User talk:Girth Summit/Archive 17

Archive 10

←

Archive 15

Archive 16

Archive 17

Archive 18

Archive 19

Archive 20

New Page Patrol newsletter October 2022

Hello Girth Summit,

Much has happened since the last newsletter over two months ago. The open letter finished with 444 signatures. The letter was sent to several dozen people at the WMF, and we have heard that it is being discussed but there has been no official reply. A related article appears in the current issue of The Signpost. If you haven't seen it, you should, including the readers' comment section.

Awards: Barnstars were given for the past several years (thanks to MPGuy2824), and we are now all caught up. The 2021 cup went to John B123 for leading with 26,525 article reviews during 2021. To encourage moderate activity, a new "Iron" level barnstar is awarded annually for reviewing 360 articles ("one-a-day"), and 100 reviews earns the "Standard" NPP barnstar. About 90 reviewers received barnstars for each of the years 2018 to 2021 (including the new awards that were given retroactively). All awards issued for every year are listed on the Awards page. Check out the new Hall of Fame also.

Software news: Novem Linguae and MPGuy2824 have connected with WMF developers who can review and approve patches, so they have been able to fix some bugs, and make other improvements to the Page Curation software. You can see everything that has been fixed recently here. The reviewer report has also been improved.

NPP backlog May – October 15, 2022

Suggestions:

• There is much enthusiasm over the low backlog, but remember that the "quality and depth of patrolling are more important than speed".
• Reminder: an article should not be tagged for any kind of deletion for a minimum of 15 minutes after creation and it is often appropriate to wait an hour or more. (from the NPP tutorial)
• Reviewers should focus their effort where it can do the most good, reviewing articles. Other clean-up tasks that don't require advanced permissions can be left to other editors that routinely improve articles in these ways (creating Talk Pages, specifying projects and ratings, adding categories, etc.) Let's rely on others when it makes the most sense. On the other hand, if you enjoy doing these tasks while reviewing and it keeps you engaged with NPP (or are guiding a newcomer), then by all means continue.
• This user script puts a link to the feed in your top toolbar.

Backlog:

Saving the best for last: From a July low of 8,500, the backlog climbed back to 11,000 in August and then reversed in September dropping to below 6,000 and continued falling with the October backlog drive to under 1,000, a level not seen in over four years. Keep in mind that there are 2,000 new articles every week, so the number of reviews is far higher than the backlog reduction. To keep the backlog under a thousand, we have to keep reviewing at about half the recent rate!

Reminders

• Newsletter feedback - please take this short poll about the newsletter.
• If you're interested in instant messaging and chat rooms, please join us on the New Page Patrol Discord, where you can ask for help and live chat with other patrollers.
• Please add the project discussion page to your watchlist.
• If you are no longer very active on Wikipedia or you no longer wish to be a reviewer, please ask any admin to remove you from the group. If you want the tools back again, just ask at PERM.
• To opt out of future mailings, please remove yourself here.

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - October 2022

Delivered October 2022 by MediaWiki message delivery.
If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an N to the column against your username on the Project Mainpage.

11:42, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – October 2022

News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2022).

Administrator changes

ScottishFinnishRadish

Staxringold

Ahoerstemeier (deceased) • Ched

Interface administrator changes

Cyberpower678

CheckUser changes

GorillaWarfare

Guideline and policy news

• Following an RfC, consensus was found that if the rationale for a block depends on information that is not available to all administrators, that information should be sent to the Arbitration Committee, a checkuser or an oversighter for action (as applicable, per ArbCom's recent updated guidance) instead of the administrator making the block.
• Following an RfC, consensus has been found that, in the context of politics and science, the reliability of FoxNews.com is unclear and that additional considerations apply to its use.
• Community comment on the revised Universal Code of Conduct enforcement guidelines is requested until 8 October.

Technical news

• The Articles for creation helper script now automatically recognises administrator accounts which means your name does not need to be listed at WP:AFCP to help out. If you wish to help out at AFC, enable AFCH by navigating to Preferences → Gadgets and checking the "Yet Another AfC Helper Script" box.

Arbitration

• Remedy 8.1 of the Muhammad images case will be rescinded 1 November following a motion.
• A modification to the deletion RfC remedy in the Conduct in deletion-related editing case has been made to reaffirm the independence of the RfC and allow the moderators to split the RfC in two.
• The second phase of the 2021-22 Discretionary Sanctions Review closes 3 October.

Miscellaneous

• An administrator's account was recently compromised. Administrators are encouraged to check that their passwords are secure, and reminded that ArbCom reserves the right to not restore adminship in cases of poor account security. You can also use two-factor authentication (2FA) to provide an extra level of security.
• Self-nominations for the electoral commission for the 2022 Arbitration Committee elections open 2 October and close 8 October.
• You are invited to comment on candidates in the 2022 CUOS appointments process.
• An RfC is open to discuss whether to make Vector 2022 the default skin on desktop.
• Tech tip: You can do a fuzzy search of all deleted page titles at Special:Undelete.

---

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:43, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppet (Slippy Sausage)

Hi Girth Summit, I came across this account at the Teahouse and they have asked Cassiopeia to train for CVUA. When you were training one of this socks, this was one of the usernames used in an example on the training page. This is clearly not a new account and I think you should look into it to see what you can find. Interstellarity (talk) 21:45, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

Forgot to thank you for bringing this to my attention - cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 07:52, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Matthew Broderick

As you were involved in protecting the article, I don't know if it's worth noting that shortly after the user was blocked user:Broderickian popped up on new users. Might be a coincidence? Knitsey (talk) 23:52, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads up. I'm on mobile though, and really ought to be asleep by now - if they start causing any disruption, El C has also been involved and may be willing to step in, or there's always AIV. I'll take a look tomorrow when I'm in front of my laptop. Girth Summit _(blether) 00:02, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

No problem. Knitsey (talk) 00:03, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

Looks like someone recognised and dealt with them already. Girth Summit _(blether) 08:56, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

Blimey, I didn't even read all of sockpuppet investigation as it's so long. Glad it's sorted. Knitsey (talk) 14:13, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

Sandbox

User:PiggyFries/sandbox was recreated in defiance of your warning, just FYI. --Drm310 🍁 (talk) 19:36, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

Rajendra Pal Gautam

Also can you see if this edit revision with BLP vandalism can be hidden. Special:Diff/1114840522. The transliteration of the text is "Hindu opposer". Generally miscreants use such revisions to create fake screenshots of wikipedia article. Venkat TL (talk) 18:55, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

Simranjit Singh Mann

I have asked for page protection of Simranjit Singh Mann which is pending on Wikipedia:Requests for page protection. The IP user meanwhile is making unwarranted personal attacks in the edit summaries. Please see if these edit summaries are fit for removal from page history. IP will not engage on the talk page threads. --Venkat TL (talk) 20:24, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

Crikey - those are some inflammatory edit summaries. I'm on mobile at the moment, and on my way to bed - could you post at ANI and ask someone to take a look? Girth Summit _(blether) 21:10, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

I can wait. Venkat TL (talk) 11:07, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi GS, reminder. Venkat TL (talk) 18:55, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

Thank you ,Malcolmxl5, this was left out. Special:Diff/1114003988/1114066514 --Venkat TL (talk) 11:38, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

@Venkat TL. Girth Summit hasn’t edited for a few days so I’ve reviewed these and revdeled several as they were verging on BLP violations (WP:BLP applies to editors too). -- Malcolmxl5 (talk) 11:41, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

@Malcolmxl5 I appreciate the proactive steps taken. Venkat TL (talk) 11:45, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, Malcolmxl5, for helping out - RL has been crazy the last few days... Girth Summit _(blether) 05:49, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

My IP address

Hi Girth, I hope this is the right place to raise this (apologies if not), but I was notified that you blocked my IP address (82.14.32.186) for vandalism. I'm a little puzzled by this, as I certainly do not vandalise pages (I'm a librarian!) and very much value Wikipedia as a resource. I don't edit Wikipedia often, but I do sometimes do light editing (mainly grammar corrections) without logging in. If this was construed as vandalism, I apologise. I would appreciate it if you could rescind the block; and if the original vandalism could be pointed out to me so I have an idea of what went wrong, I would be grateful. Thanks! Ludi (talk) 10:43, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Pardon me, Ludi, but I do not see from the block log that 82.14.32.186 has ever been blocked. Did you mean some other IP address? -- Malcolmxl5 (talk) 11:03, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi Malcolm, earlier today I was attempting to add a page description without logging on, via my mobile app. I got the following message: "This account has been blocked from editing Wikipedia. This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages. The account 82.14.32.186 has been blocked (disabled) by Girth Summit for the following reason(s): Vandalism--LTA, CU block. This block will expire on Wed Jan 04 01:09:08 GMT 2023". Again, I am very puzzled, as I hadn't edited anything in some months (unless it was someone else using my IP address, which I doubt). Ludi (talk) 13:10, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Can you check the IP address again, Ludi? Special:Contributions/82.14.32.186 only shows three edits to the Peter Xavier Price article in April. -- Malcolmxl5 (talk) 13:32, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Yes, that's the correct IP address. I'm still getting the same block message when I attempt to edit without logging on. Those three edits would probably have been my brother editing his own Wikipedia entry during a visit. Ludi (talk) 14:00, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

I assume it's an auto-block as it's not blocked directly. Does the message quote a block ID? -- Malcolmxl5 (talk) 17:20, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

It appears that the block has been removed. Thank you to whoever did it! And thanks, Malcolm, for taking the time out of your weekend to help with this! Ludi (talk) 18:04, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

