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== Amendment: Scientology (Lyncs) ==
'''Initiated by ''' ] (]) '''at''' 17:10, 23 May 2012 (UTC)
; Case affected : {{RFARlinks|Scientology}}
; Clauses to which an amendment is requested
see ]


<includeonly>= ] =</includeonly><noinclude>{{If mobile||{{Fake heading|sub=1|Requests for clarification and amendment}}}}</noinclude>
Suspension of site ban: User:Justanother / User:Justallofthem
{{Misplaced Pages:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment/Header}}

<noinclude>{{-}}</noinclude>
Your indefinite site ban is suspended subject to your unconditional acceptance of and compliance with the following restrictions:
]

]
Single account limitation

You may edit from one account only - currently Lyncs (talk · contribs) - with no exceptions for whatever reason. You may rename that account provided (i) you immediately notify the committee of the rename; (ii) the redirects from the prior account name remain in place; and (iii) you display a link to the previous account name on your user page.

Interaction ban Cirt

i) You may neither communicate with nor comment upon or make reference to either directly or indirectly to User:Cirt or their contributions on any page in the English Misplaced Pages. You may not edit Cirt's talk or user pages though you may, within reason, comment within other pages providing your comments do not relate directly or indirectly to Cirt or their edits. The sole exception to the interaction ban is that you may respond civilly on matters explicitly pertaining to you raised by Cirt or any other editor in any dispute resolution or enforcement context.

ii) Should you violate the letter or spirit of the restrictions above, you may be blocked without prior warning via the Arbitration enforcement noticeboard: on the first occasion for up to one week; on the second occasion for up to one month; and on the third occasion for up to three months. Appeal of any blocks is to the Arbitration Committee.

Topic banned from Scientology

You are indefinitely topic-banned from Scientology on the standard terms outlined here.

For the Arbitration Committee, Roger talk 13:20, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

; List of users affected by or involved in this amendment
* {{userlinks|Lyncs}} (initiator)
* {{userlinks|Cirt}}
; Confirmation that the above users are aware of this request
* Would someone viewing this please be so kind as to inform Cirt; I am not able to under the terms of the reinstatement. Thanks --] (]) 17:10, 23 May 2012 (UTC)
* Cirt . --] (]) 11:54, 24 May 2012 (UTC)

===Amendment 1===
* Remove all account restrictions based on over one year of good behavior.
=== Statement by Lyncs ===
I was conditionally reinstated well over one year ago with the comment at the time that I could ask to have the restrictions lifted following some period of good behavior. I believe that statement was in an email from an arbitrator and can try to find it if needed.

It is now well over one year and I think that I have evidenced my good behavior and good intentions. I do not edit all that much but might edit more in the future. I would prefer to 1) have access to a subject, Scientology, that I am extremely conversant with and 2) not have any live mines that I might inadvertently step onto vis-a-vis interaction bans or the like.

It is not my intention to interact with Cirt and it is currently not my intention to edit Scientology articles but I do not think there is any need to bar me from either at this point. If I do edit in Scientology (which could happen) or interact with Cirt (which is unlikely), I would still be bound by the rules and norms of Misplaced Pages with the added factor that I will be subject to certain scrutiny so I think it is not inappropiate to grant this request. Thank you.

1. Response to Newyorkbrad: Lifting the one account restriction is the least of my concerns and if that is a deciding factor or a factor of concern then I have no problem continuing editing solely from this account. --] (]) 12:00, 24 May 2012 (UTC)

2. Response to AGK: I could make argument on the merits of the original sanctions and possible injustices but I am not interesting in rehashing that nor, I imagine, is the committee. The fact that I have been back for well over one year and have not had any problems is indicative of the fact that I am not into causing problems. That is an important point. Troublemakers cause trouble. They do not stop because they are now excluded from one area or another. They make trouble where they are. That is not what I am about.

On second thought, I will say one thing of a general nature related to my sanctions. When I started editing here, I edited the Scientology articles as that was something I had been involved with for many years. If you are familiar with that territory prior to the arbitration, the Scientology articles were a battleground of anti-Scientology zealots warring with Scientology zealots with the antis well in control of the situation. But it was noisy nonetheless. I arrived as a non-zealot Scientologist just trying to add some balance and the benefit of my knowledge. While there were and are plenty of non-zealot folks that do not think highly of Scientology, few seemed to accept that there could be a Scientologist that was a not a zealot. To most, especially the antis, all Scientologists were programmed, brainwashed, and agents of the evil ]. But that is how zealots see things. I made many thousands of edits. My edits were never much of an issue. What was the issue was that I screamed pretty loudly when getting stuck with pins. I think that the project is wiser now on the subject of Scientology. I hope it is wiser on the subject of wiki-bullying in general.

I could discretely canvass my wiki-friends and ask them to speak for me but I am not going to do that. They are, of course, welcome to speak on my behalf if they care to; I am just not going around asking anyone to do so.

I think the fact that no-one feels strongly enough about my request to come over here and object says something also. I think the fact that it is so quiet here speaks for my request, not against it.

In other words, I present the case that my request is almost a non-issue and I am simply looking for the sanctions to be lifted as "time served" with a warning to watch my step in the future or as appropriate. --] (]) 00:55, 26 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by NuclearWarfare ===

I took a quick look at . The edits seem to be fine, but they go back quite far (Aug 2011) and aren't incredibly substantial so there isn't a lot of history to examine. '''<font color="navy">]</font>''' ''(<font color="green">]</font>)'' 03:51, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by {yet another user} ===
=== Clerk notes ===
: ''This section is for administrative notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).''
=== Arbitrator views and discussion ===
*Question to Lyncs: Does your request include termination of the one-account restriction? ] (]) 22:53, 23 May 2012 (UTC)
*Awaiting statements from the community that what Lyncs believes is appropriately acceptable behavior is indeed so perceived by the community. ] (]) 00:11, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
* The argument to end the unban restrictions is not compelling, and given the absence of discretionary sanctions for this topic I am therefore reluctant to allow Lyncs' (Justallofthem) appeal. However, I too will await statements by the community (if any are to come) before adjudging. ] ]] 21:51, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
:* Standard discretionary sanctions apply to this topic. I am therefore minded to vacate the existing sanctions, even with the appellant's limited edits this year. A motion to this effect could be proposed if my colleagues are of the same mind. ] ]] 15:24, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
*I have to admit the lack of contributions to base the solving of past issues concerns me greatly. If I had to vote now, it would be to decline, but waiting for more comments first. ] (]) 04:19, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
* '''Decline for now''': ask again when you've made substantially more edits perhaps? &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 15:02, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
* While I would prefer to see more editing in a range of topics, I believe that the ARBSCI discretionary sanctions would apply in this case, and would likely be sufficient. ] (]) 16:08, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
----

== Clarification: Speed of light (Brews ohare) ==

'''Case link: ] '''

'''Initiated by ''' <small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> '''at''' 00:15, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

''List of any users involved or directly affected, and confirmation that all are aware of the request:''
*{{userlinks|JohnBlackburne}} (initiator)
*{{userlinks|Brews ohare}}

=== Statement by JohnBlackburne ===
It seems the sanctions under this case have expired with his block, but ] has returned to the articke talk page of one of the articles that was the subject of that case, {{la|Wavelength}}, because of his attempts insert incorrect material based on a flawed understanding of maths and physics. He has in the last few weeks rewritten but identical material added, then soon after that was rejected on the same material. The RfC even more clearly rejected his additions, but he has today , as if the previous RfC, discussion in early April and of course arbitration case on his previous disruption of this talk page never happened (so objections can be because the previous discussions and arguments don't exist, and every other editor is expected to explain the problems with his insertions yet again).

