Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/World's Lamest Critic/Archive

World's Lamest Critic (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

17 February 2020

Suspected sockpuppets

• Bitter Oil (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

I requested another CU run a check here a while back when I suspected this was WLC, and the results were that Bitter Oil was were editing from multiple countries: editing from multiple different countries in a way indicative of only using proxies. The sole use of proxies is highly indicative of socking.

The overlap here is actually pretty remarkable:

• Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cargo (2018 film) (2nd nomination) is a nomination of an article by Neptune's Trident, an editor WLC was obsessed with and he had commented on another AfD of the same article.
• Both have overlap on
  Find A Grave and Felix Sater
  , two really random articles for users with relatively low edit counts to be interested in.
• Both are frequent denziens of Jimbo talk
• Similar use of edit summaries being passive aggressive or hostile Bitter Oil, WLC, Bitter Oil, WLC
• The kicker here is that there is one extremely niche issue that both of them care very deeply about: the overlap of the OUTING policy and the RS policy. That is, tying a person to an account based on journalism. This was one of the factors that led to WLC's block: he had outed someone based on the NYT and intentionally posted it in so many places that the Oversight team couldn't justify suppressing it without drawing more attention to the issue.
  • Bitter Oil complaining or being sarcastic about this aspect of the OUTING policy: [1], [2], [3]. Some of these are obvious sarcasm intended to prove a point.
  • WLC's similar behaviour on OUTING: [4]

The odds of there being two editors with the same passive-aggressive attitude, same obsession with niche areas, same enemies, and where one of the accounts is using multiple proxies in different countries is about zero.

I think there is ample evidence for a block, but I was previously INVOLVED with WLC, so I am letting another administrator review. TonyBallioni (talk) 07:51, 17 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

• There are similarities beyond this even. Nuking the sock. --
  Amanda (aka DQ) 16:53, 17 February 2020 (UTC)[reply
  ]

• Mo Billings (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

• One of the first edits was to create Frank Lovece (musician), while also (like the master and socks [5]) editing Frank Lovece, which appears to be more OSPOL-related trolling. Not sure what the oversight team's current stance there is, so I won't go into detail, but I think it's clear why this matters.
• Frequent contributions to Jimbotalk and the same few noticeboards
• Overlap with Bitter Oil on Talk:Bridgette Andersen, which has a very low view- and edit count
• Edited the very low edit-count Harold Bornstein, which was created by the master
• For other overlap, see EIA
• Similar timecards [6][7]
• The archive notes a grudge against Neptune's Trident; Billings filed an SPI for a Trident sock
• Created 10 days after the master's most recent sock was blocked ([8])
• Generally similar edit summary and writing style
• More passive-aggressive edit summaries; compare these diffs from the archive [9][10][11][12] to [13][14][15]
• Quarrels with Geo Swan, compare [16][17][18]
• Interest in right-wing politics (see edits to
  Nathan Larson (politician) and overlap on The Base (hate group)) and related user conduct issues [19][20][21]
• For what it's worth, the image on the userpage seems to be from thispersondoesnotexist.com; note the distortion around the left glass hinge and the weird-ish background that matches the blur level of other AI-generated images from that site. It also doesn't have valid EXIF and has exactly the same resolution (1024x1024) Blablubbs|talk 19:41, 8 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

• This case is being reviewed by Blablubbs as part of the clerk training process. Please allow him to process the entire case without interference, and pose any questions or concerns either on his talk page or on this page if more appropriate.
   Awaiting administrative action – it quacks like a duck. Please block the sock indefinitely and revoke TPA per the previous blocks. Thanks and best, Blablubbs|talk 19:50, 8 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
•  Sounds like a duck quacking into a megaphone to me  Blocked and tagged. Does anyone want to request a global lock? Sro23 (talk) 22:59, 8 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  Thanks.  Global lock(s) requested. Blablubbs|talk 23:04, 8 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

15 April 2021

Suspected sockpuppets

• Jorge Cisne (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

Clearly the same person, picking up at User talk:Jimbo Wales#WMF Resolutions/Images of identifiable people where User:Mo Billings left off. gnu57 18:01, 15 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

• This case is being reviewed by Blablubbs as part of the clerk training process. Please allow him to process the entire case without interference, and pose any questions or concerns either on his talk page or on this page if more appropriate.
  Certainly looks like him, but CheckUser requested and endorsed by clerk – this is pretty committed trolling, so I'd appreciate a sleeper check. The old archives note proxy use, but it's worth a try. Blablubbs|talk 18:08, 15 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  Also noting the similarity in commons uploads ([22][23]). Blablubbs|talk 18:15, 15 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  In the meantime, global lock requested and received. Blablubbs|talk 19:10, 15 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

•  Likely. ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 20:52, 15 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Thanks. If I'm reading this correctly, there aren't any sleepers, but they're also not on proxy, which is helpful to know for the future.  Tagged, closing. Blablubbs|talk 22:59, 15 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

27 July 2022

Suspected sockpuppets

• Polycarpa aurata (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • SPI Tools

I think that World's Lamest Critic is the guy who keeps using sockpuppets to take John Pack Lambert to task or haul him off to noticeboards for minor technical violations of his religion topic ban. Blocked socks include:

• Non Fungible Tolkien (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Frangible Round (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Reasonable Funk (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

Polycarpa aurata has made 458 edits; 21 were to Mr. Lambert's talk page[24] and 36 to ANI[25]. Another sizeable fraction of Polycarpa aurata's edits involve Tomwsulcer. In this respect Polycarpa aurata reminds me of another blocked sock, Please sign my guestbook (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki). Cheers, gnu57 03:13, 27 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

• Account is now blocked, closing. Thanks, Spicy (talk) 21:52, 5 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

19 February 2023

Suspected sockpuppets

• Round and rounder (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
• Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • SPI Tools

A brand new account who immediately began filing COIN and ANI threads full of attempts at outing, which is a favourite behaviour of this sock master.

Similar edit summaries and writing style, e.g. "_. Please discuss on talk page" [26] [27] [28].

Overlap in interests, e.g. previous sock Polycarpa aurata and this account have both edited in the topics of suicide [29] [30] to remove material they find distaseful. Both this account and previous account have criticised anti LGBT userboxs, [31] [32]. Polycarpa aurata was trying to harras Tomwsulcer via the articles on Phillips Academy and it's founder Raynard S. Kington for his COI editing, this new account shows up and starts trimming information from the same articles [33] [34] and files a COI thread accousing others of editing the same articles with a COI [35].

Even if I've got the master wrong here this is obviously not a new user, their first edits here was filing a COIN thread with references to a sockpuppet investigation [36]. 192.76.8.84 (talk) 01:52, 19 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

•  In progress - GeneralNotability (talk) 02:41, 19 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
•  Confirmed by way of Poundland Oximeter (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki). I see another account that is probably them, but I'm not quite confident enough to call it out yet - will keep an eye on it.  Blocked and tagged,  Global lock(s) requested. GeneralNotability (talk) 02:52, 19 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

07 April 2023

Suspected sockpuppets

• 129.21.21.1 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RBLs · proxy check · block user · spi block · block log · cross-wiki contribs · CheckUser (log))
• Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • SPI Tools

Obvious from the ANI filing, which mirrors similar filings by older socks [37] [38] [39] [40]. 192.76.8.84 (talk) 21:32, 7 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

• Already blocked. Closing. Vanjagenije (talk) 00:42, 8 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]