User talk:MER-C/archives/54

ygm

In regard to Music Business Worldwide, Bcc - paid-en-wp, GeneralNotability and Praxidicae. GSS ^💬 04:48, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

Curious case

See this which ironically has been recreated by a blocked user @Tomori Uriel. The blocked editor also created this today. I have flagged the article as per G5. Furthermore the article reeks of UPE. Celestina007 (talk) 20:32, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

It appears he has been unblocked since 2019 but the indef blocked notice is still present in his Userpage and is the first thing you’d notice, in any case I feel strongly that UPE is at play here as the editor has continued to create articles on non notable organizations. I am unable to view the original article on Sidmach Technologies but if it’s the aforementioned editor that has created both the deleted one and the recreated one I assume it’s safe to call this UPE. Celestina007 (talk) 20:43, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

Requesting updating of Women related laws in Pakistan with new text

Greetings,

As per Wikipedia's expected due process I have updated Talk:Women related laws in Pakistan/Temp building it from scratch with proper close paraphrasing. I suppose it would be acceptable at least as a stub.

Since updating of Talk:Women related laws in Pakistan/Temp we will not be depending on previous text of the article, I requesting to shift the text from Talk:Women related laws in Pakistan/Temp to Women related laws in Pakistan.

Thanks and warm regards

Bookku (talk) 09:05, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

Afiya Zia

Hi, Would you re-consider reverting this move. This is a subject of ongoing merge proposal at here and may change to redirect at the end of discussion. You may also try the merge and close the discussion if you think it would be okay. Regards, ─ The Aafī ^(talk) 17:35, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

The merge proposal is not relevant to the question as to whether what used to be at Afiya Zia should remain in mainspace. After all, you can merge stuff from drafts. If Afiya Zia is in mainspace, then the spammers get what they want. MER-C 17:55, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Spinyhead blenny

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:2017, cuba, jardines aggressor, playa bonita, spineyhead blennie (23700572188).jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 17:53, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Himalayan salt

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Himalayan salt (coarse).jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 17:55, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

Robert McGovern

MER-C, what makes his Wikipedia entry seem like a work for hire to you? It mostly looks unprofessional to me. Or is that it? Like it was created by his assistant, or someone else not at all familiar with Wiki? Anyway, I'm doing research on Precisetarget and tried to update/improve it a little.BjornintheUSA (talk) 19:27, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

The article creator is involved in abusive sockpuppetry: Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/VentureKit/Archive. MER-C 19:37, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for responding MER-C. I see now that the creator's account is banned. The content of the entry scans as OK to me. I'll try to add a few more sources substantiating the content.BjornintheUSA (talk) 22:29, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

MER-C, i have gone through the article and verified that all info is accurate, adding links and info as (I felt) appropriate. I think the article meets Wiki standards and style. Does this make the "sockpuppet" tag obsolete? 02:14, 29 December 2020 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by BjornintheUSA (talk • contribs)

The quality of the sourcing is still weak - this is fairly typical of UPE articles that need to exaggerate the notability of their subjects. Of course, this being a UPE article, the decision to include it should not be made by the spammers themselves. MER-C 11:32, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

It doesn't do much to help either me or the article if you don't actually specify any text that exaggerates his notability. And now I am a "spammer"? I've worked on five articles in the past 4 years. care to point to any that I did not improve? BjornintheUSA (talk) 23:45, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Notability is determined by the quality of the sources, not the text. See Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline. Citing press releases, articles that only tangentially mention the subject, primary sources, Forbes contributor articles, and promotional pieces gives the false impression of notability. MER-C 15:16, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

There are also multiple articles from The Washington Post, at least one of which mentions him in its title. Articles from Inc., Baltimore Sun. The Forbes reference was extraneous and I deleted it. Do Washington Post articles meet notability standards?BjornintheUSA (talk) 23:13, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

Discussion at WP:THQ § Requesting Deleted Article To Be Created

 You are invited to join the discussion at WP:THQ § Requesting Deleted Article To Be Created. -- Marchjuly (talk) 11:19, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

