Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 22:21, 24 November 2008

This is a Misplaced Pages user talk page. If you find this page on any site other than the English Misplaced Pages, you are viewing a mirror site. Be aware that the page may be outdated, and that I may have no personal affiliation with any site other than Misplaced Pages itself. The original page is located at http://en.wikipedia.org/User_talk:David_Gerard .

Past talk:
User talk:David Gerard/archive 1 (4 Jan 2004 - 31 Dec 2004)
User talk:David Gerard/archive 2 (1 Jan 2005 - 30 Jun 2005)
User talk:David Gerard/archive 3 (1 Jul 2005 - 31 Dec 2005)
User talk:David Gerard/archive 4 (1 Jan 2006 - 31 Dec 2006)
User talk:David Gerard/archive 5 (1 Jan 2007 - 31 Dec 2007)
User talk:David Gerard/archive 6 (1 Jan 2008 - 30 Sep 2008)

Please put new stuff at the bottom, where I'll see it. m:CheckUser requests (sockpuppet checks, etc) should go to WP:RFCU unless you're letting me know about a particular problem we've been tracking, in which case I look here far more often.

IP block on 61.18.170.232

I use the broadband provider iCable, the dominant cable operator in Hong Kong. The IP you have blocked is one of many IPs assigned dynamically by iCable to their broadband customers. The IP addresses are assigned randomly and dynamically, and seem to change very frequently.

I recently encountered a block that you had put on 61.18.170.232 , as soon as I refreshed the page, it went away.

You may want to have a look at Nixeagle's talk page, where I've brought up the issue with him.

LK (talk) 04:43, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

apparently

"apparently Mr Coffey contacted them ". Yes, and apparently you are a subversive editor.--Mazarin07 (talk) 19:39, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

WQA about recent block

Hello, just wanted to let you know that Mazarin07 has raised the issue of your recent block of him at Wikiquette Alerts here.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that one cannot go re-adding controversial information to a BLP without discussing it on the talk page and reaching a consensus. That said, I have to admit I think it was probably a bad idea for you to do the actual block. Since nobody else had challenged the quality of sourcing, it probably would have been better to have a different admin wield the hammer. Anyway, food for thought at least. Cheers!  :) --Jaysweet (talk) 16:48, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

It was a BLP issue via OTRS, so it was pretty important - David Gerard (talk) 18:22, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Was not aware of OTRS involvement. Nevermind, good show then! --Jaysweet (talk) 18:25, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I usually don't wave a big sign saying so as it's a drama magnet. But I do see your point - David Gerard (talk) 22:10, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Xenu

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MfD nomination of Misplaced Pages:Rouge admin

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Orphaned non-free media (Image:Nikkilost.PNG)

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Looks like someone put it back into play. How annoying ;-) - David Gerard (talk) 20:01, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Your block of Giano

Is not well-founded and shows horrible judgement. ESPECIALLY considering the past history between you and him. I suggest that you gracefully undo it, before it gets taken to AN/ANI and undone for you. SirFozzie (talk) 22:01, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Erm, I think the fact that both those accounts are the same person is an open secret. I might even have gone so far as "common knowledge" but maybe I'm mistaken about that. I'm definitely struggling to see how this was an abusive use of multiple accounts? WJBscribe (talk) 22:13, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

The "history" is personal abuse on his part and me catching him out on my part. I have taken it to arbcom, and would suggest others do the same. 24 hours for the sockpuppeteer and indefinite for the sockpuppet is usual - David Gerard (talk) 22:15, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

David, you're wrong here. This doesn't need ArbCom. This needs a prompt reversal and for you to realize that your judgement was, and currently IS lacking. SirFozzie (talk) 22:23, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Presumably if you'd taken it to ArbCom a reasonable time before blocking, FloNight could have responded that there wasn't much secrecy surrounding the identity of that account . These really are dreadful blocks, I urge you to reverse them. File a case with ArbCom if you feel one is justified but you are not an appropriate person to be making decisions about whether Giano should be blocked and you have yet to make a convincing case that there has been any abuse of multiple accounts here. WJBscribe (talk) 22:26, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Since you have not reversed your action, I have brought your appalling lack of judgement on AN: SirFozzie (talk) 22:35, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

He hasn't made any edits since your demand ten minutes earlier that he reverse his judgment. I do not think that there's much of a causal case to be made about his tardiness to act - it's 11:00 at night where he is. People are known to sleep. Phil Sandifer (talk) 23:30, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Phil, did you miss the statement timestamped 22:15? He wasn't going to discuss it and demanded that we take it to ArbCom if we had any problems with it. Well, it's now at ArbCom, although I'm fairly sure it's not in the form he was expecting. SirFozzie (talk) 23:35, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

