Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2006-10-16/Arbitration report

Arbitration report

The Report On Lengthy Litigation

The Arbitration Committee opened three cases this week, and closed two.

Closed cases

  • Ed Poor 2: A case involving Ed Poor. Having been found to have perpetrated disruption to make a point, POV forking and problematic editing, Ed Poor was placed on probation. Previous arbitration cases (1, 2) resulted in Ed Poor's loss of bureaucrat and administrator status.
  • Deir Yassin massacre: A case involving the actions of KimvdLinde and Guy Montag on Deir Yassin massacre. Guy Montag was found to have committed copyright violations, used original research and violated the terms of his probation. As a result, he was Perma-banned from articles relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his probation was extended to a year from the closing of the case (15 October, 2007).

New cases

  • GreekWarrior: GreekWarrior, an admitted Greek nationalist extremist, received a community ban for "repeated, blatant ethnic insults and hate speech", but, owing to what Tony Sidaway described as his "great willingness to contribute", has asked that it be lifted or restricted to a finite period.

Evidence phase

  • Rachel Marsden: A case involving the actions of Arthur Ellis, Rachel Marsden, Bucketsofg and others on the Rachel Marsden page. Marsden and Ellis allege that the page contains inaccurate and libellous material, and that this has been protected on the page by various admins. In response, others allege that Ellis has engaged in edit warring on the page.

Voting phase

  • Vivaldi: A case involving the actions of Vivaldi on Jack Hyles and related articles. Arbustoo alleges that Vivaldi has removed "cited criticism" from the article, as well as harassment, incivility and edit warring. However, an anon IP, 205.157.110.11 accuses Arbustoo of removing comments from AfDs. Remedies proposed by Fred Bauder, and not yet voted on by other arbitrators, would place various articles edited by Vivaldi and Arbustoo on article probation, with the intention of removing poorly sourced material, and warn both contributors against edit-warring.
  • Kven: A case involving the actions of Kven-user, the name given to Art Dominique and sockpuppets on the Kven article. Fred Bauder has proposed remedies limiting Kven-user to one account, placing Kven-user on probation, and giving Kven-user the option to appeal some remedies after creating an account and editing properly.
  • Giano: A case involving the actions of Giano, Tony Sidaway and others, in which Sidaway blocked Giano for making "inflammatory" comments regarding the behaviour of the ArbCom and the Wikimedia Foundation. The block was subsequently overturned after discussion on WP:AN/I. Remedies have been proposed formalising the relinquishing of sysop access by former clerk Tony Sidaway and former arbitrator Kelly Martin, but thanking her for her "long and honourable service", as well as one banning John Reid for one week, and a remedy reminding Jdforrester "to maintain decorum appropriate for an arbitrator". These proposals have the support of four to six arbitrators.
  • Kosovo: A case involving the actions of editors on Kosovo, particularly the political status of Kosovo. A temporary injunction has been passed allowing any uninvolved administrator to ban any of the named users from the page. Remedies banning PerfectStorm/C-c-c-c and Bormalagurski for one year, banning Dardanv for one month, limiting Hipi Zhdripi to one account, placing Kosovo-related articles on article probation, and various Kosovo-related article bans, probations, revert paroles and warnings have the support of two to three arbitrators.
  • Ackoz: A case involving the actions and community ban of Ackoz, and his later account, Azmoc. The user previously contributed to Wikipedia under the name Ackoz. He admits to "some trolling" after a three-day block, which led to his ban. However, he has stated that were he unbanned, he would cease his disruptive behaviour, and would be prepared to undergo mentorship. Remedies supported by three arbitrators would unblock Ackoz and place him on probation for one year, leaving open the possibility for a renewed community ban should Ackoz "revert to his previous pattern of sustained trolling".
  • Marudubshinki: A case involving the actions of Marudubshinki. Snottygobble, I@n and others allege that Marudubshinki has operated an unauthorised bot, and misused his sysop powers by unblocking himself and allowing his bot to delete pages. Remedies to desysop Marudubshinki and block him from running a bot has the support of four arbitrators.
  • MONGO: A case involving the actions of MONGO, rootology, and others. The case centers around Encyclopædia Dramatica, and an article posted on the website portraying MONGO in a negative light. Remedies supported by two arbitrators include indefinitely banning PrivateEditor and Rootology, as well as other remedies.

Motion to close

  • Pat8722: A case involving the actions of Pat8722. BorgHunter has accused Pat8722 of edit-warring. Pat8722 has requested that the ArbCom stay the case while he pursues 6 pro se cases in the American courts, and has agreed not to edit Wikipedia in the interim. If closed, no remedies would pass; the closing is disputed, with three arbitrators supporting it and two opposing it.