Hi MER-C. Since you were the last administrator to delete Kaptain Kush, perhaps you could take a look at the above-mentioned Teahouse question to (1) assess whether it's the same banned editor making the request and (2) explain whether the article can be restored if it's not the same editor. Thanks. -- Marchjuly (talk) 11:23, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Anniebisilolo. MER-C 11:54, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for taking a look. -- Marchjuly (talk) 13:57, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

About the Page Mujeeb Ijaz

I should say in the beginning that I admire your valued edits as a veteran Wiki editor and I am fascinated the way you contribute and fight paid editing and spam. Recently I have faced an incident which I would like to bring to your attention. I found the page Mujeeb Ijaz was created by some fresh SPA account to which image and some other information was added by User:Mansoor Ijaz. As his is real life identity verification is available on his user page, I could identify him as the brother of the subject Mujeeb Ijaz. I added a COI tag to the article. He then asked me to remove the tag from the article claiming himself as an experienced editor. I have looked upon their edit and found they have consistently carried out COI edit, in fact on the page where the article is about the subject himself, I mean even in Mansoor Ijaz. Though I did not find any disclosure about COI in his userspace, he did not disclose the same even after citing him the COI rules. I have also discovered something, the User:Mansoor Ijaz was inactive since February 2018, until 3rd December 2020, when user:Cadileru moved the page to mainspace on 2nd December. I don't have any wish to express any bad faith towards any editor but the action sequences do not make things look natural. I would prefer to leave the matter on you to determine what exactly have happened thinking you should be the best person to judge it. ☆★Mamushir (✉✉) 20:31, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I don't see anything actionable. Mansoor Ijaz has made only non-material changes to the article since 2015. Cadileru may be actionable, but I'll wait for further edits. MER-C 11:17, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for your insight. It is a real learning experience ☆★Mamushir (✉✉) 17:37, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Ads

Hello MER-C, in case you're interested there is an account (with a keen interest in strategic consulting firms and personal injury lawyers) that happened to find this draft created by two editors you've previously blocked. – Thjarkur (talk) 00:44, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Blocked. MER-C 10:51, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

I have just moved an article to Draft

I wish again to draw your attention to this article Draft:Nataliya Resh (entrepreneur) which I just moved from main space. From the log I found it was created previously by Francoforten whom you blocked somedays back. Hope I am doing the right thing. ☆★Mamushir (✉✉) 18:12, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Sock blocked and spam deleted. Quarantining was the right thing to do when you see that it is spam but can't tell whether it is sockpuppetry. MER-C 18:23, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for your guidance. ☆★Mamushir (✉✉) 18:26, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Long-term problem

MER-C and Diannaa, we may have a long-term problem here with the edits of Ssolbergj going back to 2007. This cut-and-paste on a very widely viewed COVID-related article caught my eye. Just glancing at most recent edits, I found this CWW problem. Then I ran Earwig on several of the articles most edited by Ssolbergj, and all of them revealed issues (which I haven't tracked further, although it appears that an old book by Ceoil Wade is the source of a lot of cut-and-paste content, sorry, lost track of that URL). I also find this editor inserting unsourced content a number of times.

Of greater concern, I see multiple warnings about all of these issues going back many years,[1][2][3][4] so am surprised to find this editor making a cut-and-paste copyvio on a VERY widely viewed COVID article. What next? A CCI, or an ANI? SandyGeorgia (Talk) 15:52, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

The main criterion for CCI is 5 or more (preferably recent) examples of copyvio text. Unattributed copying is not technically a copyright violation, but rather a ciolation of the terms of our license, so those should not be included. I gotta go do my mom's shopping now - TTYL — Diannaa (talk) 16:32, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Reverting the removal of a copyvio is an instant indef block. I will open a CCI. Copyvio is a habit - this example, the poor state of the talk page and the extensive discussion and denial in December 2016 establish it - and I think this is more a case of a refusal to abide versus cluelessness. I only wish that the general sanctions warning was handed out earlier so I could throw away the key. MER-C 16:38, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