My question is: is this behaviour covered by the arbitration case ? Or has that now fully expired and this should be taken to another venue (and if so which)?--<small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> 00:15, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

@]: the RfC was the place to discuss content. This is neither the time or the place. I made on the content during the RfC, there is no point doing so again. You the RfC, after only a week, so it seemed you were happy that the discussion had run its course and consensus had been reached. It's your to argue and after that that's the problem. It was the RfC that drew me in, as a site-wide notice on a topic I'm interested in. As always if you find fault with my contributions please provide diffs not vague accusations. The link to find them is in my signature.--<small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> 16:03, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

@] You do know that about editors that they have not volunteered themselves is ], don't you? If I cared to keep my identity private I would not use my real name here but it is still strictly forbidden.--<small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> 14:54, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

@]: the problem is suggesting something to Brews ohare doesn't work. Asking politely doesn't work. Asking pointedly with links to relevant policies doesn't work. It's not that he doesn't understand such suggestions and requests: he just refuses to accept them, and has instead written essays saying ] and ]. Even arbitration didn't work. The only thing that stopped him disrupting talk pages and wasting many editors time by creating multiple RfCs
(
, all this year)
and was a block.--<small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> 14:40, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

@]: I would like to clarify that this is not a content issue, though it would suit Brews ohare if it were. My presentation above is perhaps not clear on this, so here's the detail again, chronologically:
: Brews ohare first proposes an addition. Two editors object, discussions ensue
: Not accepting that the consensus is against him Brews ohare starts an RFC referencing the previous discussion. More editors join in, including myself. The text is rewritten multiple times (), breaking other editors replies. The consensus turns even more clearly against the additions, however phrased.
: Brews ohare closes the RFC, presumably happy with the result or at least resigned to not convincing other editors
: He continues to argue with other editors over the article
: Dicklyon asks him to stop
: his reply blames Dicklyon
: he continues to argue about the RFC content
: and again asks for "reconsideration" of the RFC content
: I, Srleffler and Dicklyon ask him to stop
: he dismisses these objections as "cheer-leading" and "missing the point".

The text but is the same material throughout: even Brews last attempt says it is for "reconsideration", and ] can be compared with the ]. I've not tried connecting this to the 2009 discussions that Dicklyon mentioned as I was not involved with them. It's also hard to find them: Brews ohare made the edits on this talk page, more than twice that of the next most frequent contributor, often rewriting his own contributions.

This reminds me of my observations : ''this is not about physics, or natural sciences, or mathematics. It's about every other page Brews ohare takes an interest in becoming a battle ground, of edit warring if its an article, of tendentious editing on a talk or project page – dominating the discussion so other editors are swamped, ignoring consensus and process, repeatedly refusing to AGF, ignoring requests to stop and warnings – before trying to lawyer himself out of the inevitable visit to arbitration''. Only a few months after that block ended and exactly the same is happening.--<small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> 02:00, 24 May 2012 (UTC)

@]: That was the subject of the RFC, which is now closed as noted above and archived since, so it's too late to participate. Though even if you had it seems very unlikely given the overwhelming consensus against including it that it would have made any difference.--<small>]</small><sup>]</sup><sub style="margin-left:-2.0ex;">]</sub> 17:55, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by Dicklyon ===
The problem is not so much "incorrect material", but tangential, poorly explained, poorly supported, and idiosyncratic information, and a few bits wrong, too, combined with refusal to hear or understand objections. When I was defending the ] article against his bloat and nonsense in the summer of 2009, I thought he was probably an overreaching grad student; turns out he's a prof emeritus and fellow of the IEEE, so no dummy. But in the years since, he demonstrated repeatedly an inability to collaborate, or to even understand the objections of other editors to what he is trying to do. This blew up more at ] because there were plenty of other serious editors there. I'm very happy that JohnBlackburne and a few others have been recently helping out at ], because I don't have the time or energy to take on that defense again. I have no idea how to convince Dr. Brews to take on a workable style, but this is a drag. The arbitration was supposed to help put him back on a tolerable track; I hope the arbs will look at how to help here. ] (]) 04:45, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

The crux of the technical argument is Brew's claim that "the Fourier series is the mathematical study of periodic functions, and nothing less than that". That's nonsense. The Fourier series is one tool used to analyze periodic functions, primarily in the context of linear systems for which a decomposition into sinusoids allows easy solutions and characterizations of behaviors. This is not the case in the situation where he is introducing the Fourier series into the wavelength article; none of the (relatively few) sources that mention the connection show any way that it is useful. It is a red herring, a dead-end tangent. Decomposition of waves into sinusoids is indeed important, but least so in the context of periodic-in-space waves; the wavelength article is hardly the place to get into this. ] (]) 17:00, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by Headbomb ===
Not this crap again... that's all I have to say. <span style="font-variant:small-caps; whitespace:nowrap;">] {] / ] / ] / ]}</span> 00:53, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by Brews_ohare ===
The gist of Blackburne's complaint is that I have attempted to insert "insert incorrect material based on a flawed understanding of maths". The text so-described is presented on ] as a proposed addition as follows:
{| cellpadding="2" style="border: 1px solid darkgray; background:#E6F2CE;" align="center"
|The wavelength, say &lambda;, of a general spatially periodic waveform is the spatial interval in which one cycle of the function repeats itself. Sinusoidal waves with wavelengths related to &lambda; can superimpose to create this spatially periodic waveform. Such a superposition of sinusoids is mathematically described as a ], and is simply a summation of the sinusoidally varying component waves:
|-
|.. "''Fourier's theorem'' states that a function ''f(x)'' of spatial period &lambda;, can be synthesized as a sum of harmonic functions whose wavelengths are integral submultiples of &lambda; (''i.e.'' &lambda;, &lambda;/2, &lambda;/3, ''etc.'')."<ref name=Schaum group=Note/>
|-
|'''References'''
{{Reflist |group=Note|refs=
<ref name=Schaum group =Note>
{{cite book |title=Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of Optics |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZIZmyOG-DxwC&pg=PA205
|page=205 |author=Eugene Hecht |year=1975 |isbn=0070277303}}
</ref>
}}
|}
If the direct quote from the cited source fails to convince, here are three others:
*{{cite book |title=Optical physics
|author=Ariel Lipson, Stephen G. Lipson, Henry Lipson |page=94 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=0521493455
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=aow3o0dhyjYC&pg=PA94 |quote= Fourier's theroem states that any periodic function ''f(x)'' can be expressed as the sum of a series of sinusoidal functions which have wavelengths that are integral fractions of the wavelength &lambda; of ''f(x)''
}}
*{{cite book |title=An Introduction to Mineral Sciences |page=65 |quote=''Fourier analysis'' is a mathematical method of expressing any periodic function with wavelength &lambda; as a sum of sinusoidal functions whose wavelengths are integral fractions of &lambda; (''i.e.'' &lambda;, &lambda;/2, &lambda;/3, ''etc.) |url=http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mineral-Sciences-Andrew-Putnis/dp/0521429471#reader_0521429471 |isbn=0521429471 |year=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |author=Andrew Putnis}}
*{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=o7sXm2GSr9IC&pg=PA78&dq=%22As+Fourier+demonstrated,+complex,+but+periodic%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Aw-1T8PdOcqsiAK0jomzAg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22As%20Fourier%20demonstrated%2C%20complex%2C%20but%20periodic%22&f=false |title=Introduction to Macromolecular Crystallography |chapter=Figure 4.1 |page=78 |author=Alexander McPherson |isbn= 0470185902 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2009 |edition=2nd}} This source is cited in the article already, and this figure shows periodic waveforms in space. This source refers to Fourier series in the same context proposed for the suggested insertion in the green box.

