---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Iridescent Wikipedia <REDACTED>
Date: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 16:52
Subject: [arbcom-l] Fw: Requesting advice
To: arbcom-l@lists.wikimedia.org


<list only>

For info. While I think a clean start in this case would be a good
thing if it worked, I think it has the potential to lead to a really
nasty situation.both when Sandstein & co spot the new account and a
block-unblock-reblock wheelwar starts, and when Pedro and pals start
accusing us of strangling Malleus and hiding his corpse in the
foundations of Jimbo's luxury mansion because he Got Too Close To The
Truth.and am doing my best to point out the many pitfalls he's headed
for if he goes down this route. (If I flat out tell him not to, he'll
ignore me; if I persuade him why it won't work, that's another
matter.) His style is so distinctive, I don't see how a clean start
could possibly work; while Frank is right that my sock guesses are
often wildly off, I didn't need a checkuser to be sure of that one the
moment I spotted it.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Eric <REDACTED>
To: Iridescent Wikipedia <REDACTED>
Sent: Tue, 7 June, 2011 20:23:26
Subject: Re: Requesting advice

I've got no objections to you forwarding this on to ArbCom, but as you
found the other account so easily I have to assume that others would
as well, so probably not much point. I don't want to waste any more of
your or anyone else's time over this, as I've got absolutely no
motivation to invent a new personality to go with a new account.

On 07/06/11 19:58, Iridescent Wikipedia wrote:

That wording's confusing; what's intended is "...should not return to
old topic areas previously identified as problematic". I don't think
there are any areas in which it would apply to you - it's aimed at
people like the Ireland POV-pushers returning in new identities to
remove "British Isles" again once their original accounts have been
told to stop. There are a lot of people who disagree with you over
tone, but (AFAIK) no problem topics for you as such.

If you're happy for me to forward this (the Arbcom list doesn't leak,
so you don't need to worry on that score) I can get a quick yea-or-nay
from The Cabal as to whether anyone foresees any problems. While
Arbcom isn't a governing body etc etc etc, if none of the 18 have any
issue it's vanishingly unlikely a complaint from anyone else would be
taken seriously.

________________________________
From: Eric <REDACTED>
To: Iridescent Wikipedia <REDACTED>
Sent: Tue, 7 June, 2011 19:27:10
Subject: Re: Requesting advice

"Clean-start accounts should not return to old topic areas ..." is an
unrealistically broad-brush exclusion as far as I'm concerned, so
that's not an option. So it looks like it's goodbye to William, and if
I want to edit wikipedia I'm going to have to stick with my
basket-case account.

Thanks anyway

On 07/06/11 16:43, Iridescent Wikipedia wrote:

If you mean "William Leadford", that's fairly easy to detect (I
spotted it without using any advanced permissions of any kind), so
don't expect it to stay secret for long if/when the sudden
disappearance of "Malleus" prompts all three of the WR crowd, Giano
and Bishonen's clique, and the Defenders Of The Wiki to start
sleuthing. As Geogre, Mattisse and RH&E have kindly demonstrated, it's
far harder than you'd think to operate a "clean" account without being
identified; since the person behind the account has the same writing
style and the same interests, to evade detection you're having
effectively to create a new personality, not just a new name. If
you're going to pretend that hard to be someone you're not, it's
unlikely to be worth the effort.

If you're going to go ahead and kill the Malleus account to make a
fresh start, I'd strongly recommend identifying the new account to
Arbcom. Plenty of people would love to catch you "evading scrutiny",
and if you've identified the new account to Arbcom then it greatly
reduces the chance of any unpleasantness down the line. To fall under
the "clean start" protection, you need not only to abandon the old
account altogether, but not return to any old fights. This is harder
to do than it sounds, and is why Mattisse's repeated clean starts
invariably eventually wound up blocked.

I imagine you're already aware of it, but before you do anything
drastic have a read of the official policy on the matter, and decide
whether you can actually work within those restrictions:

If you decide to make a fresh start, you can discontinue the old
account(s) and create a new one that becomes the only account you use.
Clean-start accounts should not return to old topic areas, editing
patterns, or behavior previously identified as problematic, and should
be careful not to do anything that looks like an attempt to evade
scrutiny. A clean start is permitted only if there are no active bans,
blocks, or sanctions in place against the old account. Discontinuing
the old account means it will not be used again; it should note on its
user page that it is inactive.for example, with the {{retired}} tag.to
prevent the switch being seen as an attempt to sock puppet. It is
strongly recommended that you inform the Arbitration Committee (in
strictest confidence if you wish) of the existence of previous
accounts before standing for adminship or functionary positions.
Failure to do so is likely to be considered deceptive.

________________________________
From: Eric <REDACTED>
To: Iridescent Wikipedia <REDACTED>
Sent: Mon, 6 June, 2011 23:25:33
Subject: Requesting advice

I apologise for adding once again to your email burden, but I'm
looking for a little bit of guidance.

I've long thought that the Malleus account is a hopeless basket case,
and it sometimes gets overwhelmed with copyedit requests, most of
which to be honest are on topics that I really couldn't give a
monkey's about. So to give me some quiet time, and a potential exit
strategy, I set up an alternate account well over a year ago now. The
two accounts never edit the same pages, and the alternate account
never edits on anything other than article pages or article talk
pages. You may remember my Nunez99 account that focused on Welsh towns
and villages? This one is rather similar, although not geography
related.

I won't compromise you by telling you what the account name is, but my
question is this; should I reveal this account to ArbCom or should I
keep shtum?

Eric



_______________________________________________
arbcom-l mailing list
arbcom-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/arbcom-l