User talk:Newyorkbrad/Archive/2011/Feb

DMSBel arbcom case

You acknowledged that the case was likely to be taken up by Arbcom as a whole, but as the closing admin on the community sanctions, I wanted to follow up on your concerns.

I'm open to discussion here, on an arbcom talk page, AN, or wherever. Let me know what venue you think is best.

You mentioned that you wanted to review both the ban duration and extent / coverage.

Do you think that this user was singled out inappropriately, or that the community consensus was flawed for some reason? It appeared reasonable to me, but that's always subject to review.

Do you feel that there were any issues with the close misrepresenting consensus? I hope not, but as I said it required closer synthesis of poorly stated proposals within the discussion, so I understand if that's an issue you want to follow up on.

Regarding the duration, we've put a number of indefinite topic or user bans from the community into effect recently. Most of those followed escalating sanctions but not all. Do you feel that escalation should be a requirement? Other issues with it? Lack of clearly identified appeal within the sanction an issue for you?

Regarding the breadth, similar question.

Thanks. Georgewilliamherbert (talk) 00:59, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Have been travelling but will respond to this tonight or over the weekend. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 17:20, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Arbitrator comment

I don't know if you noticed that I queried your comment here. I had trouble understanding it. Bishonen | talk 19:49, 2 February 2011 (UTC).

I meant we don't need bickering on any of the pages, in any of the threads. I wasn't looking specifically (or even generally) at you. Hopefully we will have a decision in the next couple of days. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 17:20, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

AGK gone for a few days, so..

I left this question for AGK, but since he is gone for a few days, I have been advised by Bishonen to approach you and an arbitrator. Here is the link to my questions for AGK: [1]. Bishonen suggested I also email , so I did that as well. Thanks for your time. Smatprt (talk) 18:05, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

YellowMonkey's RFC and some possible concrete suggestions

Hey

As you made the original statement for closing YellowMonkey's RFC I thought this was best to post here. There was further discussion which is linked from here which didn't wasn't particularly productive. Unfortunately YellowMonkey's friends gave the impression that they wanted no action taken against him and the other side (including myself) gave the impression that we essentially wanted to essentially continue a witch-hunt on him. This is less than ideal, especially as I now suspect that both "sides" positions are far closer in what we would consider sensible than we have admitted.

Furthermore there is the issue that when YellowMonkey returns given the severity of the points raised there is nothing he can say that will entirely excuse his previous actions and no clear guidance about what might be reasonable step for him to take, beyond avoiding all admin actions altogether. Additionally there is a large potential for lots of face to be lost, which as YellowMonkey is of an Asian background he probably wants to avoid, especially as it isn't totally clear what restrictions the community would consider sensible - and there is lots of potential for drama as well all round.

I thought that having something more concrete might be beneficial and I discussed it on my talk page with an IP editor who largely supported YellowMonkey and quite quickly we came to a reasonable set of suggestions which seem to be reasonable and which should avoid further issues with YM's admin actions. Do you have any comments about whether something like this is worth posting to the RFC now, or just ignoring until if/when he returns? -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 22:15, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Eraserhead1 has summarized the recent events sorrounding YM's case well. However, I have some other addtions. First, the witch hunt against YM has turned into a ugly and aggressive form. For example, some witch hunters have used sockpuppets to attack YM in RFC and, in the most recent, a witch hunter even asked YM to leave forever. Secondly, I think that YM has suffered a great loss of face and reputation in Wikipedia because of all ANI, RFC, and ARBCOM events which all went against him. YM now is like a footballer who got a yellow card, he will never can relaxatively contribute to Wikipedia as many eyes will closely monitor his contribution logs. So if we enforce YM more sanctions, they can be called harsh reactions or overreactions. After all, I personally ask ARBCOM that if you, by any chance, reopen the YM case, please treat him gently because two reason: his mistakes are not unfixable and his contributions are invaluable for Wikipedia.--115.75.158.147 (talk) 11:49, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

For clarity I'm haven't made this in an ARBCOM context. -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 12:27, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Thank you both for your comments. I don't think it would be useful to post anything further to the RfC, or to discuss this further on-wiki, at this time. I hope that YellowMonkey chooses to return to Wikipedia, and am sure that if he does, all concerns can be resolved. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 15:36, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Need access

NYBRAD, in building my evidence, I find I need access to this edit: [2]. If its the one I think it is, it's the second of two outing threats made by Tom. But I need to be sure in order to finish supplying evidence on the outing issue. It was visible at the beginning of the case when I noted it. But upon returning to reread it, it is invisible. How can this be accomplished? Thanks. Smatprt (talk) 06:23, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

It is not an outing threat by Tom Reedy; it is a post that contains a significant amount of unverified but highly personal information *about* Tom Reedy. You may not have access to the contents of that edit. Risker (talk) 12:44, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Im sorry, I was referring to the edit summary here that was removed and is "by" Tom. Please let me know if this edit summary of Tom's is the same "embarrassment" wording as the one we are discussing at ArbCom.