I believe this sets aside Blackburne's claim that I attempt to "insert incorrect material based on a flawed understanding of maths", and also Dicklyon's claims that this text represents "poorly explained, poorly supported, and idiosyncratic information" or of inserting "bloat and nonsense". It also refutes mistaken that "wavelength" is not applicable to functions periodic in space ("And your statement that ‘''The wavelength, say λ, of a general spatially periodic waveform is the spatial interval in which one cycle of the function repeats itself'' ’ is contrary to typical usage of the term ‘wavelength’ " ] (]) 23:29, 15 May 2012).

At this point, it is established that content is not the issue here, and smearing this proposal as an example of bloat, flawed understanding, and idiosyncrasy is wide of the mark, and reflects poorly upon the grasp of the text by its critics. As is a self-professed "research engineer in Silicon Valley" and a declared mathematician, one may wonder how these basic misconceptions have arisen. On any other WP article a minor sourced quotation making a connection between one topic ('']'') and others ('']'') on WP would attract no attention whatsoever. I am forced to speculate that the primary source of the extreme response here is that Dicklyon and Blackburne have a prior history with me, and it is their lingering objections to my contributing to WP that drives them to bizarre claims contrary to sources, not this particular content. ] (]) 15:43, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

If further support for the content presented is required, I can supply an unending list of texts describing Fourier series and its application to periodic functions, and a case can be made that Fourier series ''is'' the mathematical study of periodic functions, and nothing less than that.

What remains is the general claim that my ''Talk-page'' discussion insists too much on adding this aside to the reader, over "objections" of other authors. I'd suggest that these objections have been largely based upon misconceptions about the content of the proposed text and its purpose. My attempts to explain that this is an aside pointing out the applicability of the mathematical machinery of periodicity to the topic of spatially periodic waveforms has been addressed by Dicklyon using the argument that Fourier series is not useful for this purpose, which seems to me to be patently absurd. The entire history of functional analysis begins with Fourier series applied to periodic functions, and it is the subject of innumerable textbooks.

My interchange with Dicklyon on ] extends over several topics, and not just this particular point. Sometimes such discussion gets somewhere, and sometimes it doesn't. That is what Talk pages are for. ] (]) 17:20, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

As an example of a fruitful outcome, a discussion on ] led to my authoring of the article ] when it appeared that this topic could not be addressed within ] itself. Other discussions led to the inclusion of the topic of ''local wavelength'' and a figure, the inclusion of the section on ''crystals'' and the notion of aliasing with another figure, and to the sections on ''interference and diffraction'' with two more figures (all figures created by myself). In fact, seven of the figures in ] were contributed by myself and accompanied by additional text and sources arrived at through discussion. ] (]) 17:32, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

I've read the comment by Count Iblis. I believe he has a point in a way. I recognize that most of my interactions with Dicklyon prove difficult, and the proposed text was clearly one of those. I modified my proposal several times to make it a more and more minor addition, hoping to get some recognition that ] in some form should be mentioned in ]. Some formulation of this point could be acceptable to all if the point were developed jointly in a constructive manner. But the practical approach is for me to keep in mind the limitations upon what is possible with Dicklyon and Blackburne, and recognize that Blackburne will adopt every opportunity to drag AN/I or some Administrator into what would otherwise settle itself. ] (]) 22:13, 16 May 2012 (UTC)
:@Count Iblis: Thanks for the added remarks. Dealing with Dicklyon at length has succeeded sometimes, but Blackburne's intolerance makes this more unlikely than in the past. My efforts to widen opinion using ] hasn't worked. Your recommendation of ] as an alternative mechanism to get other editors involved, and to limit my own participation, is worth trying in the future. ] (]) 16:12, 17 May 2012 (UTC)
::@Count Iblis: You raise the very practical question "''how can you actually get something done here while facing opposition?''", and suggest an approach bases upon aggressive revision of the article Main page that, if properly crafted, will force Talk page objections into a productive framework. It is unfortunate that so often Talk pages must be viewed in this light as struggling against opposition, instead of joining collaboration. In particular, if some of the editors interested in a page perhaps do not share even the same concept of what a WP article should be, or view exchange of ideas as survival of the fittest, or see WP as a venue to establish who counts, that is the result. ] (]) 23:42, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
:::@Count Iblis: I believe you are right that where I have made new articles or added large sections I have been more successful. For example, ] developed when arguments by Dicklyon and others prevented exploration of periodic envelopes on ]. By creation of a new article, these editors were faced with a wide open argument about deletion, which they did not attempt. Likewise, with Blackburne on ], as you mentioned. In that case he tried for deletion and lost in the wider community. Also, ] avoided the controversy portions of this topic caused on ]. Any approach that widens the number of editors that might become involved in a dispute proves beneficial. ] (]) 03:41, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

In response to ''My very best wishes'', I gather that you pose a query to me that can be narrowly expressed something like this: "Assuming that Brews_ohare is completely correct in stating that a sourced quotation has pertinence to the article ], and assuming further that opposition to its inclusion is not well founded, would you, Brews_ohare, nonetheless agree to desist from pursuing this particular attempt to include this material in ]?" I'd answer that the posited assumptions reflect how I think about this matter, but, as stated above in my response to Count Iblis, I also see that there is little point in pursuing the issue on ] under the prevailing circumstances. So, yes, I'll move on. Your question, however, is posed more broadly, not restricted to this episode on ]. In a broader context, regarding discussion in general, I'll have to consider carefully to what extent Dicklyon is open to discussion should he appear on another Talk page. I'd point out the paragraph above detailing positive outcomes for ] in interaction with Dick. These were the result of useful but difficult discussions with Dick. Now a further difficulty to weigh in future is that any extended discussion with Dick will draw in Blackburne, who will use any detailed discussion as an opportunity to invite Administrator attention, even using a pretext such as this supposed query about "clarification" of an expired sanction. I will doubtless be more careful in the future. ] (]) 13:02, 17 May 2012 (UTC)
:@''My very best wishes'': Thanks for the remarks. Yes, there is no general answer to these kinds of problem. The answer appears in this case to depend upon my exercising more care in dealing with these two, regardless of the topic or the merits. ] (]) 15:23, 17 May 2012 (UTC)
::@''My very best wishes'': I interpret your added remark as a suggestion that I be topic banned to reduce clamor on ]. If your suggestion is a page-ban, it is hardly necessary, as it is clear to me that the present discussion is over. If your suggestion is more general, I would strongly object that such a serious action goes far beyond anything suggested by ]. ] (]) 13:31, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
::@''My very best wishes'': I'd add to these remarks that many past prolonged discussions on ] have proved productive, as evidenced by the discussions attached in ] to the seven figures I have contributed there. Not all prolonged, and even heated, discussions are useless, although they may not generate a glow of satisfaction. Of course, the atmosphere on Talk pages is not always ideal (to say the least), and results often stem from debate as much as from collaboration. However, if the discussions on ] had been inhibited by the threat of sanctions, the article ] would not be as good. ] (]) 14:14, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

In response to Srleffler, the proposed text in the green box is not merely rehash. The proposal narrowed in scope and purpose over time to become what it now is, a simple cross-reference between ] and ], a much more limited reference than that found in the four sources cited above. However, your objections never addressed this change, as explicitly to you. ] (]) 13:00, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

In response to Blackburne's objections to my "outing" him: I was unaware that referring to a link to your photo would prove upsetting, as it is immediately available from the posted on your . My apologies. I also was unaware of any policy in this regard. I have removed the link. ] (]) 16:50, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
:@Blackburne: I'm gratified to see you read my two essays , though surprised at the tone of your reaction and your invented titles for them. You now are using this "clarification" as a foot in the door to squeeze in a smear campaign. ] (]) 15:55, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

In response to ''Jclemens'': Although it may appear from Blackburne's perspective that simple head-butting took place on ], in fact the discussion did evolve. It ended with the text in the green box that makes the connection between ] and ]. As pointed out by direct quotes from published sources, objections that this text contains improper content are wrong. The objections actually are only a matter of taste: the value of a digression. Nonetheless, at this point I recognize that even this limited proposal has been rejected.