I’m glad it has resolved itself. Happy to help. -- Malcolmxl5 (talk) 18:15, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Ludi I'm afraid I can't shed any light on what happened at the moment. The IP address has never been manually blocked, either individually or as part of a range, as far as I can work out from its block log. It doesn't sound like an autoblock however. All I can suggest is that you come back if it happens again and we'll try to work out what's happening. Best Girth Summit _(blether) 06:01, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

FYI, TPS, this block matches up. It's not the IP stated above, but it is a mobile IP. For ranges such as this, I usually recommend including a generic {anonblock}, {rangeblock}, or {checkuserblock-wide} template - for less confusion all round. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 06:31, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi Zzuuzz, thanks for the steer - I've reblocked with that template. I'm a bit confused though - surely that IP wouldn't have been affected by that /20 range block? Girth Summit _(blether) 08:15, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, yup I can't really explain it. I guess something about cookie blocks? Maybe something else? -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 08:17, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

Block

I appreciate your consideration, but I have no objection to you modifying the block. I only based it on the edit warring and not the totality of the circumstances. 331dot (talk) 11:17, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

List of geolocation-based video games

I initally placed this article List of geolocation-based video games into draft then the editor did some more work and moved it back to the mainspace and I redrafted it. Since then the editor has brought it up to scratch but then cut and paste the text into the mainspace. (So annoying and i had a grump on there talk page). Anyway, now both the article and draft exist but more work has been done on the article in the mainspace. Can you delete the draft and merge the histories? Sorry to drop this on you. Regards. Hughesdarren (talk) 12:23, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi - I'd like to help, and this seems like a legitimate request, but I'm afraid history merges are not my forte. Can you ask elsewhere? Girth Summit _(blether) 17:20, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi, No worries, any recommendations? Hughesdarren (talk) 10:08, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

I normally swing by the WP:HELPDESK for things like that - there are usually some helpful people hanging around. Girth Summit _(blether) 13:00, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Cheers. Regards. Hughesdarren (talk) 21:39, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

independent uk

Hi GS, do you know if independent.co.uk is considered reliable for politics and tech? I vaguely recall that it is not, but I am not sure if it was independent or some other UK publisher. Venkat TL (talk) 18:02, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

The Independent is a decent broadsheet newspaper in the UK. It's a news source, so inherently fairly dodgy compared with proper academic sources, but as news outlets in the UK go it's got a reasonable reputation. It has an entry at WP:RSP (Ctrl+F "The Independent") Girth Summit _(blether) 21:05, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

SPI

Hi The SPI is pending while the sock disruption continues, can you or @EdJohnston, @Roy Smith take a look. Venkat TL (talk) 11:15, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Dan Wagner on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 19:30, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Benevolent dictatorship on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 22:30, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

Recent block

Hello, Girth Summit,

I'm not sure if you can use your CU goggles, but after your recent block of User:Mulairi, do you think User:Angel.Valeriev.Tsvetkov should be blocked as well on sock/meatpuppet grounds? They both worked on Draft:Angel Tsvetkov at different times. Thank you for your vigilence! Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 20:40, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi Liz. I have no doubt that they were coordinating their editing, but I think it unlikely that they are the same person, based on the technical evidence. I have not considered the question of whether a block on the Angel.Valeriev.Tsvetkov account would be necessary; certainly I would have no issue if another admin wanted to impose one. Girth Summit _(blether) 22:54, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

Protection

Can you protect this page The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Thanks. Ijkal (talk) 18:40, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

I'm making dinner. Try WP:RFPP Girth Summit _(blether) 18:49, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, Done. Ijkal (talk) 19:30, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

I want to learn more about editing, can you learn me ? Ijkal (talk) 04:13, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Well, that'll learn him! Not why I'm here, though. Can you take a look at EndlessKai? They're denying being a sock. At the same time it's possible I'm wrong, it's just as possible that there are others that have gone undetected since your action at Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Aquarian0218. Hopefully, I'll catch you before you start dinner. Are you a good cook?--Bbb23 (talk) 17:49, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Sorry, dinner already underway! Risotto, with smoked salmon and asparagus. I'm a competent cook, but my repertoire is pretty limited. I'll take a look tomorrow. Girth Summit _(blether) 19:03, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Bbb23 there's not much I can tell you usefully - Volley000 and EndlessKai both use proxies. I'd suggest that you should go on the behaviour. Dinner was nice, but a little overdone. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 22:05, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Actually, I'll expand on that slightly. Both accounts use proxies, but the new account seems to be going to much more considerable lengths to obscure their location. Make of that what you will. Girth Summit _(blether) 22:16, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, although I was perfectly willing to wait until tomorrow. I think a good risotto is one of the hardest things to cook; I rarely have a good one in a restaurant. That said, when it is good, it's delicious. As for the sock stuff, I think the behavioral connection is strong enough to justify the block, and, to some extent, the fact that one of the other accounts and this one both use proxies supports it. I hope you're asleep by now. Thanks again.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:20, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Yep, that was a 'last thing at night' post while waiting for the dog to do the needful before bed. Risotto is all about paying attention to it, adding the stock little and often, and being firm when your significant other says 'can it sit for half an hour, I've just got a bit more work to do...' Re the sock stuff, I think you're probably right. Girth Summit _(blether) 19:37, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

Your SO should be more appreciative.--Bbb23 (talk) 20:45, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

I've gotten to the point I call them to dinner while I've still got five more minutes to go on the risotto or whatever. It's only taken me thirty years to figure out this is better than me screaming up the stairs "Goddammit, I mean NOW!" Valereee (talk) 21:31, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

• Just realized that "blether" in your sig doesn't link to your Talk page; is that intentional?--Bbb23 (talk) 20:47, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  @Bbb23: I don't know why this is true, but it is. If you have #top in the talk page link in your signature (wich is part of the default sig), then a link to your talk page shows even when you use your signature on your own talk page. If your sig just has a link to your talk page, with no #top, then it shows up as a link to your talk page on all pages except your own talk page, where it shows up unlinked. For example, yours works on your own talk page (mine too), and we both use the default sig with the #top. User talk:Ponyo, for example, does the same thing as GS with her sig (no #top), and there's no link in her sig on her own talk page. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:03, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  (edit conflict) I'm impressed.--Bbb23 (talk) 21:08, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  I had noticed that it didn't work on my talk page in the past - I'd never known why. I know it works on other pages, so I never thought it would cause a problem for anyone - does anyone care whether I fix that or not? Girth Summit _(blether) 21:06, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Maybe you could bribe us with some of your risotto.--Bbb23 (talk) 21:09, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  You, Floq and Valereee are welcome round mine for risotto any time - open invitation, hit me up if you're ever near York. I will ask the SO to finish her work at a reasonable hour... Girth Summit _(blether) 21:50, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Being an American, I suspect your idea of a good dinner hour is different from mine. Nor have I been overseas since COVID started. Still, I thank you from the bottom of my foodie heart for the invitation.--Bbb23 (talk) 22:36, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Interesting. In theory, I think that 8 pm is the 'proper' time to have dinner, but it often gets pushed to 9 when we don't have guests. What's a normal time in your neck of the woods? Girth Summit _(blether) 22:40, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  6:00, but given the diversity of cultures in the US, I'm sure it varies. I used to visit a friend in Normandie who was a great chef. Sometimes we didn't eat until 11. My stomach had problems coping.--Bbb23 (talk) 22:44, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Jings. I'm seldom home from work at 6, and the dog needs a walk. I'm probably nearer your French friend's end of the spectrum. If you're ever near York, I shall strive to meet you in the middle - nibbles at 7? Girth Summit _(blether) 22:47, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  I had to look up "Jings". 7 is a very considerate accommodation. However, you'll probably regret the invite. Although I'm a foodie, I'm also a fusspot, meaning I have dietary restrictions...which brings to mind yet another story: When I lived in Paris, I had a good friend who, taking pity on my limited means and bachelorhood, would invite me to dinner. She too was a good cook, but I, ingrate that I am, had these things I didn't like (different from now, though), so I wrote them on the swinging door between her dining room and kitchen. As I recall, one of the things I didn't like was sardines, although as an American, I'd only had canned sardines. One time she made fresh grilled sardines and kind of disguised them on the plate. I thought they tasted wonderful, and she never let me forget my narrow-mindedness. I didn't care, though, as she kept cooking me dinners.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:08, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Ah, yes - canned sardines != good sardines. We all have our foibles. I always thought I hated coconut since I was a little kid. Dedicated coconut is the work of the devil, as far as I'm concerned - vile-tasting sawdust. Then I went to Singapore for a land reclamation project on my first job out of uni, and tried proper Thai food. It turns out that with the right spices, fresh coconut milk is frickin' amazing. Girth Summit _(blether) 23:28, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Thai cuisine is one of the best in the world, and coconut milk is heaven. Although not made with coconut milk, we're having Ginger Chicken on Wednesday. Fresh ginger is one of my favorites.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:32, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Thai food is the best. Along with Indian. And Italian. The holy triumvirate of cuisines? Scotland has its own wee gems to add to the party though - if you've never tried Cullen Skink, you should. Girth Summit _(blether) 23:44, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  We had Edna Lewis's mac cheese tonight. Ultimate comfort food. Winter is coming, and I'm ready. Valereee (talk) 23:45, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Care to email me the recipe? I have my mum's macaroni cheese recipe hardwired into my brain, and I love it, but I think the American version is a different thing. (I don't imagine my mum's is in any way 'authentic' by the way - she owed almost all her recipes to Delia Smith). Girth Summit _(blether) 23:57, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  On its way. Fab recipe. I've found it's best to broil for another five minutes or so. Use the sharpest cheddar you can find. Valereee (talk) 00:01, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

  Got it, thanks. That is quite different - more ingredients, for one thing. I'm gonna give it a try - I'm just going to have to get my conversion tables out, my first thought was '350 degrees - my oven doesn't go that high!' Girth Summit _(blether) 00:08, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