Revision as of 22:58, 10 January 2011 (edit) Tom Reedy (talk | contribs) (edit summary removed)

Smatprt (talk) 14:43, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Smatprt, as Risker explains, we cannot provide you with the contents of the edit. However, we are aware of it, and will take it into account in reviewing the case. Newyorkbrad (talk) 15:03, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Longevity Arbcom: Just an Anti-Scientific Witch-Hunt?

Newyorkbrad,

Every time I come back to Wikipedia after being gone for a few days, thinking things will have simmered down and moved on to sensibility, I see that JJBulten and DavidinDC, in particular, have continued their "whack-a-mole" witch hunt.

It's incredulous how much JJBulten gets away with. As the most-involved party in the ArbCom, he is certainly NOT neutral...yet he is proposing a list of those who have conflicts of interest, naming himself (an editor for a far-right Christian website) as "not conflicted"?

There was an old word, called "recusal," that judges once used. Too bad Wikipedia editors don't know what that means. And I say this with a bit of irony, but if Wikipedia operated fairly and objectively, I wouldn't even have to be here.

Ryoung122 01:34, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Um, I'm familiar with the word recusal, As it happens, I wrote most of our article on the subject.

I believe that the drafting arbitrator will be posting a proposed decision within the next few days. He is the longest-serving arbitrator on the committee, and I am quite certain that neither he nor I nor any of the other arbitrators will fail to realize that an "index to parties" prepared by one of the parties himself need not be taken at face value. Newyorkbrad (talk) 01:37, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

On a separate, but related, note; User:Cam46136 seems awfully ducky to me. His participation here has entirely consisted of posting indiscriminate keep votes at AfDs and now posting inflammatory comments at the workshop page; I'm not sure if there's anything you can or should do about it (not being too familiar with ArbCom), but his presence at the Longevity ArbCom workshop page has been rather unhelpful. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 05:36, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Apparently I have upset you regarding the above ArbCom. I don’t quite know what you mean by being a bit “ducky” and you feel that my comments have been “inflammatory” and unhelpful. I certainly have strong opinions on the above, as I see it as censoring the works of science in the same tradition as the reaction to Charles Darwin and the Scopes Monkey Trial. There are important issues at stake, and I have expressed my opinion. What else am I supposed to do? Cam46136 (talk) 06:32, 10 February 2011 (UTC)Cam46136

Appeal posted

Hi, I wanted to alert you that I have posted my appeal to the evidence page. Please express my sincere thanks to the committee for allowing me to do so. Smatprt (talk) 19:58, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Remedy 3.1

I am a bit mystified by what is meant here - particularly in the header. The Community has deliberately avoided putting arbitrary time limits on when a restricted user can appeal, except in cases where an indefinite restriction is concerned. I'm not sure why it's being called a "qualification"; it seems to be a question of whether ArbCom wants an appeal after 90 days on particular grounds or whether they don't. Consequently, I would have thought that an appropriate header is "Appeal of Smatpart's sanction to BASC/ArbCom/whatever" rather than "Community sanction endorsed with qualification". Ncmvocalist (talk) 05:14, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

The header on remedy 3, if that is adopted, says that the community sanction is endorsed. The header on 3.1, if that's the one adopted, says that it's endorsed, but with one qualification (that we will entertain a request for review to the stated extent in 90 days). The header you propose, I think, would give undue weight to the limited right of appeal, while neglecting the fact that fundamentally, we would still be endorsing the sanction. As for your more substantive point, Smatprt chose to appeal his sanction to us, and we would be advising him when we would be prepared to entertain a renewed appeal and on what grounds. I don't know whether he would theoretically be allowed to appeal to the community back on ANI sooner than 90 days, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it if we adopt 3.1. (Of course, other arbitrators may propose still other alternatives if they wish). Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 05:27, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Editors in similar situations have, nevertheless, managed to be "advised" less formally, have they not? I think that generally, when a 1 year topic ban is imposed and nothing else has been specified, sooner than 6 months is not recommended...but how well the restricted user follows the recommendation is dependent on the user and/or that user's circumstances + reasons for appealing. Accordingly, this remedy does seem to be amending the terms of the sanction that were decided by the Community, both in theory and practice. Ncmvocalist (talk) 08:46, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