You have advised "all parties to work together toward improving the articles in question". One might wish that interactions between myself and Dicklyon, with occasional participation by Srleffler, were less confrontational. Nonetheless, improvements to ] have resulted from our past interactions, leading to eight figures contributed by myself and their related content. One such discussion led to the new article ]. So, although our relationship is imperfect, shall we say, it can have positive results, and it does not require Arbitration. ] (]) 17:15, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

In response to ''Kirill'': There is nothing complicated about this case at all, if you look at it closely. The proposed text in the green box is nothing more than a straightforward quote from a reliable source, backed up by further sources for the purpose of this case. Bringing it forward here as a "clarification" of a dead sanction is only pretext, as you have noticed. This action simply is harassment by Blackburne, who was involved only peripherally in the discussion of this proposal. The real discussion was between Dicklyon and myself, and we frequently disagree about how a topic should be presented or even whether it should be presented. These differences are often just a matter of taste, as in the present case where the actual content is beyond reproach, and the only issue is evaluation of pertinence to the topic. Our joint history shows that we can sort these matters out without the intervention of Administrators. See, for example, , and as an example of one of our extended discussions that ended equably with positive results for WP. This whole matter should be thrown out in its entirety. ] (]) 15:24, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

====Summary remarks====
If I weren't the subject here, it would amuse me to see how a lengthy dispute between two editors (Dicklyon and Brews ohare) over including a reference to another WP article could be blown up to such proportions. The original object here of a so-called "clarification" of the Case:Speed of light, an expired sanction, has been completely put aside. By accepting the possibility of a topic ban, the matter is now, in effect, a case or a review with no name and no discovery, settled by a show of hands without open fact-finding.

Were it the case that the issue of noncontroversial or valuable edits were a factor in Arbs' thinking, the matter would be settled in my favor already. Since my return, among other articles Misplaced Pages now has ] and ] and ] and ] that were written by myself without controversy. ] contains multiple figures by myself with associated discussions fashioned amid controversy with Dicklyon, when Blackburne was not about. When Dicklyon is not involved, my editing history is full of non-controversial additions to articles, the most recent being a history section for ].

A real question is why a gadfly like Blackburne is given credence when he sticks his nose into something he has no interest in, and doesn't take time to understand. Apparently, he is appreciated for other reasons.

Blackburne has made to arbitration since my return to WP from a ban of a year that was instigated in response to a request by Blackburne at that time. He has across Misplaced Pages, even to articles like ] and several essays of mine, like ] that have no relation to the topics of physics or math. Prior history shows this will continue with increased intensity should the topic ban be imposed, allowing claimed violation simply by raising content issues that formally lie outside Arbs' jurisdiction as ]. A topic ban takes ''any'' claim that the ban has been violated to AN/I, where content is moot, or allows any Administrator to institute reprisal by themselves, without discussion with anyone else.

Some Arbs have pointed out this matter is not a "clarification" at all, and if any action is to be taken at all, it involves some complex history that needs sorting out by a review or a full case. I hope that sense prevails. ] (]) 16:17, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

I see an about-face by Arbs who now contradict their initial reactions, for no stated reasons. Disagreement between a very few editors on a Talk page? Despite Elen of the Roads' observations that Case:Speed of light was over and a new case was necessary, AGK's comments that the matter was too specialized for a motion, Krill's and PhilKnight's agreement with that, Jclemens' exhortation that all parties work together, and SilkTork's seeing no problem with Talk page discussion? What happened, one might ask? Why were all of Roger Davies' motions ''against'' Brews ohare, and none for other alternatives? What has the pretext for this action of a "clarification" of a dead Case:Speed of light got to do with all this? The dead Case:Speed of light has decided things, after all, it seems.

There isn't any sign my remarks were considered, nor those of the community at large.

It's too bad. ] (]) 22:58, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:Elen of the Roads: "Everyone else is quoting textbooks, Brews ... has his own interpretations. There's your problem." Elen, that is nonsense: it is my text in the green box that cites sources. There is no interpretation by Brews, and the claims by the critics is not sourced at all, and in fact contradicts four cited sources. ] (]) 23:19, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:Besides, this is not a content dispute, but a dispute over whether I am allowed to protest on a Talk page over spurious allegations contrary to sources. Apparently that rebuttal has limits, and my behavior in many other cases shows that I am aware of this fact, and have desisted. Were a full review opened, these matters could be properly explored, and my behavior properly assessed. ] (]) 23:23, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by uninvolved My very best wishes ===
I am not quite sure why the overall atmosphere in Physics is significantly more hostile than in Biology and Chemistry. It could be that articles in this area are better developed and therefore more difficult to improve, or it could be that some editors want everything to be described exactly as in their favorite textbook (although there are alternative interpretations) and in their favorite version of article, so they should be reminded of ] and ]. What I mean is not the editing by Brews, but the overall opposition to making changes in this area (including changes proposed by Brews). Actually, editors in the area of Physics and Math (including Brews) made an outstanding work. Now the real challenge is to make some of these articles more understandable and even interesting for students and general public. This can be done by using introductory textbooks and ''good'' books on ] that prove scientific concepts by explaining them. Unfortunately, such RS are frequently and unfairly dismissed merely on the grounds that they are not "academic" (even if written by experts with PhD degrees), and not only in the area of Physics.

