlyharmless (talk) 09:51, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I fixed it for ya! SQL 11:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
Thanks! Mostlyharmless (talk) 23:19, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Sock-puppet report revert

Hi SQL, those links to userpages are just names. The editor seems to have just created names and did not fill any information on the page. If you click on the discussion page of user: Goingoveredge you can find the editor was blocked. The other 2 accounts have been created today itself back-2-back in time and have been used to pursue the same motive as user: Goingoveredge. --Roadahead (talk) 02:39, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

What to do about abusive sock puppet accusations?

Being the potential target of a false and abusive sock puppet accusation has caused me to look at the process. It seems very unfair, one sided and, as demonstrated at least by my case, open for abuse. This is at least the 4th sock puppet case with the accuser as either the initiator or a strong advocate of sanctions. In all cases he/she is making the accusation against editors who are disagreeing with him/her. It is part of his/her bullying of editors to suppress all dissent from his/her viewpoint. It seem to me there should be some sort of abuse of process sanction against such editors (he/she is very careful to not infringe any policy). I will produce whatever evidence is necessary to prove I am not a sock puppet, but I find it absurd and disappointing that there does not appear to be any recourse in this or any other process that I can find. Any advice. Tom94022 (talk) 04:37, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Tools: time analysis

Does anyone have a tool or efficient method of analyzing editing by time of day and day of week? I've tried to put information into a spreadsheet but have found it hard to get Excel to parse the times, to convert them into datecode, and then to do analysis. Any ideas? ·:· Will Beback ·:· 21:22, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Backwards reporting style

I'm sure this must have come up before, but if not /shrug, I'll still make my noises...

Reporting SSPs is backwards and non-intuitive from expected. When I report to AIV, or any other noticeboard, I report the user at hand. Here, I start my report with the "master" account, which may be several years old, and which I may not even be aware of. I file my report, it's backwards. In this case, I'm filing Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/RhoLyokoWarrior, based on the current user, RhoLyokoWarrior, but I should actually be filing it as Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Rikara, at which point, I think it's too late. Just a little annoyance for me, but which rears its head whenever I do need to use SSP. Yngvarr (t) (c) 16:07, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

I was thinking the exact same thing when I created one yesterday, I ended up creating a new report which I then realized was back to front and it then had to be manually linked to the old one(s). Mfield (talk) 16:50, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
I don't think everyone approaches it the same way. Some day, Soccermeko will be back, and I'll report him at the 12th generation of his socking report. I really won't be paying much attention to what IP address he is editing from or what silly name he's cloaked himself in this time ... I'll just recognize the compulsion to inflate Nicole Wray's status and inability to conjugate verbs, and say "Damn it, it's Soccermeko back again". Kww (talk) 17:03, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

EBot II

Anyone knows why it's not archiving? OhanaUnited 11:41, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

User:GNAADar

User:GNAADar and User:GNAAdar both have same user page. Neither has edited in a long time, so I don't know whether this is something that still needs to be addressed. Maybe it can be handled just like User:GNAA popeye. -- Suntag 07:23, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

creating sockpuppet categories

It would be very helpful if persons creating sockpuppet categories (such as Category:Suspected Misplaced Pages sockpuppets of JJGD) would use the {{sockpuppet category}} template. This automatically makes Category:Suspected Misplaced Pages sockpuppets a parent category and keeps them from clogging up the uncategorized categories report. - Stepheng3 (talk) 21:51, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

A point to clarify on the page. Also clarify the difference between using {subst:uw-socksuspect|1=SOMExUSERxHERE} and putting Category:Suspected Misplaced Pages sockpuppets of Sarsaparilla (for example) on a talk page. Is the latter only if there already is such a category. Or do you put it on as your first comment to the suspected sock puppet?? Carol Moore 17:15, 25 October 2008 (UTC)Carolmooredc

Blocked user Consist

User:Consist has been blocked indefinitely, but a person claiming to be consist and using a range of IPs has been a nuisance at Talk:Clade since early Oct 2008 - see . The process for reporting suspected sockpuppets looks as bad as tax return, and I suspect Consist is relying this to get away with continuing disruption. --Philcha (talk) 23:36, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

a request

When creating a category for a sockpuppet or suspected sockpuppet, please include {{Sockpuppet category}}. This will prevent the category from showing up on reports such as Misplaced Pages:Database reports/Uncategorized categories. Best wishes, - Stepheng3 (talk) 19:23, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Where they at

I haven't seen this before in other article's I've looked at. If you enter "Marriage" at stats for English Misplaced Pages and then go through the list of User statistics from the highest number of edits on down, you will come across an amazing string of blocked, banned, or no longer editing users and others who fall into such a category. -- Suntag 17:26, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

Anlirian & High poems

Seems to be related to Misplaced Pages:Suspected_sock_puppets/AzLehrer and seems to have created a WP:COI article about self (Andy Lehrer) and is back on the controversial family that he has created for the genus Bengalia which seems to have gone without question on the Romanian WP. Shyamal (talk) 12:29, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Offsite 'check user' function

There is a new tool, which provides 'check user' capability available here which could be worth evaluating. PhilKnight (talk) 21:54, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Virgil is a clever fellow. His older versions were powerful enough, actually, to be of quite some... dunno what. Worry? Use? Interest? ++Lar: t/c 22:33, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Templates used in reports

Would it be possible to remind people to use a template to format users in doing reports to be one that includes the CU link? Someone used user5 instead of Socklinks ... Might save a step or two. ++Lar: t/c 22:30, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Ways to assist?