RFAR

Please see. Moreschi (talk) 23:12, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Who are the severalother checkuser who have invaded my privacy? WHO? Giano (talk) 23:39, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

• "confirmed and reviewed by multiple checkusers" I want the name of every single one of these people. Giano (talk) 00:10, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

It seems "multiple" was in fact 3 (counting himself). I suppose even finding 2 to go along with his abuse of power was quite amazing - Anyone know if he has he been fired yet? Giano (talk) 18:05, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Notifying you that there is an outstanding question from New York Brad.--Tznkai (talk) 20:50, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

a thought

it's all sort of blown up, I guess, but please give some thought to just quietly stepping down from your role as a checkuser. I rather feel this bungle has cooked that goose, and it would be the right thing to do, and for the best. Privatemusings (talk) 02:45, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Agree with PM on this one. Please step down as a CU, immediately. Bstone (talk) 06:22, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

I must agree with this. Fut.Perf. ☼ 07:15, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Even as her final hours approached, Mme. de Burgh conducted herself with a poise and dignity could only have mystified, frustrated and confused an enormous boob such as yourself. Imagine tormenting charming old ladies and productive editors when there are genuine miscreants on the loose! I suggest you pack up the toybox and rethink your life. The days of characters of your ilk being taken seriously, even on a largely frivolous website such as this, appear to have expired.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 13:25, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Please, sir, recall the rule to "ignore all rules." Bearian (talk) 23:26, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

• There's no evidence that David Gerard has violated any policies. He found and blocked a disruptive sock. Big deal. It's too bad he didn't so a long time ago as that would have averted this whole drama. Folks who operate socks without disclosing them should expect to get their accounts checkusered. Just like folks who invest in tax shelters shouldn't be surprised when the revenue service audits their tax returns. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 01:46, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Yes, operating a droll Misplaced Pages account is just like cheating on your taxes. The similarities are staggering. David Gerard is quite fortunate to have a defender of your calibre at his disposal; until you turned up, I daresay he was starting to look like a bozo. Please edify us with a few more analogies.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 02:06, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Charming old ladies? I haven't seen any around here. How about you indicate which policy David Gerard violated that justifies you calling for him to resign the checkuser tools? How about you find the clause in the civility policy that permits calling other editors "boobs"? ·:· Will Beback ·:· 04:01, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

I believe the civility clause you are requesting is clearly laid out here. That's the trouble with rules that "anyone can edit." Any bozo can edit them to suit their agenda. But you and your friends wouldn't know anything about that.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 04:34, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

David, Will, do you honestly think this block was good for the encyclopedia and the community? If so, I rather question your judgment and fitness to be administrators. The purpose of our sockpuppet policies is to forbid deceptive use of alternate accounts. Such an obvious joke account cannot possibly be deceptive. The worst Giano could be accused of would be a joke in bad taste (and not nearly as big a joke in bad taste as the ArbCom itself has been lately, so there you go). If nothing else, the historical fact that blocking Giano always results in more drama and never sticks should have let people know this is going to need discussion, not immediate action. Think about the encyclopedia and the community, not policy. The latter exists for the former. Heimstern Läufer (talk) 03:54, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Was the sock good for Misplaced Pages? Please explain how running a sock for ArbCom helped the encyclopedia. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 04:01, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

It was in no way harmful, unlike David's block. Heimstern Läufer (talk) 07:28, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Socks are unacceptable because an admin who runs a "humorous" sock that "everyone" recognises as satire also creates an excuse for the puerile trolls to run their idea of a humorous sock as "comedy" and maybe even to stand it for ArbCom. Naming lady wotsit as an alternate account wouldn't have hurt the joke, but it would have removed its use as an excuse for real troublemaking. This isn't an excuse for any over-reaction, but equally it's a bit rich to act hurt when Giano was running a sock that's against literal policy and fell into admin probelms because of it. Andy Dingley (talk) 15:15, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Satire is instructive and humor brightens the dreary mood around here. But you and your friends wouldn't know anything about that.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 04:34, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Encyclopedias are inherently dreary. If you want satire and humor there are many other websites designed to offer those. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 04:42, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

What a waste of everybody's time, WP:POINT included . Why don't we all move on? Shall we? ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 04:53, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