MER-C I lost track of an 1898 book that appears to have been the source for many of their edits ... probably public domain, so plagiarism rather than copyvio ? Thanks for taking action, SandyGeorgia (Talk) 16:57, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

It's still copying, and the example from today establishes that this editor didn't know or care whether the source was copyrighted. It is likely that both the plagiarism and copyvio problems are systematic. MER-C 17:06, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year to you and yours. Thanks for being a thorough admin aiding the project of getting rid of spam. Have a good one senior colleague!!! Celestina007 (talk) 20:21, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Merry Christmas to you too (but not the spammers). MER-C 16:53, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

God I love your sense of humor. Hope you had a good one today. Celestina007 (talk) 21:05, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Mistletoebird

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Mistletoebird - Round Hill Nature Reserve.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 12:36, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Nassau grouper

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Ihavetheknoledge135

Can user:Ihavetheknoledge135 please be blocked ASAP for vandalism. CLCStudent (talk) 14:37, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

what is going on here?

This user appears to be some sort of meat sock, I only got two hours of sleep but check this analysis out. I stopped before going through all their contribs but this seems to be a meat puppet continuing the work of several paid editors, notably Lapablo, who was blocked a few days after they joined. Way too many paid articles moved to mainspace...GRINCHIDICAE🎄 09:07, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

I found five more COI recreations. Blocked. MER-C 11:16, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, this is clearly part of a larger farm, I'm just unsure which. GRINCHIDICAE🎄 11:22, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

Elio Deejay's article!

Hello! I have created an article for Elio Deejay can i ask you for a quick review please? Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xhoel.m (talk • contribs) 12:30, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

Are you being paid to create this article or otherwise have a conflict of interest regarding the subject matter? Please describe. MER-C 12:45, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

@MER-C:No i'm just new at wikipedia and this is my first "eligible" article i think. I have learn fast to contribute to wikipedia but just need to develop my knowledge and try to understand what wikipedia requires for an article. I like to collect information about artists here in my country, there are a lot of famous people who don't have an article yet. Thank you for your response.

So how is File:Mr. Elio Deejay.jpg your own work? MER-C 19:59, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

I ask the artist for an exclusive photo he gave me this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xhoel.m (talk • contribs) 20:14, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

Why did you upload the image with "Source: Own work", "Author: Xhoel.m", and "I, the copyright holder of this work", when all three were false? Given that you misrepresented the providence of this image, why should I believe your assertion that you do not have a conflict of interest? I will now assume that you do have a COI (how were you able to ask the artist for it?), and have therefore removed your editing privileges. MER-C 20:30, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

Blocked users continuing to edit as IP

Hi MER-C. Recently I have seen a few cases of blocked users continuing to edit using their IP address. The latest is perhaps 87.3.214.132, who is quacking a lot like Aerosol-Aerosol. Could I please get your advice about the best thing to do when this happens? Regards, MrsSnoozyTurtle (talk) 02:57, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

Report to the appropriate forum (in this case m:SRG). MER-C 12:06, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, will do. Sorry to trouble you, but I can't work out how to add a section at this page. Even after logging into the Meta account, there is no button for "Edit Source" or "Edit Section". Regards, MrsSnoozyTurtle (talk) 13:23, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

The page is semi-protected. MER-C 14:26, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

Still using my training wheels

Just dropping by to say thanks for cleaning up after me. I don't intend to always leave overly long messages at WP:CP and refuse to close out days on that board. But for now, I still like to have someone looking over my shoulder to make sure I don't do anything overly stupid (like forget to unblank a page after checking for copyright violation). So thank you for providing that extra set of eyes. Lord knows I sometimes need it. Anyway, I hope you're doing well and managed to have a restful holiday despite the global chaos. All the best, Ajpolino (talk) 07:57, 31 December 2020 (UTC)

Happy New Year, MER-C!