If it does, it's a very limited change; but arbitrators who think we should endorse the existing sanction with no comments or change at all should vote instead for remedy 3, which is one reason I offer them as alternatives. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 11:32, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Request for consensus

Newyorkbrad, the proposals by Kirill Lokshin have dramatically focused my Wikipedia interest to one point only: clearing my good name and the goodwill of my account privileges as far as WP's purposes, policies, and norms allow. You have a motivated editor here. I respectfully request that you and I discuss our difference of opinion over your belief that my behavior constitutes more than isolated instances.

I was never told that any of the listed incidents were bannable offenses. Having discovered the view of Kirill Lokshin less than 24 hours ago, referring essentially to good-faith behaviors that have never been presented as evidence, nor for sanctions in this way in any prior forum (albeit one arose in AN/3RR), I think it appropriate to seek consensus rather than to permit a suddenly revealed set of charges to sway opinions without discussion with the editor charged. Accordingly, please indicate your willingness to have a consensus-seeking, clarifying conversation with me, or to propose another arbitrator who can do so.

I can offer that voluntary topic ban (perhaps already begun?) and mentorship are viable. I can offer my good-faith failure to understand that these five charges (two revert events, one poor edit summary, allegedly "battleground" presentations of relevant information, a relatively modest set of consensus-based deletions, and a reliance on scientific sources in one article) constitute warned, sustained behavior, and my request for your helping my understanding, and my willingness to change. I have a few words about COI that might fit in good time, and many other words that will fit only as we two detail types see fit. But I am wrestling with a controversial combination: my implicit trust in the justice of ArbCom, and my extreme emotions relating to the past 24 hours' activity. I request your help. JJB 19:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

I have voluntarily banned myself from most editing, broadly but with some exceptions and with one contingency. I am open to discussion on strengthening this ban. I continue to request your assistance with reaching consensus with me on your and/or ArbCom's views, such as with reference to WP:RFAR/G#Workshop point 3. Elaboration as necessary. JJB 06:08, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Sorry to keep orange-flagging you, but I clarify my request, and my interpretation of silence, here. JJB 15:15, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm following the discussion; I'm holding off briefly to see if Kirill wants to comment first. More tonight or tomorrow. Newyorkbrad (talk) 19:31, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Saw you burning the midnight oil with SAQ, understandably. Looking forward to your response to the above. JJB 18:36, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

I can't speak for Kirill, but I think that the diffs listed in Kirill's workshop proposal are meant to be examples, rather than an exhaustive list of issues. My impression is that you and Wikipedia could definitely use a break from your continuing to edit in this area. If you want to edit in other areas (i.e., substitute a topic-ban for a siteban), you should clearly say so and perhaps identify what some of your other topic interests might be. It would be in your best interest to be brief in doing so. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 02:11, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Why David in DC is part of the problem, not part of the Solution

When we see edits from David in DC like this:

"If the web-hosting for self-published data is still around in a year, you can draw one conclusion."

David in DC comment to John J Bulten

This is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

The Gerontology Research Group has been around longer than Wikipedia has. Wikipedia pages have copied the GRG, it has not been the GRG pushing to have Wikipedia "mirror" it.

David in DC's mis-use of the term "self-published" is, ironically, self-delusional.

I see no reason why the GRG should qualify as a "self-published" source. I, for one, do not "publish" the material. It's not me online "publishing" this material. Dr. Coles publishes it.

Also, the Wikipedia policy on "self-published sources" is in regards to non-notable entities that have failed to establish or attain mainstream community consensus, but are instead materials put up by "fringe" persons.

Checking the GRG material on supercentenarians, the GRG material on supercentenarians is used by Guinness World Records and quoted by the AP, APF, UPI, and major news publications such as the New York Times. We have seen the GRG be featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. The problem here is NOT the GRG. The problem here are editors such as David in DC who, in violation of Wikipedia rules and policies, replace reliable sources with their self-appointed, anti-GRG bias to decide for themselves what is or what is not notable. That is the problem. David in DC has literally "voted" for deletion for articles by claiming they are not sourced, even if they were. As usual, most of the time the information in the articles was correct, and the sources are often NOT the GRG. For example, Louisa Thiers:

http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-mil00154

Newsclippings about and tributes to Louisa K. Thiers (1814-1926), credited as the oldest person to have lived in Wisconsin and the last true daughter of an American Revolutionary War soldier, also are included.