  You don’t really need conversion tables. Within the range of oven temperatures, simply halving the °F gets you pretty close: considering that North American oven settings are in increments of 25 F°, the error will be no larger than half a stop from boiling up to about 450 °F ≈ 225 °C. This method gives an exact result at 160 °C = 320 °F; an estimate of 175 °C for 350 °F is only about 1% low.—Odysseus1479 02:54, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

  lol...I probably also don't need to tell you to use the sharpest cheddar you can find. I can probably just say "use a nice sharp cheddar." :) In the US, some cheddars are almost sweet and not even a little crumbly. Valereee (talk) 00:11, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

  Fear not - my preferred cheddar is crumbly and plenty sharp. Tangy even. Two words that should never meet are mild and cheddar. Girth Summit _(blether) 00:27, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

  I don't think it's in need of a "fix"; I think it's supposed to be a feature, not a bug. This is really common for people without the default sig, I wouldn't change it were I you. Interestingly , this is true for, I believe, all pages. A link to that page on that page doesn't show up as a clickable link. A link to the top of that page shows up as a clickable link. See, for example, my username in the signatures at the bottom of my user page (not talk page, user page). Or this link here which (if you look at the markup) I have enclosed in square brackets: User talk:Girth Summit. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:10, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  Now you're just showing off.--Bbb23 (talk) 21:12, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  I'm always just showing off. It's just that I'm usually dumb or wrong and people can't tell I'm showing off. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:20, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  I'm going to file that in the 'don't really understand how to fix it, and probably not a problem for most people' pile then. See my invitation above. Girth Summit _(blether) 21:53, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

2409:4073:2110:5BB1:0:0:160:38AD

Please block 2409:4073:2110:5BB1:0:0:160:38AD (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)? The anon is partially blocked, and the bot removes the entry immediately from AIV. My report:
– unsourced content, hijacking refs, malformed refs CIR- entering "[4]" insteand if a ref, after final warning, including: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Has been reported multiple times to AIV.

Thank you Adakiko (talk) 18:00, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

 Done. That sounds like a bit of a bug with the bot if it's removing reports like that - have you reported it to the bot's maintainer? Girth Summit _(blether) 18:06, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks. I reported it, probably not clearly on Aug 18, 22. It was archived w/o comment. I also reported a problem when I added a comment that a vandal was a sock of another blocked IP that the bot removed comment immediately on 12 Sept 22. It, too was archived w/o comment. Suggestions? Thanks! Adakiko (talk) 18:51, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Now we see why you do SPI and I do AFC!

Your work requires huge attention to detail. Mine requires attention to detail too, but not to such a degree and gut feel also comes into borderline decisions accept/decline/reject. No hard time given nor received. 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 18:55, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks Tim - as always, your appreciative response is, well, appreciated. I just need to be able to justify any admin action I take. I don't think your instincts are wrong by the way - that whole subject area is subject to an enormous amount of UPE, often involving sockpuppetry - there are lots of sockfarms, and I couldn't see a route to connecting that account to that particular farm. I'll close the SPI without prejudice, and if more evidence emerges we can take another look. Girth Summit _(blether) 19:09, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

No worries, my friend. I think we are always on the losing side, because we must abide by our rules and they, bless their little cotton socks, make them up as they go along.

I'm still minded of Hatchens's last stand. Whatever that editor was, a huge amount of the information given by them was lost in the melée of their departure. 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 19:22, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

That's a username I recognise, but I'm not familiar with the situation that led to their departure. I'll do some digging tomorrow - making dinner now... Girth Summit _(blether) 19:43, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Hope dinner was good. That editor started as a very naive UPE fighter, and was accused of being UPE themselves. The was a huge brouhaha, and I think no-one handled it well. I have no idea of the rights and wrongs of it. Best case, H was innocent. Worst case they were part of one UPE farm that fell out with competitors, and shopped the competition. Whichever way it looks like no-e followed up on the info, unless it was done well and quietly behind the scenes.

As a spectator, though, 'our' behaviour was less than squeaky clean. 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 20:05, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Hmm. Well, as I said, I recognised the username so obviously I'd seen him around the place, but you were obviously far more familiar with his editing than I was. I've read through the conversation that followed their block, but I haven't seen the private evidence that was submitted by e-mail, and I haven't used the CU tool (I don't have a legitimate reason to do so). Given the number of people who have reviewed that information however and who have not queried the block, I cannot believe that it was made in error. Girth Summit _(blether) 08:28, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Hjwk123/Archive

Hey, just wanted to leave some comments:

1. This should be merged with Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Dusty8686/Archive; clearly the same person based on behavioral evidence, etc. I made an LTA page on this user (WP:LTA/D86)

2. I've not been normally reporting their socks b/c it's just easier to watch and revert, and also b/c I know they use proxies and that CU IP blocks are basically useless if an LTA is using proxies. But if you can get a good CU block, that would be great.

Thanks wizzito | say hello! 04:09, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

I left a note at the Hjwk123 SPI for a clerk to sort. Izno (talk) 04:23, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

To avoid my making a prat of myself twice in a row...

I'm a little hesitant to file an SPI linking LilMeekTheCreator and Youngkings211 after my misfire yesterday. Do you feel that I would be sensible to make that filing based upon their mutual interest in Draft:Lil Meek DC and Draft:Lil Meek DC 2? Asking for your advice as a valued colleague, not a sneaky backdoor CU request. 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 17:13, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

I took a look - from a technical perspective, they are indistinguishable. Given that they're re-creating an article about the same subject, which looks an awful lot like promotion, and an attempt to evade scrutiny by using a new account, I have just gone ahead and blocked both of them. Girth Summit _(blether) 10:54, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

That works well, too. 👍 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 16:09, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Ozymandias

Was not intending to unilaterally impose my opinion over yours-- thoughts on the revised section? Last year I was working on a rewrite but nothing really came of it. Eddie891 ^Talk _Work 13:31, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

I'm not really fussed about it, provided that the section isn't the first one after the lead! My slight concern is that a 'popular culture' section might potentially end up being excessively lengthy, since there's no objective way we can say what is and isn't significant enough to include. I hadn't heard of the Breaking Bad episode, but I was aware of the character from Watchmen; typing 'Ozymandias' into the search tool tells me that there are a few other 'popular culture' uses, all of them presumably references to this poem, that are apparently notable enough for an standalone article so could potentially be included... Girth Summit _(blether) 13:56, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Good points- typically the basic threshold is 'has some cite-ability to reliable sources, ideally outside of primary sources, or is notable enough for its own article,' but it's a bit iffy. Most popculture sections need trimming pretty regularly. I've added the Watchman character and Ozy (media company) to this article. Perhaps titling the section 'Reception and impact' will help slow the cruft accumulation down... Eddie891 ^Talk _Work 14:08, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

imo, you can usually tell what is worth including or not (roughly); consider, for instance O Captain! My Captain!#In popular culture or Funeral Blues#Appearances and reception, versus their original sections (Funeral Blues). Eddie891 ^Talk _Work 14:12, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Oh God yes, a good writer like yourself knows what to include and what to leave out. It's just an ongoing maintenence job to trim away what drive-by IP editors think ought to be included. I'm more than happy with your changes. Girth Summit _(blether) 19:39, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 14:30, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

European Data Portal, sock puppetry and meat puppetry

Hi GS, could you take a look at OP-Hag's Talk page? I said there that I would think about it, but that was a while ago, and whenever I remember (or am pinged) to do so, my brain goes into fuzzth gear. If you're willing to review the various messy issues - and use your special powers as you deem appropriate - and then advise me what you think should be done, that would be great. Hope all is well.--Bbb23 (talk) 16:06, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi Bbb23 - on the face of it, I could believe their explanation. They don't actually overlap on any IP ranges; what I do see, however, are quite a lot of different accounts editing from the narrow IP range that Ha6arIs uses, all of which are  Technically indistinguishable. Many of them are editing about European Union-related directorates, and none of them have properly declared a COI or PAID editing. I'd suggest that you ask them to describe the declare the nature of their relationship with the subject, because it seems likely that there is a substantial amount of UPE editing going on in that subject area; what I haven't looked into just yet is whether there is any promotional stuff going on, or if it's all just routine updating of numbers (which I'm not too fussed about). Got to go out now, will try to dig a bit deeper later. Girth Summit _(blether) 09:28, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

OK - I've taken a closer look at those ranges, and I'm not seeing anything too concerning - mostly it's editing about unrelated stuff, and the edits that do appear to be about EU institutions are pretty minor, just fixing typos and occasionally updating who holds a particular office or whatever - nothing I'd call promotional, and certainly nothing even coming close to the types of edit that Simonsteuer93 was making over at European Data Portal. As such, I'm not going to take any action there, they seem to be good faith editors who sometimes edit from work (as do I, to be fair). I'll go over to OP-Hag's page and ask a few questions. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 11:08, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks so much for all of your work on this. I've looked at your posts at OP-Hag's and Simon's Talk pages. If it's okay with you, I'm going to take a backseat as you appear to know what you're willing to allow and what you're not. I think I probably have a harsher view of these things, but in this instance I think your view is probably more in keeping with our policies. That said, if you need me to weigh in, it would be the least I could do - just let me know. Thanks again.--Bbb23 (talk) 12:52, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

No worries - happy to take it over. I'd be comfortable with allowing these people to write about their data portal, provided they're prepared to learn how to do it appropriately and without taking up too much volunteer resource - it's not like they're trying to sell anything, and they're unlikely to start taking commissions to write about dubious businessmen or the latest sensation in <insert genre of music here>. Let's see what they come back with; reblocks are cheap if they carry on trying to turn it into a marketing piece. Girth Summit _(blether) 13:21, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Block request (per the discussion in Help desk)

Hello, User:Girth Summit, I would like to accept your offer to block this account since I rarely use it in favor of User:Coolman2917. If you could put some kind of notice in the block message like "Abandoned alt account of Coolman2917" or something similar, I would appreciate it. Thank you. 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬 (let's chat!) 18:27, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – November 2022

News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2022).