Happy New Year!

MER-C,
Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia.
Moneytrees🏝️^{Talk🌴Help out at CCI!} 01:56, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

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

Happy new year to you as well. MER-C 16:27, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Mail Notice

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Celestina007 (talk) 16:51, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Kefermarkt altarpiece (2)

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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Raspberries

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Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Raspberry - halved (Rubus idaeus).jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 17:42, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

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Upes

Happy new year, Mer-c. Since you blocked the author of Alexander Mirza (entrepreneur) you may be interested in the identical article on Alexander Mirza (investor). – Thjarkur (talk) 17:55, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Same MO too. Blocked as a sock and spam deleted. MER-C 19:45, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

New Dave Norris (Louisiana Politician) page

Hello - I plan to write a page on former West Monroe, LA mayor Dave Norris. I see that you deleted a previous page https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dave_Norris_(Louisiana_politician)&action=edit&redlink=1 due to unresolved copyright flags. I just wanted to let you know that I will create a new page. I was not the author of this previous page, and needless to say I will endeavor to avoid any copyright issues :) -- LeeSawyer (talk) 20:19, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

No problemo. MER-C 20:39, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Roger Scruton's book 'Sexual Desire'

Why was this book deleted? http://web.archive.org/web/20201117150839/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Desire_(book) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.183.173 (talk) 21:31, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

I am not here to read the deletion log for you. The author was an abusive sockpuppeteer with a history of copyright violations. MER-C 10:55, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the response. I did of course check the deletion log, but it doesn't say anything about what the "copyright issues" were as you know. Doesn't sound like there actually were any copyright issues; just that the author was a sockpuppet. I didn't realize the article only had one author though. Thank you for the info, I really do appreciate it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.183.173 (talk) 01:42, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

YGMail - a few hours ago

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Smallbones_(smalltalk) 01:10, 3 January 2021 (UTC)

SPA for promotional purposes only

This editor @MoollyBee definitely isn’t here to build an encyclopedia, they have literally only focused on using Wikipedia to promote Mercy Eke, their talkpage is filled with warnings dating back to November 2020 of which they have refused to comply with and more annoying is they have refused to communicate with other editors and have continued to edit disruptively. A look at their edit history and that of Mercy Eke is very worrisome. Celestina007 (talk) 18:34, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

They haven't received a final warning yet. If they continue after said warning, then I can block. MER-C 19:20, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

Copyvio cleanup

Hi MER-C. You just did some copyvio clean up at Rico Mascariñas‎ so I'm wondering if you could also take a look at Rogelio Antonio Jr.#Antonio bags 7th US crown since it also appears to be a similar copyvio added by the same editor Obetpaguia. There may also be some more of these floating around in Filipino chess player bios being be worked on by this editor. For some reason, they seem to think it's OK to copy-and-paste verbatim from whatever sources they're getting this type of info from. FWIW, I posted something about this on their user talk page, but never got a response.

About the Mascariñas article, the content you removed is still visible in the page history. Is this OK or does it need to be revdeleted? -- Marchjuly (talk) 13:25, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

I blocked them. This will require a WP:CCI to clean up everything. The copyvio in Rico Mascariñas is too old and immaterial to be revdeleted. MER-C 15:29, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for taking a look at this. I didn't realize that this editor had previously been warned about this type of thing back as far back as 2009. -- Marchjuly (talk) 01:57, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations/Obetpaguia. MER-C 15:50, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

Apparently I can't resist the urge

When it comes to people pushing fabricated sources here...but this is a new low (it's from Realjamesh, for context and it's a poorly photoshopped paper.) GRINCHIDICAE🎄 16:50, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Wow. Blocked, most articles quarantined. There's probably some shenanigans going on at AFD that saw the remaining articles kept. MER-C 17:40, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

