Revision as of 04:44, 25 July 2007

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

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

Motions and requests by the parties

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Proposed temporary injunctions

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Questions to the parties

Proposed final decision

Proposed principles

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No legal threats

1) Threats of legal action intended to intimidate other editors are incompatible with the wiki method of collaborative editing. Editors with concerns about article content may attempt to address their concerns through the normal editing process, or they may contact the Wikimedia Foundation directly about legal remedies, but they may not do both.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 00:42, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

A rose by any other name

2) There is no material difference between a direct legal threat (I will sue you if you don't change the article to my liking) and an indirect legal threat (someone else may sue you if you don't allow me to change this article content to my liking); both are violations of the No legal threats policy.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 00:42, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Sound in substance; wording may need to be narrowed slightly (e.g., "this material is a copyvio so we'd better delete it before the owner takes action" can be a legitimate comment). Newyorkbrad 03:08, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Harassment

3) Harassment is defined as a pattern of offensive behavior that appears to a reasonable observer to have the purpose of adversely affecting a targeted person or persons. Editors whose sole purpose is to oppose another editor or to bring outside drama to Misplaced Pages to negatively affect another editor may be banned from editing articles related to the harassed editor, or in extreme cases, from Wikpiedia itself.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 03:03, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Single-purpose accounts

4) Accounts whose contributions focus on only a single narrow topic area, especially one of heated dispute, can be banned if their behaviour is disruptive to the project, for instance if they persistently engage in edit wars or in POV advocacy that serves to inflame editorial conflicts.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 03:04, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is not a battleground

5) Misplaced Pages is not a battleground. Editors should not import drama and conflict from other sites or fora.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 03:08, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Compare Misplaced Pages:Requests for arbitration/Zacheus-jkb/Proposed decision#Misplaced Pages is not a forum for disputes from elsewhere, in which the arbitrators are about to endorse this same principle. Newyorkbrad 03:18, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Double Jeopardy not Allowed - Mediation Evidence is Banned

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The previous discussions of Native American Liability were within the framework of Mediation, which was successfully concluded by users involved. Given that mediation was successful, previous evidence is banned in these proceedings on this matter since settlement discussions are typically privileged and undiscoverable between the parties. Had these discussions been of such a serious nature to be considered by the arbcom, it should have been raised then. Jeffrey Vernon Merkey 04:38, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Wikimedia Foundation rights preemptive

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Previous evidence of banning related to a previous Federal Lawsuit is banned pursuant to a settlement agreement between this party and Brad Patrick of the Wikimedia Foundation related to dismissed legal claims. Evidence of previous banning is barred pursuant to WP:OFFICE. The Wikimedia Foundation made binding promises to correct the problems caused by my lack of understanding of the project at the time and the legal dispute which was dismissed. Any such evidence is banned pursuant to these agreements. The Foundation is a "person" and as such has obligations to honor its promises. This project is obliged to honor them as well. Jeffrey Vernon Merkey 04:42, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Proposed findings of fact

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Jeffrey Vernon Merkey

1) Jeffrey Vernon Merkey (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) was indefinitely banned under a previous account, but was recently allowed to resume editing. Merkey has a history of making legal threats , most recently alleging that the Wikimedia Foundation could be civilly or criminally liable for allowing certain groups to falsely (in his view) claim membership in a Native American tribe. See also Template:NativeWarn.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 00:49, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Edit warring by Jeffrey Vernon Merkey

2) Merkey has edit-warred over the issue of Native American identity at Cherokee (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) and Cherokee Freedmen Controversy (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views).

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Evidence exists these were single purpose accounts. reverting edits of SPA's is not edit warring since edits made by such accounts are not good faith efforts to improve the project. As such, they were reverting vandalism. Jeffrey Vernon Merkey

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Proposed. Thatcher131 02:56, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Harassment of Jeffrey Vernon Merkey

3) Jeffrey Vernon Merkey is a controversial figure in the Linux/Freeware community and has been harassed on Misplaced Pages by a number of single-purpose accounts. For example, Vigilant (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), talks_to_birds (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), Vryl (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), Friendly neighbour (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) and Sue me Jeff (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log), among others. (See their block logs.)

