The "pro-Israeli" canvassing ring leak (annexed), The failure of WP enforcement Options

[Sololol]

I'd have preferred this all to have been dealt with quietly, sparing any embarrassment, but that didn't happen. I can't remain silent so here we are.*
There may be a more a viscous section of Wikipedia than I-P area but I've no idea what it is. Veterans will acknowledge that it's a bloodthirsty zone filled with endless bickering over tiny details, constant sockpuppet harassment and general nastiness (it's also a great place to explore the finer points of sophistry). The specter of a pro-Israeli emailing list has been raised numerous times but no one could offer more than circumstantial evidence. Until now.

This may come as no surprise to our jaded audience but it's a great surprise to those fresh-faced young editors who bought the party line of "There is no cabal!", namely me. My hope was that Wikipedia's enforcement mavens would take over once they were made aware of the situation. That was a few months ago. I'd received these files from an anonymous email address after running afoul of the puppet masters (here, Jan/Feb-ish). While I can't verify how they were obtained (leak/hack/etc.) I can verify their authenticity. Real names and contact info not otherwise available have been blanked so you'll have to take my word for it (or someone else's as they don't seem to be a huge secret).

We (myself, two editors not involved in the topic area, a retired CU and two other folks) researched the group and sent our findings to Arbcom, to no avail.

The files in question, the only thing remotely interesting in this post.
The members, most of whom will come as no surprise to familiar editors (this is not exhaustive, it covers most of the editors in the emails released here but not all of them in the files nor, I suspect, all of them involved):
-Nocal100: aka Isarig, long term editor turned prolific puppetmaster
-breein1007
-Mbz1
-Shuki
-Stellarkid aka Djudem/Concheet from the 2008 CAMERA group, the other great puppetmaster
-Jiujitsuguy
-brewcrewer
-Broccoli
-a peripheral glimpse of Jayjg who, despite his reputation, acts quite honorably
So that's one CAMERA fellow, one of the original CAMERA members, and one who even made his own canvassing group (a fourth member is peripherally involved in another group that made headlines for a similar tactic). Hmmm.

HOW IS YOU KNOW THEY ARE REAL?!
The email addresses match according to various editors who've had contact with them. The on-wiki activity matches (compare this file with this edit and look at these sources provided by the banned puppet master inserted by an editor never before involved on the page, continuing the argument for the sockpuppet).
Oh, and Mbz1 admitted it.

YOU ARE BREAKING TEH LAW/INVADIN MAH PRIVACIES!
No dice, champ. I was neither the initial obtainer nor revealer. Talk to my lawyer.

Why bother bringing this up if no one will do anything to stop it?
Because people deserve to know what they face before investing their time. If you edit in a contentious place be aware that these groups exist and weigh the possibility of wasted, frustrating hours versus doing something else. The group itself isn't too surprising. The interesting bit is Wikipedia's complete failure to shut it down after notification of its existence or at least get rid of the most culpable offenders. If you want to, say, create an encyclopedia you'd do well to get rid of a toxic ring of ultra-nationalist sock puppeteers. So let this be a warning to you, oh newbie editors. The trail points to group operating in the same manner since about 2009 and it's all been reported before. Mbz1 and Broccoli cooperating on DYK? Brewcrewer working with NoCal socks? All were reported and dismissed. There's plenty of other hints at collusion which I'll leave you to dredge up yourself, it's all anti-Arab/Likudnik content, DYK pumping (best way to get visibility for pet causes) and sockpuppet harassment. There's more material but I've rambled long enough for an initial post.

TL/DR: Whiny new guy realizes there are cabals, is shocked by WP's failure to take even token preventive actions.

*In order to save time and focus on the topic, I hereby plead nolo contendere to anything remotely plausible I'm accused of doing (short of anything illegal) including whatever I was banned for, renounce my right to appeal, and accept our Lord Jimbo as my savior. This should be not be mistaken as the truth, just a time saving measure.

[Silver seren]

It's not like the listed users have not been known to be a part of such a group for years now as it is. I mean, this really shouldn't be news to anyone who is even vaguely aware of the I/P area.

The main reasons, in my opinion, why nothing has been done about the group are 1) No one who is uninvolved really wants to have to deal with anything in the I/P area, we've all heard the horror stories, 2) Arbcom is ditto for point 1 and because they will never do anything in regards to a group of users working together unless you have irrefutable evidence and shove it at them, and 3) a good number of the people in said group are pretty high up in the Wikipedia hierarchy and, as we all know, once you become on the god-like level of number of edits and admin abilities, you are practically untouchable.

Unless you can get perfect evidence about the cabal, nothing will ever be done. I'm still surprised anything was ever done with the CAMERA group, that was a miracle in and of itself, though I guess that came out because a bunch of admins got together to stop the group and Arbcom was forced to do something about it.

[Sololol]

It's not like the listed users have not been known to be a part of such a group for years now as it is. I mean, this really shouldn't be news to anyone who is even vaguely aware of the I/P area.