It's pretty bad. You'll notice I pointed out on their TP that they did some pretty dumb stuff and they knew full well, which is why they changed The New York Age to a current paper. I endorsed for a CU because there's a lot of IP fuckery too, we've got them bouncing from Dominican Republic to Costa Rica to Togo all in relation to this article and I can't imagine this 15 year old has any actual fans...GRINCHIDICAE🎄 17:46, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Happy new year MER-C and Praxidicae (great to see you back). My contribution to the cause, Herodotus.Kreios, who has created a series of new BLPs/Company Bios, at least one of which was on my watchlist as a PROMO (the unfortunate asymmetry of a promotional editor - once they catch one article, all the others are easy to locate). Hope this is helpful. Britishfinance (talk) 15:02, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

Ahhh yes. I vaguely remember this sock farm but can't recall the master or the pages but distinctly remember the Flex Seal spam! GRINCHIDICAE🎄 15:06, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

• @MER-C: and @Britishfinance: it's likely the same spam farm as this user GRINCHIDICAE🎄 15:10, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

  Blocked and deleted. MER-C 15:37, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

CCI Closures

Hi MER-C, I figured I'd bug you since you closed the last CCI I finished. I've knocked over some of the low-hanging fruit at CCI, finishing the remainder of the Chewygum, Almodaa, and Manc1234 investigations. If you wouldn't mind closing them, that would be great. Please don't hesitate to let me know if I should be doing anything differently, or if you had any queries. Thanks, Jack Frost (talk) 05:07, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

CCIs closed. Thanks for your help! (Although I am going to replace them right now with three more investigations.) MER-C 15:20, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!!! (:P) Anyway; I've just cleared the last of Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations/Benea as well. If ever have to read about another ship again in my life, it will be too soon... --Jack Frost (talk) 08:24, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks! Closed this one too - and you won't be surprised I replaced it with yet another investigation. 2020 has been nuts at CCI - 36 investigations opened since June 1. MER-C 11:51, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Valerio Matanò

Hi there, just thought I'd give you the heads up. You dealt with this one yesterday - deleted because it was created by a blocked user evading their block. Created again today. Do you reckon it's the same person? Spiderone 13:48, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Yes, and I'm quite surprised it's back so soon. MER-C 13:50, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Here we go again... Valerio Matanò (entrepreneur) Spiderone 17:09, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

Nuked. MER-C 17:30, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Congratulations on winning yesterday's quiz! Hope to see you at the next meetup on the 24th. the wub "?!" 12:53, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

Look what article is back

See this & now today this. Celestina007 (talk) 00:22, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Dealt with. MER-C 17:42, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Possible COI/UPE

User Rajlaxmi2‎ is only here to promote Draft:Kavita Joshi. I asked them to disclose their conflict of interest based on images they uploaded on commons-wiki as their own work. They first claimed that "I found these images via internet and facebook. I joined some groups which shared photos of Dehati film celebrities." and when I asked for the link they replied "I found this image via a whatsapp group so no link available." which sound like a made-up story to me. GSS ^💬 18:17, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked. MER-C 18:41, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Paratroopers at the Western Wall

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:צנחנים בכותל המערבי.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 09:31, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Kumquats

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Kumquat from Spain.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 10:08, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Mind?

I already left a paid warning for this user but they have continued to ignore it and I'm tired of the back and forth at that spammy coatrack article. GRINCHIDICAE🎄 15:03, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked, pure spam account. MER-C 18:18, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Mail

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Lhiroshima (talk) 23:14, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

your pal

...is back. CUPIDICAE💕 20:12, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Already blocked. MER-C 19:36, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Warming stripes

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:20181204 Warming stripes (global, WMO, 1850-2018) - Climate Lab Book (Ed Hawkins).png, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 11:12, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

SEO

Hi Mer-C, admin action is probably warranted for this edit [5] where the user added an SEO link at the bottom on the article. Thanks! Jtbobwaysf (talk) 09:03, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked. MER-C 12:59, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Yellow-throated Miner

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PR firm?