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Proposed. Important to note this. Thatcher131 03:24, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Pfagerburg

4) Pfagerburg (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) has fewer than 200 edits, the majority of which relate to Jeffrey Vernon Merkey in some manner. He has made edits to Jeffrey V. Merkey (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) that tend to cast Mr. Merkey in a bad light. (Suggesting a lawsuit makes outrageous claims ; SCO lawsuit, based on documents hosted at a site critical of Mr. Merkey ).

In particular, these recent edits shows that although Pfagerburg's editing interests have broadened somewhat, he maintains a strong interest in Mr. Merkey's legal troubles and has not assimilated Misplaced Pages policies on No original research and Biographies of living persons.

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Per a remedy I proposed below, there will be no further issues with Mr. Merkey's bio on my account. And I think staying away from other BLP's would be a good idea. WP:NOR is still a tricky issue, when combined with WP:PSTS, but I'm getting the hang of it, see . Pfagerburg 02:44, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Proposed. Thatcher131 01:18, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Pfagerburg and the dispute over Native American Identity

5) Pfagerburg made a 1300+ word complaint at the Admins' Noticeboard regarding Merkey's use of legal threats in a content dispute. Pfagerburg was not previously involved in the dispute, except for two comments here , and had never edited any of the related articles or their talk pages. In this context, given Pfagerburg's lack of prior interest in the topic, and previous interest specifically in Merkey's alleged propensity for filing lawsuits, his involving himself in the Native American dispute constituted harassment.

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The length of the AN/I complaint (1300+ words) has been mentioned in two separate areas, as though that were an offense in and of itself. Most of those 1300 words were quotes from the diffs I linked to. In retrospect, I should have only linked the diffs and not quoted them as well. Pfagerburg 03:43, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Proposed. Thatcher131 01:57, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Kebron

6) As noted here, Kebron (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) is a single-purpose account that generally acts to oppose Jeffrey Vernon Merkey. For example, on May 15, Kebron and JVM edit warred over the issue of tribal identity at Talk:Cherokee. The dispute seems to have been resolved by 23 June after mediation by User:Phaedriel. Kebron did not particpate in the mediation, and his last edit to Talk:Cherokee was You know what I give up. Look at Merkey's record... he is a liar. I give up... y'all deal with this idiot.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 03:17, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Kebron's first edits

7) Kebron's first edits were to User talk:Gadugi, referencing a dispute on the Yahoo SCOX message board. (Admin only links )

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Noted. Thatcher131 03:37, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Harassment by Kebron

8) Kebron began by harassing User:Gadugi over a dispute on the SCOX messageboard; he has continued to monitor the edits of User:Jeffrey Vernon Merkey, making complaints and particpating in discussions at the Admins' noticeboard in which he was not a stakeholder; has agressively pursued Merkey's former accounts and sockpuppets ; has edit warred with Merkey but ignored the resulting mediation; and created Southern Cherokee Nation, a copyvio, to make a point while in a dispute with Merkey at Talk:Cherokee. While no single edit stands out as particularly incivil or harassing, Kebron's overall edit history constitutes harassment and wikistalking of Merkey.

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Proposed. Note that several commentors in the various AN/I threads since Merkey's return have also made this observation. Kebron's first edits were a continuation of an argument from the SCOX noticeboard and nearly every edit since then is either related to Merkey or is a case of Kebron jumping into a dispute between Merkey and someone else. Thatcher131 04:44, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Proposed remedies

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

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Jeffrey Vernon Merkey banned

1) Jeffrey Vernon Merkey is banned from editing Misplaced Pages for one year.

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Proposed. Thatcher131 00:59, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Jeffrey Vernon Merkey banned

2) Jeffrey Vernon Merkey is banned from editing articles (including talk pages, Wikiprojects, and other project pages) related to Native Americans, broadly interpreted.

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Proposed. This is his main area of disruption, but also his major interest. Might amount to a de facto banning anyway. Thatcher131 00:59, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Jeffrey Vernon Merkey placed on probation

3) Jeffrey Vernon Merkey is placed on indefinite probation. He may be banned from any article and its talk page, for a suitable period of time, for disruptive edits, including making legal threats. Bans may be enforced by blocks of up to one week per violation. Bans and blocks to be recorded at Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Jeffrey_Vernon_Merkey#Log_of_blocks_and_bans.