In this particular situation, I do not think that returning to old subjects was a problem because consensus can change, but Brews must carefully avoid to be engaged in ]. I do not see any proof of WP:DE by Brews at the moment - ''agree with Silk Tork''. ] (]) 13:26, 16 May 2012 (UTC)
:@Brews. Please consider the following situation. There is certain perfectly sourced information that you think must be included, but there is also a couple of other people who do not want it to be included, and they are wrong. Would you agree to drop the issue and edit something else? Please read ] before response. (<small>Just to clarify, I am not telling here that "opponents" of Brews are wrong).</small> ] (]) 12:13, 17 May 2012 (UTC)
::@Brews. Thank you. I think there is no general answer to this, and it well could be that the "other guys" are engaged in ], paid advocacy, or a personal crusade against an editor, even if they form majority (once again, I am talking generally here, not about people in this particular incident). This is a situation when ] sometimes comes in a contradiction with WP:NPOV and ]. But unfortunately, there is no other choice, but to follow WP:Consensus if we do not want to be sanctioned. ] (]) 15:04, 17 May 2012 (UTC)
:::@Brews. No, I do not have an opinion that people who continue civil discussions even when they are in minority should be topic-banned. But I am not sure about our policies in such cases and therefore asked to clarify. In a couple of cases I looked at (Pythagorean_theorem and Wavelength), I think that your suggested changes do not significantly improve these pages (although there is nothing wrong with your materials to be included), so you could spend your time more efficiently by switching to other articles in the area of Physics, as you did during the initial period of your editing here. <u>However, in , you were absolutely right</u> , and there is now a constructive discussion on this article talk page. ] (]) 16:32, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
*This looks to me as prolonged disputes on numerous talk pages, such as and now . The arguments by Brews are not unreasonable, and he provides some valid sources. At the same time, I can agree that such discussions are frequently fruitless, distract people from making productive contributions, and therefore can lead to sanctions. But we have much longer and even less productive discussions in many other subject areas, for example . Should we just look who contributed most in such discussions and topic-ban the leader? Please clarify. ] (]) 12:56, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
*@ I think this is an excellent point by AGK ("I for one am unwilling to rule on something about which I have not the foggiest idea"). Indeed, an administrator frequently can not judge if a user contributes positively to the project or makes a disservice to reader (as Helen said ), unless he knows the subject. Actually, the biggest mistakes can be made in cases when an admin thinks that he knows something (because he follows "common sense" or read about it in newspaper - usually in the areas of history and politics), but he actually does not. Unfortunately, ''not knowing the subject is an official policy'': all admins are prohibited from ruling in the areas where they edit and therefore read a lot about. ] (]) 14:49, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
*:@JohnBlackburne. I did not read the entire discussion (], sorry), but the question that Brews asks in the beginning is this: "''Comment is sought as to whether a reference to Fourier series is appropriate under the heading general periodic waveforms''". Yes, it is. Certainly there is nothing wrong here. ] (]) 17:34, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
:::I agree that Brews would be much better off by immediately dropping any issue that meets opposition, and I am sure he realizes this by now. ] (]) 18:25, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

*Perhaps my problem is that I did not see the previous disputes with Brews. Sorry, I am not interested. It is enough that I looked at his content contributions and found them good. But to ban a user for conducting civil discussion on a talk page of one article is over the top. ] (]) 13:14, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:@SilkTork. Yes, this looks convincing to me, unless Arbcom would like to practice ] (I remember a couple of "General Amnesties" in the past), but that would probably be impractical ... ] (]) 17:02, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by uninvolved Count Iblis ===
Brews is making the mistake of trying to get his way by posting more RFCs. Thing is that being right on the issue doesn't give you the right to edit your way. The first time, I did see the RFC Brews posted, and I wanted to comment, but I abandoned that due to lack of time. I did not agree with Brews' proposal, but I had an idea about an alternative text that would mention Fourier transforms.

What struck me also was the lack of such contructive efforts, because obviously, Fourier transforms does in principle have a place in an article about wavelengths, regardless of how flawed Brews' proposal was. So, there is also something wrong about the general editing climate if the issue isn't properly debated. If editor X raises an issue and he has a point, then one should discuss the point that does exist and steer the discussion toward that, and not focus on opposing by ignoring the real points that exist and only focussing on where the editor goes wrong. Because then that editor will eventually correct himself and you end up dancing around the central point for a long time, causing everyone to get irritated.

So, I would suggest Brews to limit the time he spends online here editing and arguing on the talk page. Try to get it (almost) right the first time you propose something, or when you edit something in an article. To the others, I would say that they should be more positive about any proposals. This doesn't mean that you have to accept something that is bad, just that you would in that case end up rejecting in a way that would more likely conclude the debate. E.g. on the ] page I see too much opposition for proposed edits while in the end you had to accept the proposal. Surely, that could have been agreed to weeks earlier by acknowledging that the proposer did have a legitimate point here? ] (]) 18:37, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Brews, by limiting the time spend here, what I meant was the time you spend here in some uphill effort to get something into the article. I would recommend that as soon as you experience any difficulties like in this case, you drop a line at Wikiproject physics instead of letting the issue fester for many weeks. But then, after briefly explaining your point, you should let others take a look while you reduce your input significantly. There is, of course, nothing wrong with spending a lot of time editing and arguing constructively on Misplaced Pages.

Don't think that everyone at Wikiproject physics is going to oppose you, because of the past history. I remember that Headbomb asked for input there because he was having difficulties editing the Planck law article last year. He got support on some points, but on some other points he did not get support. So, this isn't some rubber stamp procedure where the people who you got difficulties with in the past, always get their way.

I think this is better than posting RFCs, because this is more likely to lead to new editors actually getting involved in the article. What matters in the end is if some text is going to be seen to be appropriate for the article by the larger community and eventually by the readers of Misplaced Pages, not by any particular editor. ] (]) 15:57, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

@JohnBlackburne, you have been de-facto patrolling Brews edits the last few years. You do this with the best of intentions (and that not necessarily actively, you may simply see Brews' edits on your wachlist), but in practice this leads to problems of the same type we've seen in quite a few other ArbCom cases. Your Wiki-philosophy is too much at odds with Brews'. Where there are two completely opposite but legitimate points of views regarding edits, you two end up preferring the different options, and ].
If you then also find yourself having to cite Wiki-policies to Brews on other occasions when its more serious and you intent to go to a noticeboard if he doesn't listen, he may not take you serous, even though the issue may now not ambiguous, i.e. Brews is wrong and you are right.
I guess Brews also needs to see examples of how you can actually get something done here while facing opposition, instead of only being told not to do something here whenever there is opposition. The example given by My very best wishes is a good thing to explore. So, the lede of the Fourier transform article now says that:
"The '''Fourier transform''' is a mathematical operation with many applications in ] and ] that expresses a mathematical ] of time as a function of ], known as its ]; ] guarantees that this can always be done."

I have to say that I find this definition mentioning time completely unacceptable too. The question is then how to go about changing this definition, without having to fight some uphill battle on the talk page. If I imagine how things are likely to go wrong with Brews insisting on the relevant issue on the talk page, it's actually because Brews will be "too nice" at the start. He will make the most minimalist of proposals you can imagine. He thinks by doing that he can avoid stepping on people's toes. But then, because he went out of his way with such a proposal, he will argue fanatically for it, ending up annoying people after a while.

My style of editing is completely different, I would completely rewrite the introduction of the article to make room for a more general definition. That creates far more room to deal with legitimate opposition than some minimalist proposal affecting only one or two sentences. I would not engage in arguments with people who oppose me but have no good arguments, who have ] issues. I gave them less room to exploit other issues to argue about. So, my starting position is much stronger than that of Brews. But this does require more work, as you have to rewrite a lot more of the article. ] (]) 17:00, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

@Brews, for the articles you have been involved in it looks like that way. Now, I'm not saying that you have always been right in disputes, just that you have ended up being opposed with what you wanted to do quite often. Then, you can look at what you have been successul at doing here. I think that the larger editing efforts by you have been more productive, like the large sections of some classical mechanics articles (e.g. about curvelinear motion). I have the impression that whenever you engage in editing well developed articles here on more minor points, that this leads to problems.

So, perhaps you should think about creating new articles, or edit complete new sections in articles. That will automatically move you toward articles that are not well developed yet, and then you are less likely to encounter editors with strong ] feelings, plus you have all the benefits I wrote about above. My editing here is more focussed on these sorts of articles, see e.g. my recent edits to ].

If someone were to object to these edits, and start a discussion about that, then the ball would be more in his court than mine, because the formula and the proof should be in either this article or somewhere else. So, simply reverting and deleting the edits because, say, it is too textbook like, or because no sources are given, isn't really an option. These are issues that can be fixed by including sources or rewriting to make it less textbook like. But such discussions are less likely to happen in the first place.