this user has all the tells of a PR firm that I feel like we've seen before but I can't place my finger on it. CUPIDICAE💕 15:21, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked. MER-C 19:45, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

this guy is back CUPIDICAE💕 15:00, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Also blocked. MER-C 17:34, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Possible COI/UPE

User Knowyourfuture was asked to disclose their conflict of interest multiple times but they are not interested in replying and sound like only here to promote Arvind Yadav, please see their move log. GSS ^💬 18:17, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked and started Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Arvind Yadav. MER-C 11:48, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Possible covert UPE

This editor @Isaacbabatundeo has a history of creating promotional articles on non notable individuals, coupled with the fact they seem to have images of the subject of the article’s as their own work for example see Olawole Oladiyun & Adebukola Foluke Osunyikanmi. I asked them here how they came in possession of the image & I was snubbed. I moved the Olawole Oladiyun article back to Draftspace & tagged it with a G11 but they moved it back to mainspace & removed the G11, Þjarkur reinserted the G11 tag and told them it wasn’t proper for article creators to remove Speedy delete tags from articles they themselves created but they refused to adhere and once again removed the G11 tag. They have for a while now used Wikipedia as a means of promotion, for example see this warning left on their talk page. In all I do not believe they are here to build an encyclopedia. I strongly believe Covert UPE is at play here. Their disruptive editing pattern has been tolerated for a very long while now. Celestina007 (talk) 22:03, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked. MER-C 10:41, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Very old Editor with possible(?) COI

The articles MRI Interventions, EntreMed, Theragenics Corporation, Medivation, David Hung are all related to Steve Gorlin where all the articles except Medivation were created by Eliveliv very recently. Other than these, they have major edits previously in Eli Verschleiser, Rainbow in the Night, Clifford S. Perlman and Trump Tower (Philadelphia) where the last three articles were created by the user themselves and all four articles are related to Eli Verschleiser. Where Eli Verschleiser is a real estate investor and supposedly appeared in Rainbow in the Night and has built Trump Tower (Philadelphia). We also have the fact Eli Verschleiser and Clifford S. Perlman are related. The article Eli Verschleiser reads like a perfect advertisement with an image added by a blocked user and edits by a number of SPA and possible UPE. There had been a MfD Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:Eliveliv/Enter your new article name here about self promotion which the user removed from their talk page. Also, the user name Eliveliv gives us reasonable inference of having close connection with Eli Verschleiser. In fact from the user's own assertion we find they are the same person. The nature of COI edits are obviously overt here and the user is here only to promote Steve Gorlin and Eli Verschleiser (self promotion) and possibly WP:NOTHERE applies undoubtedly. I have moved all their recent articles to draft. Please do let me know if my analysis and consequent actions were wrong ☆★Mamushir (✉✉) 23:44, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

• I have nominated Trump Tower (Philadelphia) for deletion. BD2412 T 04:04, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

@Mamushir, MER C is the closest thing this collaborative project has to an ARV for undisclosed paid editing he’s probably an indispensable editor but in scenarios such as this whereby a long standing editor who combines covert UPE or COI and productive work, it is a difficult task for MER C to unilaterally take drastic decisions(except a cogent proof is given to them). I’d say your best bet is to go to WP:COIBOARD or report your suspicions to WP:AN/I or read WP:PAID, scroll to the part that shows you how to report suspected UPE. Celestina007 (talk) 19:28, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Exactly, second this suggestion. MER-C 19:48, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Thank you. ☆★Mamushir (✉✉) 21:56, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Anti-nuclear protests in the United States

I see you speedied Anti-nuclear protests in the United States because of copyright issues. I've never seen the article and have no idea what the issues are. If nobody else has so requested please restore either to my sandbox or to draft version so it can be improved and restored. Trackinfo (talk) 05:35, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Copyright violations cannot be undeleted. MER-C 09:50, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

I have restored a portion of copyvio-free content for the page. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to rebuild, but there are plenty of sources out there for that project. BD2412 T 19:06, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Draft/PIVX removed

Hi there!