Administrator changes

• 
  • Isabelle Belato
  • Whpq
• 
• 
  • Atama
  • Astronautics~enwiki
  • Athaenara
  • Eddie891
  • GraemeL
  • Marianocecowski
  • Natalya
  • Pratyeka
  • SB Johnny

Interface administrator changes

• TheresNoTime
• Ragesoss

CheckUser changes

• 
  • Blablubbs
  • Firefly
• Joe Roe

Oversight changes

• DGG

Guideline and policy news

• The article creation at scale RfC opened on 3 October and will be open until at least 2 November.
• An RfC is open to discuss having open requests for adminship automatically placed on hold after the seven-day period has elapsed, pending closure or other action by a bureaucrat.

Arbitration

• Eligible editors are invited to self-nominate themselves from 13 November 2022 until 22 November 2022 to stand in the 2022 Arbitration Committee elections.
• The arbitration case request titled Athaenara has been resolved by motion.
• The arbitration case Reversal and reinstatement of Athaenara's block has entered the proposed decision stage.
• AmandaNP, Mz7 and Cyberpower678 have been appointed to the Electoral Commission for the 2022 Arbitration Committee Elections. Xaosflux and Dr vulpes are reserve commissioners.

Miscellaneous

• The 2022 CheckUser and Oversight appointments process has concluded with the appointment of two new CheckUsers.
• You can add yourself to the centralised page listing time zones of administrators.
• Tech tip: Wikimarkup in a block summary is parsed in the notice that the blockee sees. You can use templates with custom options to specify situations like {{rangeblock|create=yes}} or {{uw-ublock|contains profanity}}.

---

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:22, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - November 2022

Delivered November 2022 by MediaWiki message delivery.
If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an N to the column against your username on the Project Mainpage.

17:07, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Rosalía Abreu on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 20:31, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Protocol for previously blocked IP sock.

I am interested in what the protocol is for an IP that gets blocked as a sock for 6 months and then continues to edit. IP 65.211.16.54 has continued to edit after being temporarily blocked as a sock. Does there need to be a new SPI to re-block or is it a case of a simple duck test for any admin? Pabsoluterince (talk) 01:36, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

To quote Girth Summit, it's pretty ducky. Now blocked for one year (double your pleasure double your fun). Nice cat, Pabsoluterince.--Bbb23 (talk) 02:07, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Thank you. Pabsoluterince (talk) 02:21, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Talking things out with Display name 99

Honestly, is it even worth it to reason with him? Because they tried to call this site "toxic". They also tried to get unblocked with a reason, and you bought up their topic ban. I posted on their talk page that what they said was a stretch, because edit disputes can be frustrating, but they resorted to wording it as "this site is toxic".

I don't know what else they have done, but I hope they at least try to leave a better impression on this site. WannurSyafiqah74 (talk) 12:36, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

I would just leave them to it, frankly. Nobody has to look at their userpage, or their user talk page, if they are retired. Girth Summit _(blether) 14:20, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

As an involved Talk Page watcher, I would like to thank you, WannurSyafiqah74, for making an attempt to talk with them. I had hoped we could come to some reasoned understanding but it was for naught. In the end, the article was trimmed, the lead was modified, no one got everything they wanted but it is an improvement and the FA status of the article is saved. I'm proud of the collaborative effort though I hated it took something like this to get there. I can appreciate your empathy because I feel the same and have to constantly override it which is extremely difficult. @Girth Summit did give sage advice, just leave it alone. Easier said than done but it sure would save us from a lot of heartache. --ARoseWolf 14:33, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

I see. Well, the person told me I wasn't making sense and that I would just have to "go the fuck away", so I said I won't bring it up ever again. I was looking through my revisions and the box made me want to talk about it, but I suppose it's not necessary. WannurSyafiqah74 (talk) 15:34, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

@Girth Summit @ARoseWolf I told Display name 99 I should leave, and they told me I was "arrogant and self-righteous". Told them it was unnecessary and to read WP:CIVILITY after they called me names and claimed Wikipedia was toxic. I don't know if this is worthy of a warning, but I said to them they can just talk it out calmer and that I should just leave. Thoughts? WannurSyafiqah74 (talk) 10:19, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

I'd advise you just to leave them alone - they're obviously not in the mood for a chat. There's nothing to be gained by looking at that talk page again, let alone commenting on it - just go do something else. Girth Summit _(blether) 10:28, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Because I was pinged I'll respond. I agree 100% with @Girth Summit. It's time to let it go. --ARoseWolf 12:06, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Yeah, alright. I thought I needed help because they sounded angry with me, and since I didn't get a reply, I might as well just conclude it at that. Thanks! WannurSyafiqah74 (talk) 04:03, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Regarding Draft:Santana Montana

So I commented on the SPI investigation for Santana Montana, saying the draft had been up since July. Feel free to move this discussion anywhere else if you want, but is it okay to discuss the article's deletion? I added templates in case deleting would be too much. Either way, the draft was created by the user's socks and is not of an artist meets notability criteria. WannurSyafiqah74 (talk) 04:09, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Adding new cases to closed investigation

Hi Girth Summit. Where does one add further accounts suspected of being reincarnations of blocked sock master MissAsean2022? Regards, Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 16:12, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

@Rui Gabriel Correia: I see you use Twinkle - that is good, trying to raise an SPI case by hand is maddening. Go to the userpage of the sockmaster (User:MissAsean2022), and in the Twinkle menu, select 'ARV'. A report box will appear. Where it says 'Select report type', choose 'Sockpuppeteer'. Then simply copy/paste the usernames of the suspected account/s (or IP/s), and type out your rationale. Twinkle will do the rest for you. Best Girth Summit _(blether) 16:24, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, Girth Summit. Quite nifty! Living and learning. Rui ''Gabriel'' Correia (talk) 16:32, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Rui Gabriel Correia - This is actually a much less-complex way of getting a case submitted. I'd go with Girth Summit's way over the way that I described. ;-) I don't know why I didn't think to just have you enable Twinkle and use it to submit one for you... Thanks to Girth Summit for the better answer. :-) ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 17:07, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Socks and non-socks

Hey GS, thanks for the check. I've unblocked the user. What about Jesusisourfreedom? Was I right about that account? I felt much more comfortable with that one, although, as far as I can tell, none of the socks of Étale.cohomology ever commented on a Talk page, but in this instance some of their comments struck me as similar to that of a purported mathematician. I gotta tell you I'd never heard of Étale.cohomology until yesterday, and that is one weird sock. I looked at Étale cohomology and related articles, and, as far as I'm concerned, they are pure gibberish.--Bbb23 (talk) 15:05, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

BTW, we're watching Annika. I would say we understand about 50% of what everyone says. This is all your fault.--Bbb23 (talk) 15:15, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

I haven't seen Annika, but I see it's set in Glasgow - my home town. My accent isn't very strong any more though, I left to go to uni, urgh, the better part of 30 years ago now, and haven't lived there since.

Jesusisourfreedom - that wasn't what I was expecting to see. I can see why you were suspicious from the username, but the IP data puts it in a different place from the other EC socks. It's in the same country as Billyballs, but a different part of it. All very confusing. I see that Jesus is God of gods 003 (who is in the right place to be EC) has recently shown in interest in the Book of Daniel - there could be some off-wiki coordination going on? Girth Summit _(blether) 15:38, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

It's still your fault - I have to blame someone and you're handy. Ironically, the series was not filmed in Scotland but in Ireland. Maybe Glasgow was more expensive or something? I believe the second season (or what you folk call series, which I find really confusing) is going to be shot in England but can't remember for sure. I don't know what's going on with the Book of Daniel thing, but meat puppetry is possible. I'm not inclined to unblock Jesusisourfreedom, especially because they haven't requested an unblock, but perhaps I should remove the tag?--Bbb23 (talk) 17:14, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Happy to take the blame - but if you want to really hear how Glaswegian sounds, look for Rab C. Nesbitt on YouTube. My English uncle used to watch it with subtitles. I feel like Stuff set in Scotland quite often gets shot in Ireland - not sure why.

I'm not rushing over to unblock anyone, after the screed they left on the article talk page. I don't mind about the tag - I mean, if two accounts with very similar usernames show up and make very similar edits to the same article in a short space of time, we do suspect sockpuppetry, right? The world is a small place, and whether they're someone with access to an airport, or someone with access to an internet chatroom and some friends, we are still suspicious. Girth Summit _(blether) 17:23, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: History and geography request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Mehdi Abrishamchi on a "History and geography" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 14:30, 9 November 2022 (UTC)

User:Αθλητικά is back

I made a new request for another IP from this user, which you can view here. I also made a request for semi-protection of the two main pages this user has been vandalizing, 2022–23 Super League Greece and Template:2022–23 Super League Greece table. These 2 pages were semi-protected for 2 weeks, but now the semi-protection ended and User:Αθλητικά is back. If you can help in any way in extensively semi-protecting these pages, it would help massively. Kind regards. Tranquill Komnin (talk) 17:01, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Hi - that IP address has made only two contributions - I see that page protection has been renewed by another admin, and that you have reverted the edits. I don't think that any more needs to be done - assuming it is the same user, there's probably very little point blocking the IP, he jumps around IPs very quickly, I doubt he'll use that one again. Girth Summit _(blether) 16:05, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Question

I have a question about the checkuser rights on the English wikipedia. In addition to checking whether a user also has other accounts, do you also have the right to block them (if abuse has been committed)? Sincerely, Grasmat (talk) 14:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Short answer: yes. Long answer: there's a technical distinction between my ability to use the CheckUser tool (which is enabled by the CU user permission), and my ability to block users, which is one of the bundle of abilities the sysop user permission gives me. But the CU permission is only given to people who are already sysops on this project, so yes, all CUs can perform blocks based on their own findings. Girth Summit _(blether) 15:45, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 20:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: History and geography request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:List of European cities by population within city limits on a "History and geography" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 21:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Troll or sock?