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Proposed, on the theory that Misplaced Pages gives everyone 14 "second" chances. He has important knowledge but appears to be unable or unwilling to edit in accordance with community norms of behavior. Thatcher131 00:59, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Jeffrey Vernon Merkey banned for three years

4) Jeffrey Vernon Merkey is banned from editing Misplaced Pages for three years.

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The Committee has issued bans of (potentially) longer length than one year in various special circumstances; see, e.g. the Henrygb case. Kirill 03:13, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Proposed. As described on Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Jeffrey_Vernon_Merkey/Evidence#Evidence_presented_by_John254, Jeffrey Vernon Merkey was previously blocked for over one and a half years for legal threats, returning to editing only in May of this year. As a one and a half year block has apparently proven ineffective in preventing Jeffrey Vernon Merkey from making additional legal threats, a stronger response is needed to the more recent legal threats described on Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Jeffrey_Vernon_Merkey#Statement_by_Pfagerburg. John254 02:04, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

ArbCom only considers one-year bans to be within its jurisdiction. Thatcher131 02:59, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Kebron banned indefinitely

5) Kebron is banned indefinitely from editing Misplaced Pages.

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Proposed. As described on Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/Jeffrey_Vernon_Merkey/Evidence#Kebron is a single purpose account, Kebron is a disruptive single purpose account used almost exclusively to make edits related to Jeffrey Vernon Merkey. John254 02:35, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

At present, Kebron is not a party to the case. If arbitrators wish to consider his conduct or potential remedies against him, I will notify him. Newyorkbrad 02:48, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Still working on the evidence, by the way. Brad, please notify him. Thatcher131 02:59, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Notified of the case and invited to submit evidence or proposals. Newyorkbrad 03:43, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Pfagerburg topic banned

6) Pfagerburg is permanently prohibited from editing articles about Mr. Merkey. This includes Jeff V. Merkey and Talk:Jeff V. Merkey. And according to an earlier block, also User:Jeffrey Vernon Merkey and User_talk:Jeffrey Vernon Merkey. This ban is to be interpreted broadly, i.e. no adding "the subject of this article was sued by Jeff Merkey for etc. etc." to, e.g. Bruce Perens.

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Proposed. I'm surprised no-one has suggested this yet, because it seems perfectly fair. Pfagerburg 02:40, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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It was suggested by you three hours after the case was opened. That's pretty fast, actually. Someone would have gotten to it soon. Changed section header (modified "banned" to "topic banned") for clarity. Newyorkbrad 02:42, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

I thought it would have been in the first batch of proposals by Thatcher131. That's why I expressed surprise. Pfagerburg 03:36, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Pfagerburg, some cases sit for a month with no movement. This one caught my interest for some reason so I have been looking into evidence and possible remedies. I think a topical ban for you makes sense, particularly if you recognize a conflict of interest. Thatcher131 03:11, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

I acknowledge a conflict of interest. Prior to filing the ArbReq, I was certain that a topic ban would be issued, and to the extent that my consent or agreement matters, ArbCom has it without protest. Pfagerburg 03:36, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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Proposed enforcement

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Analysis of evidence

Place here items of evidence (with diffs) and detailed analysis

Noticeboard complaints involving Merkey

• 15 May, edit war at Cherokee. Misplaced Pages:Administrators'_noticeboard/IncidentArchive244#Cherokee. User:Duk notes that Merkey is being trolled on the SCOX message board and that "Kebron, from your edit history it's starting to look like you're only interested in following Jeff around and goading him".

• 19 May Misplaced Pages:Administrators'_noticeboard/IncidentArchive248#Merkey.2C_again

• 10 July, Merkey complains about Kebron Misplaced Pages:Administrators'_noticeboard/IncidentArchive269#SCOX_Issues_User:Kebron

• 14 July, complaint by Stormshadows00 (talk · contribs) about edit war at Cherokee Freedmen Controversy. Misplaced Pages:Administrators'_noticeboard/IncidentArchive271#User:_Jeffrey_Vernon_Merkey It is noted that Stormshadows00 is a single-purpose account and that Merkey is still being targeted by the SCOX message board. Kebron jumps in to contribute even though he has never edited the page or talk page in question.

• 17 July, Pfagerburg's magnum opus regarding the Native identification issue (with which he was uninvolved, except to file the complaint). Outcome: Merkey, Pfagerburg and Kebron blocked for 5 days, then this case was filed.

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Notes. Thatcher131 04:09, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

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General discussion

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