http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/william-george-bruce/history-of-milwaukee-city-and-county-volume-2-cur/page-39-history-of-milwaukee-city-and-county-volume-2-cur.shtml

Not only did sources exist that predated the GRG and Wikipedia, but Ms. Thiers has been well-covered in the scientific literature as well as the popular press (indeed, mentioned in the very first edition of Guinness World Records 1955). Yet editors such as David in DC saw fit to delete the article on Louisa Thiers by claiming it was some kind of GRG conspiracy to inform the world about how long verified supercentenarians really live. Oh wait, it's that the purpose of encyclopedia articles on supercentenarians?

Ryoung122 19:35, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Here's yet more of the same from David in DC:

1) wider distribution of self-published, raw data (my oft-repeated "web-hosting" trope),

Excuse him, the GRG data is NOT "self-published," it is NOT "raw data."

If someone sends in an application ("my grandma is 110!") and the GRG reviews the data, saves the records, and publishes the photo, how can that be self-published? The GRG is a non-profit entity that is, in fact, governed by laws such as privacy laws, which means we keep actual documents sent to us by family members private.

I've been concerned, from the beginning, with David in DC's editing, in part because he had a personal third-party dispute with me that had nothing to do with supercentenarians and then he comes on here and starts deleting material, falsely claiming sources don't exist when they do, and using terms such as "raw data," "data dump," "self-published" and worse. In short, David in DC is allowing his personal opinions to get in the way of the facts.

Checking out, for example, this AFD:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Tase_Matsunaga

   * Delete There are absolutely no sources in the article's text. Under the "External links" header there's a single link, to a Gerontology Research Group web page. There's some controversy about whether GRG pages are simply not reliable, whether they are biased against non-western centenarians or whether they are primary sources, prohibited for citation by WP:NOR. Whichever way one goes, this GRG web page cannot be the sole source for an article on Wikipedia. David in DC (talk) 22:10, 3 December 2010 (UTC)
   * Delete Actually a ton of sources are available, in that her death was widely and internationally reported [1]. But that seems to me like an instance of WP:ONEEVENT. At any given time there is an oldest person in every country in the world, and as soon as they die they are replaced by another oldest person; does that really make every single one of them notable? I'm dubious. (Besides, as recent news events demonstrated [2] [3] [4], Japan has no idea who its oldest citizens are, or whether they are still alive.) --MelanieN (talk) 21:32, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

As usual, David in DC made false aspersions ("no sources"), then suggested the GRG was not reliable, then suggested that the GRG was biased against non-Western sources. Yet checking the evidence, who helped to delete the articles on African supercentenarians and South American supercentenarians? David in DC and JJBulten. JJBulten even stated that once articles on African and South American supercentenarians were deleted, it would be far easier to accuse the GRG of being biased against minorities. All of this is easy to find on Wikipedia, if one had all the time in the world available to hunt it down.

Ryoung122 19:58, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Principle 5

No, I wanted to think about the implications of it. I was a little uneasy about a principle with now wikilinks, and perhaps suggest one. Cool Hand Luke 20:08, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Relatedly, on P11, what would you think of something like "... (1) the process of the sanction fell short of usual standards, ..." See RexxS' remarks. Cool Hand Luke 20:27, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Just a quick observation...

re your recent comment on the case page about taking the "Henri Coanda defamation" case, this could provide ArbCom with a chance to establish a new procedure – the equivalent of what would be the revoking of Special Leave in the Australian High Court, or the Improvidently Granted provisions in the US Supreme Court. :P EdChem (talk) 02:30, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

The committee has dismissed cases in the past after they were accepted and had actually been opened for a couple of weeks ... either because the dispute got resolved through another means, or because no one presented evidence. (I could cite some examples if anyone wanted.) So I'm afraid it wouldn't really be a precedent after all. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 02:33, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

What a shame... a beautiful theory blown out of the water by an inconvenient fact.  :( EdChem (talk) 02:42, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

"An Inconvenient Fact"? Are we back to Climate change again? :) Newyorkbrad (talk) 02:44, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

LOL. :D Purely unintentional, I promise. EdChem (talk) 02:49, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Threats from Ludwigs2

Hello. Ludwigs2 left this threatening diff on my talk page [3]. This conduct does not seem normal. Mathsci (talk) 03:04, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

:Very strange things are happening at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Amendment. It would be interesting to know why Mathsci has been allowed to

• bring a case initially without providing any evidence
• accuse quite unconnected users of abuse without notification
• make several statements which are, frankly, plainly untrue and contradicted by the record
• divert the case into discussion of completely unrelated matters

and all this with the tacit approval of arbitrators.