Note that when you created the Idee Fixe article, it was put on PROD and then on AFD, so the opposer of that article had to argue with the larger community, not you, and he lost his argument. While you also argued a lot on the AFD page, you could have left only a brief comment there and then completely ignore the opposer. ] (]) 02:21, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

A topic ban will lead to more problems not less. I've explained that and suggested an alternative . Basically this is a ban on editing any article or talk page unless given permission to do so by a mentor. ] (]) 16:12, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by Srleffler ===
The fundamental problem here is Brews' persistent, tendentious style. In ] Brews introduced some weak material relating to nonsinusoidal waves and Fourier series decompositions of them. After much discussion, some of his ideas got reworked and put into the article and others did not. He just can't let go of the concepts that didn't make it in, though. No matter what arguments are raised or how many other editors object, he just keeps bringing forward the same ideas over and over and over again, with slight variations of form. Every now and then he files an RfC, and when his proposal is rejected he immediately resurrects it in yet another slight variation and starts all over again. It is tiresome, and a waste of time that could be put to better use editing other articles.--] (]) 03:21, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by Looie496 ===

I am a bystander with no involvement other than being appalled at how much disruption one editor can cause. I would like to note that Remedy 2 of the case was ''Brews ohare is warned to adhere to content policies and the expected standards of behavior and decorum, and to avoid working counter to the purposes of Misplaced Pages.''. If that remedy has any specific meaning at all, it ought to mean that Brews ohare is subject to sanctions via some sort of expedited process. ] (]) 23:49, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Request for clarification by Dr.K. ===
AGK made a supplementary statement on 21 May 2012 at 10:42 (UTC) as follows: {{quotation|Additional comment: This amendment has become absurdly specialised. We are not content experts, and (to my knowledge) no current arbitrator is qualified as a Physicist or similar. I for one am unwilling to rule on something about which I have not the foggiest idea. I therefore default to decline this amendment request. AGK 10:42, 21 May 2012 (UTC)}}

Yet almost a week after AGK issued his supplementary statement, arb after arb quote AGK in wanting to open a new case or review the existing one. But in his additional statement AGK essentially nullified his original statement and declined the amendment request. Why quote AGK then in conjunction with reopening or reviewing a case? ]&nbsp;<small><sup style="position:relative">]<span style="position:relative;bottom:-2.0ex;left:-5.2ex;*left:-5.5ex">]</span></sup></small> 16:05, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Reply to Roger Davies: Thank you Roger. I was suspecting that much. Hopefully this incongruence may end now. ]&nbsp;<small><sup style="position:relative">]<span style="position:relative;bottom:-2.0ex;left:-5.2ex;*left:-5.5ex">]</span></sup></small> 16:30, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Statement by Other ===
<!-- Leave this section for others to add additional statements -->

=== Clerk notes ===
:''This area is used for notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).''

=== Arbitrator views and discussion ===
* '''Awaiting statements''', particularly from Brews Ohare. At first (brief) sight, any sanctions have expired; no discretionary sanctions were authorised; and the original case was sufficiently long ago (autumn 2009) to be left to lie. If there is misconduct, and if it very closely mirrors the 2009 case, and obviously I'm not expressing an opinion on either of those points, it might be possible to persuade arbitrators to re-open the 2009 case as it is within ArbCom discretion to re-open any prior case at any time. &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 05:30, 16 May 2012 (UTC)
:* I too am happy to see this as either a case or a review, and (unless someone else beats me to it) will put proposals with the options.<p>@Dr K: I suspect people are picking up on the first, rather than the second, of AGK's comments. &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 16:26, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
* I have concerns that Brews is returning to ], but if that is the case, we can probably resolve this with a motion re-restricting him from the topic area. ] (]) 16:47, 16 May 2012 (UTC)
* Having reviewed this dispute, like SirFozzie I am concerned. However, I am minded to open a review of the original case, and would be uncomfortable with remedying this dispute by motion. We need a proper case (if an abridged one) with suitable mechanisms for evidence submission—not a Pop-Up Hearing on this page. ] ]] 15:05, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
:: Additional comment: This amendment has become absurdly specialised. We are not content experts, and (to my knowledge) no current arbitrator is qualified as a Physicist or similar. I for one am unwilling to rule on something about which I have not the foggiest idea. I therefore default to decline this amendment request. ] ]] 10:42, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
*Too soon for another case or motion, and would encourage other dispute resolution first. If via dispute resolution there is clear consensus of ], and Brews Ohare is warned and clearly ignores the warning, then it could be returned to us and we might be able to deal with this by a motion rather than a full case. I would suggest to Brews Ohare that it is OK to raise an issue once, but if consensus is against him, then he needs to wait 12 months before raising the same issue again. I think all of us will admit to having areas where we feel our views are the right ones, but consensus is against us. It can be frustrating, but it would be very damaging to the project if we all repeatedly raised the issue, so we move on, in the greater interests of the project as a whole. ''']''' ''']''' 22:03, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
::If there is sufficient evidence of recent tendentious editing to open a case, then - given Brews Ohare's history - there may be sufficient evidence to deal with this by motion. It is not a complex case as far as I can see, and relates to whether or not a single user - Brews Ohare - has engaged in problematic editing. At this point I don't see raising questions on article talkpages in itself as problematic; though, in one case, the Wavelength article, Brews Ohare has been problematic by persisting in pushing a point. Without further specific evidence of problematic editing, however, I doubt I would support a ban, but I can see myself supporting a warning which would give admins at AE the power to block Brews Ohare if he repeats the tendentious editing evidenced at the Wavelength article. ''']''' ''']''' 12:53, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:::Having looked at the Speed of light case I note that Brews Ohare has which appears to be still in place. Though, given his history, it appears that the warning wasn't sufficient then, and even a site ban hasn't moderated his behaviour. In the circumstances, a ban of some sort appears to be appropriate, and as the Wavelength incident appears to be an isolated incident I'm thinking that a topic ban would be more appropriate than a site ban. ''']''' ''']''' 15:17, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
*I'm of a mind that if previously sanctioned editors cannot return to a topic and garner consensus for specific content modifications, and, upon failing to do so, cannot even take "no" for an answer, there is a small likelihood that their future interactions in the area will be constructive. I would encourage all parties to work together toward improving the articles in question, appropriately representing minority views represented in RS'es per NPOV. ] (]) 00:40, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
*The response to the clarification request is clear as far as I can see - the sanctions have expired, discretionary sanctions were not put in place. If Brews is returning to the behaviour that occasioned the first sanction, then he is in the position of a man up once again before the beak, charged with the same offense he was sent down for last time. I can see no merit to reopening the original case - he did his time for it. He's (continuing the metaphor) charged with breaking into a different house this time, and needs to be "found guilty in accordance with the law." At that point, his previous offence will undoubtedly be taken into account in sentencing. I apologise for the extended legal metaphor, but I hope it makes it clear. John Blackburne/other parties will have (in my opinion) to either open another RFAR or potentially make a case at AN for a topic/siteban, if they believe it is possible to evidence the problematic behaviour without requiring a knowledge of post-doctoral physics. The community generally has little sympathy with a previously sanctioned editor who returns to their problematic behaviour, so Brews might be well advised to take the counsel of ] and "learn when to walk away, and learn when to run."] (]) 16:35, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
* Per AGK, I think that the best way to proceed would be to hold a new hearing, either as a full new case (which I prefer) or as some form of review of the original case; the dispute here appears to be sufficiently complex that simply resolving it by motion will likely be impractical. ]&nbsp;<sup>]]</sup> 15:08, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
* Concur with Kirill and AGK. ] (]) 16:06, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
:*On further consideration, I would much prefer trying to address this by motion if we can. I can't see any value in forcing everyone to go through even an entire review, let alone a new case. ] (]) 20:22, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
*I am not happy with this situation in which an editor who was banned for disruptive behavior in a topic continues, by all evidence, to continue to edit disruptively (albeit perhaps a bit less disruptively) on that topic. I do not believe that other users should be required to go through the entire dispute-resolution process, from beginning to end, all over again, to deal with such a situation: that strikes me as a sure-fire recipe for driving editors away. Hence I would support either a motion or a review here. ] (]) 13:40, 29 May 2012 (UTC)
* Similar to Risker, Kirill, and AGK, I'd prefer either a review or full case. ] (]) 15:19, 29 May 2012 (UTC)
* After going through the R&I one, I think the difference between a review and a new case is almost purely one of terminology, so, fine with either. ] 17:13, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

===Motions: Speed of light (Brews ohare) ===

I've extracted the main three options from the arbitrator discussion above and put together motions for each of them, &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 14:04, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

====Motion: To open a full case ====

The Committee authorises the immediate opening of a full case ("]"), to examine all aspects of the the conduct of ] (filing party) and ] (party) in relation to the ] article and the ] topic since the expiry of earlier sanctions on 21 November 2011.