No, we are not going to move in untill Jimbo realises that this is an unacceptable way for checkusers to behave. When caught thes people clearly on a fishing trip said they checkusered because they thought it was the evil and banned "Greg Kohs" - if the best lie they can come up with to justify an invasion of privacy is that Alice Reighlly paid for a biography, then we do have some serius problems. We can begin by firing them. Giano (talk) 07:47, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

If you don't want checkusers poking around then don't use undisclosed socks to make defamatory edits and to disrupt community elections. This is your own fault. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 17:30, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

But you are forgetting your friend Gerard knew 2 years ago and even discussed it on IRC. He is person not to be trusted. I'm afraid this time he has rather cooked his goose, and is now going to have to eat it. Giano (talk)

Gerard isn't my friend. He, like you, is just a colleague. If you weren't running a sock account none of this would have happened. You did not disclose the sock to the community, you used to it make at least one defamatory edit to a BLP, you used it to edit articles that you edited under your main account, you ran it in the ArbCom election, and you repeatedly denied in public that it was a sock. Gerard did the community a favor by putting an edit to that disruptive charade. Secret accounts don't help this project. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 19:25, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

• I have to agree with all of my non-Will colleagues here. If this is how you plan to use your authority in the future, it would be better for the encyclopedia if you gave up your status as a checkuser. Your judgment in this instance was extremely poor, and it's not the first time you've made a substantial mistake of this nature. Please give it some thought. -Hit bull, win steak 22:16, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

But it wasn't even David that did the primary checkusering in this case, Thatcher and someone else have said they did, so I don't see why people can say he should stop being a CU for something he didn't even do. I mean he might have checkusered G and CdB (I don't know), but so did a couple of others. And I'm glad I know who I might have voted for for Arbcom, after Giano said he wasn't running. I mean, I might have voted for CdB for a laugh and a bit of spoofing of the system, but I still like to know who I'm voting for, maybe that's just me.:) And users who don't get into the political machinations of wiki (a lot of people for whom voting in the Arb elections or at a few RfAs is the totality of their involvement in this side of WP, perhaps) wouldn't know who Giano was, they'd have had no chance of knowing who they were voting for at all without rooting through lots of contribs paranoiacally, which they shouldn't have to do. Sticky Parkin 23:20, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Sticky Parkin, I am begining to wonder about you, and have one of my huge gut feelings. Which are never wrong. In this case it has been late, but never too late. Giano (talk) 23:52, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Hiya DG. I sure wish ya would've told me who the Catherine account was 2yrs ago. I always found that account annoying. Had I'd know it was a sock; I wouldn't have been annoyed about it. Why didn't anybody tell me? I feel so unloved. GoodDay (talk) 23:27, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Augh! Big kiss XXXXX, Come to the funeral tomorrow and have some Pol Roger. Giano (talk) 23:55, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Sniff sniff. At least somebody cares. GoodDay (talk) 23:58, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

RfAr

Just in case you haven't seen it, I have posed a question to you on WP:RfAr in connection with the pending request for arbitration. Please respond when you get back online. Thank you, Newyorkbrad (talk) 00:29, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

The RFAr's gone. But I can happily state here that I will be happy never to take an admin action concerning Giano II again. There's plenty of other admins around - David Gerard (talk) 11:04, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

You should not have the power to even think about it, and I won't rest until you have no powers to abuse at all. You should never have the opportunity to do this to anyone else again. You are a disgrace as an Admin and a disgrace as a checkuser. Giano (talk) 11:07, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Yttrium

Sigh... For the time being I have deleted a few revisions, but they are not oversighted yet. If you look at the deleted history of Yttrium, there are some revisions worth oversighting ASAP. Sjakkalle (Check!) 14:34, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

• And four more IPs blocked. Sjakkalle (Check!) 14:41, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks :-) Looking now - David Gerard (talk) 14:41, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

• I sent you an e-mail. I'm afraid I missed one. Sjakkalle (Check!) 15:18, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Got it! - David Gerard (talk) 15:43, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Oversight issue

Hi. On his talk page Giano has accused you of improperly oversighting edits for FT2. Naturally, there is a lot of buzz about it. Can you comment on it? --Apoc2400 (talk) 21:47, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

I've undertaken to the arbcom not to get involved with Giano, so I'm afraid not - David Gerard (talk) 21:50, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Could you relay it through someone? I'm afraid people will not just let this go. --Apoc2400 (talk) 22:08, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Playing up to Giano's trolling is not on my interest list - David Gerard (talk) 22:21, 24 November 2008 (UTC)