As far as Ludwigs2 is concerned, it might be noted that Mathsci has separately accused him of "tittle-tattle" and of being in collusion with two other editors, Zarboublian and Mikemikev. Again he has not troubled himself to provide any evidence of these assertions. It is not surprising that Ludwigs2 has taken the perfectly reasonable step of asking Mathsci to refactor.

This case continues some very disturbing behaviour on the part of Mathsci. He is plainly obsessed with the participants in the R&I case. This is the second ArbCom followup on Captain Occam that Mathsci has taken part in. Mathsci is obsessivelt following IP addresses he believes to be Mikemikev, and, most disturbing of all Mathsci has even posted what he claims to be some of Mikemikev's most inflammatory comments on Mathsci's own website and he linked them off his Wikipedia user page. Fortunately Charles Matthews showed him the error of his ways.

In summary then - all the disruptive behaviour of which Mathsci has accused Catpain Occam has a parallel in Mathsci's own conduct, and more. Why does ArbCom allow this disruption to continue? 212.183.140.57 (talk) 07:45, 12 February 2011 (UTC) Scoring through contribution by sockpuppet of banned user Mikemikev Mathsci (talk) 06:12, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

All these people need to stop talking and thinking about one another. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 02:15, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Clarification

I was suggested by the admin User:Amatulic to take it to the ArbCom.--Lsorin (talk) 02:03, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. I'll take a fresh look at the state of this request tomorrow. Newyorkbrad (talk) 02:15, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Talk:Proposed decision

Hi, Brad. I've posted a note on Talk:Proposed decision for the Shakespeare case that mentions you specifically, along with Shell and Luke, in case you want to take a look. Sorry to be bothering you with the orange new messages banner, but it struck me that if anybody's interested, time is a little short. Bishonen | talk 15:39, 13 February 2011 (UTC).

As you'll probably have seen, I've reviewed the thread and voted on the proposals. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 21:52, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

The Coanda case

Just a note about that case-in-waiting, since you said something about "if the problem has not been resolved in two weeks" and others of your colleagues also mentioned further dispute resolution and the like. I'm only a more-or-less outside casual observer here, but from what I can gather, there really isn't anything much to resolve left. There was a single not-so-constructive editor standing against what seems to be a quite solid and legitimate consensus. He got blocked and then again warned off (by myself [4]) not to continue that disruptive editing. The warning has worked, as he hasn't touched the article in the month since. He states on his own page that "I know that my account will be blocked immediately, when I will start editing again the article Coandă-1910". That's in fact half true – he is of course welcome to edit it if he can do so in a manner different from before, but apparently he can see no way to do that, sadly. Everybody else seems to be happily working together on the article, and they have in fact brought it to Good Article status during the last weeks. So, we have a disgruntled editor who feels excluded, but apart from finding some way to re-gruntle him I don't really see what else needs dispute resolution right now. Just my 2c. Fut.Perf. ☼ 21:26, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your note. I think we can all imagine how this situation might be likely to end up if it doesn't go to arbitration, but I didn't want to say anything as an arbitrator that might sound like prejudging the result. (I see that one or two of my colleagues have been a bit more direct about the likely outcome than I was.) Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 21:51, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Malleus

Hello, Newyorkbrad/Archive/2011. 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.

I tried not to make it personal. Triumph of hope over experience, I suppose. But don't tell me; tell him also. Rodhullandemu 03:26, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I've seen and responded to your e-mail. I hope the response is helpful. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 03:30, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

You're an optimist, obviously. Rodhullandemu 04:15, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Response

In case you miss it, I have responded to your post on my talk. Ncmvocalist (talk) 10:46, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Map of India

Could you weigh in on this issue? Apparently the map that we have, while accurately depicting the situation on India's borders, is not in compliance with Indian law. Some guidance on how we deal with such issues would be a great help. Thanks. --rgpk (comment) 14:46, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia is under no obligation to present the map of India as the Indian government chooses to define the boundaries. Although this is an editorial judgment for editors on the India article, it probably makes sense for the main map on the article to reflect the areas actually controlled and governed by India, perhaps with some indication of disputed territories. It would, of course, also be quite in order for there to be a second map, either in the main India article or in related articles, reflecting disputed areas in greater detail and illustrating the full extent of the land claimed by India as part of the Indian national territory.