Hi, I noticed that this page has a backlog notice. I'm an admin and would like to become more involved but I'm not exactly sure what I could do to help. Is there some sort of clerk role or way that someone can start getting their feet wet by helping out? Regards, Lazulilasher (talk) 22:29, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Bot unhappy with some SSPa tags. Why?

I noticed the following SSP reports have been tagged for a while with {{SSPa}}, but the bot isn't archiving them.

  1. section: Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets#User:PoliticianTexas (4th) • page: Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/PoliticianTexas (4th)
  2. section: Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets#User:Fraberj (5th) • page: Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Fraberj (5th)
  3. section: Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets#User:Simpsonj3 • page: Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Simpsonj3

Can someone with more knowledge of... whatever it is that I need more knowledge of... figure out why? I've tried to fix one and it still won't archive. Bot isn't on strike because recent reports I've closed myself get archived within 5 minutes. The only clues I have (and they may be red herrings) is that in all three reports, when I first clicked on "edit this page", the SSPa tag at the top didn't show; I had to load the page, do a cache purge, and then edit the page; and that all three have either a number at the end of the page name, or a (Xth) at the end.

Also, it might be easier to manually archive them than figure out what's wrong, but I'm scared I'll mess it up. Is there anything involved in the archiving beyond simply removing them from the page? A list I need to update, for example?

Last question: does anybody watch this talk page? I see lots of questions and no answers; are they being dealt with on user talk pages, or am I talking to the void here? --barneca (talk) 00:00, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, E-man and I had the same trouble a while back. We contacted the bot owner and he just told us to double check we were doing it right. So, when we both can be bothered to clear out the backlogs, I just get E-man to archive them manually. He didn't have any trouble archiving; just chucked them in there. Scarian 00:21, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
My brain finally popped out of idle, and I realized I just needed to look at the bot's contribs to see what needed to be done. I've removed the three reports manually, and archived them to Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Archive/December 2008. I'd still love to know why it's doing what it's doing. --barneca (talk) 04:38, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
The most logical thing would be to ask the bots owner again, but, seeing as I didn't get the greatest of responses last time, I vote for you to do the asking ;-) Scarian 14:18, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
I also encounter similar experience. The bot owner's response was horrible. He denies that his bot is not functioning properly on some cases and instead, ask us to verify that we didn't subst {{sspa}}. OhanaUnited 14:30, 23 December 2008 (UTC)


WP:SSP2

Just as a heads up, the RFCU/SSP merger will be going live on January 10th. The cases on this page will be moved to a subpage until they are handled and new cases will be filed using the new process. The new page can can be found here. Any comments, concerns, or suggestions are welcome on the talk page. Tiptoety 22:48, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Don't hesitate to come and break things ;) -- lucasbfr 15:51, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Can someone intervene here?

Barryispuzzled has returned with multiple sock puppets. He was already indefblocked for sockpuppetry. He said he would come back through sockpuppets, using whatever connection he could find. He focusses on the Baconian theory and the Shakespeare authorship question articles, deletes material and tries to start disputes. Here is his sock case Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Barryispuzzled. As you can see, he has already used Sycorax and Prospero in his puppet names, as well as numerous puppets ending with 2 digits (01, 02, 03, 20, 14, etc.)

All these puppets were created in the last 3 days: user:JeffersonT02 (Jan 8), user:BuyBuyBaby (Jan 10), user:ProsperoY (Jan 8), user:Sycorax14 (Jan 8), user:Kessinger03 (Jan 8), user:RegHiside (Jan 9), user:TipToesTulip (Jan 10) and user:JudgeJulianZ (Jan 10). user:Torricelli01 was started in August, when some of Barry's other puppets were created, and has been mostly dormant, but has now jumped in with mass reversions of the same exact material as Barry. Torricelli01 deleted sourced material, failed to use the talk page and used language identical to Barry in his edit summary here. This edit matched exactly these edits by the above socks: ,and very the very same as the combination of these two edits: and Can some of you administrators intervene? Thanks. Smatprt (talk) 07:56, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Luna Santin has already caught them! Scarian 09:33, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Please add

Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Oldyellerlives

Thanks --Kraftlos (Talk | Contrib) 04:48, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Page is protected. Please also add: {{Misplaced Pages:Suspected sock puppets/Dcourtneyjohnson}}. Thanks. THF (talk) 17:04, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Guys, WP:SSP is defunct. Please use the new reporting system; it *does* work. See WP:Sockpuppet investigations, and follow the directions. If you need assistance, ask at WT:SPI. EdJohnston (talk) 17:23, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Banner removal

Hello! I was recommended to go here via User:Emperor. Here is the situation. Back in August, User:MarkRae was called a sockpuppet, and banned for 24 hours, as evidenced by this SSP form. However, the above user e-mailed AGK, the one who had banned him, and admitted to the admin that he was that I.P. and had only used it when he would accidentally forget to log-in. AGK had promised the user that he would remove the SSP banner on MarkRae's page, ("He said that he would remove the sockpuppet banner on 30 August because he felt that I'd 'learned my lesson', but I guess he's decided not but AGK retired before he could "). MarkRae didn't know if he should've deleted the SSP banner or not, since the admin had retired before he could, so I decided to go bold and remove it myself. However, recently, the user who had reported MarkRae for sockpuppetry has reverted my edit and re-added the SSP banner. I want to ask you guys this: If an admin has said that they would remove the banner but retired and left Misplaced Pages before they could do so, would it be correct of me to go bold and remove the banner myself? I was wondering if I was able to remove it, or if MarkRae could, or if an admin could remove it themselves. Thank you and have a nice day! :) CarpetCrawler (talk) 00:42, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Guidance re. IP editor

Hiya. User:90.202.94.11 and User:90.208.53.16 are almost certainly the same person (based on contribs; IP addresses don't actually resolve geographically, but there're always other possible explanations for that). The editor's !voted under these IPs at the same AfD, and he also appears to be the same editor as User:90.202.94.99. The editor's relatively short edit history and quick contributions to cats and AfDs to me suggests the possibility of either a) other IPs (in which case, c'est la vi) or b) perhaps a registered account. I don't think a checkuser request to "fish" for such an account would be approved -- or am I wrong? IP editors' comments at AfD I believe are generally discounted, so maybe this really isn't a big deal. But, anyone who spends more time than I looking into checkuser/sockpuppet issues want to weigh in? --EEMIV (talk) 17:58, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

Edit request

{{editrequest}} Please add the shortcut WP:RSP to the article. Armbrust Contribs 01:16, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

We already have WP:SUSPSOCK and WP:SSP; is another required? And why is WP:RSP a sensible redirect for this page? — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 07:58, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
If it is not sensible, than why we have it? Should i take it for WP:RFD? (not on my watchlist). Armbrust Contribs 15:02, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
I've disabled the request. You could take it to RfD if you like. The redirect is completely unused. — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 07:24, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from , 28 October 2011

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

I want to list a WP:SSP user named "Amritballia" and not able to list it. Please allow me to edit and list the suspected user. Thanks.

Satya563 (talk) 13:39, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

 Not done This board has been merged into WP:SPI. Go there and follow the instructions. Anomie 19:58, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
Thanks for guiding me Anomie. Satya563 (talk) 05:19, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Brand New User Suddenly Nominating Articles for Deletion

User:Wfunction

No user page exists, and he is nominating AfD. This is very suspicious. How does he already know so much about Misplaced Pages? I suspect User:Kevin_Gorman for sockpuppetry. If anybody can find evidence for this user or a different user, I would be grateful. — Carrot Lord (talk) 20:16, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

That is quite a stretch you make there. I see absolutely no behavior in common between those two users. Wfunction (talk · contribs) has been on the project since 2009, but has very few edits, and Kevin_Gorman (talk · contribs) is a long time editor who happens to disagree with you. --Versageek 20:27, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Sockpuppet

On 30 July 2013, Ethan haden731 (talk) was blocked indefinitely due to vandalizing WP:BLP adding unsourced materials and also uploading copyrighted images at Commons. Wikimedia, which later got deleted. On the same day at the blocking of Ethan haden731, another editor Laufenty93 (talk) start editing and also uploading copyrighted images at Commons.Wikimedia.

I think they are sockpuppets of each other because both edit Misplaced Pages from their mobiles and uploaded the copyrighted images for Jasmine Villegas , following the same pattern.--Jockzain (talk) 13:05, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Protected edit request on 10 May 2020

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

P;ease add {{short description|historical document}}. —¿philoserf? (talk) 02:06, 10 May 2020 (UTC)

To anyone responding to this, please see my comments at Misplaced Pages talk:Boilerplate text#Protected edit request on 10 May 2020. ~ Amory (utc) 03:10, 10 May 2020 (UTC)
Is it important to have short descriptions on ancient unused project pages? Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 08:54, 10 May 2020 (UTC)
Probably not, but I have added {{short description|historical project page}} — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 20:15, 10 May 2020 (UTC)