There's something very wrong with Wikipedian10282. Account created and first edits on November 5. 273 edits to date. Interests in species articles, species projects, and computer-related articles, including creating Thanos (ransomware) on November 10. Hangs out at the Teahouse and other related venues. Leaves barnstars for various editors, mostly admins. We've had a discussion on my Talk page about Doret, a surname page (why is it that some socks are interested in disambig-type pages?). Yesterday they made this edit to a user oversight-blocked in July of this year, some of whose interests are similar, e.g., projects (different ones), the Teahouse, and this edit. Also the usernames are somewhat similar. What do you think? I'm close to blocking them as a troll anyway. I don't think my reverting the user at Doret means I'm involved, but I'd like your opinion on that.--Bbb23 (talk) 14:28, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

The editing pattern (and manner of communication) does look quite a lot like CLathrop202020, and/or Germerican220 who was OS-blocked at the same time. The CU logs for those accounts are empty, and I expect they're stale; TonyBallioni made the blocks, he might have a view on whether this is the same person, and whether they too need to be blocked. Girth Summit _(blether) 15:41, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Tony doesn't edit regularly anymore, so I'm not sure when he'll be able to give his input. At this point, I'm prepared to block based on behavior except I'm worried about being involved. I don't think I'm sufficiently involved to prevent me from blocking, but that conclusion may not be shared by others. What do you think?--Bbb23 (talk) 15:53, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

I don't think that making a single revert to remove poorly sourced content added to a disambiguation page makes you administratively involved with someone. (Also, shouldn't there be 'not to be confused with' templates pointing towards Little Dorritt?) Girth Summit _(blether) 16:03, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Two reverts. Amazingly, even after our discussion on my Talk page they reverted me, so this morning I reverted again telling them to take it to the Talk page (the usual stuff one says in that kind of thing). As for Little Dorritt, do you think it's similar enough? I don't, but I don't think I'm the best judge. Good novel, though.--Bbb23 (talk) 16:10, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Well, I still don't think you're involved, but I guess the precautionary principle would suggest that if you think you might be, you probably shouldn't be the one to press the button. If they carry on messing about, someone else will no doubt do it soon enough. Without the OS bit, I can't see what the original two accounts were blocked over, so don't really have a view on this. Girth Summit _(blether) 18:04, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

You're supposed to have all the permissions needed to help me. :p Ponyo, when you get in (hopefully) from your long weekend, can you shed any light on this?--Bbb23 (talk) 18:41, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

@Bbb23: They're creating and editing via multiple accounts (Wikipedian10282, Persura, (kuvxira), HocusPocusGottaFocus and the unused account Arcaxon01). It looks like the accounts are created serially with no overlap, but this is less than ideal (an understatement) if there are issues with CIR or their editing in general. I didn't find any connections to previous accounts, which I suppose would be stale. -- Ponyo^{bons mots} 17:23, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, Ponyo! I think the person is a combination of NOTHERE, disruptive, and troll. Their competence is dubious but much of it may be feigned. For all those reasons, I have blocked all the accounts. The oldest is the one with no edits. I have tagged them all as confirmed, but if that's not accurate or not what you wish, please let me know and I will adjust the tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 01:16, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

Looks like this is resolved. Bbb23, your refreshingly characteristic forthrightness about my current activity levels is both sad in one sense, and makes me miss the place in another. At least I'm around slightly more than DoRD. TonyBallioni (talk) 06:28, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

As far as I'm concerned, Tony, your and DoRD's absence from Wikipedia is also sad and Wikipedia's loss.--Bbb23 (talk) 12:52, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

WPO blog post: Rathfelder – "a good editor"

Here. Hey GS. Not familiar with this case (or user, for that matter), but on the face of it, it seems concerning. Concerning that the victim of their socking, Alex Scott-Samuel, was reportedly very distressed, according to Andydoc1 back in 2019 (permalink). And I can see why. Consider, for example, this edit (the first one of theirs that I sampled randomly, that I later realized was a revert to their created original) by Rathfelder's sock, Bigwig7, which contained excerpts such as: allegations concerning [...] antisemitic bullying (Rathfelder is quoted in the The Jewish Chronicle piece that he himself had referenced!). Or He has appeared several times on a conspiracy theorist radio show, the Richie Allen programme, promoted by David Icke (we all stand against the lizard people, but still).

This should in no way be taken as an opinion on the (Labour) politics involved, of which my knowledge is admittedly quite limited, nor the suitability of the content in question, which may well be apt (those excerpts I cited remain up at the time my writing this, in any case). Rather, it is how it was added and by whom (i.e. COI socking by a user with IRL grievances against the subject). Concerningly, there's no mention of any of that in the block/unblock talk page discussion and ANI thread that both came and went in a mere 2 days. Not trying to put you on the spot, and it may well be that you and everyone else at ANI were simply not privy to that and additional items mentioned in that blog post — but, again, on its face, the whole thing looks rather sus. Yours sincerely, El_C 01:15, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Sheesh. First off, I'll note that Rathfelder has been quite open about his real life identity on his user talk, so we can discuss this here without concern about WP:OUTING him.

I blocked because of the sockpuppetry, and the votestacking in CfD discussions - I knew nothing about what now appears to be pretty a clearcut case of inappropriate COI editing. When he acknowledged and apologised for the socking, and accepted TBans from cats and from XfD, I thought that would be sufficient for an unblock (preventative not punitive, etc). The statement about editing 'controversial pages about living people who would recognise my name' should have set some alarm bells off - I'm not sure why it didn't now, I guess I was only thinking about the stuff I knew about, I should have scratched the surface there, my mistake.

What to do now do you reckon? Girth Summit _(blether) 06:33, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

I'll just respond to one other thing that was mentioned on WPO: I didn't ask whether there were any other socks because I had looked for them with CU, and another CU also reviewed the data, and we didn't see any. The other account mentioned on WPO as a possible sock hasn't edited in three years and will be stale however, so would not have shown up in the CU data: I can't say definitively at this point whether or not that was also him. Girth Summit _(blether) 06:49, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Hi again GS. Sorry, I caught all of this on my way to bed. After posting the above, I tried staying up for a couple more hours to possibly follow up with you immediately, but I now realize it was probably very early morning in UK land. What to do? Well, bringing it up for public review, as you've done (and where additional evidence has come to light, and yet more may be revealed), was the right call. More pointedly, I don't usually hold the absence of doing or saying something over people, but in this instance, I make an exception: a clear lie by omission.

I say this because Rathfelder's unblock request, as you note, was quite long. And yet, the most critical and most nefarious facets of their socking—propping up themselves and their allies IRL, while painting IRL opponents in a negative lights—were completely absent. As if it didn't even happen. I get that it must be hard for someone to bring themselves up to, well, essentially confess to engaging in the abuse mentioned above. But, in my view, that is the least that is necessary in a forthright attempt to right those wrongs. Obviously, CFD vote stacking (a thing, apparently) pales in comparison to this egregious misconduct. Egregious and deceptive, until the very end: the deceptive (again, by omission) unblock request.

Therefore, I agree with those that call for him to re-blocked with immediate effect, as I feel he was unblocked under false pretenses. I'll also make a note as to this at the aforementioned AN thread and link to this discussion. Anyway, sorry you got duped; it happens to the best of us, of which I count you amongst (but I am the bestest!). P.S. It's now getting towards the final 3rd of the month, where I'm far less active due to IRL obligations. But if you need more input from me, please do not hesitate. I'm also available by email for when I'm not home (I only ever log in from home). Yours as always, El_C 07:07, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for these words, El C - very kind of you, as always, and thanks for letting me know about this. We live and learn - I'll try to be more probing in future, when necessary. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 12:21, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

Girth tries to be more probing in future...
Editor: Heya, Girth, could you semi-protect this page for me?
Girth: Sure, but first NAME YOUR SOCKS! WHAT COI EDITS HAVE YOU MADE?! WHERE WERE YOU ON THE NIGHT OF... Levivich (talk) 18:07, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

That's already what I do most of the time. I'm just gonna have to get tougher... Girth Summit _(blether) 18:15, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

Suspicious

Morning (where I am). DefThree was created about a month ago. Their edits are not those of a new user. I came across them because they edited another user's userpage (they seem to want to proofread other editors' pages in userspace, not just their main userpage). Of their 312 edits, 54 are in project space. They have detailed edit summaries. They are interested in reviewing articles for good article/featured article status, as well as DYK rules/practices. Not sure what to make of the fact that their username makes me think of this. Finally, see the thread I started on their Talk page, both the odd discussion about editing other editor's userpages and the obviously intentional refusal to answer my question (they've edited after my last, uh, request).--Bbb23 (talk) 18:10, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Site ban on AN

Hey GirthSummit, Figured it's easier to come to your page here. I didn't mean specifically why you are having it discussed, I meant in general this is a no-brainer. Completely understand why you brought it up and sorry you were dragged into this. RickinBaltimore (talk) 22:24, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

No worries - I'm probably being oversensitive. I know I goofed, I'm trying to deal with it openly - just wanted to make that clear. I don't take any offense at what you said, or how you said it. Girth Summit _(blether) 23:45, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