That we cannot be absolutely bound by governmental claims in territorial disputes is illustrated by the mere fact that many governments make conflicting claims to the same territory. Assume that in India it is notionally unlawful to publish a map that doesn't label Kashmir as part of India, and in Pakistan it is notionally unlawful to publish a map that doesn't label Kashmir as part of Pakistan. In that case, it would be physically impossible to comply with both laws, which is one of the many good reasons it is not necessary for us to try. In any event, in the United States, First Amendment principles would forbid enforcement of either.

I am sure there are policy or guideline pages or historical discussions that address these concerns in more detail, but I hope this is helpful. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 15:38, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I've posted the diff on Talk:India. --rgpk (comment) 15:44, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Coanda-1910

Related to the Henri Coanda defamation could you please explain me what can be tried to solve the case, within 2 weeks? Thanks in advance!--Lsorin (talk) 19:32, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Facts

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this Finding of Fact malarkey, Brad.

The scenario: Bishonen has been focusing her energies for the last few weeks on her attempt to get an editor called Nina Green banned from Wikipedia. When Bishonen realises that Nina Green is indeed going to be banned

• She posts to the arbcom page in green text: FoF perfectly normal. Arbcom pages are like little rainbows.
• At the end of a talk page post about the green text, Bishonen suddenly decides to refer to it as "dye": FoF Not at all forced or contrived. Lots of people refer to text as dye. Or if they don't, they should do.
• Bishonen ends her post with "Green dye!" which reads as "Green die!": Fof Pure coincidence. Nina Green couldn't have been further from Bishonen's mind when she wrote "Green dye!". Bishonen hadn't though of Nina Green for at least 30 seconds.

FOF: This entire sequence events: Bishonen wants Nina banned, gets what she wants, posts in green text, decides to call text "dye", and ends her post for no apparent reason with "Green dye!" is just a random bubble of billion-to-one-coincidence. Bishonen could just have easily chosen blue text, and it would have made perfect sense to end her post with "Blue Pigment!".

Yep. I think I've got this FoF thing, now. And it certainly makes it a lot easier to understand how arbcom arrives at its decisions. MoreThings (talk) 13:27, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

MoreThings, everyone concerned has agreed that your accusation lies in the realm of fantasy and has no basis in reality whatsoever. Your insistence to harp upon it is now veering into personal attack territory and I must insist that you desist immediately or you will find yourself blocked. — Coren ^(talk) 13:54, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

No need to be aggressive, Coren. How about a little mutual good faith here? Listen, I say hand on wallet, heart, looking you in the pixel, on my honour, that I'm absolutely convinced that "Green dye!" is a dig at Nina Green. Seriously. Are you saying, on your personal integrity, and your credibility as an Arbitrator on the English Wikipedia, that you honestly believe that the green text and "Green dye!" were in no in way intended as a reference to Nina Green? If you are, then I'll drop it. MoreThings (talk) 12:55, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Absolutely has nothing to do with Nina Green. The use of green text to differentiate certain sections of a post from other sections is quite common on the project, although granted it is more common in the "administrative" areas than in editorial ones. It certainly would never have occurred to any arbitrator that it was intended as a dig at Nina Green, because we see green text on a fairly regular basis. Please drop it. Risker (talk) 14:16, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

I agree with Coren and Risker. Newyorkbrad (talk) 15:33, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply, Risker. I'm not persuaded by it. I'm sure you aware that there is a significant difference between "would never have", "did not" and "does not". And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that no page anywhere on the project uses green dye. I find it impossible to believe that our wikiworld-weary arbs are so credulous as to see no link between green and Green.

In this case Bishonen wanted Nina Green banned, and she was banned. That was not sufficient. With the decision signed, sealed, and all but delivered, Bishonen pointed out that you had somehow neglected to include her proposal. Were you not aware of that? Had you not read the workshop and evidence pages? Had you not discussed which proposals to include? I thought that was the whole point of what you do. The ensuing unprecedented scramble to include Bishonen's proposal baffled ^{edt sum} the clerk and led to the present unfortunate epilogue.

At the beginning of this case the arbitration committee let it be known that the case was about Nina Green, despite LHvU's opening statement. In the middle of the case the secondary drafting arbitrator was happy to keep up the banter on Bishonen's talk page, but he and 15 other active arbs somehow failed to respond to Nina Green's direct question to the committee on the workshop page "Is there any case against me which I have to meet?...What do the arbitrators feel they need to hear from me?" I'm sure Nina's faith in the impartiality of these proceedings must have been as high as mine. At the end of this case the committee has developed collective colour blindness.