The main reasons, in my opinion, why nothing has been done about the group are 1) No one who is uninvolved really wants to have to deal with anything in the I/P area, we've all heard the horror stories, 2) Arbcom is ditto for point 1 and because they will never do anything in regards to a group of users working together unless you have irrefutable evidence and shove it at them, and 3) a good number of the people in said group are pretty high up in the Wikipedia hierarchy and, as we all know, once you become on the god-like level of number of edits and admin abilities, you are practically untouchable.

Unless you can get perfect evidence about the cabal, nothing will ever be done. I'm still surprised anything was ever done with the CAMERA group, that was a miracle in and of itself, though I guess that came out because a bunch of admins got together to stop the group and Arbcom was forced to do something about it.

Agree on 1 and 3. I can't blame anyone for not wanting to get involved in the I/P area although ignoring it is just going to make it worse. If the enforcers won't deal with a canvassing group/harassing sockmasters then the only logical step is the opposition's adoption of the same tactics. The others will quit or wikicide, realizing it's not worth their time or driven off by a group of editors who now realize (correctly) that they are untouchable.

An instructive example: betsythedivine reports a possible NoCal sock which Ohanaunited decides is unjustified, exonerating the editor in question, and subsequently files an ANI calling the SPI an attempted character assassination. Mbz1 weirdly shows up 40 minutes later to congratulate Ohana on the acquittal/ANI despite no involvement with the case (beyond having NoCal as a penpal and despising betsythedivine). The meatpuppet Broccoli uses the ANI for some good ole' fashioned mud-slinging, betsy feels she's unjustly being harassed and now the groups run off one more well-educated editor who had the temerity to disagree with them. She also knows exactly what's going on with NoCal/Mbz1 and company and this will kill anyone's morale; after the files rudely awakened me to what WP's judicial system will ignore I was perfectly happy to set myself up for a ban in the process of walking back the cat and verifying the emails.
As to your second point, I disagree; if this evidence isn't good enough for them then nothing ever will be. It was painstakingly fact-checked to verify authenticity (the tough bit was authenticating some of the email addresses and who owns them, you can't just ask if this is the sikrit contact info for the canvassing group; Yossi hit on the disturbingly clever idea of sending things to the addresses the editors might use on wiki -a simple barium meal test if you will- which was overly complicated but worked) and they know all about it.

[EricBarbour]

An instructive example: betsythedivine reports a possible NoCal sock which Ohanaunited decides is unjustified, exonerating the editor in question, and subsequently files an ANI calling the SPI an attempted character assassination. Mbz1 weirdly shows up 40 minutes later to congratulate Ohana on the acquittal/ANI despite no involvement with the case (beyond having NoCal as a penpal and despising betsythedivine). The meatpuppet Broccoli uses the ANI for some good ole' fashioned mud-slinging, betsy feels she's unjustly being harassed and now the groups run off one more well-educated editor who had the temerity to disagree with them. She also knows exactly what's going on with NoCal/Mbz1 and company and this will kill anyone's morale; after the files rudely awakened me to what WP's judicial system will ignore I was perfectly happy to set myself up for a ban in the process of walking back the cat and verifying the emails.

a) this looks like a diary entry by a teenage girl, bitching about the other cheerleaders.

b) I really think this thread belongs in the Annex, because it's full of POVers who are trying to "fix" the unrepairable.

[Sololol]

An instructive example: betsythedivine reports a possible NoCal sock which Ohanaunited decides is unjustified, exonerating the editor in question, and subsequently files an ANI calling the SPI an attempted character assassination. Mbz1 weirdly shows up 40 minutes later to congratulate Ohana on the acquittal/ANI despite no involvement with the case (beyond having NoCal as a penpal and despising betsythedivine). The meatpuppet Broccoli uses the ANI for some good ole' fashioned mud-slinging, betsy feels she's unjustly being harassed and now the groups run off one more well-educated editor who had the temerity to disagree with them. She also knows exactly what's going on with NoCal/Mbz1 and company and this will kill anyone's morale; after the files rudely awakened me to what WP's judicial system will ignore I was perfectly happy to set myself up for a ban in the process of walking back the cat and verifying the emails.

a) this looks like a diary entry by a teenage girl, bitching about the other cheerleaders.

b) I really think this thread belongs in the Annex, because it's full of POVers who are trying to "fix" the unrepairable.

A)Can't argue with that. A little ranting is good for the sin-blackened soul. If I had a point it was along the lines of "This is why letting known POV pushers with 10+ blocks continue operating is bad for your site".
B)Go for it. Although the idea that it's "unrepairable" does seem to imply that someones tried.

C) How curious. Biosketch, a recent reincarnation of an old cabal member, reports that his email account was hacked. Either he's following Mbz1's and playing the victim card or Hamas has been busy. Is account hacking over wiki-drama a common occurrence?

This post has been edited by Sololol:

[Milton Roe]

C) How curious. Biosketch, a recent reincarnation of an old cabal member, reports that his email account was hacked. Either he's following Mbz1's and playing the victim card or Hamas has been busy. Is account hacking over wiki-drama a common occurrence?

Well, ZoshuaZ did it when caught socking. One of Poetlister's socks RachelBrown claimed something like that too (it was so complicated I forget the details, but it all turned out to be bogus, even though believed at the time by some). So yes, it's been tried. Whether it works or not depends on whether or not you have Friends in High Places on WP.