Girth Summit, I personally don't fault you in the slightest. I had something written for the discussion on AN in which I supported a site ban but I guess I never published it. In my comment I stated that you should not be blamed for making a decision based on the information you had at the time. You are an amazing admin and an integral part of an amazing admin corps. I am thankful for those that chose to serve the community and my trust in you to do that faithfully to best of your ability has not been shaken at all. The fact that you brought your action before the community and asked for a review reinforces that trust. --ARoseWolf 17:37, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

I somehow missed all this even though your talk page is on my watchlist, but I wanted to say that I've always liked you. You care about people and sometimes people can abuse that to their own ends. I've dealt with that IRL, unfortunately, and I don't blame you. People make mistakes sometimes, don't beat yourself up about all of this. Please. I realize it's somewhat easy to say this and even to know it, but actually feeling it can be hard, at least for me. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 21:58, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for your kindness, ARoseWolf and Clovermoss. Please don't worry though, I'm fine. I think I could have done things better, and I was a bit worried at first that folk might have been critical, but really, people have been pretty fair about it. Even the folks over on Wikipediocracy. We all live and learn. Hope you are both well. Girth Summit _(blether) 22:46, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

You're famous

Slate Valereee (talk) 15:13, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

That's awesome. Good job, Girth. It never ceases to amaze me how far people outside Wikipedia will go to build conspiracies about the encyclopedia and this community. I haven't been here as long as many much more experienced editors but in the two+ years I have been here I have seen that the overwhelming majority of editors I encounter are here to volunteer in a neutral and civil manner. I think if more people spent time actually reading and actively being a part of the consensus process through discussion then they would find that editors who are here to truly build the encyclopedia are actually satisfied with the outcome, even when consensus goes against them. I have said it a million times, Wikipedia is not necessarily my truth. It is, however, truth according to reliable sources. --ARoseWolf 16:19, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Good on you, Girth. I never tire of these "Wikipedia as a foreign planet" articles and I think you did an admirable job of answering the questions asked. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 16:51, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks guys. I didn't do much, TBH, just answered a few questions the author e-mailed over to me. I think he did a pretty good job of representing how we work. Girth Summit _(blether) 18:35, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: History and geography request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Operation Claw-Sword on a "History and geography" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 18:30, 25 November 2022 (UTC)

If at first ...

Our favorite IP would seem to be back. Just one edit, but similar nonsense to before: an unsourced change to the info box which contradicts the article. I have reverted it. See here. Thoughts? Gog the Mild (talk) 13:13, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

They're s doing the exact same thing they were blocked for last time - blocked for a month this time. Girth Summit _(blether) 09:45, 26 November 2022 (UTC)

Help

Hi GS, hope you are well. I am wondering if you can advise on an issue with this User talk:IcedOutDevil2 and this page Sarfraz Ali (general). Until 15/9/22 the general’s death in a helicopter accident was described as just that, a death. On 15/9 a now-banned sock, User:Toomanyyearskodakblack, changed the description to “martyrdom”. Given that this is the term used in some of the Pakistani sources, I raised it at the Helpdesk. The clear view was that it was not appropriate to use martyrdom in Wikipedia’s voice. I am now unwisely engaged in an edit war with IcedOutDevil2 who persists in reverting to martyrdom. I could raise at at Incidents but that is one of those administrative actions I’m very bad at, I don’t even know how to format a diff. I have raised it with Iced but that’s not going to be productive. Any advice? KJP1 (talk) 12:23, 26 November 2022 (UTC)

Good that you recognise that the edit warring is bad - I won't give you a warning, but you really ought to know better (edit warring is disruptive even when you're right, etc.) I'll reinstate the protection to stop the disruption, and have a word with IcedOutDevil2. Girth Summit _(blether) 12:32, 26 November 2022 (UTC)

Many thanks - and the, fully-justified, admonition is noted! KJP1 (talk) 12:39, 26 November 2022 (UTC)

Your submission at Articles for creation: Heinz Wanner has been accepted

Heinz Wanner, which you submitted to Articles for creation, has been created.

Congratulations, and thank you for helping expand the scope of Wikipedia! We hope you will continue making quality contributions.

The article has been assessed as Stub-Class, which is recorded on its talk page. It is commonplace for new articles to start out as stubs and then attain higher grades as they develop over time. You may like to take a look at the grading scheme to see how you can improve the article.

Since you have made at least 10 edits over more than four days, you can now create articles yourself without posting a request. However, you may continue submitting work to Articles for creation if you prefer.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to ask at the help desk. Once you have made at least 10 edits and had an account for at least four days, you will have the option to create articles yourself without posting a request to Articles for creation.

If you would like to help us improve this process, please consider .

Thanks again, and happy editing!

Theroadislong (talk) 17:57, 26 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Modern paganism on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 04:30, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

Your submission at Articles for creation: Advance ZincTek (November 27)

Your recent article submission to Articles for Creation has been reviewed! Unfortunately, it has not been accepted at this time. The reason left by Theroadislong was: Please check the submission for any additional comments left by the reviewer. You are encouraged to edit the submission to address the issues raised and resubmit after they have been resolved.

• If you would like to continue working on the submission, go to Draft:Advance ZincTek and click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window.
• If you do not edit your draft in the next 6 months, it will be considered abandoned and may be deleted.
• If you need any assistance, or have experienced any untoward behavior associated with this submission, you can ask for help at the Articles for creation help desk, on the reviewer's talk page or use Wikipedia's real-time chat help from experienced editors.

Theroadislong (talk) 12:40, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Girth Summit! Having an article draft declined at Articles for Creation can be disappointing. If you are wondering why your article submission was declined, please post a question at the Articles for creation help desk. If you have any other questions about your editing experience, we'd love to help you at the Teahouse, a friendly space on Wikipedia where experienced editors lend a hand to help new editors like yourself! See you there! Theroadislong (talk) 12:40, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

Your submission at Articles for creation: Lisa Camillo (filmmaker) (November 27)

Your recent article submission to Articles for Creation has been reviewed! Unfortunately, it has not been accepted at this time. The reason left by Theroadislong was:  The comment the reviewer left was: Please check the submission for any additional comments left by the reviewer. You are encouraged to edit the submission to address the issues raised and resubmit after they have been resolved.

• If you would like to continue working on the submission, go to Draft:Lisa Camillo (filmmaker) and click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window.
• If you do not edit your draft in the next 6 months, it will be considered abandoned and may be deleted.
• If you need any assistance, or have experienced any untoward behavior associated with this submission, you can ask for help at the Articles for creation help desk, on the reviewer's talk page or use Wikipedia's real-time chat help from experienced editors.

Theroadislong (talk) 12:41, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

ArbCom 2022 Elections voter message

Hello! Voting in the 2022 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 12 December 2022. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.

The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.

If you wish to participate in the 2022 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:43, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Mykola Kostomarov on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 17:31, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – December 2022

News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2022).

Administrator changes

• Eddie891
• Euryalus
• TheresNoTime

• Alex.muller
• Excirial
• RedWordSmith
• Ron Ritzman
• TheresNoTime
• Stephen

Interface administrator changes

TheresNoTime

TheresNoTime

CheckUser changes

TheresNoTime

Oversight changes

TheresNoTime

Guideline and policy news

• Consensus has been found in an RfC to automatically place RfAs on hold after one week.
• The article creation at scale RfC has been closed.
• An RfC on the banners for the December 2022 fundraising campaign has been closed.

Technical news

• A new preference named "Enable limited width mode" has been added to the Vector 2022 skin. The preference is also shown as a toggle on every page if your monitor is 1600 pixels or wider. When disabled it removes the whitespace added by Vector 2022 on the left and right of the page content. Disabling this preference has the same effect as enabling the wide-vector-2022 gadget. (T319449)

Arbitration

• Eligible users are invited to vote on candidates for the Arbitration Committee until 23:59 December 12, 2022 (UTC). Candidate statements can be seen here.
• The proposed decision for the 2021-22 review of the discretionary sanctions system is open.
• The arbitration case Reversal and reinstatement of Athaenara's block has been closed.
• The arbitration case Stephen has been opened and the proposed decision is expected 1 December 2022.
• A motion has modified the procedures for contacting an admin facing Level 2 desysop.

Miscellaneous

• Tech tip: A single IPv6 connection usually has access to a "subnet" of 18 quintillion IPs. Add /64 to the end of an IP in Special:Contributions to see all of a subnet's edits, and consider blocking the whole subnet rather than an IP that may change within a minute.

---

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 12:44, 1 December 2022 (UTC)

WikiProject Yorkshire Newsletter - December 2022

Delivered December 2022 by MediaWiki message delivery.
If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please add an N to the column against your username on the Project Mainpage.

16:25, 1 December 2022 (UTC)

Pratik Gauri AfD

Hi Girth Summit, I was cleaning up socks at AfD and fyi, three of the four remaining keep !votes in this AfD have been blocked as socks, but the AfD closed before I could strike them. Beccaynr (talk) 00:55, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Yes, it is disappointing to see that this AfD turned into another sockfest, with only one of the accounts advocating for Keep being not a sockpuppet. Could someone suggest what can be done here please? A third AfD perhaps? Regards, MrsSnoozyTurtle 01:29, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

As it turns out, Extraordinary Writ has already followed up with AmirŞah about reopening the AfD, which was going to be my suggestion. Cheers, Beccaynr (talk) 01:40, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Beccaynr, MrsSnoozyTurtle: I've reverted the close. I don't consider myself involved - yes, technically I was the nom, but it was a procedural renom because of the disruption caused by socks in the original discussion, I even used the original nom's rationale, I have not commented on the qualities of the article myself. Girth Summit _(blether) 07:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

The plot thickens: I've just blocked the account who closed the discussion, who was also the account who nominated the article for deletion in the first place, as a sock of the same master as all the others. Details on the SPI case. This is quite a common tactic with UPE: sock 1 creates an article, sock 2 nominates it for deletion, then socks 3, 4 and 5 come along to !vote keep. Article gets kept, and has survived an AfD discussion so is unlikely to be nominated again. Girth Summit _(blether) 12:15, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Oh my goodness, what a farce that AFD turned out to be! Thank you for researching and blocking these socks.