You've asked me to drop this, and I will. I can see that it is going nowhere. MoreThings (talk) 13:03, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Brad, I think it's shameful of you to let MoreThings have space on your page for such attacks. I assumed you'd remove his stupid sarcasms when you saw them, since I remembered how angry you got when somebody impugned your integrity a year or two ago — but no. Is "agree with Coren and Risker" all you have to say? Are we having a little poll? And Risker, too — "Please drop it"? Pretty please? Are you both too concerned with flaunting your tolerance for attacks on arbcom itself to notice there's an ordinary user in there — me — getting covered with MoreThings' venom? (Not that impressed by Coren's hollow claim that MT will "find himself blocked", either.) On your page, Brad? I'd never leave filth like that on mine. I'm not going to say pompously that I'm leaving — because people who say that always come slinking back after a while — but I'd like to leave this nasty place. You like it, you can have it. Bishonen | talk 20:51, 16 February 2011 (UTC).

I was thinking/hoping that the absurdity of the accusations, as recognized by multiple arbitrators, would speak for itself. I trust that they will never be repeated. Newyorkbrad (talk) 21:29, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Really? Can't follow you there, Newyorkbrad. If absurdity of accusations is a good reason for ignoring serial harassers, why was NinaGreen banned? Didn't the absurdity of her accusations, as recognized by hordes of arbitrators, speak for itself? Bishonen | talk 13:44, 17 February 2011 (UTC).

Well, in any case, I've acted in accordance (I think) with Coren's warning, and blocked MoreThings for continued personal attacks, since he evidently didn't drop it when asked to. Fut.Perf. ☼ 16:17, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

MoreThings, I've already said that this theory is particularly far-fetched—scout's honor. I think similar baseless attacks will only lead to ratcheting discretionary sanctions. Now that the case is over, please resume focusing on the content rather than individuals.

As for Bishonen's complaint, this will be archived soon enough, and it speaks for itself (as if four arbitrators weighing in didn't). MoreThings' theory is manifestly unreasonable, and reflects poorly only on MoreThings. Cool Hand Luke 13:34, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

Alternative remedy

Hi. Thanks for the message and your kind words. I was not that happy with my performance last night. At least half a dozen major hiccups. No excuses, but our failure to rehearse together was an issue. I promise to do better next time!  :-) I saw that you offered the alternative remedy. Being on Arbcom must be terrifically time-consuming. All the best, -- Ssilvers (talk) 02:48, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Telephone data lookup

Did you ever get around to looking up those old directories? Or did you forget I had asked? BRG (talk) 05:08, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Neither; I've had some business-related travel that's eliminated too many of my free weekends when I'd be able to do it. Soon, though, I hope: I'm looking forward not only to helping you but to discovering the answers. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 13:34, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Think of Wikipe-tan!

In your closure of Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:Lilbit411, you cited Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Billy Ego-Sandstein in your deletion rationale. Would the general principle that userpages that bring Wikipedia into disrepute are unacceptable be applicable to the Wikipedia namespace? I am disturbed by the content at Wikipedia:Think of Wikipe-tan! and some of the "keep" comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Think of Wikipe-tan!. Cunard (talk) 06:27, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

The most offensive content on the page has thankfully been removed. Here is the earlier revision. Cunard (talk) 02:03, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads up. I'm keeping an eye on the MfD. I would think that content bringing the project into disrepute would be unwelcome on any page; the harder task, of course, is to decide where one draws the line. But, I don't agree that because it can be hard to draw the line, therefore one should never declare anything unwelcome at all. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 22:31, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

RFA Q

Regarding Keepscases' question at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Snottywong, it is not at all lightly that I suggest that your opposition to the question is somewhat misplaced. Keepscases asks thought-provoking questions which some (more than a few, it seems) find inappropriate...but that doesn't make it so. I, for one, always appreciate the questions, and I am not the only one to have supported them in the past. That doesn't make it "right" - I understand all about consensus, I hope you'll agree (if you have any knowledge of me whatsoever) - but even if I don't like all of them, I definitely support Keepscases' right to ask them. They are not accusatory, defamatory, or personal, and they appear to be meant to test a candidate. In my opinion, they succeed at doing so pretty much every time. (I admit I got an easy one.) I actually think the knee-jerk reactions (and I'm not suggesting all negative reactions are so) say more about those opposing the question than they do about Keepscases or the candidate(s). (I find your comment to be civil, well-measured, and potentially inviting of discussion, which is part of why I've chosen to respond to you individually.)  Frank  |  talk  23:52, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments. I've had this discussion with Keepscases before, and in at least one case I realized that a question he'd posed that appeared to make little sense, in fact served a purpose. But there are limits to what is reasonable, and in my view in recent months he has gone farther and farther toward exceeding them. It's a greater problem in my eyes than it otherwise might have been because there is increasing agreement (at least on the RfA talkpage) that there are many qualified editors who are declining to become administrators simply because the RfA process is unappealing; I think that eliminating hazing rituals such as questions with no right answers would go some way to addressing that concern. And in general, the community has not looked at all kindly on editors (e.g., Boothy443, Massiveego, Kmweber) who have been cast as disruptive influences on the RfA pages; that is not where I would like to see Keepscases headed, but it is a likely outcome sooner or later if this keeps up. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 01:40, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