:Support:
:# Third choice. It seems to me that, as we do not make content decisions, the dispute that needs to be resolved is whether Brews ohare is repeating the earlier inappropriate behaviour that lead to his sanctions or whether he is responding reasonably to the unreasonable conduct of others. Given the comprehensive nature of the statements, we probably do not need a full case to resolve this. &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 14:04, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:#

:Oppose:
:# The information we need to make a decision on this is already in front of us. A full case would have no purpose other then to use up time better spent elsewhere.] (]) 14:12, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# The information is available for a decision to be made. Despite a , , and a , Brews ohare received until he was . The consideration is if is a repeat of the tendentious editing that led to the previous sanctions. Regardless of if Brews ohare is correct in his thinking, that he continues to push his point even though consensus is against him is clearly disruptive. Given his history the decision appears to be topic or site ban, and I'm inclined to see if an indef topic ban will work. We have that as a motion, so a full case is not required. ''']''' ''']''' 15:38, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# He's repeating the behaviour of the last case. It doesn't need another case to establish this. ] (]) 21:00, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

:Abstain:
:#

:Comments:
:*

====Motion: To conduct a Review ====

The Committee will conduct a Review, ("]"), focusing on the conduct of ] in relation to the ] article and the ] topic since the expiry of earlier sanctions on 21 November 2011. The Review will follow on an expedited timetable, to be set at a later date by consensus of the Committee.

:Support:
:# Second choice. Again, given the comprehensive nature of the statements, we probably do not even need a review to resolve this issue. &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 14:04, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# Very weak second choice, again, I feel that the information we need to handle this is already in the history with the previous cases, its various amendments and clarifications, and this request.

:Oppose:
:# The information is available for a decision to be made. Despite a , , and a , Brews ohare received until he was . The consideration is if is a repeat of the tendentious editing that led to the previous sanctions. Regardless of if Brews ohare is correct in his thinking, that he continues to push his point even though consensus is against him is clearly disruptive. Given his history the decision appears to be topic or site ban, and I'm inclined to see if an indef topic ban will work. We have that as a motion, so a review is not required. ''']''' ''']''' 15:39, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# I believe the problem is self evident and not requiring of a review. Everyone else is quoting textbooks, Brews ... has his own interpretations. There's your problem. ] (]) 20:59, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

:Abstain:
:#

:Comments:
:*

====Motion: Topic ban for Brews ohare ====

1. From the statements, it is more probable than not that ] is unable to work cooperatively and effectively with others within the topic and is thus repeating the behaviour which resulted in his now expired sanctions. The earlier episodes were very disruptive and were a great drain on the community's patience and resources.

2. It follows that preventative action is appropriate. Accordingly, the Committee topic-bans Brews ohare indefinitely from all pages of whatever nature about physics and physics-related mathematics, broadly construed. After a minimum period of at least one year has elapsed, Brews ohare may ask the Arbitration Committee to reconsider the topic ban, giving his reasons why the Committee should do so.

3. Should Brews ohare violate this topic ban he may be blocked, initially for up to one week, and then with blocks increasing in duration to a maximum of one year, with the clock for any lifting of the topic ban restarting at the end of each block. All blocks are to be logged at ]. Appeals of blocks may only be made by email to the Arbitration Committee.

:Support:
:# First choice. Arguably the core issue has now been examined in statements, and Brews ohare has taken the opportunity to respond robustly and amply to what has been said. We are probably therefore in a position to deal with this on the basis on the statements already posted alone. &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 14:04, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# First choice, very nearly only choice. ] (]) 14:12, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# Despite a , , and a , Brews ohare received until he was . is a repeat of the tendentious editing that led to the previous sanctions. Regardless of if Brews ohare is correct in his thinking, that he continues to push his point even though consensus is against him is clearly disruptive. Given his history a ban of some form is appropriate, and I'm inclined to see if an indef topic ban will work, given that such a ban will be able to be enforced by AE admins. ''']''' ''']''' 15:48, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
:# Pretty much only choice. The community is not very sympathetic to editors who return from sanctions to repeat problematic behaviour - we should respect the desire of those editors who just want to get on with life. ] (]) 18:01, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

:Oppose:
:#

:Abstain:
:#

:Comments:
:*

== Amendment: Scientology (Prioryman) ==
'''Initiated by ''' ] (]) '''at''' 00:38, 14 May 2012 (UTC)
; Case affected : {{RFARlinks|Scientology}}

; List of users affected by or involved in this amendment
* {{userlinks|Prioryman}}

===Amendment 1===
* Request lifting of binding voluntary restrictions

==== Statement by Prioryman ====
''Note to arbitrators: I have separated this out as a separate request for your consideration in addition to the ARBCC appeal above. The discussion there has got unduly lengthy and has confused the two cases; the two matters really need to be considered on their own merits. Please address my ARBCC appeal above, and this ARBSCI appeal below, as independent appeals.''

In the ] case in 2009 I agreed to a set of binding voluntary restrictions. These were that within the topic area (i) I limit my edits to directly improving articles to meet GA and FA criteria, using reliable sources; (ii) I make no edits of whatever nature to biographies of living people; and (iii) I refrain from sysop action of whatever nature. The findings against me concerned conduct as a sysop, which is no longer relevant as I no longer exercise that function, and errors in the sourcing of articles. I acknowledged error at the time and voluntarily proposed the restrictions under which I currently operate.

The case came about due to concerns about COI editing and role accounts . I was not involved in those issues and was only added to the case at a very late stage. There was no suggestion at the time that I was involved in any ongoing issues; all of the findings against me related to a small number of historical edits, the most recent of which had been made a year before the case and the oldest of which went back all the way to August 2005, over four years before the case.