It's good to know about their tactic of nominating their own article at AFD, I would never have thought of that. Regards, MrsSnoozyTurtle 12:59, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for getting to the bottom of that, GS! I actually SPI'd AmirŞah last week, but it came back unrelated—glad you were able to find some firmer evidence. Extraordinary Writ (talk) 18:01, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

I might go back through the recent archives. From what I saw today, 'unrelated' wouldn't be the right finding, more like 'a bit more than possible'. Maybe there's a disconnect though - I was only comparing against the most recent batch, and RoySmith was looking at older accounts or something. Anyway, taking behaviour into account (too many article overlaps to be coincidence), I don't have any doubts. Girth Summit _(blether) 18:10, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Hmmm, you're talking about Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Elbatli/Archive#13 November 2022, yes? I'll drop you an email in a moment. -- RoySmith (talk) 13:27, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Yes, that's the case. I'll look out for the mail, but it might be a few hours before I can read it. I've put some more notes on cuwiki by the way. Girth Summit _(blether) 13:28, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Girth Summit,

I just wanted to thank you for identifying all of these Elbatli socks. I've been spending time every day closing or participating in AFD discussions and over the summer I began to notice an influx of brand new editors who jumped into participating in AFD discussions. One editor's first edit was actually nominating an artice for an AFD! It was very suspicious but without a sockmaster to open a new SPI case, you're kind of left with just suspicions. I don't think all of the accounts have been identified yet so I'll keep an eye out. Thanks again. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 06:33, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

If you have suspicions about any other accounts, I'll be glad to take a look. Now I know what I'm looking for, I would be able to say whether they're part of the same group. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 09:17, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

GS, today I noticed that there were Elbatli socks but also Bigneeerman socks turning up at AFDs, I think Blablubbs, Roy and others have been handling the Bigneeerman socks. I don't think that there is any connection between the two farms except for the timing of their appearance in the AFD realm over the past 4-6 months. For all I know, there are other sockfarms making use of AFDs as well.

I just know that when I'm looking at closing some AFD discussions from the past two weeks, there are so many blocked editors that have participated in them. In one discussion I just closed, 4 out of 6 editors participating were now blocked editors. It makes me concerned about their influence in AFDs before they were discovered but I'm not sure I'm ambitious enough to review months worth of closed AFDs to see which ones they unduly influenced. I mean, some AFD discussions get closed with just the input of 2 editors...after the socks had been around as editors for a few months, they could have easily worked together to get certain neglected articled deleted. Kind of scary. At least if any editor wants to restore these articles, we can look at the AFD and see what kind of support there was for deletion. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 05:00, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

How many dodgy discussions do you think we're talking about here? Tens, or hundreds? If you can point towards a few to give me an idea of the type of thing we're talking about, I'll take a look and have a think. Girth Summit _(blether) 06:17, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Maybe we should just WP:ECP all AfDs as a matter of routine? -- RoySmith (talk) 13:47, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

I personally think that would be a good idea. Girth Summit _(blether) 13:54, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Hey, GS,

Just ran into Olivierjohnston, a new account (6 edits), who found their way to AFD on their second edit. So far, after the last bit of blocking, this is the first new "coming straight to AFD" account I've come across in the past week.

As to your last question, the sockpuppet rampage through AFDs seems to come in waves. It was really bad 2-3 weeks ago but has been quiet lately except for one targeted AFD discussion where it was clear it was just one editor adamant about keeping an article, not a sockfarm. But I'll keep an eye out for new accounts who bypass regular new editor routes and head straight for deletion discussions where they quote policies they really can't legitimately have prior knowledge of. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 19:50, 1 December 2022 (UTC)

Oops, just found Lanabdeir, too, although they are just focused on one AFD. There seems to be a dichotomy between socks focused on one specific AFD and those who participate in a lot of AFD discussions. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 20:07, 1 December 2022 (UTC)

These accounts don't appear to be related to the Elbatli case. Olivierjohnston is, however, confirmed to another new account that was created to nominate a different article to AfD. I don't believe either of them is new, and have blocked both. Lanabdeir isn't connected to anybody else, from a cursory look; the account that started that particular discussion, however, is an LTA, and is now blocked. Girth Summit _(blether) 14:41, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

Interesting

From the CU logs I can see we were on the same track regarding Zelimkhan Khasanov, I just didn't dig deep enough.-- Ponyo^{bons mots} 17:40, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Cloudflare on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 21:30, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

*Rolly eyes*

? Gog the Mild (talk) 21:04, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

Blocked. They've been up to the same thing for quite a while now without logging in - making little changes to figures at all sorts of different articles. Always unsourced, sometimes plausible, sometimes obviously wrong. Sneaky vandalism. Girth Summit _(blether) 20:36, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Socks?

Hi, it looks to me like GhostlyOperative, with whom you had some interaction about WP:LOUTSOCK last May, and WaterIguana are likely the same person. Same interests, same editing platforms, same problem with edit-warring, same problem with Wikiboo02, who just brought a report at WP:AN3 against WaterIguana. What do you think?--Bbb23 (talk) 01:43, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

They are indeed the same person, and they have not stopped LOUTSOCKING. I feel a block coming on. Girth Summit _(blether) 12:39, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, I'm glad I gave you something to do other than discuss your name and various other names. :p Any reason why you didn't tag the socks?--Bbb23 (talk) 12:56, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

Erm - what do you call that muddle-headed feeling that is half way between laziness and forgetfulness? Girth Summit _(blether) 12:58, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

I dunno, too many variables I don't know. Is it pleasant or unpleasant? If the former, who cares what you call it; if the latter, take a nap.--Bbb23 (talk) 13:03, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

(gawks)

		The Special Barnstar
		People actually opposed at your RfA because they thought your username was ... (shakes his head) Some folks just bloody well need to grow up, and you deserve a barnstar not only for your admin work, but your grace in not erupting at the cementheads. Ravenswing 00:24, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Thanks! I actually considered changing it at the time, because I didn't want it to be a source of drama, but a lot of people told me they liked it (like, significantly more of them than the people who had a problem with it). Plus, Girth really was my real-life nickname - it's not anymore, I've changed careers and cities since, but when I created the account it was what all my buddies at work called me routinely. I'm not blind to the alternative meanings of the word but, really - I've worked with people called Dick before, and I managed to get through our encounters without breaking down into fits of giggles. Girth Summit _(blether) 00:36, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Had a coworker named Richard Dick. Honestly his parents should be shot. Valereee (talk) 01:29, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

The Dicks were an important Edinburgh family, going back to the seventeenth century and probably earlier. There are still quite a few things named after them, like the Dick Vets. I'm not aware of any of them having been called Richard though - do you think your colleague's parents did it for a bet? Girth Summit _(blether) 10:07, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

I think he might have been like Richard Dick III. The triumph of tradition over good sense. A friend's older brother was named Phillip R. Studebaker. My mom had students named Melody Singer and Chime Clock. Honestly, people who should have had a puppy before they had a child so they could get it out of their system. Valereee (talk) 12:10, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Oh, man, this is bringing back memories...I'm pretty sure my friend told us his parents considered naming him Park R. Studebaker but by that time they'd developed some sense. Valereee (talk) 12:14, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

I had to Google what a Studebaker was - he'd probably been have alright on this side of the pond, but I see what you mean now! Girth Summit _(blether) 13:10, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

When I was an au pair in the UK long ago, "my" two adorable little boys were called Austin and Morris. Piping, as otherwise it may not mean much to American readers. True story, unlike Valereee's obviously made-up Richard Dick and Chime Clock. Bishonen | tålk 20:53, 8 December 2022 (UTC).

That one I got without needing to click on the links! Girth Summit _(blether) 20:54, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

When I was at primary school (as a child, before I was a teacher), we were all in awe of the deputy head. His name on the door was written like this: Mr E Powers. Was he a superhero? An evil villain? We never found out... Girth Summit _(blether) 20:56, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Lol on Austin and Morris. A dim bell would have rung for me on Austin-Morris? And those were not made up! I graded papers for my mom when I was a teenager. I saw the names! Valereee (talk) 21:30, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

OMG, I'm remembering another one. Krista Chanda Lear. I might be spelling it wrong but I swear it was the name of a child my mother taught. We decided it wasn't as bad as Melody Singer and Chime Clock because without the middle name you didn't see what they'd done. Valereee (talk) 21:35, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

The mind boggles. Girth Summit _(blether) 21:50, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Mom had probably the entire town go through one of her classes between 1970 and 2000; the school system had a "kindergarten village" setup so every kid funneled in for a year, then out to probably three or four elementary schools. It was an interesting look into the life of a small (well, currently 55K population) town. Valereee (talk) 21:56, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Oh the stories I could tell of the drummer in my high school rock band whose last name was "Kuntz." Cheers, all. Dumuzid (talk) 22:09, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