The draft article being worked on was removed citing: copyright infringement from https://pivx.org/news/introducing-shield-the-new-privacy-protocol-from-pivx

to I'm assuming this site: https://medium.com/chainxofficial/koinmudra-kmi-ieo-on-chainx-e4c71fd0fac2).

If you notice the timestamps, that referenced medium site actually lifted the content from the PIVX.org site.

As for the unambiguous advertising or promotion, we're working on continuing to clean up that page to be in the wikipedia guidelines.

Thank you!

Magus369 (talk) 17:49, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Imperative Mail Notice

Hello, MER-C/archives. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Celestina007 (talk) 18:28, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

Roger editor

It appears he has returned as an ip sock. CUPIDICAE💕 19:05, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

Also stealknots aka wikipros is back as Spotsearchspace. CUPIDICAE💕 19:15, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

Blocked, Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Stealknots opened. MER-C 19:42, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

I doubt CU will match up FWIW, it's part of a large firm (one of the wikipros) CUPIDICAE💕 19:52, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

got another one for you. CUPIDICAE💕 13:49, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Also blocked. MER-C 19:52, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

• MER-C It looks like Pulisi has a few sleepers. Check this out CUPIDICAE💕 11:17, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Copyvio rewrite

Hi MER-C. Gay Marriage (book) was deleted as a copyvio. I've been working on a clean draft; it was moved (very prematurely IMO) to mainspace by a throwaway Architect 134 sock. Could you please either put it back in draftspace or else restore the infobox, categories, and cover image from the deleted version? Cheers, gnu57 06:18, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

I went ahead and did this. Cheers! BD2412 T 06:37, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, BD2412, I appreciate it. gnu57 06:55, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Radiated tortoise

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) Tsimanampetsotsa.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 15:09, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

UPE activity, I believe

@NinjaRobotPirate and Drmies: as well, cannot remember who I spoke to back in Octoberish timeframe.... A while back, I asked for a CU sweep against some editors on Randy Pitchford. There was some suggestion of a little overlap but no obvious socks. The same content recently reappeared, added by Tron-F-Kennedy which seems odd but may not be enough to call UPE like many past Pitchford editors. However, of particular note, having not edited for months, Lukepicardkirk pops back up to edit Pitchford and Sallie Mae this past week. Another of the suspected UPE's from Pitchford's article, HoneyCrispAppleMan, edits Sallie Mae immediately after Luke did. Both editors use a somewhat similar edit summary style.

Older accounts that may be UPE from Pitchford's article include Oliver the twisted Ankle (Still seems to be UPE editing other topics). Of course numerous Pitchford editors are already blocked for UPE, so it seems to be a magnet... -- ferret (talk) 17:12, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

• I gotta run, ferret, but I will tell you that I'm going to drop CU blocks on HCA and LPK. There may be more to investigate, but it's a start. Drmies (talk) 18:18, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
• Tron-F-Kennedy is almost certainly NichePenguinLifestyle. CU data has gone stale, but I can tell from some logged actions that I took back then that they're on the same static IP address. I'm not really sure what to think about whether they're all one big sock farm. Oliver the twisted Ankle is almost certainly part of a UPE sock farm that includes Bipitibappitibap, RuneLynch, Acbora, Zhang7891, and Stealknots. However, given the ISP, it's possible this is some kind of VPN. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 23:35, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Single Purpose Promo Account