That sounds a little like saying that fewer people are getting degrees in engineering because the process of going through school is unappealing. It doesn't mean people shouldn't do it; perhaps what we really need is to find a better calibre of student. It's not a totally apt analogy because I am not one who believes the proverbial admin-shortage sky is falling, but you get the idea. I think the RfA process was unappealing three years ago as well - and I was actually around then to be able to say so. I think we have more of a situation where people are coming in and trying to reshape things - for better or for worse. When you have a community, that happens, I guess. This is part of why I defend these questions - with more people around who drive by and say "I don't like it", it becomes easier for "it" to be eliminated. That doesn't make it actually good for the process, in my opinion.

And, on the matter of kmweber (the only one of the three I recognize off the top of my head), I do want to say this is totally different. Kurt was a robo-opposer who, I'm sure you recall, regularly referred to arbcom as the "arbitrary committee", and as I recall, holds the distinction of garnering the most raw opposes and lowest percentage of support in a community election. He truly was disruptive, and not only at RfA, even if that was a particularly prickly section of the project for him. Keepscases seems to withhold judgment until after questions are answered, and when opposing, provides a reason more than "power hunger". (A particular bias regarding "secular humanism" does show up, but again - each is entitled to his or her opinion.)

More to the point, regarding hazing rituals - let's face it: any competent editor can wield the admin bit perfectly capably. It's the "edge cases" - the small single-digit % on either end of the spectrum - that we need to worry about. RfA is a means of evaluating the fringes of the candidate, not so much the core. These questions are more useful than the "write an effective oppose of your own candidacy and then rebut it" questions that are lately popping up (to name just one type). You can't study for Keepscases' questions. (In that regard, even Kurt was sometimes useful - we actually got candidates who didn't know about him and then went ballistic when he opposed...thereby showing their own demeanor to be unsuitable for adminship.)  Frank  |  talk  13:39, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

"A particular bias regarding "secular humanism" does show up, but again - each is entitled to his or her opinion." He has explicitly stated "No member of "WikiProject Atheism" should represent Wikipedia as an administrator" because of issues he has with some Atheist userboxes. And you're right, even an expression of support for secular humanism seems to be used as a cudgel to beat candidates over the head. I cannot fathom why we allow this -- and why people such as yourself continue to make excuses for this -- in the year of our lord 2011. oh well, Shawn in Montreal (talk) 21:48, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

My "excuse" is for asking questions which some find objectionable; that's as far as you can quote me on this. I made note of the other bit as an acknowledgment that it happens, not as defense of all behavior of any individual editor. I note, with some regret, that Keepscases did turn around and oppose the very next RfA candidacy after my note above, with no explanation or question on the RfA itself. Still - we have much larger fish to fry around here than trying to censor someone who asks thought-provoking questions. And..you know what? I am pretty sure that Keepscases, you, Brad, and I all have belly buttons. In fact, I'll own up to it: I definitely do have one. 02:11, 24 February 2011 (UTC) Frank  |  talk 

Arbitrator comments/reaction requested

Hello Brad!

I am writing an article for the Signpost regarding trends in accepting and deciding cases by the Arbitration Committee. I would be grateful to have your thoughts, including possible reasons for the trend and whether you think it is good or bad. I have also sent an email to the Committee mailing list with the same request for all Arbitrators. Best regards, Lord Roem (talk) 18:51, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

I've responded by e-mail, which I hope is helpful, and would be glad to answer any specific questions (subject to the fact that I'm juggling some real-world time commitments this weekend). Newyorkbrad (talk) 19:23, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

I appreciate your quick response which I believe answered my main questions :) Regards, Lord Roem (talk) 19:27, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

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