What do you call a drummer with no girlfriend? Valereee (talk) 22:11, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Leaving outlandish names to one side, what I find interesting about children's names is the ones that have dropped out of fashion, but which are still very common amongst adults. I started my teacher training in 2014 - in that time, I have never once worked at a school that had any of the following names on the register: David, Stephen, Paul, Philip, James, Laura, Jane, Margaret, Susan, Sarah, Claire... the list goes on. And only one John. On the other hand, when I was a kid, I would have thought 'Oliver' was fairly unusual, but almost all of the classes I have taught have had an Oliver in them, and quite a lot have had two. I once had a class with three Olivers. Girth Summit _(blether) 22:11, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

This is a fascinating phenomenon for me as well, though it may stem from the fact that I was blessed/cursed with a strange old family name that I generally have to repeat many times whenever I meet someone new. Dumuzid (talk) 22:19, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

My mother once had a schoolmate named Mary Christmas … My parents’ first choice of a forename for me was John, but since my middle name had already been decided to be Thomas, after a family friend, they thought better of it and went with another common/traditional forename from your list. (Probably wouldn’t have been much of a problem, on this side of the pond, but I remain grateful anyway.) BTW regarding your name-explanation page, the English word for a sanctuary is usually spelt grith, and appears to have a separate etymology. Perhaps it was conflated with girth in Scots by a converse metathesis to that that produced frith from firth.—Odysseus1479 22:56, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

That's very interesting! Are you a linguist? If you can point at any useful sources, I'd be interested to read them, and maybe add a bit to the page. Girth Summit _(blether) 23:00, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

No, unless having followed for a time some linguistics groups on Usenet is a qualification. ;) And I don’t have any good secondary source, just dictionaries. My favourite portal for looking up English words is onelook.com, whence I most often go to the Collins or etymonline.com links. I note the Scots dictionary you already cite relates Sc. girth to O.N. grið & O.E. griþ; the latter would naturally be spelt grith now. The ‘encircling’ words (gird, girdle, girth &c.) are apparently related to O.N. gyrða & O.E. gyrdan. Going back further, however, they do seem to have a common PIE root, along with cohort, court, garden, garth, horticulture, yard &c.—Odysseus1479 00:16, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

In particular names that go definitely out of style are interesting. The fact Lily, Claire, Emma go out and come back in, fine. But why does Bertha go out for good? Valereee (talk) 23:12, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

I've actually taught quite a few Lilys Lilies girls called Lily, and a couple of Emmas, but zero Claires or Berthas. My grandmothers were called Gertrude and Winnifred - I guess those names got culled by the last generation, they're pretty rare amongst adults too. Girth Summit _(blether) 23:23, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

I have three brothers (Jeremiah, Gabriel, and Micah) and four sisters (Sarai, Jael, Atarah, and Zemira). Not extremely common names but neither is mine. --ARoseWolf 13:38, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

Stavros Halkias

Hi, hope you've been well these past three months. On cue, the Stavros Halkias edit war begins anew. Brycehughes (talk) 05:38, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

They were socking - indeffed. Girth Summit _(blether) 07:04, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

Cheers, thanks. Brycehughes (talk) 07:07, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

TheOwnkingAyush

Just wondering if there's a range that could be hardblocked here. If the first iteration weren't already trolling, this is possibly a child with too much time on his hands, and he may not have access to unlimited ranges. Vanamonde (Talk) 19:23, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

They'rlve edited from just two ranges; they started off on one, and then moved to another, so range blocks might be effective. There are other editors on them, but not huge numbers - I'll take another look tomorrow and consider it. Girth Summit _(blether) 21:03, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

Thanks! Vanamonde (Talk) 21:14, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

Mm. One of the ranges is a fairly quiet IPv4/20, which could probably be hardblocked without too much collateral, but the other is IPv6/36 (or possibly a couple of /44s within that wider range), and much busier. They've only been using the IPv4 this month, so I would probably block that if they persist, but I'd hesitate to block the IPv6 unless the level of disruption increased - as it is, they're kind of making themselves obvious and tidying up after them isn't too much of a burden, and it's not like there is any harassment involved. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 07:14, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

Fair enough; I feel like I'd block the IPv4 range just to encourage them to find other pursuits, but I agree there's no harassment here. Vanamonde (Talk) 16:12, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

I just took another look at the range, and there's been no activity from them since 10 December - I don't think it's worth blocking, but I've made some notes on cuwiki about the ranges involved, so if they do come back in bit it should be easy enough to identify them. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 18:51, 15 December 2022 (UTC)

Makes sense, thank you! Vanamonde (Talk) 20:13, 15 December 2022 (UTC)

Previous disruptive editor

After seeing this edit (from another IP range that Defeedme is using), I'm ready to ask for talk page protection on my own talk page. I don't think I've ever received a useful talk page message from an unregistered user anyway. Does 3 months seem reasonable? Wes sideman (talk) 13:14, 15 December 2022 (UTC)

I've applied semi for a month in the first instance - hopefully they'll get bored and go away. Girth Summit _(blether) 18:47, 15 December 2022 (UTC)

That'll probably do it. Thanks. Wes sideman (talk) 20:25, 15 December 2022 (UTC)

Season's Greetings

Hello Girth Summit: Enjoy the holiday season and winter solstice if it's occurring in your area of the world, and thanks for your work to maintain, improve and expand Wikipedia. Cheers, Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 21:32, 18 December 2022 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Season's Greetings}} to send this message

Seasons greetings!

Ohara Shoson (Koson), Egrets in Snow, Ohara Koson, 1927	Have a wonderful holiday season filled with peace, joy, prosperity and wonder.
	Hi Girth Summit, Thank you for all your contributions during the year, and for keeping things running smoothly around here! Your work is appreciated, and I was glad to meet you. May your 2023 be filled with creativity and good health. Image: Egrets in Snow, Ohara Koson, 1927 Netherzone (talk) 22:41, 18 December 2022 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

	Merry Christmas, Girth Summit
	Or Season's Greetings or Happy Winter Solstice! As the year winds to a close, I would like to take a moment to recognize your hard work and offer heartfelt gratitude for all you do for Wikipedia. May this Holiday Season bring you and yours nothing but joy, health and prosperity. Onel5969 TT me 20:07, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

Seasons Greetings

Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, whether it's Christmas or some other festival, I hope you and those close to you have a happy, restful time! Have fun, Donner60 (talk) 00:16, 23 December 2022 (UTC)}}

Donner60 (talk) 23:44, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

Season's greetings

		Happy Christmas
		Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday Season, and best wishes for the New Year! Thank you for all you do. Whispyhistory (talk) 16:54, 24 December 2022 (UTC)

Happy Holidays!

Hello Girth_Summit : Enjoy the holiday season and winter solstice if it's occurring in your area of the world, and thanks for your work to maintain, improve and expand Wikipedia. Cheers, RV (talk) 02:25, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Season's Greetings}} to send this message

Happy Christmas

	Merry Christmas, Girth Summit
	or whatever else you may celebrate at this time of year. Thank you for all your work on Wikipedia throughout the year and may 2023 prove to be a happy and successful year for you and your family Josey Wales Parley 20:07, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

MBlaze Lightning (talk) is wishing you a Merry Christmas! This greeting (and season) promotes WikiLove and hopefully this note has made your day a little better. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Happy New Year!

Spread the cheer by adding {{subst:Xmas2}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

MBlaze Lightning (talk) 09:33, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

Hello Girth Summit: Enjoy the holiday season and winter solstice if it's occurring in your area of the world, and thanks for your work to maintain, improve and expand Wikipedia. Cheers, CAPTAIN RAJU^(T) 17:24, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Season's Greetings}} to send this message

CAPTAIN RAJU^(T) 17:24, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

Happy Holidays

		Happy Holidays
		Hello, I wish you the very best during the holidays. And I hope you have a very happy 2023! Bruxton (talk) 17:59, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

Another Sockpuppet of Jomontgeorge is found

Hello @Girth Summit: this user RealAspects is a sockpuppet of user Jomontegeorge. Please see Talk:Pooja Hedge for further information. This user is also making similar edits and this account was created on December 2022. I am not able to report since I m an IP editor. 2001:8F8:1825:A94F:50A0:907F:B3C9:15B (talk) 12:43, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

You are able to report - you just need to log into your account to do it. Girth Summit _(blether) 16:03, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

Feedback request: All RFCs request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Talk:Wilderness therapy on a "All RFCs" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 23:31, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

Talk page access

Talk page access for this user (blocked by you back in July) should probably be removed at this point, since they keep returning to make pointless comments, and this week, has has started to make (1) unsubstantiated claims (2) that other blocked users are the same sockpuppeteer due to their "tests". It's all bogus crap as the "tests" they claim to have run are just links to random wiki articles and policies that use words they want to emphasize, or are links to diffs of admin edits blocking random users. Notifying you since you were the blocking admin for this user. Zinnober9 (talk) 06:17, 30 December 2022 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Category:Wikipedia sockpuppets of cu confirmed on enwiki to मेरानामनिलेश, who is locked.

A tag has been placed on Category:Wikipedia sockpuppets of cu confirmed on enwiki to मेरानामनिलेश, who is locked. indicating that it is currently empty, and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion. If it remains empty for seven days or more, it may be deleted under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 01:13, 31 December 2022 (UTC)

Thanks Liz - please go ahead and delete, I think I typed a comment into the wrong box in the SPI helper script there! Girth Summit _(blether) 10:38, 31 December 2022 (UTC)

Happy New Year!

Girth Summit,
Thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia, and a Happy New Year to you and yours! CAPTAIN RAJU^(T) 22:59, 31 December 2022 (UTC)

---

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

– Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year}} to user talk pages.

CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 22:59, 31 December 2022 (UTC)

Happy New Year, Girth Summit!

Happy New Year!

Girth Summit,
Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia.
— Moops ^⋠T⋡ 17:19, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

   Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year fireworks}} to user talk pages.

— Moops ^⋠T⋡ 17:19, 2 January 2023 (UTC)