This editor @Justfrankleen is clearly not here to build an encyclopedia but to promote Draft:Erica Nlewedim, see here, here & would eventually dox themself as an editor not here to build an encyclopedia by this bizarre message they left on my tp. Furthermore the account has been registered for 4 months with only 6 edits with all pertaining to Draft:Erica Nlewedim, i believe the Draft:Erica Nlewedim itself should be protected as soon as can be because having observed the history of the draft, multiple SPA’s have popped out editing solely to promote the draft article's subject, as if that isn’t bad enough already, even the subject of the article herself (@Stargirlerica), joined the collaborative project 6 hours ago and has already been blocked for clearly not being here to build an encyclopedia. If you can, can you please protect Draft:Erica Nlewedim? I see Erica Nlewedim has been salted can the draft article be salted as well? It would really be pertinent at this juncture. This editor also @Kemmiiii also appears to be part of the sock farm employed by the subject of the article their editing pattern also reflects this. Thanks and sorry for the long message. Celestina007 (talk) 20:10, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

• I blocked Kemmiiii and Ehizodenoria; I can't tell if they're socks related to the old SPI (and I saw Oshwah's note there about ranges and user agents; that applies here to some extent also), and pretty obviously both are here to do the same thing. Same with Gembossdigital, but those edits are stale. BTW it looks like the subject is notable, and it's not a bad idea to clean it up, make it acceptable, and just go live with it, so we won't have to police two drafts and more editors will keep an eye on it. Drmies (talk) 21:08, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
• And I blocked Cruiserforlife and Justfrankleen, who are confirmed to each other (though not to the others). They came from a range that has been CU-checked more times than I can count; CUs include Materialscientist (for Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Oluboy/Archive), Mz7 (for Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Anniebisilolo)), and Callanecc (for Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Sadeeqzaria/Archive). I think we're looking at User:Anniebisilolo here, again. But the range is so big I can't check the accounts on it. Drmies (talk) 21:17, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
• OK, I see the old article, now salted, and I can't really delete it under G4--there's the new "brand ambassador" stuff. Now that I'm looking at it again I am not sure the draft would survive AfD even if cleaned up, but there is some coverage--so no, I don't think we can just nuke it, and I can't say anything about the IP editor who created the one draft. The other was created by Gembossgirl, whom we might block as a most likely suspected/deadass sure sock of Kemmiiii and the others. But I'll leave that up to you, MER-C. Drmies (talk) 21:24, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
• Comment — @Drmies, I can’t thank you enough for putting an end to this endless disruption. The multiple SPA you see started from an off wiki twitter canvassing by the fans of the subject of the article to get a biographical article on the subject no matter what, honestly Drmies I don’t believe the subject of the article is notable enough for a Wikipedia biographical piece because I honestly cannot see any notability criterion they meet, furthermore the sources discussing subject of the article are all centered on the subject of the article being a contestant on the Big brother Nigeria reality show of which she didn’t emerge successful, in any which way. I believe WP:ONEEVENT comes into play here. Celestina007 (talk) 22:23, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Prehnite

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Prehnite - Southbury, Connecticut, USA.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 19:44, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Sudden increase of CCI cases

Hello. Thought I leave a note to you about the sudden of CCI cases. Of the over 10 cases since Jan 26, 4 of them were mines. I asked Money for help with 2 of them to see if a CCI was warranted or not. While these cases are small, they've contributed to the total open cases to almost 210!

While I've been clearing out my to-do list of copyvio cleanup, I know that the number of cases will continue to grow :/ I hope you are not mad at me for the sudden increase of open cases. --MrLinkinPark333 (talk) 20:13, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Your penance is to clear out WP:CCI#Atnissel (2 articles), Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations/20210109 (5 articles), and Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations/Putta26 (13 articles). MER-C 19:33, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Honoré Ligarde

Honoré Ligarde entry was deleted due to a copyright issue - the page has been on Wikipedia for several years. What was the copyright issue and why delete the entirety of a former congressman’s page?

The article's author and only substantial contributor was banned for massive copyright infringement and his edits are being removed indiscriminately. MER-C 19:12, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Palmsandbeaches

has returned and isn't even trying to hide it. CUPIDICAE💕 15:38, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Blocked. MER-C 17:42, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Shapur I's victory relief at Naqsh-e Rostam

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:Naghsh-e rostam, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 12.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Armbrust The Homunculus 20:53, 3 February 2021 (UTC)