Remedy 3B of the case provides that:

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

The current situation is that:

* Since the case I have brought two articles in the topic area, ] and ] up to GA standard. In other topic areas, I have created four more FAs, two more GAs and over 60 DYKs. My editing has been entirely uncontroversial and widely praised, earning 16 barnstars in the last 18 months alone.
* My current involvement in the ARBSCI topic area is negligible and is limited only to minor maintenance (vandalism reversion etc) of articles that I've written. My editing in the topic area in the last three years has been entirely unproblematic and has not resulted in any disputes with any other editors in the topic area.
* I inadvertently breached the restrictions with a couple of minor edits in July 2010 to articles that I did not know were covered by the topic area. This was resolved without further action in discussions by email with arbitrators on 13 and 14 August 2010.
* The issues raised in the original case are ancient history now - the most recent diffs relate to edits made five years ago, and the oldest relate to edits seven years ago. I submit that this is more than long enough for a reconsideration to be due.
* Although I have not conflicted with any editors in the topic area, the ARBSCI sanctions have been (ab)used by individuals associated with Misplaced Pages Review to snipe at me repeatedly and make unsubstantiated false claims about my editing. I deeply regret that although I asked at the outset of this appeal for topic-banned or interaction-banned editors to observe their restrictions on participating in this process, this has not been respected and has resulted in unnecessary controversy. As Roger Davies has rightly said, the ARBSCI sanctions are now "more trouble and more drama-provoking than they're worth".
* The BLP findings against me in this case relate to two articles: {{article|Barbara Schwarz}} (deleted in December 2007, 18 months before the ARBSCI case) and two edits to ] made in September 2006 and December 2008. That is the entirety of it. Even going by the findings, it's 3½ years since any of my BLP edits in the topic area have been deemed faulty. At the time of the case there were no ongoing BLP issues of any sort.
* Since I created this account I have edited multiple BLPs using reliable sources with no controversy whatsoever, including those in sensitive topic areas; example include ] (Northern Ireland), ] (crime), ] (crime), ] and ] (Balkans) (and note the BLP enforcements and ). I've collaborated successfully with multiple editors, including Jimbo himself, on BLPs. Jimbo highlighted and praised my contributions to ] in .
* There has not been a single dispute about the quality, neutrality or sourcing of any of my contributions to the topic area since the case.
* I'm not involved in any off-wiki activism related to the topic area, nor have I been for a very long time (in fact since well before the case).

The sanctions are no longer necessary for the following reasons:

* I have more than demonstrated my commitment to the goals of Misplaced Pages and my ability to work constructively with other editors in this topic area over the last three years. I've also demonstrated an ability to edit positively on BLPs.
* The restrictions have become actively counter-productive and are hindering my efforts to improve the topic area. (I remind the Committee that the restrictions were specifically intended to focus me on improvement work.) There has been no dispute whatsoever about the quality of the content that I've contributed, but the sanctions themselves have become the focus of controversy. As mentioned above, individuals associated with Misplaced Pages Review have used them as a pretext to wikilawyer and snipe at me. If the Committee wants to reduce controversy, the best way to do this is by lifting the restrictions and so remove that pretext.
* There's no reason to believe that lifting these restrictions will cause problems. Nor is there any reason why the existing discretionary sanctions should not be sufficient in future.
* It also makes no sense to continue sanctions related to very old edits when there is no ongoing problem with my involvement in the topic area, and there is no suggestion from anyone that the problems which led to the sanctions are either continuing or have been repeated since May 2009.

I would also like the Committee to note that the restrictions were voluntarily proposed by myself, and I request that I be given credit for this. I therefore ask for the restrictions to be lifted.

I'd like to remind editors topic-banned under ARBSCI or banned from interacting with me that they aren't allowed to comment on this request here or on any other page on Misplaced Pages. ] (]) 00:38, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

==== Statement by Jayen466 ====
I would advise against lifting the ARBSCI BLP restriction at this time. I would like to see a substantial history of even-handed, neutral editing in generic articles first. No objection to lifting the remainder of the restriction. --'''<font color="#0000FF">]</font><font color=" #FFBF00">]</font><font color="#0000FF">]</font>''' 20:14, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

==== Statement by Count Iblis ====
Similar to what I wrote about Jayen466's request, the restrictions should be lifted for Prioryman also in this case. The entire BLP topic area has come under much stricter oversight than just a few years ago, and this system also works quite smoothly. And I don't think Prioryman will behave as a troublemaker in this area, given his record in the BLP area outside this particular topic area. ] (]) 20:03, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

==== Statement by Youreallycan ====
−
I oppose lifting of this users Scientology arbitration restrictions - The user is one of the twenty notable people attacking Scientology - I strongly oppose his reintegration to the BLP sector in this topic - non ] I would not object to - I would prefer him to be honest and connect himself to . - <font color="purple">]</font><font color="orange">really</font><font color="red">]</font> 04:49, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

==== Statement by Nomoskedasticity ====
Another editor writing above hopes to see "a substantial history of even-handed, neutral editing in generic articles first". I think that's exactly what we *do* see at this point, and I would support lifting the restrictions -- this is clearly a productive and intelligent editor, an asset to the project. ] (]) 06:29, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

=== Further discussion ===
:''Statements here may address all the amendments, but individual statements under each proposed amendment are preferred. If there is only one proposed amendment, then no statements should be added here.''

==== Clerk notes ====
:''This section is for administrative notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).''
==== Arbitrator views and discussion ====
* '''Comment''': these sanctions should probably go now as they are open to misunderstanding/wiki-lawyering and have themselves become a source of contention. This defeats the purpose of having them. I note that discretionary sanctions are in place for the topic, which means that clearer and/or more comprehensive sanctions could be imposed if problems occur. &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 06:03, 16 May 2012 (UTC)
* I disagree strenuously with Roger and think lifting the sanctions would do more harm than good. ] (]) 16:32, 16 May 2012 (UTC)
* Given that this individual sanction is superseded by standard ARBSCI discretionary sanctions, I am minded for that reason alone to grant this appeal. ] ]] 10:54, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
* As in the ''Climate change'' case, I think the available discretionary sanctions are sufficient to allow the older restriction to be lifted, and will propose a motion to that effect below. ]&nbsp;<sup>]]</sup> 14:44, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

==== Motion: Scientology (Prioryman) ====
1) The restriction imposed on {{User|Prioryman}} by Remedy 17 of the ] case ("]") is hereby lifted.

; Support
:# Proposed per discussion above. ]&nbsp;<sup>]]</sup> 14:40, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
:# Sure, &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 14:50, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
:# I believe the discretionary sanctions are sufficient in this case. ] (]) 16:03, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
:# Per Risker. ] (]) 17:18, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
:# Per Risker. ] (] '''·''' ]) 06:14, 29 May 2012 (UTC)
:#Willing to go long now that admins have usable discretionary sanctions in this topic (including the ability to reimpose this BLP area ban). Like the ARBCC one, though, Prioryman, I don't expect you'll get a lot of rope if old problems return, though I don't expect them to. ] 17:26, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
:#] ]] 21:59, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
:# As with Risker. --] (]) 20:57, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

; Oppose
:# While I'm probably going to be out voted, my concerns about how Prioryman deals with drama (even that not of his own makng) does not give me the necessary confidence to support this request. Considering that Prioryman was restricted in two areas under his prior account, I do '''not''' think that "discretionary sanctions are sufficient" in this case. {{unsigned|SirFozzie|11:35, 29 May 2012 (UTC)}}
:#:The disc. sanctions here are not the standard ones, and only give admins the binary option to topic ban for 3 months. If that was brought into line, I'd be willing to let this restriction elapse, but not while admins have so limited options available to them. ] 13:10, 29 May 2012 (UTC)
:#: Yes, you're right. I'll propose replacing them with the standard ones shortly, &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 13:24, 29 May 2012 (UTC)
:#:: Motion to update the Scientology discretionary sanctions now ], &nbsp;] <sup>]</sup> 04:12, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
:#:::Indented now that that motion is passing. ] 17:26, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
:#:<s> With the same thinking as Courcelles. ] ]] 16:42, 29 May 2012 (UTC)</s>
:#:: Switched to support, now that the "Motion on Scientology discretionary sanctions" has carried. ] ]] 21:59, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

; Abstain
:#

Latest revision as of 05:38, 15 December 2024

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